A NEW year brings new hope, no matter how grim things seem. Like so many community-minded volunteers, I got involved in public life believing that working together people could make things better and that ultimately things will get better.

So my hope for 2019 is that the country comes together to put us back on the right track after what has seemed like years of mistrust, anger and poor leadership. Both on the national stage and in our community, let’s be prepared to put our political armbands aside when necessary to do the right thing.

Locally, this could be a big year for our hospitals and health services with accident and emergency at Furness General straining at the seams and mental health services in desperate need of a new direction so they can stop letting so many people down when they are at their most vulnerable. Let’s make it an exciting year for our schools as we focus on how to get them the resources and new thinking they need to close the attainment gap with other parts of the UK despite being starved of desperately needed resources.

It was good to work with government ministers and Barrow council officers to get our marina development back motoring after so many years of deadlock. This project an exciting one for the town and we will all look forward to seeing it progress.

It was also a tonic to find out that BAE Systems is taking on 235 apprentices.These young people will be able to enjoy rewarding careers as we design and construct the world-class submarines that defend our nation.

Nationally, of course, this must be the year in which the UK ploughs its way through the Brexit impasse. I suspect most readers will be fed up of hearing about the subject and just want it sorted. But whether you lap it up or loathe it, the outcome is going to have weighty consequences for everyone here and across the UK.

There is no need in this column for another tedious reprise of how and why we have arrived at this point. Suffice to say that prime minister Theresa May has obtained a Brexit blueprint of sorts, but she now needs to get it through parliament during the week beginning January 14.

And – despite the arm-twisting that will have taken place during the holiday period – that could still be a very tall order. As your independent MP I have been involved in developments in Westminster and have kept a close watch on what is taking place in Brussels. And in the weeks leading up to Christmas I made myself available to talk to many local people both face-to-face and via a Brexit question-and-answer session on Facebook which was hosted by the Mail.

I have also responded to a load of emails – which were roughly split 50-50 between leavers and remainers – or those who are asking for a second vote. There are passionate arguments on all sides but two things are clear; we need to forge an acceptable solution to the deadlock and we should avoid a no-deal outcome.

Crashing out of the European Union without a deal might seem acceptable to some people, but such a scenario holds the potential to have very negative consequences for familes here and for the UK as a whole. If we are to have any hope of tackling the terrible hardship that afflicts poorer parts of Furness and giving future generations a decent chance, we must avoid the carnage of a no deal Brexit at all costs.

Elsewhere across Furness I will be working with people from different neighbourhoods to improve our communities. Ultimately, whatever our political colour we are all #TeamFurness, and I hope we can continue to come together to tackle local issues.

So if know about a neighbourhood issue that needs to be addressed, please get in touch by sending an email tojohn.woodcock.mp@parliament.uk. Happy new year everyone!