LAST week was a busy one both here in Furness and down in Westminster.

On Tuesday I was very fortunate to be able to host a dinner in the House of Commons in support of the fantastic Brathay Trust.

Brathay are an amazing organisation. What they offer people - predominantly young people - is remarkable: life-changing programmes which focus on innovative outdoor learning, self-development, and giving young people the skills they need for life. Every single school and youth group I’ve come across in Furness who has worked with Brathay sing their praises.

So it was my pleasure to host the Brathay team, some of their most recent graduates, and some of their supporters in the House of Commons alongside my friend and constituency neighbour, Tim Farron.

Organisations like Brathay offer so much to our community - but we need to ensure that they are supported so that they can continue to do so... not least through the new Brathay Bursary which they have launched. For more details do visit: www.brathay.org.uk

That same night, I was very glad to vote for the landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill last night. This Bill means that anyone aged 15 or younger today will never smoke in the UK, and introduces new powers to tackle the sharp rise in youth vaping by restricting vape flavours and their packaging. It will also introduce on-the-spot fines to retailers who break the rules. I’m not really a fan of banning things, but this is about doing what is right for the country, reducing the huge burden on the NHS that preventable diseases cause, and protecting our children. Anyone who can currently buy tobacco will not be prevented from doing so, and I will continue to support national, and Furness-based, initiatives to drive those numbers down too.

Back in Furness, on Friday, I was fortunate to be invited to James Fisher House to celebrate the launch of a James Fisher Defence office in Barrow.

James Fisher’s legacy is far-reaching, is tied into Barrow’s history, and reflects our status a hardworking, shipbuilding town. 177 years ago the company was founded to export iron ore from Barrow to fuel the Industrial Revolution.

Today, the company has transformed from shipping company into a leading provider of marine and specialist technical services worldwide. The Sir John Fisher Foundation is directly funded by them, helping so very many organisations across Furness that help the wider community.

JFD’s commitment to Furness is therefore very welcome indeed and speaks the bright future ahead of us. This is exactly the kind of expansion in the local area that we need as a result of #TeamBarrow and the continued development of AUKUS.

And finally, I was absolutely delighted to receive confirmation from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury that funding for the Grizebeck bypass has now been approved and spades should be in the ground in September.

This vital project was meant to have begun work in 2022. But it was delayed by COVID, and a £10m shortfall emerged as the Council put together its final business case.

Thankfully the #TeamBarrow initiative allowed us to unlock the funding we needed to bring this now nearly-£30m project back to life. Huge thanks to local campaigners for keeping the pressure up on this project, for the Council for working so closely with me to make the case for additional funding from Government, and for Minister Guy Opperman for leading the final charge around Whitehall after visiting Grizebeck for himself a few months back.

 

As a result, we should soon see safer, more reliable journeys from Barrow up to Millom and beyond.