ON Thursday April 19, I bounced out of bed at 5.30am and hopped on the 07.30am Euston to Penrith train with the minister for nuclear, Richard Harrington MP, and his team. I made the most of my captive audience; dazzling them with our industrial and cultural history, high tech capability, our ability to reverse-engineer complex systems safely - in our breathtakingly beautiful coastal, Lakeland UNESCO World Heritage environment. The sun shone, lighting up all the best bits of Cumbria and it really did set the scene for a truly inspirational and uplifting day.

Copeland mayor Mike Starkie’s Open for Business event was a resounding success. It showcased projects that are happening across the area - from Whitehaven Town Centre’s North Shore down to In-Harmony’s £250m development proposal at Millom. We heard from speakers with rare qualities - vision, determination and an absolute commitment to deliver their projects. We also learnt more about West Cumbria Mining and the outstanding work of the UCLan Medical School which is transforming training and recruitment at West Cumberland Hospital. Britain’s Energy Coast Business Cluster concluded the day with more ambition and drive at their AGM, hearing from NNL and the NDA... and to top it off, it was my 42nd birthday!

In parliament, prior to the Open for Business Conference and BEC Business Cluster AGM, I listened to the secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, Greg Clark, speaking of his clear pride in our country and his pioneering ambitions for the future industrial strategy; ambitions which I share. Britain has incredibly exciting and challenging times ahead and we must recognise the importance of research and development in both the private and public sectors. In order to reap the benefits from the opportunities presented to us, we must be prepared to seize them.

During the debate, I spoke of the world-leading legacy challenges being met at Sellafield, the Low-Level Waste Repository and the ground-breaking research and development taking place every day in the National Nuclear Laboratory, the Dalton Nuclear Institute and the 70-something nuclear supply chain companies. There is enormous scope for further financial and policy support to develop the existing centre of nuclear excellence in Cumbria as well as improve the collaboration between civil nuclear and nuclear defence, which will benefit our skills agenda and help address recruitment challenges, and there can be no better area than the western coast of Cumbria for that collaboration to happen.

Locally we have seen a number of significant investment announcements for the area recently, and in particular, Whitehaven. In addition to the major multi-million pound North Shore redevelopment, spearheaded by Britain’s Energy Coast, Sellafield Ltd announced it is investing £2.6m to convert the former Whitehaven bus station into a £4.1m hothouse for tech, digital, media, and creative start-ups. For west Cumbria, as an innovator in ideas, this huge boost will help to leverage public and private sector investment in order to grow and diversify our local economy.

Looking forward, we have an unprecedented opportunity to harness further investments, capitalise on tourism and continue with Copeland’s legacy of world-class skills. I know that in Copeland, with support and collaboration, we can power the Northern Powerhouse and successfully deliver the industrial strategy.