My week in Parliament has been dominated by the war in Ukraine.

We received a briefing from the Ukrainian ambassador to the UK on Wednesday. He was everything you would expect: stoical, strong, and bullish about the Russian aggression towards the democratic nation that he represents.

He was incredibly proud of his people, whose steadfastness and determination has hammered a far larger aggressor with deeper pockets and more resources. He appealed to us to continue to stand by Ukraine and wanted MPs present to thank their constituents for all the support they were offering in funding humanitarian appeals and for their support for Ukraine.

So, please continue to help, either by sending a donation through the Disasters Emergency Committee at dec.org.uk or, if you feel able to offer a home to someone fleeing the war, go to homesforukraine.campaign.gov.uk.

An amazing 120,000 UK residents have done this so far. On Wednesday morning, the Home Affairs Select Committee heard from Lord Harrington, Minister for Refugees. He explained that his Department was working to build on this project and he paid tribute to the amazing goodwill of British people, whose embrace of this scheme says so much about our nation.

Over 500 of you backed our campaign to enter the national competition to become the new home of Great British Railways, bringing prestigious new jobs to the area. I am truly grateful for your support and for the personal stories you shared with me about your histories with the railway.

The passion for rail, and this project, is tangible. Sadly, Barrow Council, after initially being supportive, refused to submit the bid that we wrote. I am rarely political in these columns, but to be told that the Labour leader of the Council said she would "back any bid other than Barrow's" staggers me.

Late last year, when the Railways Minister visited Barrow Railway Station he said that we had a "compelling case." I still passionately believe that he was right.

Of course, this was a competition and there will be dozens of towns vying for the opportunity. There is only one guarantee - if you don’t enter, you don’t stand a chance. And we have no chance in the competition now. This is a serious failure by the Labour leadership at the Council - what is a local Council for if not to promote the community it represents?

Catching the train to the constituency after a busy week in Westminster, I went straight to the excellent Eco Fair at Ulverston. It was great to see The Coro in use again, with so many people there finding out what little changes they can make to their lives to do a bit more for the environment, and perhaps save a few pounds in the process. My team and I look forward to hosting our second Climate Summit later in the year.

My week ended with another busy surgery. This really is the best part of the job. So if you would like to book an appointment, please get in touch with my team on 01229 314 220.