“This year as an MP has been a privilege and I will continue to serve my constituents to the best of my ability” says Ian Sollom

Today marks one year since I was elected MP for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire, and it has been a privilege to serve this constituency and its residents. 

Throughout this week, I have used each day to focus on some of the work I have been doing with and on behalf of local people both in terms of supporting them with issues within the community as well as campaigning for change and justice in Parliament.

Some of the significant moments over the past 12 months have included:

• Seeing the Government U-turn on the Winter Fuel Allowance after months of campaigning
• Successfully lobbying for work coaches to be based in St Neots after raising this directly with the DWP
• Pushing the Government to provide free school meals for all children in families in receipt of Universal Credit – we will continue to push for auto enrolment 
• Securing new accommodation for a constituent who was living in appalling conditions for five years in a Places for People property. There are still far more people who are continuing to have this issue, and my work on this is ongoing. 
• Campaigning to ensure the Government did another U-turn and scrapped plans to cut welfare benefits to the most vulnerable people. I will continue to hold it to account on this.

I was also deeply moved by the story of Declan Morrison – a young autistic man with learning disabilities, who tragically lost his life in an emergency 136 suite for 10 days after being sectioned. The maximum length of a stay should be 24 hours. I will continue to represent Declan’s family during the passage of the Mental Health Act and do all I can to prevent this ever happening again to people like Declan.

I have held weekly online and in-person surgeries meeting constituents and will continue to do this over the coming 12 months. I encourage people to please contact me if I can be of help.

And finally, I wanted to thank all those who have supported me over the year in so many ways. From the volunteers, community groups and local councillors who have worked with me and supported me on shared priorities; to the residents who take the time to contact me with their concerns and ideas; and most especially my staff team - all this support makes an enormous difference to what I can achieve, and reminds me daily why this role is such a privilege.

I look forward to continuing to serve my constituents to the best of my ability over the next year and into the future.