Rishi Sunak visit shows we are a government priority | Burnley MP column

We really are front and centre in the mind of Government now!

Lots of topics came up whilst we were out and about, and in the pub, including inflation, debt, growth, the NHS, small boats, and levelling up.

All of which are key priorities for him and the Government he leads. It was brilliant to hear Rishi so knowledgeable on the major transformations going on across our borough as a result of Government funding, from regeneration of Burnley town centre to the expansion of UCLan; as well as the establishment of National Cyber Force just a few miles away.

And with the Government having only last week committed more than £650 million to the next generation combat aircraft, it’s clear that our aerospace sector locally – small and large – is being backed 100%.

We were also joined by Police & Crime Commissioner Andrew Snowden, who is leading the fight against crime. And in between door knocking, Rishi, Andrew and I discussed anti-social behaviour and how we best use the £2 million awarded to Lancashire Police to tackle this. We’ll be forming an ASB action plan for Burnley & Padiham and so more to follow.

Back in Parliament, there was no shortage of things to do, including a question to Transport Ministers on bus accessibility, and a No 10 reception where I was delighted to have nominated Burnley Express reporter Sue Plunkett as a Local Media Champion.

Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday was a fiery affair too, with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer rightly called out for his soft approach to crime & sentencing, and his flip-flopping. There’s no shortage of examples of where he says one thing one day, and the opposite thing another day. The very definition of political opportunism.

Finally, the new Emergency Alert system will be tested this weekend, on Sunday 23 April at 3pm. This is a national system that will inform people of emergencies, where there is a threat to life, like wildfires and flooding.

At this time a test alert will be sent to mobile phones, with a message notification appearing and a 10 second siren being played. No action is needed but in a real world scenario this notification could include information on what to do or where to go, or links to more information.