I’m a local community champion who works hard and gets things done for residents - all year round, not just at election time.
Below you’ll find a summary of my key successes locally during my time as your local MP. Click here for my successes nationally and in Westminster (opens a separate web page).
1. Supporting local residents all year round – helping with personal queries and problems
During my time as your local MP, I have helped many thousands of local residents across the Havant Constituency resolve queries, overcome issues and find support & advice.
I typically receive up to 250 e-mails, letters and other correspondence per weekday, and I work hard to help as much as I can.
Since 2015, I have answered more than 27,000 queries about a range of issues. My work includes:
- Campaigning on key local and national issues that matter to local people.
- Making representations on behalf of residents to central Government departments.
- Taking matters up with Government Ministers on behalf of residents.
- Connecting constituents to local decision-makers such as Havant Borough Council or Hampshire County Council.
- Referring residents to other appropriate sources of advice or organisations which can offer specialist support.
My aim is to help residents get results when they have had problems, and ensure the needs of people across the Havant Constituency are supported as much as possible.
2. Supporting our local NHS – upgrading GP surgeries and QA Hospital
I played a leading role in delivering a new GP Surgery building for residents in Emsworth and surrounding area after leading a successful 6-year campaign. My work included:
- Organising and chairing meetings in Emsworth to drive the project forward
- Securing £3.5M of NHS funding to pay for the new building
- Stopping the sale of the Emsworth Victoria Cottage Hospital site in 2018 after NHS Property Services put the site up for sale
This enabled construction of a brilliant new facility offering access to all the primary care needs of the community under one roof.
I have also founded the new Hayling Island Health Forum which brings together the two surgeries on the Island, NHS bodies, and our local councils to work more closely together and improve local health outcomes.
Queen Alexandra Hospital serves everyone in the Havant Constituency, and I have consistently supported the Hospital to secure more funding and expand its patient services. See below for information about my work on the new Queen Alexandra Hospital Emergency Department.
3. Supporting our young people – at school and during the holidays
Children who have had a good breakfast are better set up for a day of learning at school. I served as President and Trustee of Magic Breakfast, an award-winning national charity helping bring healthy and nutritious breakfasts to children.
I brokered a £30,000 grant from the FatFace Foundation to enable Magic Breakfast to work with Havant Academy to set up a breakfast club. The club is open to all children at the school and is popular with pupils who get not only a breakfast but a chance to meet friends and go into the school day prepared and focussed. Around 100 pupils use the breakfast club each day.
I also helped to secure over £430,000 of Government funding for holiday clubs for children across the Havant Constituency. The clubs offer enriching activities including arts & crafts, sports, reading, and cooking. The holiday clubs also promote a healthy lifestyle and offer children a nutritious meal during the day, and operate at local schools across the Havant Constituency.
4. Supporting the Police – more funding and more officers
Supporting the Police to keep our streets and communities safe is a top priority for me, and I secured more funding for Hampshire Constabulary to recruit and deploy more officers across the Havant Constituency.
Over 725 new officers have been recruited by Hampshire Constabulary since 2020 thanks to increased funding from central Government and the Police and Crime Commissioner.
I have worked with Police commanders to ensure those new recruits help bolster community policing across the Havant Constituency. Every street will now have a named officer covering the beat, with their name and contact details available to residents.
Getting the Police working together with our communities makes policing more effective and keeps our streets safer. I have joined the Police on patrol around the Havant Constituency and I know how hard they work, and what a difficult job it can be at times.
5. More funding for local schools – so our children get the best start in life
I have served as a governor of a primary school, and I am passionate about giving children the best possible start in life so supporting our local schools is a top priority for me.
Thanks to my lobbying of central Government, our local schools have consistently received above-average funding per pupil in recent years. Every school in the Havant Constituency is receiving an additional cash funding uplift between 2023 and 2025. A typical primary school is receiving an additional £35,000 and a typical secondary school is receiving an additional £200,000.
Additionally, the Pupil Premium has increased by 5% in 2023/24, supporting disadvantaged pupils in every school in the Havant Constituency. This is in addition to the funding uplift which will help pupils with special educational needs or disabilities as well as those in mainstream schooling. Schools are free to decide for themselves how best to spend the additional funding, helping teachers give all our children the high-quality education they deserve.
Throughout my time as your MP, I have campaigned for more funding for schools and worked with employers and colleges such as Havant and South Downs College to ensure young people have an opportunity to start a fulfilling and rewarding career.
6. Helping secure £58million for a new Emergency Department at Queen Alexandra Hospital
Queen Alexandra Hospital serves residents in every part of the Havant Constituency as well as wider south Hampshire. It is home to many specialist units as well as the main Emergency Department (ED) for the region and the Hospital is receiving millions of pounds of new investment from the Government.
I was pleased that my campaign for new funding to allow the replacement of the previous outdated Emergency Department was successful, and thanks to £58m from the Government work is now underway building on a brand-new facility. Patients from the Havant Constituency will benefit from better care delivered more rapidly in the new Emergency Department.
The new ED building will relieve pressure across the Hospital. Although much of QA was rebuilt in recent decades, the Emergency Department remained in an outdated and cramped part of the hospital dating back to the 1970s. As a result, patients often faced delays or had to be moved into other units to receive treatment.
The new Emergency Department will transform care at Queen Alexandra Hospital and I will continue to work closely with Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust to ensure residents across the Havant Constituency benefit from investment in QA by the Government.
7. Launching my Tree Planting Challenge – improving our local environment
I am leading a campaign to plant 1000 new trees in the Havant Constituency, inspired by the Queen’s Green Canopy project launched by Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth.
Planting more trees boosts our local environment, improves air quality, supports wildlife, and makes our surroundings more attractive.
I have won backing from the Woodland Trust who are supplying saplings free of charge which community groups and schools can plant. They can also supply saplings to individual members of the public for a small charge.
I was delighted to launch the Challenge on Hayling Island, planting a willow near the Station Theatre with Sir Nicholas Bacon, the Chairman of the Queen’s Green Canopy project. I welcome the large-scale Government-backed reforestation across Britain over the last 75 years. More of the country now has tree cover than at any point since the 14th century.
The Havant Constituency is a green and pleasant place to live, whichever community you are a part of, but we can all make it better. I am pleased to be leading this project and the trees we plant now will enhance the lives of people for generations to come.
Since launching my Tree Planting Challenge, over 150 new trees have been planted!
8. Securing funding for Hayling Billy Trail resurfacing
I secured £610,000 from central Government to resurface a key section of the Hayling Billy Trail which links West Town on Hayling with Havant. As well as being a beautiful trail for recreation, with Langstone Harbour on one side and farmland the other, it is also an important route for cyclists and walkers.
In winter, the Trail has been subject to flooding and deep mud but resurfacing to end this is under way. The improved section will be open by summer 2024, weather permitting. The upkeep of the Trail is the responsibility of Havant Borough Council and Hampshire County Council, and I lobbied Ministers on their behalf to unlock this funding from the Department for Transport.
Promoting sustainable transport is a priority for me as we have so many good cycle routes around the Havant Constituency, for work or pleasure. This investment in the Hayling Billy Trail will encourage people to be more active and help them enjoy the beautiful environment on and around Hayling Island.
9. Organising 8 annual Jobs, Apprenticeships & Careers Fairs
Every year I organise my Jobs, Apprenticeships & Careers Fair to bring together employers, training providers, and other organisations who can help local people looking to move their careers forward.
My Fair helps people find new jobs, new careers, and is a source of advice for people from across the Havant Constituency about the world of work.
Admission is free and open to all, but I am especially keen to encourage our local young people to attend as it is a fantastic opportunity to engage with many employers who can offer training, advice, apprenticeships and job opportunities.
More than 600 young people from the Havant Constituency have started an apprenticeship in the last year. We have many employers in high-skill, high-wage sectors offering young people a career in our area, ensuring the strong economic growth we have seen will continue for years to come.
Please sign up for my newsletter for more information about this year’s Fair by clicking here.
10. Organising 8 annual Community Information Fairs
Every year I organise my Community Information Fair to bring together a wide range of organisations who can offer help, support or opportunities to people across the Havant Constituency. These include local community groups, local and national Government bodies, sports clubs, charities, and voluntary groups.
A key priority for me as your Member of Parliament is ensuring people can access the support they need to live a full and rewarding life. People could be looking for help with a specific health condition, or just looking for a new activity which helps them remain active and make new friends. This is particularly important for older people in our communities but exhibitors at my Fair have something to offer people of all ages and backgrounds.
Please sign up for my newsletter for more information about this year’s Fair by clicking here.
11. Organising 8 annual Small Business & Community Awards
There are many great small businesses in the Havant Constituency, and every year I organise my Small Business and Community Awards to celebrate and showcase the work they are doing.
I recently expanded the original Awards to include a Community component, so residents can nominate individuals or groups doing voluntary or charitable work in our communities to celebrate their work and to thank them for their service.
Small businesses are the foundation of our local economy and I helped develop the Government’s Help to Grow policy to assist small and medium enterprises (SMEs) boost their productivity by making better use of technology and best practice knowledge.
Please submit your nominations for this year’s Awards by clicking here.
12. Organising 2 annual Health and Wellbeing Fairs
Supporting people and communities across the Havant Constituency remains one of my key priorities as your MP and I look forward to hosting my third Havant Constituency Health and Wellbeing Fair in 2024.
My Fair helps residents find information and advice about physical and mental health, and exhibitors usually include the Emsworth and Hayling Island Primary Care Network (PCN), the Emsworth Medical Practice, and local and national providers of health and wellbeing services.
Following the COVID-19 Pandemic, I held my first ever Havant Constituency Health and Wellbeing Fair at the Emsworth Baptist Church in 2022. The Fair was a great success, with attendees and exhibitors letting me know that they had found the opportunity to share important health information and advice with residents very useful. I organised the Fair again in 2023, and I will organise my third Fair in 2024.
Please sign up for my newsletter for more information about this year’s Fair by clicking here.
13. Supporting our Armed Forces
I am an active supporter of our Armed Forces, reservists, veterans and military families. The Havant Constituency has close connections to our Armed Forces, and many serving personnel and their families are at the heart of our communities.
Every year I mark Armed Forces Day, a national campaign to thank the men and women who make up our Armed Forces community. As a longstanding Royal British Legion volunteer, I sell Poppies every year at Havant’s Meridian Centre and at Lidl supermarket on Hayling Island. To mark the 75th Anniversary of D-Day I led a delegation of local veterans to Normandy’s beaches where I laid a wreath.
Having spent time with the Royal Navy, including on a NATO exercise in Norway, I’ve seen first-hand the courage and commitment of our Armed Forces and veterans, which we must repay by looking after them.
Caring for our veterans remains a top priority for me and the Conservatives. In Parliament I’ve supported action to provide financial, health and other support for our veterans including:
- Launching the Veterans’ ID card making it easier for veterans to apply for support.
- Introducing the Veterans’ Railcard providing discounted train travel for veterans.
- Adding a question on the census to identify veterans for the first time ever.
- Creating a new Office for Veterans’ Affairs to co-ordinate support for veterans.
- Backing the Armed Forces Covenant which ensures councils, the NHS, schools and businesses provide support to veterans and cannot discriminate against them.
Locally, I’ve backed our defence industry which supports hundreds of jobs for local people, working closely with major employers like Lockheed Martin and Wartsila. Both Havant-based firms played a key role in delivering Britain’s aircraft carriers and the planes which fly from them. I joined Royal Navy personnel from our area on board HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH to thank them for their service.
Nationally, the Conservatives are the only party committed to properly funding our Armed Forces, with a commitment to spend 2.5% of our national income on defence. I’m proud that we are leading other NATO member countries on this essential commitment.
I will continue to support our Armed Forces and back the UK’s role in the NATO military alliance which protects us all.
14. Helping Havant and Waterlooville FC during the Covid pandemic
As a Hawks supporter and Vice President at Havant & Waterlooville FC, I know the impact the Covid pandemic had on clubs and sporting groups across the Havant Constituency. I wrote to the National League and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to urge them to ensure fair play for the Hawks and other teams disrupted by Covid restrictions, especially during the play-off stages.
Since the pandemic, the Hawks have continued to strengthen their offering with a new community hub at Westleigh Park which I was pleased to open in 2021. Sports clubs promote a sense of community and belonging as well as giving opportunities to people to develop their talents and be part of a team.
The Havant Constituency is home to many thriving sports clubs and promoting sport, whether it is competitive or recreational, is something I support keenly in my work. I am also a Vice President of Havant Rugby Club and Honorary President of the Havant Borough Sports Awards, and I keep in close touch with teams in a wide range of sports in our communities.
15. Preventing closure of ticket offices at Havant and Emsworth railway stations
I led the campaign to convince the rail companies to change their decision to close the ticket offices Havant and Emsworth railway stations.
Having staff available at railway stations is important for making transport more accessible, especially for older and more vulnerable people. Railways must be cost-effective, but it is not always easy to use ticket machines or book tickets online, especially for complex or urgent journeys. Having someone on-hand at a ticket office who is familiar with the network and the ticketing system is important for many travellers.
I am pleased the rail companies have changed their plans and I hope residents across the Havant Constituency will feel more confident that taking the train is a convenient and safe way to travel.
16. Protecting our environment from wastewater discharges
Protecting and enhancing our environment is a key objective for me as your MP. I have taken the lead on this by creating and chairing a regional forum to hold Southern Water to account and to ensure the concerns of people in the Havant Constituency are addressed. The Forum brings together local MPs, councillors, and community representatives and it meets regularly.
Southern Water has a major treatment facility at Budd’s Farm in central Havant and it handles wastewater from across the Havant Constituency and the wider area, including Portsmouth. It is vital that Southern Water reduces the number of discharges of untreated stormwater it makes across its network, and in timer, eliminates them in normal conditions.
Southern Water have responded to my calls to do more with an additional £1.7 billion of work being brought forward to reduce discharges across the south-east, including expanding storage tanks at Budd’s Farm.
More widely, I have worked with regulatory bodies including the Environment Agency, Ministers, local and national environmental groups, and councillors to ensure our surroundings are protected and improved.
I voted for the two new laws the Government has introduced in this Parliament: the Environment Act and the Agriculture Act. The legislation creates a new watchdog, the Office for Environmental Protection, and creates new powers for regulating water companies or other industries which have a role to play in protecting the environment. I also support the Government’s ban on bonuses for the bosses of water companies which commit serious breaches of environmental law.
17. Supporting bus services and the £2 single bus fare cap
Public transport provides vital links for residents across the Havant Constituency, and I have successfully lobbied central Government to invest in support for bus services for our communities.
The Government has agreed to extend the £2 discounted fare until the end of 2024, helping thousands of people get out and about.
Hampshire County Council is receiving a further £3.5 million from the Government’s Bus Services Improvement Plan Plus in 2024-25. This follows the first wave of Bus Service Improvement Plan funding of £228 million for the south-east to cover the period 2022-25.
Supporting bus services is vital for people of all ages across the Havant Constituency for work and leisure. For older people especially, good bus services are a way of keeping in touch with friends and family and accessing public services.
I have engaged with bus companies in the Havant Constituency as well as Hampshire County Council, which is responsible for transport strategy, to ensure they are making the best use of the increased funding from the Government. The Stagecoach 23 bus service in Leigh Park and Havant is now running a 24-hour service with support from the Bus Services Improvement Plan.
The Government has also invested in the Havant-Bedhampton-Portsmouth-Southsea bus corridor along which key services travel. I secured £335,000 of Government funding for improvements at Bedhampton to improve the road layout and the bus stop.
18. Supporting Stop Domestic Abuse charity (formerly Southern Domestic Abuse Service)
Supporting vulnerable people in the Havant Constituency is a priority for me. Victims of domestic abuse in particular face challenges and their situation is often not recognised easily by family or friends. For that reason, I have supported the Havant-based Stop Domestic Abuse charity (formerly called Southern Domestic Abuse Service) throughout my time as your local MP.
I was pleased that Stop Domestic Abuse has been awarded £75,000 this year from the Government’s Community Organisations Cost of Living Fund (CCLF) to provide support for victims of domestic abuse in Havant and South Hampshire. This is part of a £101.5 million package of support with running costs for charities and community organisations across England which are delivering front-line services.
I have lobbied Ministers for more funding for groups like Stop Domestic Abuse and I support the annual White Ribbon Day, to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Helping local community groups and charitable organisations is a key part of my work as your Member of Parliament and I support the work Stop Domestic Abuse are doing to help victims of domestic abuse across the Havant Constituency.
19. Protecting our communities from flooding
The Havant Constituency includes several coastal communities which depend on sea defences to protect them from storm flooding and rising sea levels. Through my engagement with Ministers, I have secured investment from the Government to support projects in the Havant Constituency which will protect homes and businesses against floods.
I secured more than £4 million of funding for Havant Borough Council for work to improve sea defences at Broadmarsh and to support the South Hayling Beach Management Project, delivering improved drainage and sea defences at Eastoke and a coastal flood and erosion risk management strategy.
At Langstone I have worked with Havant Borough Council, Hampshire County Council, Chichester Harbour Conservancy and Coastal Partners, plus Natural England and the Environment Agency to agree a plan for the next 25 years to protect the Mill Pond and to ensure the coastal path can remain open.
I look forward to working with the community and local and national bodies responsible for flood defence provision on other schemes which respond to future threats from flooding.
20. Securing more funds for road safety and maintenance
Safer roads for all who use them – motorists, cyclists, pedestrians – are a priority for me. I was pleased to secure £2.1m from the Government for a programme of works in Havant to improve links for cyclists and pedestrians between the railway station, town centre, Havant College and the Hayling Billy Trail.
Many other roads in the Havant Constituency will receive help from the additional funding I have secured from the Department for Transport for Hampshire County Council (HCC). HCC is responsible for road maintenance in the Havant Constituency, and it is receiving an additional £8.45 million across 2023-25 for road resurfacing and pothole repair. Over the next ten years HCC will receive at least a further £13 million every year to support additional maintenance work on our local roads.
21. Securing a key role for Havant in the new Solent Freeport
The Havant Constituency has a key role in the new Solent Freeport. I campaigned for the Government to approve the new Freeport as part of our post-Brexit global trading strategy. I secured £25m of seedcorn funding to begin work on the Freeport and Dunsbury Park in the Havant Constituency and it is a vital part of the overall project.
Dunsbury Park is a new 100-acre business park offering state-of-the-art facilities which has already attracted major employers like Volkswagen, BioPure and DPD. Dunsbury Park will be attractive to businesses wanting to take advantage of the Freeport and the highly skilled workforce we have in the Havant Constituency.
The Solent Freeport is another boost to our strong local economy, creating 30,000 jobs in the region and generating an additional £3.5 billion of gross value added (GVA) in our national economy. Freeports are an important part of our future trade with the rest of the world, driving innovation and making it easier for British companies to export to new markets.