2 YEARS AS LOWESTOFT’S MP

Two years ago, I was given the enormous honour of becoming the Member of Parliament for Lowestoft, Beccles and the beautiful villages in between.

Since then, I have discovered that being an MP can mean speaking in the House of Commons one evening and sitting cross-legged with primary school pupils the next morning. 

It can mean discussing major investment at the port, helping a family whose benefits have suddenly stopped, meeting volunteers at a community café and then rushing home to catch up with my own family.

And occasionally, it means getting dressed up for an official Women in Parliament photograph, visiting Lowestoft port afterwards and having an unfortunate encounter with a passing seagull.

It is a job full of serious responsibilities, long days, extraordinary people and a few moments that bring you firmly back down to earth. 

I am a mum as well as an MP, and I will not pretend the juggling is always easy. There are late votes in Westminster, early trains, school calendars, constituency meetings and a phone that rarely seems to stop. 

But I love this job because I love the communities I represent. 

The best part of the past two years has been meeting people in every corner of our constituency: in schools and factories, on high streets and housing estates, at village halls, care homes, churches, community centres and events such as First Light Festival. 

The school visits have been particularly special. 

Children ask direct questions, look at problems with fresh eyes and have an optimism that adults sometimes lose. Whether I am visiting a small village primary school or talking to students preparing for work or university, I come away struck by their potential. 

They are the next generation of engineers, carers, teachers, entrepreneurs, artists and community leaders. Our responsibility is to make sure that where they grow up does not limit what they can become. 

That is why rebuilding opportunities for young people has been one of my priorities. 

We have secured Government backing for an East Suffolk Youth Hub, helping to rebuild the support that young people in our area lost more than a decade ago.  

We have also secured funding for a new school nursery at St Benet’s and investment to support local schools and community facilities. 

But being an MP is not just about major announcements. 

Most of the job is much quieter and much more personal. 

Over the past two years, my small and dedicated team has dealt with more than 12,700 constituency cases. 

Behind every one of those cases is a person or family who needs someone to listen and help them navigate a system that can feel impossible. 

It might be a pensioner who has waited months for a Blue Badge. A parent fighting for the right support for a child with special educational needs. Someone facing eviction. A resident whose benefits have stopped without warning. Or a patient waiting in pain for an operation that keeps being delayed. 

Politics can sometimes feel a long way from the kitchen table. But when you cannot pay a bill, get to a hospital appointment or secure the right education for your child, politics is very close indeed. 

My team cannot solve every problem, and I will never pretend that we can. But we can listen, challenge decisions, chase organisations and make sure people are not ignored. 

I have also held 33 constituency surgeries across Lowestoft, Beccles and the villages, including in Beccles, Corton, Kessingland, Carlton Colville, Oulton, Blundeston, Lound and North Cove. 

Holding surgeries across the constituency matters. Not everyone can easily travel into Lowestoft, and people deserve an MP who comes to them. 

Alongside those surgeries, I have hosted public meetings and roundtables on issues including healthcare, dentistry, disability, special educational needs, road safety, community safety and assisted dying. 

One of my greatest passions is putting the public at the centre of decision-making. 

People should not simply be told what is going to happen to their community after the important choices have already been made. Wherever possible, decisions should be made with people, not for them. 

Public meetings are not always easy, and people will not always agree. But bringing residents, campaigners, professionals and decision-makers into the same room gives people a proper opportunity to be heard and can help us find practical ways forward. 

Listening is important, but people rightly expect their MP to turn those conversations into action. 

One of the biggest developments of the past two years has been securing £20 million of Pride in Place investment for Lowestoft. 

That funding gives local people an opportunity to shape the future of their own town: improving the town centre, supporting community spaces, creating opportunities and restoring pride in places that have been overlooked for too long. 

The money will not transform Lowestoft overnight. Real regeneration takes time, and it has to be done with residents rather than imposed on them. 

But it gives us a foundation on which to build. 

There has been progress in Beccles and our villages too, including getting investment in Beccles Lido over the line and securing funding for flood improvements.

I have continued to make the case nationally for the long-term flood protection Lowestoft needs. Anyone who remembers the tidal surge, or who lives and works near the water, understands why this cannot be allowed to drift. 

Transport is another issue residents raise with me constantly. 

The return of a bus service for Gunton residents followed determined campaigning by local people, councillors and my office. We have also helped secure better connections between the 99 and X1 services and Lowestoft railway station. 

Earlier morning and later evening trains are now making it easier for people to get to work, college, appointments and family commitments. 

There is more to do. I am continuing to press for a later coastal bus service because a community cannot thrive when people without a car are effectively cut off in the evening. 

At the General Election, I promised to fight for more jobs and better opportunities locally. 

That has meant securing an agreement with Sizewell C to create at least 500 jobs for people in Lowestoft, alongside apprenticeships, training opportunities and local jobs fairs to help residents access those careers. 

It has also meant bringing the Coastal Navigators Network to Lowestoft and bringing together the NHS, employers, education providers and community organisations. Together, those partners have committed to creating a further 500 employment, training and apprenticeship opportunities across our coastal communities. 

These figures matter, but the real test will be whether local people feel the benefit. 

A job can change the direction of a family. It can give a young person independence, help someone rebuild after illness or unemployment and allow people to stay in the town they grew up in rather than feeling they have to leave to succeed. 

That is the kind of economic change I want to see: not growth that exists only on a spreadsheet, but secure work, decent wages and opportunities local families can actually reach. 

In Parliament, I have worked to make sure our area is heard. 

I have raised the experiences of local mums concerned about maternity care, fought for Lowestoft’s flood defences and spoken up for children with special educational needs. 

I was also proud to lead work that helped secure a change in the law banning pornography depicting strangulation or suffocation. 

That campaign began with listening to women, charities and experts who warned that dangerous violence was being normalised and made easily accessible to young people. 

It showed that a constituency MP can take what people are experiencing and help turn it into national change. 

There is also a harder side to public life. 

Like many MPs, I receive abuse and threats. As a woman, that abuse can become very personal, and sometimes it is frightening. 

I do not say that because I expect sympathy. I say it because we should be honest about the state of public debate. 

Disagreement is not abuse.

People have every right to challenge me, question my decisions or tell me they think I am wrong. A civilised society depends on people being able to disagree openly. 

In fact, some of the most useful conversations I have had have been with people who do not share my politics. 

During the past two years, I have worked with councillors from across the political spectrum, as well as businesses, trade unions, charities, campaigners, churches and community organisations. 

You do not have to agree with me on every issue to work with me for the good of Lowestoft, Beccles and our villages. 

Thankfully, the overwhelming majority of people I meet are kind, thoughtful and constructive. Even when they are frustrated or angry, they want their community to succeed. 

That basic decency is far more representative of our area than the worst comments posted online. 

None of the progress made over the past two years belongs to one politician. 

The restored buses happened because residents kept campaigning. Investment has been secured because local organisations produced strong plans.  

Constituency cases are resolved because dedicated staff, public servants and community groups work together. 

My role is to listen, bring people around the table, make the case and refuse to let our area be treated as an afterthought. 

There is still a great deal to do. 

We need better access to NHS dentistry. Too many residents are living in pain, struggling to find an NHS dentist or waiting far too long for treatment. 

The new dental school at the University of East Anglia, which I have campaigned for, is an important start. Training more dentists in our region should help strengthen the workforce and improve access over the longer term. 

But a new dental school alone will not solve the immediate crisis. We still need more NHS appointments, stronger incentives for dentists to work in coastal communities and practical support for people who cannot currently get the treatment they need. 

We also need stronger local health services and better support for children with special educational needs. 

We need to tackle anti-social behaviour and make sure neighbourhood policing is visible in the places where residents feel least safe. 

We need long-term flood protection, more affordable homes, reliable public transport and good jobs that allow families to build a future here. 

And we need to make sure the investment coming into Lowestoft reaches the people and communities who need it most. 

After two years, I remain every bit as honoured to be your MP as I was on the day I was elected. 

The job is demanding. Sometimes it is frustrating. Sometimes it involves windswept port visits and unpredictable seagulls. 

But every school visit, every successful constituency case and every conversation with a resident reminds me why it matters. 

There is real momentum building across Lowestoft, Beccles and our villages. 

My promise for the years ahead is the same as it was when I started: to work hard, listen honestly and bring people together to deliver the change our communities deserve.