Rushcliffe MP Ruth Edwards writes her update for the borough’s residents.
As football fever gripped the nation this summer, the Prime Minister and I went to try out our skills at West Bridgford Colts.
The Colts do an incredible job, as the biggest youth football club in the country they have over 1,600 young players and exciting plans to expand.
The Colts is run entirely by volunteers, so the visit gave us a wonderful opportunity to thank them for their hard work and to see their incredible achievements in action.
We met some of the girls’ teams who were training and did a bit of passing ourselves. Somehow, I don’t think I’ll be getting calls from any scouts!
We visited on the day the Lionesses won the World Cup Semi Final and it was great to see how much they inspired the girls at the Colts, especially former Colts’ player Mary Earps, whose jersey we saw in the club house.
More investment for the NHS in Nottinghamshire was announced this month. A new Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC), which will provide thousands more tests and scans to speed up diagnosis, will open in Nottingham in December.
A new specialist ward to care for elderly patients is also being opened at the QMC. This ward will help patient flow through A&E, improve the quality of care and experience for a vulnerable group of patients in a purpose-built, dementia-friendly space.
With Parliament in recess throughout August, I have been taking opportunity to get out and about in Rushcliffe. We are in the middle of delivering 10,000 surveys through front doors, to get your views and priorities for Rushcliffe. You can also fill this in online here.
I’ve also visited some brilliant community sports clubs, like Keyworth Cricket Club and Travellers Cricket Club and been to watch Sands United take on Notts Police in a football match. Sands is a charity which offers support to men who have been affected by the loss of a baby.
I’ve also been to find out more about the work of some brilliant charities, Maggie’s Nottingham – which supports people affected by cancer – and Forget Me Notts – who support people living with dementia. You may remember I raised money for Forget Me Notts by zip lining across Trent Bridge Stadium last month, it was nice to go back this time with my feet on the ground.
I also tried my hand at paddleboarding with Planet Patrol’s Lizzie Carr, to discuss her new Race for Rivers campaign and the measures that the Government is taking to improve water quality in our rivers and seas. We pulled litter out of the river from a paddleboard and took water samples to test the quality of the water. You can find out more about this here.
I’m now back in Parliament. Over the next few weeks we will be working on legislation that will keep people safe online, clamp down on economic crime, increase our energy security and deliver on our net zero target. Today, we are debating the Energy Bill and, as a government whip, I will helping to manage the votes in the chamber.
The return of Parliament also brings with it Westminster’s most closely fought competition. The Westminster Dog of the Year Competition, which has been run by the Dogs Trust and The Kennel Club since 1992 and raises issues about dog welfare. I have entered my energetic black lab Clemmie to represent all of the canine companions in Rushcliffe. You can wish us luck and vote for us here at Westminster Dog of the Year
