NEW Year offers us the chance to look both back and ahead…
In the rear view mirror is a tumultuous 2024, one in which momentous events occurred at home and on the international scene.
For me and my party, the UK General election in July was a watershed moment as we went from Government to Opposition.
I was honoured, despite a difficult night elsewhere, to hold Dumfries and Galloway and to serve voters across the constituency.
Locally, I hope 2025 will be the year when we see real improvements on the A75 road, which is critical not just to hauliers heading to and from Northern Ireland, but also to those of us who use it daily as the main traffic artery in Dumfries and Galloway.
It was the previous Conservative Government who identified the road as being of vital significance for the UK as a whole and who them earmarked millions for upgrades. Enough Holyrood foot-dragging – let’s finally get the tarring machines rolling.
And I’m excited about the change the Long-Term Plan for Towns can make to Dumfries, with £20m over a decade pledged via the Dumfries Town Board.
Across the whole of the UK, towns are struggling to cope with the changes the internet has made to retail, but the LTPT puts money and decision-making power in local hands. I hope it can help restore the lustre of the ‘Queen of the South’.
I’m also pressing hard in Westminster for the delivery of the Northern Ireland Enhanced Investment Zone.
With just 14 miles between the western fringe of Dumfries and Galloway and Northern Ireland, we can forge ever-closer links and improve business, and create jobs on both sides of the North Channel.
And I will also keep pushing Labour to think again on their disastrous changes to tax arrangements for family farms. The reality here in the south-west is that family farms and business carry the burden of a wrong-headed policy.
I voted against the Assisted Dying Bill, a hugely difficult issue steeped in emotion. No one wants people to suffer in death, but opinion about how best to avoid that has divided Parliament and public alike.
The Bill will return to Westminster soon and I will be continuing to pay close attention so I can reach an informed decision.
Many thanks to all those constituents, from both sides of the debate, who took the time to contact me about this most important matter.
The only thing certain as we stand on the cusp of 2025 is that there will be challenges.
I am confident that the resilience and self-reliance that people locally have demonstrated time and again in trying times will be to the fore again and that we will overcome – to not just survive, but thrive.
I hope that 2025 brings you health, wealth and happiness.
