I RAISED the plans for a new Bodmin GP surgery directly with the Health Minister this week, having requested an urgent meeting to get things moving. The project has stalled over a funding gap, while the current surgery is already running at around 160% capacity and more than 3,000 homes are being built or planned in the town. I’m pleased the Minister is very supportive and has committed to using her Department to help get it over the line. She’ll now be pressing Cornwall’s ICB and NHS England, where the project currently remains stuck, to get things moving as soon as possible. Thanks to local Cornwall councillors Leigh Frost, Dan Rogerson and Chris Batters for their hard work alongside me on this.

I also met the Prime Minister’s officials and made Cornwall’s case for a bespoke and fair devolution deal this week, joined by Cornwall’s other five MPs. I set out the needs of my North Cornwall constituents, with a focus on Cornwall’s innovative sectors as well as the transport problems that hold so many of our communities back. What mattered most was that all of Cornwall’s MPs, along with the leader of Cornwall Council, are pulling together in the right direction for the good of Cornwall: Onen hag oll. I’ll keep working to secure a worthwhile deal.

On a slightly different note, it was disgraceful to see the Conservatives and Reform fail to back Cornwall’s farmers on the ‘Support for British Farmers’ vote in the Commons this week - while Labour voted against it. North Cornwall’s farmers need support now more than ever, after a scorching summer of drought and the Government’s botched SFI payments fiasco last month. The Tories designed the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme as a first-come, first-served scramble for funding, and left £358-million of the agricultural budget unspent on their watch. I stood up in the debate to demand that this Government spends the full farming budget, so Cornwall’s farmers aren’t left unsupported yet again.

I also voted against the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill this week, because it doesn’t do enough to protect our brave veterans. I’ve spoken to lots of North Cornwall veterans as the Bill has passed through the House, and at every stage they’ve been really worried about the lack of protections and certainty. I’ve demanded that the Government halt endless repeat investigations, set a clear presumption against prosecuting veterans without compelling new evidence, and put proper safeguards on their personal data. The Bill now moves to the House of Lords, where I hope to see further changes and proper safeguards.

I also recently quizzed officials at the Home Affairs Committee about reopening police station front desks, and heard about one town that reopened its station and saw a 19% fall in crime. I’m a believer that visible policing gives communities greater confidence and lower crime rates, so I've been campaigning alongside local Cllr Damon Dennis for the front desk at Launceston police station to reopen, allowing my constituents to report crimes confidently and know they’ll be taken seriously.