North Durham MP Luke Akehurst: My first 11 months in Parliament

Over the past 11 months I have had the pleasure of representing the towns and villages of North Durham in Westminster, I have raised Parliamentary questions on regeneration, defence, health and transport among other issues. I have spoken in the chamber or Westminster Hall 50 times so far – key topics have included bus services, child poverty, coalfield communities, defence, jobs and HMOs.

I have responded to more than 6,000 casework and policy queries, held monthly advice surgeries, and met with constituents and local organisations on a weekly basis. I have recovered £246,095 in money owed to constituents for them.

In my maiden speech, I set out to champion the needs of the constituency and our two town centres in Chester-le-Street and Stanley. Parts of North Durham feel ‘left behind’. There is a desperate need for investment, and I have urged the Government to prioritise communities suffering high levels of deprivation. Only by funding libraries, parks and community centres – and delivering on jobs – can we improve quality of life and deliver on the Government’s key growth missions.

I have been pleased to secure some positive outcomes for the constituency. In Chester-le-Street, I launched a campaign to save the historic Post Office branch and will be meeting with the new franchisee to discuss their plans for the future. In Stanley and the wider constituency, I campaigned for better bus services and held Go North East to account on poor service this winter.

I am working with the mayor, Kim McGuinness, and I’m proud of major investment in the North East transport network that has just been announced, including development of the northern section of the Leamside Line. As Vice-Chair of the Leamside Line All-Party Parliamentary Group, I will campaign for the full line to be built – something that would benefit the east of my constituency in particular.

Labour have had some very difficult local elections results in County Durham and we know that Winter Fuel Allowance was a major factor. I heard this time and time again on the doorstep.

I am therefore pleased that the Government has listened and responded by reviewing the threshold for the payments. About 90 per cent of pensioners in the North East will receive the benefit this year.

I welcome the Government’s major improvements to the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme and am fighting for justice for constituents who are members of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme.

I was proud to introduce new legislation to clamp down on off-road bikes. The Government has since removed the requirement for police to issue warnings before seizing bikes used for antisocial purposes.

Another key area of interest for me is defence. The threat to the UK remains constant, and I was pleased to see the Strategic Defence Review and defence spending raised to 2.6 per cent of GDP by 2027.

If you are a North Durham resident and need my help, please contact me on luke.akehurst.mp@parliament.uk or call my office on 0191 371 8834. I will continue to do my utmost to represent the interests of the people of North Durham and will return each month to update Echo readers on my work.