Julian’s Christmas Message
December 21, 2016
I think it’s fair to say that 2016 has been anything but boring, and for many of us in York we will be hoping for a much drier Christmas period than the misery brought about by last year’s Boxing Day Floods. This year we’ve had all change at Number 10, our future is now outside of the European Union and we are slowly coming to terms with the words ‘President Trump’. On a less political note, Team GB secured second place on the medal table in Rio, we celebrated Her Majesty’s 90th birthday and commemorated the centenary of the Battle of the Somme.
As we approach Christmas, I am very much looking forward to spending time with my family and enjoying festive celebrations in and around York. The bookies and forecasters seem to think snow on Christmas Day is unlikely, but if this year has taught us anything this probably means we’re in for the whitest Christmas since records began.
It is also important to remember those less fortunate than ourselves at this time of year. I appreciate that Christmas can be a difficult time for some families and many of our thoughts will be with those people who lost loved ones in Berlin earlier this week.
Reflecting on my own work this year I have taken over the chairmanship of two All-Party Parliamentary Groups, for ‘Science and Technology in Agriculture’ which looks at how the farming sector can harness the latest advances in innovation and science to address the challenges of sustainable food production and food security, and ‘Antibiotics’ which focuses its efforts on the incredibly important topic of anti-microbial resistance.
I have also been lobbying Ministers on issues important to York Outer residents, from our beleaguered Northern Ring Road to regional health, education and police funding formulas, as well as ensuring we get the right investment to protect us from future flooding in the wake of last year’s Boxing Day floods.
Locally I’ve held a series of public and drop-in meetings regarding the Local Plan, and engaged Yorkshire Water and the Environment Agency in a host of localised flooding issues in communities like Acaster Malbis, Heworth Without and Rawcliffe. If you would like to be kept up-to-date on my work in Parliament and York Outer, please contact me at julian.sturdy.mp@parliament.uk and I will add you to my regular e-bulletin.
If 2017 has half as many surprises as 2016 then we’ll be in for another incredibly interesting year. It has been an absolute pleasure to represent the people of York Outer this year, and I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
