Local Campaigns
Since being elected as the first York Outer Member of Parliament in 2010, Julian has campaigned vigorously on numerous issues affecting the area and on this page of the website Julian will be keeping local residents up-to-date with progress on any ongoing campaigns.
Fighting to Protect York’s Greenbelt: Following the announcement that the Council plan to build large scale housing developments on over 1000 acres of York’s Greenbelt, Julian has vowed to do all he can to stop the proposals from getting the go ahead. He has urged the Council to engage in a proper and full consultation with local residents. Julian has also been meeting with local residents who are immediately affected by the proposals, to listen to their concerns and he has recently launched an e-petition, calling on the Council to amend their proposals. To read more about Julian’s position on the draft Local Plan, click here.
Illegally Tethered Horses: After several accidents involving horses wandering into the road, Julian took action to protect both motorist and the horses from harm. Julian was one of only a small number of MPs who were able to pass their own laws through Parliament. The Control of Horses Act 2015 has been praised by charities such as the RSPCA and World Horse Welfare as making it much quicker and easier for farmers and local authorities to rescue abandoned horses. This will help stop accidents on York’s roads and will protect horses from being neglected by their irresponsible owners.
Fighting for Fairer NHS Funding: The funding formula allocates money to our Clinical Commissioning Groups, and is weighted towards deprivation at the expense of age and rurality. This has led to a distortion with some areas being awash with money, whilst others like York and North Yorkshire, having to take difficult decisions over healthcare provisions. Since my election in 2010 I have worked tirelessly to try and resolve the unfair formula and I can assure you that I will continue to bang the drum on this vital issue.
Taking Real Action on Local Flooding: As we have seen too many times, flooding can cause substantial damage. Julian has ensured that representatives of the Environment Agency, the City of York Council, Yorkshire Water and the Drainage Board have now met with affected residents face-to-face and he shall continue to campaign for long-term solutions to this issue. He has also put pressure on the government to improve the affordability and availability of flooding insurance and he’s encouraged by the progress made with the announcement of ‘Flood Re’.
Improving Rural Broadband: Julian has been working closely with BT Openreach and NYNet who are facilitating the roll out of Superfast Broadband in North Yorkshire, as part of the SFNY programme. He is pleased to see that more and more of his constituency is now benefiting from improved broadband speeds and he is doing all he can to ensure that the SFNY target of 90% of homes with 25mbps and 100% with at least 2mbps is achieved by 2015. At the same time he’s been speaking up in Parliament to ensure that the most rural isolated communities are not left behind and the ‘digital divide’ does not deepen any further.
Tackling the Spread of Antibiotic Resistance: Antibiotics have revolutionised healthcare. However the steady rise in antibiotic resistance is now being seen as one of the greatest threats facing humanity, which is why I want to do all I can to publicise this issue. I fully support the Prime Ministers review being led by the Economist Jim O’Neill, and hope that it is successful in setting out plans for encouraging the development of new antibiotics.
In addition to dealing with individual residents concerns on a daily basis, Julian holds regular surgeries, giving local people the chance to meet with him and discuss any issues or concerns they may have. These surgeries are hugely popular throughout the constituency so visit to the surgery page to book up early for an appointment.
