Category Archives: Uncategorized

We made a manifesto commitment to lower energy bills by £300 during this Parliament. While bills are now far lower than the high point under the Tories (remember when the price cap hit £4,279 in January 2023?) they are still too high and people rightly want to see the change they expected when they castContinue reading “Weekly Column – 25.06.2025 – Action to lower energy bills”

More than 2,700 additional treatments have been carried out on patients in north and west Cumbria over the last year, with the waiting list dropping by 7% overall.  The latest figures from North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, which runs West Cumberland Hospital and Cumberland Infirmary, also show that the number of patients waitingContinue reading “Waiting lists for NHS treatment down 7% in north and west Cumbria in latest figures”

The government has announced that every pupil in West Cumbria whose household is on Universal Credit will have a new entitlement to free school meals.  Starting in September 2026, up to 4,000 more children across West Cumbria will be able to access free school meals, saving parents £500 per year per child and making lifeContinue reading “Free school meal extension to benefit thousands in West Cumbria”

A campaign by two local young people to secure investment in the playground in Flimby has enlisted the help of local MP Josh MacAlister. The campaign started by Flimby residents Kaelan and Ethan, 13, of Netherhall High School, is calling for play equipment to be cleaned and upgraded and for new equipment to be installed.Continue reading “Campaign to improve Flimby playground enlists help of local MP”

I gave up my column last week so that the Prime Minister could endorse the central plank of my recently launched industrial plan for West Cumbria; to unlock land at Moorside for new nuclear development. I’m now working hard to drive it forward as quickly as possible with Cumberland Council, the NDA and others. I’mContinue reading “Weekly Column – 18.06.2025 – Upgrading our railway is vital to our future”

Cumbria has always been at the heart of Britain’s energy story. From Calder Hall to Sellafield, this region has powered the nation with world-class expertise and a proud industrial heritage. And with this government, Cumbria will be at the front and centre of our plans, this time building a clean, secure energy future. We’re doingContinue reading “The Prime Minister writes for the Whitehaven News on West Cumbria’s nuclear future”

Josh MacAlister, Labour MP for Whitehaven and Workington, has launched ‘Get West Cumbria Growing’; a new industrial plan for West Cumbria which he says could deliver thousands of new jobs across the area and unlock land for new nuclear power generation. The plan is a more detailed version of one he published before the 2024Continue reading “MP launches industrial plan for West Cumbria with pitch to unlock land for new nuclear”

West Cumbria is the birthplace of the civil nuclear industry, representing the first clean energy revolution in the last century. It has a rich industrial heritage in mining and steel. Yet for all of this history, and the ongoing world leading work in nuclear decommissioning, there is huge untapped potential. There are many occasions whenContinue reading “Weekly Column – 04.06.2025 – Our best route to secure new nuclear”

Patients in Workington will benefit from thousands more GP appointments each year as a local doctor’s surgery receives a bricks and mortar upgrade to modernise the practice. Josh MacAlister MP said that residents in Workington would soon feel the impact of an announcement that will ‘help deliver on Labour’s promise to fix the front doorContinue reading “GP surgery refurb to enable more appointments in Workington”

West Cumbrians needing urgent and emergency NHS dental care now have access to a new Urgent Dental Access Centre (UDAC) in Whitehaven. Urgent Dental Access Centres are a new model of urgent dental care so far only rolled out in Carlisle and Darlington. The new UDAC, based in Whitehaven, is the first in West Cumbria.Continue reading “New Urgent Dental Access Centre opens in West Cumbria”