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 when West Cumbria has been a pioneer community, and it should be again.

That is why I am launching my Industrial Plan for West Cumbria. This detailed plan, building on one I published before the 2024 General Election, sets out a roadmap for a prosperous and diverse economy in West Cumbria. One built on the strengths of the nuclear industry but not limited to decommissioning alone. 

In the coming weeks I’ll use this column to talk about the main components of the plan and what I’m trying to accomplish. The most important element of it is growing our nuclear industry; our greatest existing economic strength. This means delivering the next phase of nuclear decommissioning work, especially plutonium disposition, in a way that strengthens West Cumbria’s economy. It also means creating the conditions for new nuclear power generation.

Central to this is unlocking land at Moorside where we could site small modular reactors and the industry they could power. That has been my top priority as your MP and I have spent considerable time with ministers, advisers and officials in the energy department, at the Treasury and in Downing Street, as well as building up a constructive partnership at a local level with Cumberland Council, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Sellafield Ltd. 

At the beginning I thought our best route was through the process that has been underway via Great British Nuclear since 2023. However, it became clear very quickly that West Cumbria was never seriously in the running as a site for new nuclear under this process, or indeed under the previous government. The Conservatives let NuGen collapse in 2018, rejected our bid for the STEP Fusion programme, actively blocked private nuclear development in 2023 – as the Moorside Letters you can find on my website reveal – and then purchased sites at Oldbury and Wylfa, which demonstrated a clear preference for those two locations.

We also have the future plutonium disposition programme which is an opportunity for lots of future work and investment but this would require the full Moorside site (over 600 acres) to be multipurpose.  Therefore, I’m pushing for a large chunk of land at Moorside to be released for nuclear development. With government and local partners supporting this, we could move much more quickly than any government backed process.

I’m pleased to say that at a local level we are united in our goal to bring new nuclear to West Cumbria and we are making headway with government to achieve this. I hope to have more to say on that soon.

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 door of the NHS’ and would be ‘music to the ears of patients in Workington who are too often stuck in the 8am scramble for a GP appointment’.

Backed by the Labour government’s major cash injection of over £102 million, over 1000 GP surgeries will receive vital funding to create additional space to see more patients, boost productivity and improve patient care, following years of neglect. Solway Health Centre in Workington is included in the programme.

Right now, many GP surgeries could be seeing more patients, but don’t have enough room or the right facilities to accommodate them. From creating new consultation and treatment rooms to making better use of existing space, these quick fixes will help patients be seen faster.

Solway Health Centre plan to open two new clinical rooms for use by patients across Workington, giving them capacity for an additional 3,000 patient appointments each year.

This represents the biggest investment in GP facilities in five years and is only possible because of the difficult but necessary choices made by the government in the Budget to invest £26 billion into the NHS. And it is another measure helping the Labour government shift care out of hospital and into the community.

Josh said:

“Residents in Workington tell me their frustration after enduring the dreaded ‘8am scramble’ and the difficulty that they have in getting a GP appointment. I promised Labour would help bring back the family doctor – with 1,700 new GPs recruited already, I’m delighted that our Labour Government is starting to deliver on that promise.

“But that was just the start. We said we would fix the front door of the NHS – today we’re fixing the front, the sides, the back and all the rooms in between with the biggest investment GP facilities have seen for years. A Labour government delivering on our promises for West Cumbria.”

Charlotte Walton, Managing Director of North Cumbria Primary Care Alliance, said:

“We’re delighted that Solway Health Centre has been selected as part of the Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund. This vital investment will enable the creation of two additional clinical rooms and create capacity for over 3,000 more appointments each year. It marks an important step in enhancing access to high-quality care for our community and supporting the long-term resilience of general practice.”

Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, said:

“It will be a long road, but this government is putting in the work to fix our NHS and make it fit for the future.

“These are simple fixes for our GP surgeries but for too long they were left to ruin, allowing waiting lists to build and stopping doctors treating more patients.

“It is only because of the necessary decisions we took in the Budget that we are able to invest in GP surgeries, start tackling the 8am scramble and deliver better services for patients. The extra investment and reform this government is making, as part of its Plan for Change, will transform our NHS so it can once again be there for you when you need it.”

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.

The UDAC opened following months of campaigning by local MP Josh MacAlister for improvements to NHS dental access in West Cumbria. In recent months Josh has met with the North East and North Cumbria NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB), health ministers and raised the matter in Parliament to lobby for further investment in NHS dentistry in West Cumbria. It forms part of the new government’s commitment to create 700,000 new urgent NHS dental appointments this year.

The UDAC is gradually building its service capacity, experience and new ways of operating. When fully operational this summer, the UDAC will provide 140 urgent dental care appointments per week (7,280 per year) for people in West Cumbria.

In addition to the new UDAC, the ICB has commissioned a further 1,464 urgent NHS dental appointments from existing NHS practices in north and west Cumbria up to the end of September this year. An additional 451 minor oral surgeries have also been funded this year for NHS patients in north and west Cumbria.

Josh said:

“I made a commitment before the General Election to improve access to NHS dentistry in West Cumbria and this is me and the government delivering on that promise thanks to the decisions made in last year’s Budget.

“For too long local people have been left to suffer agonising tooth pain with little or no access to NHS treatment as fewer and fewer dentists took on NHS patients and urgent and emergency care struggled to cope. This investment begins to right that wrong.

“Now, working in partnership with our Integrated Care Board, who have been really responsive to local needs, west Cumbrians will be able to access this brand new provision, in addition to more appointments at existing practices.

“We’ve still got a lot of work to do to rebuild NHS dentistry after the previous government let it go to ruin, but this is a really good first step for those in greatest need.”

The Whitehaven UDAC operates Monday to Friday between the hours of 9am and 5pm and is accessible via the North Cumbria Dental Direct Helpdesk on 01228

603900. Anyone who has an urgent dental need outside of these times should

contact NHS111.

You wait years for a good trade deal and then three come along at once!

In the last three weeks the Government has announced the frameworks for three really significant trade and economic agreements with the United States, India and the EU; the world’s biggest economy, the world’s fastest growing economy and the world’s largest trading block (and our biggest trading partner).

These deals will pump billions into our economy every year, protect and create tens of thousands of jobs in sectors like steel making and cars, provide exciting new opportunities for British businesses, especially our farmers, and lower prices for us here in west Cumbria.

I want to focus on the EU deal but I do want to highlight the boost to our cattle farmers from the US deal. The NFU have long fought for access to the US market for British beef and we’ve secured ring-fenced access for 13,000 metric tonnes. Any US beef coming into the UK will have to meet our high welfare and quality standards. No cheap, hormone-treated beef will be hitting British supermarket shelves. I’ll be working with local farmers to ensure they can take advantage of this opportunity.

Our UK-EU agreement is the biggest prize. The largest and most substantial deal ever negotiated post-Brexit. However you voted in the referendum nine years ago, almost no one thinks the deal Boris Johnson negotiated was a good one and we’ve been dealing with the consequences ever since; stagnant growth, higher costs for British businesses and higher prices at the shops.

Our manifesto promised a better deal with the EU without rejoining the single market or customs union or returning to free movement. Our deal fulfils that promise. It provides a huge boost for Cumbrian farmers, who have seen lamb exports to the EU reduce by 14% over the last five years in large part due to increased checks and paperwork – we’re ending that. Our agreement also means we’ll be able to export processed meats again. The famous Cumberland sausage can be sold in Europe once more! The NFU is clear: “this deal will deliver many benefits for agri-food exports to the EU”.

Slashing bureaucracy will lower food prices, putting money back in the pockets of west Cumbrians, which is why it has the backing of Asda, Lidl and other supermarkets. The CEO of Morrisons says the deal “promises to ease a source of pressure on food prices”.

The Conservatives and Reform opposed the deal before they even knew what was in it. What’s their alternative? Deals negotiated by the Tories shafted our farmers and Nigel Farage defended allowing chlorinated chicken into the UK. Not on my watch. They need to explain to farmers, businesses and shoppers why they should pay the price for their weird ideological obsession. 

This Labour Government was elected on a mandate to make Brexit work. That is exactly what this deal does.

Cancer patients attending West Cumberland Hospital with other issues will no longer have to sit and wait in A&E after the trust implemented a new care pathway following representations from local MP Josh MacAlister.

Josh wrote to hospital trust CEO Lyn Simpson after a constituent contacted him about his wife’s experience. His wife, who is battling cancer, was sent to A&E by her GP due to difficulties with her breathing. She had to wait for several hours surrounded by other ill people, putting her at risk due to her immunocompromised status.

The trust investigated and have now developed a new care pathway for cancer patients attending hospital for emergency care. Cancer patients will now be directed to the Same Day Emergency Care unit and managed by the acute oncology team, instead of waiting in A&E. Those who are critically ill will still need to attend A&E.

Josh said:

“I am extremely grateful to the trust for responding so quickly and positively to this request, which was generated by a piece of casework that came into my office.

“I hope that it will make things just that little bit easier for west Cumbrians living with cancer when they need to attend the hospital.

“This is just one example of the dozens of cases received by my office every week which my team and I do our best to help with in any way we can. If there’s something we might be able to help you with, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.”

You can contact the office of Josh MacAlister by filling in the form at joshmacalister.uk/contact or by calling 01946 458023.

I had lots of conversations with people about immigration last week. From speaking to constituents at a street surgery, to meeting a group of West Africans who have come here to work in the NHS, to friends and family. For all the noise and emotion in the debate, I think most people agree we should have manageable net migration levels (well below the high of 900,000 net migration under the last government), control of our borders, investment in skills and training for British workers, while taking urgent steps to tackle small boat crossings. These are the principles underscoring the government’s new immigration plans and they are principles I share.

For too long, this debate has been dominated by Conservative and Reform politicians who make wild claims and promise unworkable policies they then can’t deliver which further erode public trust in the ability of governments to fix our immigration and asylum system. 

Remember the promise that Brexit meant we could control our borders and reduce net migration? The Conservatives completely lost control and the numbers shot up to their highest levels post-Brexit. Billions of pounds are now being spent as a consequence on temporary accommodation for asylum seekers who should have had their claims processed already and either been returned or allowed to settle, get jobs and pay back into the system.

On legal migration, the Conservatives ran an experiment in open borders. They allowed employers to bring in huge numbers of cheaper workers and slash investment in skills and training here in the UK, where we have millions of people not working or learning. We have many doctors and nurses in West Cumbria from West Africa who are doing a brilliant job and they are welcome here. But how can it be right that at the same time nursing courses are closing in the UK? Less talked about is the fact that we’re also taking skilled professionals away from countries that need them very badly. 

Reform promise no better. They have no plan to stop illegal immigration and their policy to reduce net immigration to zero means we wouldn’t be able to recruit controlled numbers of skilled workers who want to come and contribute to the UK.

This Labour government is getting on with the hard graft of policies which will actually work. Reducing visa numbers gradually in sectors like care and construction as we invest in skills here in Britain to get more British people into these jobs. Higher expectations on people to learn English. Speeding up the processing of asylum claims so we can end the use of hotels, return more people and allow those with a legitimate claim to settle here and integrate. And signing more agreements with third countries and forming closer partnerships on policing and criminal justice to smash the gangs at source and reduce small boat crossings.

An event celebrating Mirehouse was hailed as a “great success” by Whitehaven and Workington MP Josh MacAlister.

The event brought together local agencies and services to provide information and advice to residents on Mirehouse. Lots of activities were also on offer for people to get involved in.

The event at St. Benedict’s RUFC, hosted by Josh MacAlister MP, was attended by over 100 residents throughout the day. David Allen, Cumbria’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner and Cumberland Council’s deputy leader, Cllr Emma Williamson, also got involved. Cumberland Council, Cumbria Police, Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service, Home Group, Active Cumbria, Hope Haven and Mirehouse Pharmacy all participated.

Josh said:

“I held a street surgery on Mirehouse and a walkabout with the council and the police and the feedback was that people didn’t feel listened to or that enough attention was paid to their community. I wanted to address that, so I got local organisations together and put on this day to engage with residents.

“I think it was a great success, with loads of people coming along and having a good time, but also being able to talk to the police and fire service, get housing advice from Home Group, discuss their health concerns with Hope Haven or Mirehouse Pharmacy, or find out about plans to invest in physical activity in the area through Active Cumbria.

“I want to thank all the agencies who attended, Cumberland Council’s street cleaning team for giving up a day off to collect bulky waste, and of course all of the residents.

“This wasn’t a one off, I’ll continue my work with Mirehouse residents to improve the area and I’ll be looking to do similar things in other communities across West Cumbria as part of my commitment to be an active and visible Member of Parliament.”

Improving health services across West Cumbria was one of the five pledges I made to local people before last year’s General Election. It’s been one of my top priorities as your MP over the last ten months and I want to share the progress that we’re making locally and the government is making nationally.

I don’t need to remind anyone that our NHS was on its knees last summer when the new government took over. We made clear that fixing it would be a ten year project. But we also set several ‘first steps’ targets voters could measure us against.

I’m pleased to say that these first steps have already been delivered and exceeded. Two million more NHS appointments, waiting lists down every month, 1,500 more GPs, 700,000 more urgent NHS dental appointments and a big investment in GP practices. Promises made, promises kept.

What does this mean for us? The waiting list in north and west Cumbria is down by nearly 1,000, with more people getting treatment more quickly. We’ve gone from being 15 GPs short of our required number at the worst point under the Conservatives to only being five short now. That’s still five too few but ten more than we had! Several of our local GP practices secured government funding last week to improve and expand their surgeries so more patients can be seen. And nearly 1,500 more urgent NHS dental appointments are being delivered in north and west Cumbria this year.

We’re only getting started and we need to see much more improvement, that’s why I’m fighting for funding to deliver my plan to transform primary care services in Workington through a new Neighbourhood Health Centre. And I’m pushing to get a new Urgent Dental Access Centre in West Cumbria, which would deliver thousands more urgent NHS dental appointments.

We are only able to deliver this change because of the tough decisions made in last year’s Budget, which gave us the money to pump £26 billion extra into the health service. There is finite money available. You told me before the General Election that getting the economy back on track and lifting our NHS off its knees were your most important concerns and delivering those does involve trade offs. 

Not everyone is happy with the trade offs. I get that. But I ask you to consider the alternatives. The Conservatives took our NHS to the brink of collapse and had no plan to rescue it. And Reform UK have been absolutely clear that they want to end the tax-payer funded NHS and move to an insurance based model. Only Labour have a plan to fix our NHS. It is early days yet but we are making progress.

West Cumbria, like many parts of the country, faces a shortage of NHS dentists, with patients forced to wait until their issue is urgent before being able to access care. Even then, many are still having to wait for an urgent appointment at a limited number of practices. Whitehaven and Workington MP Josh MacAlister says he has part of the solution.

The government has funded an additional 1,500 urgent NHS appointments in north and west Cumbria this year at existing dental practices, including at Queen Street in Whitehaven, but challenges remain.

Josh is working with the NHS to address that, by pushing for the introduction of a new Urgent Dental Access Centre (UDAC) which, he says, could treat dozens of patients a day and thousands in a year.

UDACs have already been rolled out in some areas, including Carlisle, with positive results, but we don’t yet have one in West Cumbria. Josh has been lobbying the North East and North Cumbria NHS Integrated Care Board for improvements to NHS dental access in West Cumbria for many months and says this could be part of the solution.

Last week he raised the issue in Parliament with the Health Minister, who praised him as “a strong campaigner for his constituents”.

Josh said:

“I’ve spoken to colleagues who have Urgent Dental Access Centres in their constituencies and they make a real difference in cutting waiting times for urgent appointments, so we would no longer have a situation where hundreds of west Cumbrians are sat waiting in agony for treatment.

“I’m in a constructive dialogue with the ICB about this and I hope they’ll make a decision soon.

“This is, however, just a short term measure. Ultimately, we need to change the NHS dental contract and recruit many more dentists to take on NHS patients. The government is getting on with that work and I’ll continue to champion West Cumbria to ensure we feel the full benefit.”

We’ve had a couple of weeks celebrating national pride and patriotism, with St. George’s Day recently followed by the 80th anniversary of VE Day this week.

I was honoured to invite a local hero to Downing Street for a reception hosted by the Prime Minister on St. George’s Day. For me, it is a day for recognising and celebrating the people who make England such a great nation. I tried to pick wisely by asking Cleator Moor’s own ‘Marathon Man’, Gary McKee. Gary has done and continues to do so much for West Cumbria and charities like Macmillan and Hospice at Home West Cumbria. It was the least I could do to thank him for his efforts.

We’re in the middle of a week of VE Day celebrations. I’ve been bowled away by the huge number of events being put on in towns and villages across our area. From street parties to evenings of singing and dancing, to quiet memorials and beacon lighting ceremonies. In addition to attending events in Parliament this week it will be my great privilege to attend events in West Cumbria as your MP, representing Parliament and the Government. 

I’d like to put on record my thanks to all of the Royal British Legion branches, town and parish councils and other groups involved in organising these events. Your work ensures the memory of those who fought and died for our country lives on in the minds of future generations.

Millions sacrificed their lives for the freedom, rights and democracy we enjoy today. Those things, which I think far too many people now take for granted, are under threat from within and from external forces. We must protect them – for everyone – while also recognising that we are in a new era, and renewal is needed so that our same values can be applied in a world that is changing. 

I welcome the government’s commitment to political and constitutional reform. Too many people are locked out of or not engaging in the democratic process. We need a thriving democracy in which everyone feels like they have a stake if our democracy is to survive and faith is to be restored in politics and government. I am given so much hope about the future when I am lucky enough to hear from children when I visit schools in our area. Just last Friday, I was talking with a group of 13 year olds about what Britain will look like in 2030, what the biggest challenge facing the country is and what our area’s greatest opportunities are. 

The 80th anniversary of VE Day is a special moment to mark the enduring values we fought for, reflect on the freedoms that were secured through sacrifice, and to join together to think hard about the kind of country we want to keep building for the future.