I got into politics in the first place to make a difference in my community, and I want to be able to bring you good news - and there is good news. Despite the double whammy of Covid-19 followed by Putin's invasion of Ukraine driving up inflation, we have had three years of growth. We are seeing green shoots of recovery everywhere.
The constituency has never seen higher levels of investment, with £11.5m secured for Maryport through the Future High Street Fund and £23m to Workington through the Town Deal. We have more police in Cumbria than ever before in our history.
The Workington Gateway project has been approved by the Government's Levelling Up Fund, delivering a further £9.6m of funding to our area - and resolving a long-standing bottleneck.
But despite all that investment secured on my watch, I am worried. I am worried that Cumberland Council's serious lack of vision is undermining these efforts to revive this constituency's fortunes - that the limit of their leadership's ambition is to preside over a return to the managed decline of our towns and villages.
The only thing this council appears to want to level up is your council tax, not the quality of service they provide.
Weeds thrive on our pavements, while fully funded projects like the Wave Centre Pool are allowed to wither and die - the second pool that Labour decision-makers have removed from Maryport. Crater-sized potholes are becoming ever more common despite record Government funding to fix the problem.
Seagulls tear open uncollected bin bags, with the risk of rats and other vermin growing. If the solution to all this was complex, I would have some sympathy. But the answer is simple: all refuse workers in the former Allerdale district want is wage parity with their colleagues in the former Copeland and Carlisle areas.
I would like to be charitable and to put this down to teething problems. But this issue was avoidable. I warned Cumberland Council in good time and in good faith that this would happen unless action was taken. The council had a year as a Shadow Authority to iron out these disparities. They failed to heed that warning.
I take a pride in the cleanliness of all the communities I serve, which is why I launched my Grot Spot campaign. Unfortunately, my efforts and those of others are being submerged under rising tide of rubbish. This is a direct result of the bin chaos caused by Cumberland Council.
If Labour doesn't get the basics right, what does this mean for major projects?
We have already seen £5m worth of Government investment into Maryport put at risk; an administration that prefers to make decisions behind closed doors to avoid scrutiny.
Cumberland Council is in a very privileged position, with the ability to deliver meaningful and positive change.
I hope that the leadership comes to share my vision and aspiration, working with me to ensure this constituency realises its very great potential.
They must do more than play the proverbial fiddle while Rome burns. That starts with council leaders accepting my offer of a meeting to negotiate an end to the bin chaos.
