Simon Lightwood MP: 2025 will show that we are on track to deliver the change people voted for

Simon Lightwood MP writes: We were very clear that change will take time and that tough decisions needed to be made.

But look at what we have already achieved in just six months.

Within just a few weeks of taking office, we ended the junior doctors strikes. In our first Budget, we announced £25.7bn over the next two years for our NHS – the biggest non-Covid increase to NHS funding since 2010.

We’ve delivered a pay boost to over three million workers by raising the minimum wage and National Living Wage, protected motorists by freezing fuel duty next year and committed that there will be no return to austerity.

To protect our neighbourhoods, we have kickstarted the rollout of our neighbourhood police training programme and announced new Respect Orders to give police and councils more powers to crack down on anti-social behaviour.

After being trapped by the Tories’ decision not to prioritise the clean energies of the future, we have already secured a record-breaking 131 renewable energy projects – producing enough power for ten million homes. The government has also launched GB energy to produce clean, secure and homegrown power giving us the energy security we need.

Our children deserve the best start in life too. We’ve already set out funding for free Breakfast Clubs with primary schools beginning to see these benefits next spring and we have committed £1.4bn to rebuild the crumbling schools left to collapse by the Tories.

In 2025, we are certainly not going to slow down.

In Wakefield and Rothwell, we have two of the most polluted rivers in the country – the Calder and Aire.

The Water (Special Measures) Bill, currently going through parliament, will end the sewage scandal that saw over 5000 hours of sewage dumped into the rivers of Wakefield and Rothwell in 2023.

The Conservatives failed to invest in broken infrastructure and let consumer money be spent irresponsibly on bonuses and shareholder payouts.

That is why we this Labour government has taken urgent steps to ensure this never happens again.

In December, we introduced the long-awaited Bus Services Bill, to put an end to the post-code lottery of bus services and give passengers a bus system we can rely on.

Local areas will finally have the tools they need to take greater control over routes and timetables to create a system that works for local people.

This is alongside the English Devolution Bill to deliver the biggest transfer of power to our regions for a century, and end the inconsistent, patchwork approach by bring decision-making back to local people – where it belongs.

People are crying out for change, this government has already put us on track for change, 2025 is the next stop on the journey to delivering stability, security and the national renewal our communities need.