James Wharton MP

I was contacted by yet more residents who are unhappy with the state of their windows in social housing properties.  I have raised this issue with Tristar homes and they are keen to do all they can, it is just that the funding is not there to allow window replacements.  Stockton Council is looking to ballot tenants on a stock transfer, which would then free up the appointed housing association to finance improvements like these.  I only hope they hurry up and get on with it!

Last night I attended a meeting with the Stockton Conservatives’ campaign team to discuss how best to approach the coming European elections on June 4th.  Many people see these elections as something of an irrelevance and turnout is, sadly, always very low.  It is important we ensure our Conservative MEP Martin Callanan, who has done so much for this area and the region as a whole, is re elected for another term.  Martin is the only “Eurosceptic” MEP in the North East, with Labour and the Liberal Democrats believing ever greater integration with the EU is the best way to further our national interest.  I do hope local residents will support Martin and our Conservative team later this year and I am looking forward to doing my bit in ensuring the best possible result on polling day.

As budget day approaches I have spoken to a number of residents about their hopes (and fears) for what is around the corner. It is clear that the government have, essentially, run out of money and a time of reckoning has come. The Chancellor needs to be realistic and plan for the future, not simply borrowing ever more today which will need to be repaid tomorrow. In particular I hope that the government will reverse the retrospective ports tax introduced only recently. The change in the way business rates are collected at ports has put many companies at risk and I visited Tees Port with Lord Bates to discuss this problem only a matter of weeks ago. Hopefully they will take this opportunity to reverse the changes, which have already proven so damaging.

This morning I met Greg Clark MP, Shadow Minister for the Tees Valley and Shadow Secretary of State for DECC, to discuss a variety of local issues.  High on the agenda was the SeaDragon fiasco, with the government refusing to come clean about why the contract, which would have created hundreds of much needed jobs, has been sent abroad.  We also discussed Durham Tees Valley Airport and some of the pressing local issues in Stockton South.