Political opinion: Tom Rutland MP: A week in the constituency

I definitely got my step count in last week as I spent lots of time meeting residents at their doors alongside their local councillors.

I try to find time to speak to residents throughout the year – it’s a great way for me to meet new faces, introduce myself, and find out what concerns residents have. It means residents can raise casework issues with me and I can assist them without them having to get in touch.

With 40,000 doors to get round, it might be some time before I make it to your front door, but you can always get in touch by emailing [email protected].

I reunited with the Keep Lancing Lovely team of volunteers who do a fantastic job of doing just that, and it was great to see Beach Green looking so clean as we await the launch of the new cycle path currently under construction. I also met with Lancing’s Gardner and Scardifield to discuss a number of local and national issues.

This week also saw good news in the form of local NHS waiting lists, which have now fallen by 14% since the election in July – with over 14,000 people having come off waiting lists at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust. There’s more to do, but NHS waiting lists are finally heading in the right direction.

I hope you found some time to spend with family and friends over Easter – I enjoyed a couple of days of downtime with my family.