New Worthing West MP reveals top priorities for constituency
Labour’s Beccy Cooper has revealed her key priorities after being elected as MP for Worthing West.
Dr Cooper beat Father of the House, Sir Peter Bottomley, in the General Election.
Dr Cooper received 20,519 votes, a majority of 3,940. Turnout was 66 per cent. Sir Peter had served Worthing West since 1997 and was the longest-serving MP in the Commons, having first been elected in 1975.
An electoral boundary review last year saw Worthing West lose Rustington and gain Angmering and Findon, with the changes coming into effect for voters this election.
In an interview with the Worthing Herald on July 30 – nearly four weeks after being elected – the new MP said: “It's been great so far.
"It’s been a little bit of a rollercoaster the first few weeks but it’s great to come in as part of government.
"It’s great to see the manifesto we campaigned on going forward and all those bills coming through in the King's Speech – that's really heartening.”
Dr Cooper revealed her list of priorities to make West Worthing a better place for her constituents.
"I'm a doctor by trade so health is very much top of my list to make sure we are addressing health needs of our residents,” she said.
"This includes dental services and making sure GP access is maintained and supported.
“I will be focusing on inequality issues you get in coastal areas, like poverty. It's quite hidden in the South East but it's still there.
“Housing is very much an issue that is red hot in our area. I will be making sure we can provide the right housing for our changing demographic, whilst making sure we still keep our green spaces and preserve our environment.
"Health is top of my list but within that is all the things that make good health: housing, good jobs and access to good education. Things that people tell me are important to them.”
Dr Cooper was also asked about Chancellor Rachel Reeves' promise to get 'Britain building again' by imposing high targets and overhauling the planning system – something which has proven highly controversial in Sussex.
While residents have consistently called for more affordable homes for local people and developers have said rules like water neutrality are making it increasingly difficult to build – poor roads, a lack of facilities like schools and doctors' surgeries, and a need to protect the county's spectacular environment and its wildlife will ignite a huge debate about the future of the county.
"In terms of where we sit for Worthing West, our issue is land,” Dr Cooper said.
"We are between a national park and the English Channel – we are 95 per cent developed.
"Our options are very limited. We need to preserve the environment, mitigate flooding risk. Our physical and mental wellbeing is incredibly important.
“We need to balance the land we have left with the requirements we now have.
“I was previously leader of the council so I am working closely with the councils on this. Our council’s needs assessment suggests we are very much lacking in downsizing options for older people when they want to leave their larger houses.
“We are very much lacking in the first-time buyer market. People want to get on the housing ladder don't have the money for a four-bed detached or a bungalow.
"We have a problem with that. We have no social housing stock in Worthing. It's about looking at the land and housing stock we already have.
“How do we repurpose that to make sure our community is thriving? I've been having that conversation with ministers and they are sympathetic to that.
"It's about meeting housing targets in an intelligent way, giving the fact we are 95 per cent developed.”