A NEW Year means a new start, and like many of you I’ve been making resolutions for 2022.

Everyone’s top resolution should be to get vaccinated – whether it is your first, second or booster jab, it is essential that we take advantage of the amazing work of scientists to develop and deliver drugs that help us combat the effects of Covid-19, whether it is keeping the pressure off our NHS or helping to keep our economy thriving.

Ever since I was first elected, I have worked to improve our infrastructure – better trains, better services, better stations like the great Worcestershire Parkway station, and better roads.

We’ll hopefully see the Carrington Road bridge doubling work completed soon and I’m really heartened by the progress at the A38 Bluebell Farm roundabout.

Hand-in-hand with this must come much better fibre broadband connections for all homes and businesses and much better mobile phone signals in rural areas. I pledge to keep the pressure on for these important improvements.

I’m also very keen to see Worcestershire County Council embrace better green transport links – making it easier to walk or ride to our places of work or study and to support public transport that has less reliance on dirty, diesel engines.

Together we all need to look at what steps we can take to make our homes, businesses and public buildings like schools more energy efficient and reduce our reliance on plastics.

I’m hoping that 2022 finally sees work start on two major flood defence schemes – at Tenbury Wells and Severn Stoke – which are more important parts of the jigsaw to keep homes and businesses protected through times of bad weather.

As we work our way through the pandemic, I’ll make the case for economic growth, more, higher paid jobs, increasing wages and responsible management of our public debt.

As a member of the Treasury Select Committee I’ve been urging the Bank of England to ensure that inflation remains under control.

And with the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in the summer the Platinum Jubilee celebrations being planned, I hope for all of you, 2022 is a year to look forward to with hope.