Posted on January 9, 2012 by Phillip Lee

My central message for the Wokingham Borough residents of my constituency is that we have to be strong and work together to keep our area being a healthy and prosperous place. Children are our future so engaging local schools and young people is hugely important to me, and vital to the future prosperity and happiness of the Bracknell Constituency. For this reason I have spent much time in 2011 supporting local schools and interacting with their pupils. I have visited and made contact with businesses in the area and was working to set up a forum where representatives from large companies could meet with smaller traders to discuss local trading possibilities. I cannot emphasize enough that if we want to foster innovation and economic growth in this country we need to make sure that the conditions are in place for them to grow and not be hindered by unfair competition in the market. I am also a committed advocate of the work done by local charity and have supported many of our hard working and most deserving individuals. Believing passionately in the power of young people in politics and intergenerational fairness, I have organised many visits with students from Bracknell Constituency in Westminster to engage them in political discussions. As well as lobbying government, an MP’s job involves helping where possible to solve the many problems that afflict local people in dealing with the public services. Over the past year these have included everything from sorting out unpaid benefit and to helping set out disputes with local providers; to campaigning for the broadband roll-out in Parliament and I look forward to continuing my work for you all in the New Year.

Looking back at 2011, although I believe that it has been a successful year for the constituency, it has brought with it a sense of revolution on a national and international basis. It was a year in which ordinary people round the world rose up against their governments and ruling elites. We had the Arab Spring, the riots, a double-dipped recession and strikes across the country. Tough economic times, coupled with the financial cost of people living longer, means we have to face reality: we will be working for longer, for less. With an ageing population, public sector pension reform is inevitable and I believe that the 30th November strikes were inappropriate and irresponsible and hit hardest some of the most vulnerable people in society.  When a generation that had experienced nothing else than economic prosperity, home and job security turns into one which will not have any of this, we have to admit that after years of prosperity the party is over. We have to face reality – a period of boom had changed beyond recognition to one of bust. Although we have to accept this reality and we will have to prepare for difficult times in 2012, there are things that I am looking forward to. I dare to predict that Britain will become 4^th in the league tables at the Olympic Games next year and England will get to the semi-final of the European Championship.

Finally, I would like to wish every reader of the Wokingham Times a very Happy New Year and I look forward to continuing to work for you all over the coming period.

(Published in the Wokingham Times, December 2011)