The last few months have been memorable ones for our country. With the Diamond Jubilee closely followed by the Olympic and Paralympic Games, it has been an historic period of celebration and achievement. I attended a number of local street parties for the Diamond Jubilee and saw the huge amount of work that went into them. Well done to all involved.

 That same sense of community spirit carried through to the Olympics and Paralympics, where thousands of volunteers and spectators helped create such a fantastic atmosphere across the Games venues, including on our own doorstep at Eton Dorney. Thank you to everyone locally who volunteered and in doing so ensured we delivered such a fabulous experience for everyone at the Games.

 As your local MP, I am continuing to campaign on local issues. Despite improvements over recent years, there is still a need to enhance train services from Maidenhead and Twyford particularly for morning and evening commuters. I continue to raise local issues with First Great Western management. I have also made representations on the new rail franchise which is currently under consultation. It is crucial for us locally to maintain fast and semi fast services to and from London. This is even more important with the development of Crossrail.  I was very pleased that the Government and FGW have found the funding for additional carriages on some of the busiest services to help reduce overcrowding. I also welcome the Government’s commitment to electrifying the local branch lines.

 Another ongoing issue is local hospital services. I continue to work to protect services at St Marks Hospital in Maidenhead. NHS Berkshire are currently undertaking a major consultation process on the future of healthcare locally, and I am determined that vital services should not be removed from Maidenhead.  I also welcome Dr Philip Lee MP’s report on building a new hospital at Junction 8/9 of the M4. I first proposed this several years ago so I am already following this up to see what needs to be done to turn the idea into reality.