I’m writing this before Rishi Sunak has stood up in the House of Commons to deliver his Budget. What might it mean for Cheltenham?
Some context first of all: Cheltenham’s economy is far stronger than many dared hope just a year ago. Back then, a full one-third of the town’s working-age population was on furlough, and many were predicting a tidal wave of people left out of work. The Bank of England no less predicted 7.5% national unemployment. And yet here in Cheltenham it is under 3.5%. Instead of joblessness, the biggest local difficulty that’s raised with me is finding staff.
That’s good news, but I want the Chancellor to keep investing in our town. Since 2015, so much structural funding has come our way. We’re seeing £30m going into a new school in Leckhampton, £23m into the road improvements in the west of town to facilitate the Cyber Park vision, and over £36m is going into brand new facilities at Cheltenham General Hospital. That’s on top of £370m of emergency COVID support for our town.
I want the investment to continue because I make no apology for repeating a point I’ve made before: Cheltenham is home to pockets of intense deprivation, and we need to finish the job of turning that round. Human talent, ingenuity and potential is evenly distributed among Cheltenham’s young people, and it just needs the spark of opportunity to unleash it.
That spark can take the form of projects like Gloucestershire College’s Advanced Digital Academy in Hesters Way, funded by £3m of Government grant. For young people who are prepared to work hard, the bright lights of opportunity are now on their doorstep. Now we need to go further.
Thank you for all the kind messages about my positive test. I remain entirely symptom-free and continue to work from home to support my constituents.
[Column published in the Gloucestershire Echo]