A Year of Action: Alicia Kearns Reflects on Her First Year as Rutland and Stamford MP

A Year of Action: Alicia Kearns Reflects on Her First Year as Rutland and Stamford MP

Rutland & Stamford MP Alicia Kearns is marking her first anniversary in office, reflecting on a busy and impactful year representing the constituency. Despite what she describes as a "difficult night" for her party in the election, Alicia expressed immense gratitude for the support she received and highlighted her commitment to "pay back your trust."

In a comprehensive overview of her initial 12 months, Alicia detailed a wide range of initiatives and achievements, underscoring her dedication to local issues and national policy.

Key Local Achievements

Alicia has been particularly active on local infrastructure and community projects:

• A1 Safety Upgrades: She successfully secured vital safety improvements for the A1, with works already completed and the closure of 13 central reservation crossings set to begin next week.

• Rutland's New Bus Service: Alicia played a pivotal role in securing £6.5 million from the Government, which funded Rutland's new bus service. The service has seen over 1,500 passengers in its first two months.

• Anglian Water Pipeline: Her intervention led to the resumption of Anglian Water's pipeline construction through Lincolnshire 18 months ahead of schedule.

• Saving Rutland's Ceremonial Status: Alicia launched and presented a petition with over 7,000 signatures to Parliament, campaigning to protect Rutland's ceremonial status.

• Community Hubs and Facilities: She helped secure government funding for the Houghton on the Hill pavilion and worked with Barrowden village to open their new community hub.

• Healthcare in Stamford: Alicia is actively working to secure a second GP practice for Stamford, with an update expected next month.

• Waste Collection: Through a petition, she successfully campaigned to save Rutland's fortnightly black bin collection.

• Casterton College Re-build: Alicia welcomed the news that the re-build of Casterton College will proceed.

• Dementia Campaign & Disability Forum: She relaunched Rutland’s Great Dementia Campaign to destigmatise dementia and improve diagnosis rates, and also held the first Rutland and Stamford Disability Forum.

• Improving Connectivity: Alicia is working to improve mobile phone and broadband services locally, hinting at "good news coming."

• Environmental Concerns: She has secured "significant action" from the Council and developers to resolve the "stink in Corby Glen."

• Support for Local Businesses and Farmers: Alicia has met with family-owned businesses and brought the Shadow Farming Minister to meet local farmers, advocating for their interests.

• Protecting Harborough Villages: She launched a petition with neighbouring MPs to prevent the takeover of the Harborough villages by Leicester’s Mayor.

• Winter Fuel Cuts & Flooding Preparedness: Alicia ran a campaign to help older residents sign up for pension credit and worked to support villages and towns in preparing for future flooding.

• Independent Shops: She supported local independent shops through her independent shop competition.

• Constituent Support: Alicia highlighted her team's success in resolving various constituent issues, including disputes with the DWP, DVLA/DVSA licensing, and issues with utility companies.

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Parliamentary Roles and National Impact

Beyond her constituency work, Alicia has also taken on significant roles in Parliament:

• Shadow Foreign Minister & Shadow Minister for Safeguarding and National Security: Since July last year, she has served in these important shadow ministerial roles.

• Safeguarding Achievements: As Shadow Minister for Safeguarding, Alicia successfully secured a ban on non-fatal strangulation in porn.

• International Advocacy: She continues to support Bosnia and Herzegovina as Chair of the Bosnia and Herzegovina APPG, and as Chair of the Arbitrary Detention APPG, she advocates for British Nationals unjustly detained abroad.

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Recognition and Challenges

Just before Christmas, Alicia was honored with the "Best Member of Parliament" award, a recognition of her dedicated efforts. However, she openly acknowledged the difficulties of the past year, including adjusting to being in opposition against a "super-majority" and facing "health challenges."

Despite these hurdles, Alicia affirmed that it "still brings me the most enormous joy to fight for residents and have the opportunity to do what I can to serve Rutland and Stamford and solve problems for our communities." She concluded by thanking her team and reiterating her commitment to assisting constituents.