Ben Everitt MP for Milton Keynes North

Posted 12th February 2021

I absolutely love being your MP. It’s a genuine privilege to represent our villages, towns and the top half of the city. That said, in common with so many other people, there have been some tough days over the pandemic. But now there is now light at the end of the tunnel. The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is an incredible achievement and will put us in a position to get life back to normal as soon as possible. 

It was fantastic to have the Health Secretary visit Milton Keynes University Hospital which became one of the first places in the country to administer the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines. These are all huge milestones in our battle against the coronavirus and we will get through this together. 

Sadly, as I write this in January our hospital is under immense pressure with a significant rise in hospitalisations and the staff are working incredibly hard to keep everybody safe. So, for now we do have to continue to live under restrictions which means we must all stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives. 

Key Worker Testing

I’m delighted the Department of Health and Social Care is providing Milton Keynes Council with 22,000 lateral flow Covid-19 tests for key workers in MK. This is fantastic news in the fight against Covid. With around one in three infected people showing no symptoms we will be able to break the chain of transmission by finding positive cases amongst key workers more quickly. With the Milton Keynes South MP Iain Stewart, I’ve been calling on the Council to take advantage of mass testing since November, so I’m really pleased progress has been made as it can help us save lives.

Extra Funding For Local Police

Thames Valley Police, our local force, will receive a budget boost of £26.1 million to keep our communities and streets safe. This extra funding is really important news as we look to tackle some of the most important issues here in MK. I know the horrific impact knife crime has had on Milton Keynes and we must do everything possible to prevent further tragedies. 

It is extremely encouraging that Thames Valley Police have already recruited 260 new officers as part of the Government’s plans to put 20,000 new officers during this Parliament. Our police have been doing a wonderful job and it was an honour to highlight that in the House Of Commons when I spoke about the brilliant work they did with the week long Operation View, an anti-burglary operation which resulted in 88 arrests.

Christmas Card Competition

Although Christmas was not how we all hoped it would be this year, I was excited to launch my first ever Christmas Card Competition for school students across Milton Keynes. 

I’m happy to announce Evie, a student from Cheetah Class at Green Park School in Newport Pagnell, was the overall winner for creating a fantastic design. Her design featured on the front of my 2020 Christmas card which was sent to some very special people including the Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Her Majesty The Queen! There have been some tough days in politics recently, so it was genuinely lovely to present Evie with her winner’s certificate in a socially distanced award’s ceremony with her family and classmates.

Maya (Year 5) and Carina (Year 6), both from Orchard Academy in Springfield, were the worthy runners-up and their designs both also feature on the card. Thank you to everybody who entered the competition, there were some brilliant entries and it was so difficult for our panel to choose a winner.

Wonderful Community Spirit

I’d also like to highlight the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association who selflessly distributed free gifts and meals to elderly people across Milton Keynes on Christmas Day. What a truly wonderful way to support those who were spending the day on their own without their families. Milton Keynes has an incredible community spirit and the tough times of the last year has really shone a light on the fantastic volunteering work that goes on across the city.

Thank you for reading and remember stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.

CONTACT DETAILS: Tel: 01908 686830 | Email: ben.everitt.mp@parliament.uk | www.beneveritt.com | Facebook: beneverittmk 

CONSTITUENCY OFFICE: Suite 102, Milton Keynes Business Centre, Foxhunter Drive, Linford Wood, Milton Keynes MK14 6GD