Labour has fired the starting gun on a major set of plans to open up opportunities for young people, with announcements that will change lives right here in Blackpool.

No more drilling and disruption on the Fylde Coast. It’s over for good.

The Pride in Place programme is the biggest shift of power from Westminster to towns like ours in history. Layton and Grange Park are set to receive £20 million of long-term investment – guaranteed funding over the next decade. On top of that, Blackpool has been awarded £1.5 million in Impact Fund money for immediate improvements to shared spaces, high streets and the public realm.

For too long local government has been overlooked and underfunded. Decisions that should be made close to the people they affect have instead been handed down from Whitehall. Blackpool South, and Lancashire as a whole, has felt this deeply. This English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill begins to put that right.

Are you a teacher in Blackpool South? Would you like to be better equipped to teach your pupils about UK Parliament? Apply for an all expenses paid course in Westminster and find out how.

My magazine, Beyond the Prom, is dropping through doors across Blackpool South as I speak. Read it in full here!

New figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show what too many of us already know – Blackpool is carrying one of the heaviest mental health burdens in the country.

As your MP for Blackpool South, I’m proud to back the Hillsborough Law now. Because this isn’t just about what happened in Liverpool, or London – it’s about trust in the system we all rely on. It’s about saying never again will the State close ranks and betray the people it serves.

I’m excited to invite primary school-aged children across Blackpool South to take part in my 2025 Christmas Card Competition. This is a chance for children to showcase their creativity and community spirit, with the winning design appearing on my official Christmas card and sent across the constituency and Westminster this festive season.

This week in Parliament I raised the urgent need for taxi licensing reform for Blackpool. The current system is failing cabbies, passengers and our local economy.

The leader of the House of Commons has praised Blackpool Illuminations and encouraged people to visit the town’s iconic attraction this season.

Angela Rayner stepping down as Deputy Leader leaves Labour at a crossroads. She’s been a fighter for our party’s values and for working people. She showed the grit and honesty our movement relies on. Her departure gives us a moment for reflection – to think hard about who we are and who we stand for. That will be at the forefront of my mind today as hustings take place before MPs cast their vote for a new Deputy Leader tomorrow.

In recent weeks I’ve visited Harrowside House and Pennystone Court, two not-for-profit Blackpool care homes, to sit down with residents, answer their questions and listen to their stories. What I heard was simple but powerful – people want dignity, security and a strong sense of community as they get older.

When the rest of the country think of Blackpool, they picture the Promenade – the Tower, the piers, the bright lights and the bustle. But for us locals Blackpool is so much more. This summer I visited every corner of Blackpool South give it the attention it deserves.

I joined Lancashire's Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw and local police officers on the beat to see how officers are keeping the town centre safe this summer.

This government is shoring up the Holiday Activity and Food provision’s future by backing the programme with over £600 million for the next three years. Under the new Best Start brand, these clubs will be part of something bigger. We're joining up support so families in Blackpool get what they need.

This week we are seeing the largest expansion of childcare in this country’s history, thanks to this Labour government. From this term we’re on track for over half a million families to get access to 30 hours of government-funded childcare per week. That’s a promise made and a promise delivered by this government.

Over the coming weeks, keep an eye out for Beyond the Prom dropping through your letterbox. Inside, you’ll find the full picture of my first year as your MP, the work we’ve done together and what’s next for our town.

I visited Johnson & Johnson’s fascinating and long-standing manufacturing site right here in Blackpool and discovered the life-changing and saving work that goes on there.