Political View: Going the extra mile for Prostate Cancer UK

For once, national politics is more fraught than local politics with the resignation of our Prime Minister. It has been felt in the air for many months, and it now seems the election of Andy Burnham as the new MP of Makerfield was the final straw, writes Conservative Group press officer John Howard.

I think most would agree that we have seen that podium way too many times now outside number ten. It’s disruptive to the markets and wobbles our standing in a world full of conflict. Furthermore, we are yet to know what priorities our new Prime Minister will have.

Does anyone feel better off after the last few years? I know our household doesn’t. We all have to hope that regardless of anyone’s politics the next Prime Minister can pull the right levers so the country feels better off in the pocket and can trigger growth which helps us all. We all now watch what happens next.

On a more positive note, my local pub The Moorhen hosted a spectacular weekend for Father’s Day, which included a 15-hour exercise bike challenge raising money for Prostate Cancer UK. I did the first hour's shift at 9AM (to ensure I could still attend my ward surgery!) and covered 20KM. I was happy with my effort towards a good cause that has recently been in the spotlight with Jeremy Clarkson announcing he was undergoing treatment for this.

He was one of the lucky ones as it was caught in time and he is making a recovery. The best weapon against cancer is time, and the quicker you flag unusual symptoms with your GP, the quicker you can get a diagnosis and treatment if needed. There are many helpful websites you can start with such as the NHS website which has a lot of pages on various symptoms. So, if anyone reading this column has something going on or unusual symptoms, please do get in contact with your GP.

We also had a family trip to Flag Fen for their Solstice event. To my knowledge, it’s the first time they’ve had a specific event around the Solstice and it was fantastic. The daytime was spent partaking in various family activities, including some story telling in the roundhouse, followed by an early evening ceremony which included Norse-inspired solstice traditions. It was an unexpectedly moving ceremony and was a great way to cap off the day.  My children absolutely loved it and are already talking about attending another such event. Credit to the team at Flag fen for organising and hosting a great event, and I hope there will be more such events to mark Solstice in the future.

Talking of events, it’s great to see another successful event organised by Peterborough Positive with the recent Peterborough Weekender. As I’ve said before, these big events bring out the city and we must support them. Best of luck to Peterborough Positive as they go to a ballot for another five-year term. We need forward-thinking partners who help deliver footfall for the city centre and not only must we support them politically, but the city needs to support them too. Talking of events, this Saturday will be Armed Forces Day in Cathedral Square. The event will be on 10am-5pm and is packed with things to see and do. Our groups focus on Cathedral Square means we will continue to push the administration to come up with the positive vision we need for Cathedral Square and the Guildhall. With the funding in place, the time is now and the civic events deserve it.