LAST week I had an absolutely fantastic time at the Royal Cornwall Show, meeting hundreds of farmers, businesses, organisations, and many other constituents.

It was also great to see so many of our brilliant Young Farmers there displaying their work throughout the show - and thank you to everyone who stopped me for a chat.

Farming was of course the major focus throughout the show for me, and alongside Alistair Carmichael MP (Chair of the EFRA committee), I met with lots of farmers to discuss the growing pressures they face from rising costs, global instability, changing weather patterns and uncertainty around future government policy.

With conflict in the Middle East disrupting supply chains and climate change creating new challenges, I heard from them how they’re operating in an increasingly uncertain world. I also hosted a dairy farming roundtable (also tying into my wider work as the Chair of the Dairy APPG) where producers spoke about the widening gap between production costs and prices.

The message I got from them was clear: farmers need long-term certainty, stronger food security policies and a government that actually backs British food production. I will now be taking many of these concerns directly to the Farming Minister in the coming weeks.

Protecting our coastline was another important issue this week, after serious concerns were raised about plans by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to remove payments for volunteer Coastguard Rescue Officers. These volunteers perform an absolutely essential role in keeping people safe along our coastline here in Cornwall, and are increasingly called upon to assist with wider emergency responses. I have already taken the issue to Parliament this week, after officially tabling a cross-party motion and writing directly to the MCA.

On environmental issues, I challenged Ministers over disgusting sewage pollution and the failure of South West Water to deliver infrastructure upgrades quickly enough. Following their admission of 18 pollution offences across Devon and Cornwall, including incidents affecting Bodmin and Harlyn, I renewed my calls for serious consequences and much, much faster investment. Residents here are rightly asking why improvements are being delayed, while pollution incidents continue. Our rivers, beaches and coastal waters simply cannot wait until 2030 or beyond for proper action.

Access to healthcare remains one of the biggest issues facing rural communities. This week I spoke on the BBC (among many other topics) about the difficulties my constituents face travelling to hospitals in Truro, Plymouth and Barnstaple due to poor transport links. So many of you have been forced to make long and costly journeys, often involving multiple bus changes. Our rural communities need much better transport links and proper Government investment so that access to healthcare is not determined by postcode.

It was also great to attend another veterans' coffee morning in Launceston last week, where we discussed housing support for veterans, the Armed Forces Covenant, and the need for stronger protections within Northern Ireland Troubles legislation. Among other visits, I also met with local businesses including Black Cat Bookshop, and Liberty Café, to discuss the pressures facing hospitality businesses and the case for reducing VAT to help support local high streets.