Government Ministers could have avoided controversy and the fight with their own MPs over their Welfare Bill.

If they’d viewed the government’s purpose as ‘investment’ in people rather than ‘welfare’ for dependents, they’d help more people, support them into employment and cut the cost to the Exchequer. Labour government policy - just like the Conservatives – seems to be based on bullying and threatening people rather than helping them into work. The policy will fail, impoverish and cause early death to those affected.

The government has this all wrong. Sometimes you must invest to save. Helping the sick and disabled is an investment challenge not one that can be successfully delivered through sanctions.

I wrote to the chief executive of South West Water (SWW) to urge her and its board to resign, following a damning report from regulator OFWAT that same day. The following day she announced her ‘retirement’. However, I’m pressing on with my demand that the whole board must go too. My letter was signed by other MPs, and they like me are determined to see wholesale changes.

OFWAT found the leadership of SWW failed to meet its legal obligations in respect of the sewage spills and hadn’t itself monitored what was happening. The public have been dismayed by the level of pollution in our coastal waters and rivers in recent years. The company has perpetually put profit and exec bonuses above responsibility to provide a public service. How can we have confidence in SWW until the whole company (Pennon) Board has stood down.

The greatest highlight of my job is visiting and meeting local schools. I was delighted to visit Heamoor School last week and to see for myself the progress made and to be energised by the creativity and enthusiasm of the children there.

Heamoor has managed to withstand the pressure to become part of an Academy, and has a strong reputation for supporting pupils with additional needs, autism, ADHD etc.

I'll be taking up concerns on behalf of local schools with the Education Minister regarding fair funding and support for the exceptional pressures faced by schools across Cornwall.

I welcome the government’s proposal to overhaul our corruptible election system. With voters turned away because they haven’t the correct ID, the increasing risk of voter fraud, the ability of expats who haven’t been to the UK for over a half century still able to influence the election outcome, foreign nationals who’ve permanently lived, worked and paid taxes here for half a century prevented from having a say, and a first-past-the-post system which perpetually gives absolute power to parties with minority (ie less than 50 per cent) votes. The system needs significant remodelling.

Extending votes to 16 and 17 year olds is a sensible measure which I hope will encourage better engagement of younger people, whose voice is too often missing from the policy process.