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Vast, sparse and beautiful…
The BBC website describes my constituency as follows:
“Penrith and the Border is the largest constituency in England in terms of acreage. With an electorate of around 67,000, it is also one of the most sparsely populated… Completely encircling the seat of Carlisle and stretching from just short of Gretna Green in the north to the Yorkshire Dales in the south... Lakes, forests and fells combine to offer some of the country’s most beautiful scenery and tourism is a major industry.”
Geography
The main towns in Penrith and the Border are Penrith itself, Appleby, Brampton, Kirkby Stephen and Wigton. The constituency is served by three local authorities: Eden District Council, Carlisle City Council and Allerdale Borough Council.
For an interactive map of the constituency, including the ability to zoom in and select maps of specific towns and villages within the constituency, click on the following link for the Ordnance Survey ‘Election Maps’ service, enter ‘Penrith and the Border’ into the search area and press ‘Go’.
Industry
My constituency is predominantly rural and accordingly has an economy that is strongly based on agriculture (see below). However, our local economy is increasingly diverse and will undoubtedly benefit from the recent arrival of broadband across the constituency (click here for news about broadband in Penrith). In particular, the service economy is built around a strong local and regional tourism industry, fed by the wonderful scenery provided by the lakes, forests and fells, and the strong transport links between Scotland and the South. In total, 80% of Penrith and the Border’s non-agricultural employment comes from the service sector.
Contacts
Cumbria Chamber of Commerce and Industry, James Street, Carlisle, Cumbria CA2 5DA
Tel: 01228 534120 Fax: 01228 515602
Click here for Cumbria Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Click here for the website of Cumbria Tourist Board.
Agriculture
While farming remains a dominant industry in Penrith and the Border, it has had to put up with its fair share of hardships in recent years, most notably the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in 2001. The impact of the outbreak of foot-and-mouth in 2001 hit Penrith and the Border particularly hard. Local farmers and the tourist industry are unfortunately still suffering the repercussions from falling prices and restrictions in the aftermath of the disease. I find it scandalous that, despite having had 40% of all the foot-and-mouth cases in the whole of the country, we received only 18 per cent of the total compensation paid out by the Government. I have attempted to raise this point with the Government whenever I can, as well as challenging their incompetence in dealing so slowly with the fastest spreading animal disease there is which resulted in them killing everything in sight whether infected or not.
For the BBC’s archive of the foot-and-mouth outbreak, click here.
For David Maclean's March 30th article in the Cumberland News writing exclusively on rural deprivation and the Government's record on farming, click here.
For information on farming in the region, contact:
North West National Farmers’ Union (NFU), Agriculture House, 1 Moss Lane View, Skelmersdale, Lancashire, WN8 9TL
Tel: 01695 554 900 Fax: 01695 554 901
Other constituency issues
Of course, this brief profile provides but a small snapshot of Penrith and the Border. At any one time there are a range of concerns, problems and issues to take account of in the varied life of a Parliamentary constituency. For a list of the latest ‘hot issues’ in Penrith and the Border and links to article or press releases showing the action I am taking on these issues, click here. For a full list of all the issues I have been involved in over the past year or so, click here.
I am proud to have been the Member of Parliament for Penrith and the Border since July 1983, when I won a by-election caused by the elevation to the peerage of the Conservative MP and Minister, Willie Whitelaw. At the last general election, in 2001, the electorate of Penrith and the Border were good enough to reward my work for the constituency with a majority of 14,677, the second largest in the whole Conservative Party. This does not mean that I will rest up, however. I have hugely enjoyed working for the interests of my constituents since my election in 1983 and will continue to do my best to represent the people of Penrith and the Border as your voice in Westminster.
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