Vote Gordon Stewart on Thursday 6th May

On Thursday 6th May, we will all have the chance to vote for the County Councillors who will represent our local towns and villages here in Northumberland.

I have been asking local Conservative candidates across the constituency to set out why they are standing to be County Councillor. 

Gordon Stewart is standing for County Councillor for Prudhoe South.

I was delighted and honoured to be elected as the County Councillor for Prudhoe South in May 2017. Prudhoe is a large town that had clearly lacked a lot of TLC over the many years of Labour control. 

Prior to being elected, I took a lot of time and effort to hear the views of local residents and businesses, and I continue to do this through a variety of ways, such as surveys, street surgeries or more traditional meetings. I really enjoy meeting residents at coffee mornings or group meetings. I have always made myself available every single day of the year.

Times have been difficult over the last year. I am proud to have been part of a small team leading on the support being provided around the town and to have been backed up by so many fantastic volunteers. Due to its great community spirit, our town has coped very well through this challenging time, so thank you all.

Over the last four years, the transformation of Prudhoe has been noticeable to all- improvements within all our schools, the biggest ever investment in our roads in Prudhoe, and a lot more to come after decades of total neglect by Labour. Major investment into our outside areas, including playgrounds, has also proved to be invaluable during the pandemic.

I have worked closely with businesses throughout the town and been instrumental in bringing the much needed new retail park to Prudhoe. This will create many job opportunities and save local people time and effort in travelling out of town to shop, as well as reducing their mileage to protect the environment. The retail park will give everyone another option when doing their shopping, but we are all also well aware that there are so many other fine businesses elsewhere in the town and it is so important to support them.

Prudhoe has a bright future as we continue to build back better. It is a town that now has ambition, aspirations and opportunities for all who live there. Prudhoe it a great place to live, work, learn, visit and invest in.

That is why I am very proud of the work I have done over the last four years and why I continue to be very proud of Prudhoe.

Vote Conservative on 6th May. 

Nominate your Coronavirus Community Champion!

It's always brilliant to hear constituents tell me of their gratitude to a particular person, business or organisation that has gone the extra mile to help them through this difficult time. 

That is why I created my Coronavirus Community Champion Awards, to recognise people who have gone above and beyond to help others during this pandemic.

I want to hear from you about the people who have gone out of their way to make your life a little bit easier, by nominating them for a Coronavirus Community Champion Award.

If you would like to say thank you to an unsung hero of this pandemic, please nominate them for a Coronavirus Community Champion Award here- https://www.guyopperman.co.uk/campaigns/guy-opperman-mps-coronavirus-community-champions 

HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

The Duke of Edinburgh served our nation with distinction and unswerving loyalty, both as a distinguished Royal Navy officer through the Second World War and as a long serving Royal Consort to the Queen. We owe him a huge debt of gratitude for his life of dedication and service to our country and to the wider Commonwealth. 

My thoughts are with Her Majesty the Queen and the Royal Family as they mourn his loss at this sad time.

Give blood and save lives

I recently visited The Mart in Hexham to give blood. Blood stocks are low at the moment, and so it is more important than ever that people come forward to donate blood and save lives. 

Donors of all ages and backgrounds are needed to make sure that the right blood is available to the patients that need it. This means that nearly 400 new donors are needed each day to meet demand, with around 135,000 new donors needed each year to replace those who can no longer donate. It is especially important that more young people come forward to donate blood so that there are enough blood donors in the future.

Giving blood takes no time at all and in doing so you could save lives. Please do look into whether you can donate blood and find your nearest centre here- https://www.blood.co.uk 

Welcome funding for Tynedale and Ponteland's culture sector

More than £390 million of funding has been allocated to over 2700 arts, culture and heritage organisations in England as part of the second round of the Culture Recovery Fund. The funding has been allocated to organisations to help the culture and heritage sector reopen and recover as they welcome back visitors and return to normal in the months ahead.

Among the organisations to have been awarded funding from the Culture Recovery Fund are twelve in Tynedale and Ponteland. These include the Queen's Hall Arts, Vindolanda Trust, the Kielder Observatory Astronomical Society and the Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Hexham Abbey.

The past year has been incredibly difficult for the culture and heritage sector, and this announcement of funding to support the reopening of organisations in our local area is brilliant news. Congratulations to all of the recipients in the Hexham constituency.