As we come to the Christmas season, many of us will be taking stock of what has been achieved over the last twelve months as well as thinking about what the future holds in store for the coming year. 


For the Government, this year has been one of its most challenging to date. The fuel crisis and the blockades, the rail crashes, the breakdown of the rail network, the flooding, last winter's flu epidemic and the resulting crisis in the NHS all served to underscore the fact that much of the time it is events that dominate politics rather than politics which controls events.


As your local MP, my primary role has been to represent our community to the best of my abilities in the House of Commons and in my dealings with central government and the local authorities. But as an MP of the Government party, I also share responsibility for what the Government says and what the Government does.  That means taking the blame when the Government makes mistakes.  It also means making sure that the promises the Government has made to improve public services across the country are delivered here in Wimbledon as well.


For example, I know from my dealings with the Local Education Authority and from visiting primary schools, that class sizes are now at thirty or under in Merton as we promised would be the case in 1997.  The local magistrates have told me that the time between the arrest and sentencing of young offenders has come down below the target level, the employment service that youth unemployment in Merton has fallen by 50%. Waiting lists at both St George's and St Helier's have fallen by thousands.  We have had the longest sustained period of low interest rates and low inflation in 30 years.


This bird's eye view of a government delivering on its promises must be tempered, however, by the view of those of us who live on the ground. As a local resident, indeed as someone who was born and brought up in Wimbledon, I experience in my own life the day to day problems and frustrations that affect our community as a whole. I also know how long it takes for the results of government initiatives to make a real and perceptible difference to the quality of our lives.