AS Christmas draws to a close and the New Year starts, I hope that you had a merry Christmas. I also hope that you had a good rest and are ready for the New Year, I know I am.

As we hurtle towards the Brexit deadline of March 29 we need to be ready for every outcome. However, we also need to ensure that our economy thrives despite any Brexit risks. We need to ensure that there are more jobs for those who need them and that more money goes into the pockets of hard working people.

The record high employment rate is something that is increasingly taken for granted, but behind this statistic there are entrepreneurs and business owners creating these jobs. This is no mean feat and I want to pay tribute to the job creators in Eddisbury who underpin our economy.

However jobs are just one part of the picture. A good job is vital to prosperity, however you cannot deliver prosperity if the taxman takes a huge chunk of your income. That is why I was delighted to hear at the end of last year that 39,000 of my constituents have benefited from the cuts to income tax. I pressed the Chancellor in December to continue this policy and look at National Insurance cuts as a way to help the lowest paid.

New Years are famous for resolutions, so let mine be this. I want to spend this year keeping up the pressure on Government to help out those whose budgets are tight. We have made progress last year through measures like the energy price cap and the tax cuts I mentioned above. However, more can and must be done, especially to help those in rural communities where availability of services can compound the worries of a tight budget.

May I end by wishing you all a happy and prosperous new year. 2018 was a hugely busy year, but a rewarding one, I hope that 2019 will be even better for you and your families.