Andrew Bingham MP

The first session of this Parliament ended last Tuesday in advance of the Queens speech this week. Normally there is a Queens speech every year but following the General election and the change to 5 year fixed Parliaments, there was not Queens speech in 2011. Also by moving the dates of future General Elections to a fixed date in May. It means that instead of the traditional autumn date for the speech it will now take place in May.

The House was 'prorogued' on Tuesday meaning it did not sit Wednesday and Thursday as normal. Whilst I was sorry I was not able to witness the prorogation, I was delighted to be in the constituency for the opening of the new Castleton Youth Hostel.

Losehill hall had been formerly run and operated by the Peak District National Park, but they decided to move out of the building and I was delighted when the Youth Hostel Association decided to take it on. The YHA have spent a large amount of money turning it into a superb facility that will attract groups of people from all over the country. This facility really helps put the High Peak on the map as Youth hostelling is still a popular activity for people of all ages. It will bring them into the Hope Valley to explore across the area. This in turn will provide a further boost for the wider economy as people will spend money in the various shops. I was delighted that the Minister for Children and Families, Tim Loughton MP, was able to come up from London to officially open the new Losehill Hall. I look forward to its success and regular visits in the future.

There was a lot of press talk following the local election results last week. Whilst there were no elections in the High Peak, (we have elections to Derbyshire County Council next year), I was disappointed in some of the results across the country. The Coalition Government are making some tough decisions, and Governments very often suffer a mid-term slump in the polls, so in many ways the results were in line with previous results suffered by Governments of all Parties. I understand that times are difficult, and people are concerned, but the Government remains focused on tackling the dreadful economic situation bequeathed it by the last Labour administration. This way the country can look forward to better times ahead. To ignore these problems for the sake of political popularity at this stage would be a dereliction of duty.