The economic profile of Penrith and The Border is unique. It has very low unemployment (with many people holding down multiple jobs) and more self-employed people than almost any other constituency in Britain. Approximately 23 per cent of the population work from home, and 93 per cent work for businesses employing less than ten. A large proportion of my time is spent working with and understanding these small and medium-sized enterprises; understanding where government can do more to help, and where it needs to step back.
I am concerned about the way in which out-of-town supermarkets are affecting our traditional high streets, the difficulty many businesses are still having getting access to loans and funding, and what I see as the dangers of trying to artificially pump prime into industries and economies which simply do not exist in most parts of Cumbria.
Rory Stewart MP was delighted to visit BSW Timber’s Carlisle sawmill recently, to see the work of one of the constituency’s largest employers and to find out about its incredible rate of recent growth, praising the ‘huge potential for the timber industry in Cumbria, for Cumbrians.’ The local MP met with with Hamish Macleod, Director […]
Rory Stewart MP called in at the Lloyd Volvo showroom in Carlisle last week to show his support for the Beijing Biddies as they collected the vehicles which they will use for their Arctic Challenge. The group of five women will be driving from Carlisle to the Artic Circle in February to raise money for […]
Rory Stewart MP has congratulated Innovia Films on their new Bubble 8 Clarity™C line at their Wigton site, taking the opportunity of a visit there this weekend to also raise awareness of UKTI’s Export Week and highlighting the fantastic work that Innovia does in research and development, and exporting ground-breaking new technologies abroad. Rory was […]
Rory Stewart MP on Friday visited the Warwick Road Tesco Superstore in Carlisle – used by many thousands of residents of Penrith and The Border for their weekly groceries shop – to see first-hand the work of the store’s manager, Phil Pearson, and his team members Vicki Pearson and Penny-Jane Davidson, who are addressing important […]
Local MP Rory Stewart, who has worked closely with his parliamentary colleagues for years on assisting constituents who have suffered significant financial losses as Equitable Life policyholders, today welcomed the Chancellor’s acknowledgement of their long-standing fight for justice, in a mention in the Budget Statement delivered in Parliament. The Chancellor announced today a further package […]
To highlight the inaugural Rural Business Awards, and in tribute to the huge variety of innovative and exciting rural businesses operating in Cumbria, Rory Stewart MP has visited a number of tourism-related business based in the heart of Penrith, at Station House. He met with John Wilson of Lake District Paddleboarding, Dan Richards of Lake […]
Rory Stewart paid a visit to the new 20m pound Wigton Innovia Security site on Friday to congratulate the company on a “fantastic result” for Wigton. The new factory, located next to the existing Innovia Films’ operation, will produce the polymer substrate for bank-notes for the Bank of England. The MP supported the company’s bid […]
Rory Stewart MP launched a scheme last week to support the renovation of Business premises in the most deprived parts of his constituency. The government scheme will give full tax exemption to people who are prepared to renovate disused business space, and bring it back into use. The tax breaks provide a major financial incentive […]
“I have no idea,’ said my father, ‘how Britain survives – when we don’t make anything anymore.” Producing food and manufacturing goods is relatively easy to understand. You can watch a farmer take a fellside, drain, lime, plough and plant, and create food from wasteland. You could watch him design a new plough, which could […]
At the beginning of July, EU Assisted Area status was extended to several areas of north Cumbria for the first time, bringing with it a number of incentives for economic regeneration. In order to improve awareness of these incentives, and focus on opportunities for their local application, Rory Stewart MP will be hosting a seminar […]