COLUMN by Stroud MP Dr Simon Opher 

Last week was the first time that Labour have held their annual conference as the party of government for 15 years.

It was a packed few days.

The conference itself was very busy and brimming over with ideas and plans. I spent most of my time away from the main hall in a wide variety of meetings and workshops and I was really struck by the energy and enthusiasm of everyone there.

The reality is that there are so many good people in politics, working hard on local and community projects, putting in hours and hours of their own time for the benefit of others.

This year it felt that anything was possible.

I was invited onto seven group panels and, as Chair of the APPG (All Party Parliamentary Group), for health, I spoke a lot about the future of the NHS.

The Labour Government is pushing on three fronts in healthcare. Firstly, we need to move the focus from hospital to community. GPs and community staff (like district nurses) will get more support and we will base more services locally and closer to home.

Secondly, prevention. This means eating more healthily, not being overweight, not smoking and exercising more. It also means protecting mental health by reducing social isolation, engaging people (especially younger people), in music and culture, and reducing the stress of everyday life. This work is crucial.

The third thing is moving from analogue to digital. It’s an absolute disgrace that we don’t have one digital medical record system in this country, so we have to change that.

My other meetings reflected things that felt important for Stroud.

These included net zero and the transition to a green economy, Help for Heroes, Lockheed Martin (up to 200 new jobs locally), Cycling UK, a project to develop self-care in the community, the hospice movement, free school meals for all primary schools (augmenting breakfast at every school), the National Trust (talking about Woodchester Mansion), Music UK (trying to get musical teaching in every primary school), St Johns Ambulance, and others.

The best event, for me, though, was probably the last… swimming in the Liverpool docks in support of Surfers for Sewage and their campaign for cleaner water in our rivers and seas: cold but refreshing!