Blackpool North and Cleveleys MP Paul Maynard has welcomed the Prime Minister’s commitment to invest in education, opportunities and green energy following a speech to the Conservative Party Conference.

The Prime Minister’s address, given online due to the COVID pandemic, spelled out a vision for the UK’s recovery and included a pledge to build back better.

Mr Maynard said: “The Prime Minister has made clear we need to Build Back Better. The economic challenges we face in communities like Blackpool North and Cleveleys mean we can’t deploy the same solutions we may have done once upon a time – things are going to be very different.

“I know the changes additional investment in our schools and new opportunities in higher education, including a commitment to life-long learning, can bring. I realise too the importance to communities like our own of tackling law and order and, in particular, the county lines drugs gangs which exploit young people and draw them into lives of crime.

“The Prime Minister’s commitment to a green future is one I’m sure many constituents will welcome. Given the focus on offshore wind, I believe local communities have the potential to benefit from jobs growth, to support this expanding industry. Standing on the Promenade at Cleveleys and looking out to sea, it is only too clear how far we have come already in delivering clean wind energy and the potential for further growth.

“I will continue to keep up the pressure on the Government to deliver on its promises, to invest in our community and to ensure people living in Blackpool North and Cleveleys share in the new opportunities these policies will bring.”