I am delighted that the Chancellor in his Spending Round has focused on supporting the nation’s priorities, with plans to ensure a fantastic education for every child, safer streets across the country, and better healthcare for those who need it.

Cheshire West and Chester Conservatives want to see all children in the borough get the opportunity to a better education, including helping special educational needs pupils get the vital support they need.

Further education is also important. Extra funding will help get young people into work that suits them, by providing the relevant subjects to study. However, university and college is not always the right direction for some, so it’s vital that extra cash is also made available for apprenticeships.

I am also pleased that the Chancellor announced millions more for the NHS in his review. Any extra help with funding to help our vulnerable older people in the borough lead a good quality of life is important and welcome.

As well as the cash boost to help our elderly, the Chancellor also announced more funding to help young people get on the housing ladder, which will be especially welcome across our rural areas, while I hope that some of the £200 million to transform bus services nationwide will be used to reinstate those services which have disappeared especially in the rural areas, helping to reconnect communities.

In all, I believe this announcement is bold and ambitious, but one that aims to build a brighter future for Britain – ensuring that we have a strong economy and one that can reap the benefits of Brexit after we leave the EU on October 31.

Cllr Margaret Parker Leader of the Conservative group on Cheshire West and Chester Council Open letter to Ester McVey AN open letter to MP Esther McVey: Much as I respect your deeply held views on the wisdom of a departure of the UK from the European Union, I wish to convey to you my alarm at the decision of the Prime Minister to ask Her Majesty the Queen to prorogue Parliament.

This drastic action I believe seriously compromises and undermines the upholding of Parliamentary sovereignty which lies at the foundations of our unwritten constitution. I believe it is your solemn duty to defend the same in the interests of the values and principles of representative democracy and failure to do so would be a dereliction of your duty to your constituents.

Paul Thomson, Cheshire Losing sight of democracy WHATEVER side of the Brexit debate readers may be on, people have lost sight of what parliamentary democracy means, which is perhaps not surprising in all the circumstances.

Parliament has not undermined democracy and ‘taken control’ – it was always in control but that point was obscured by the fact that a government with a majority controlled parliament. As the electorate has declined to give the Conservative government a majority in Parliament the government cannot exercise that control. The constitutional position is either being wilfully misrepresented or is not understood by not only many of the electorate but also I fear by a number of professional politicians.

Stephen Benson, Cheshire