ROB BUTLER MP

Rob Butler, MP

The coronavirus crisis has made the past few months an extremely challenging time for many local people and I am grateful to each and every constituent who has followed the government’s guidance, no doubt saving countless lives. In recent weeks, we have made a lot of progress and, as we look forward to more opportunities to see family, friends and colleagues, we must continue to stay alert in order to control the virus.

It has been fantastic to see how Wendover residents have pulled together in the face of this crisis. The Wendover Good Neighbour Scheme has been particularly successful in supporting the most vulnerable. I was privileged to join volunteers recently at Wendover Youth Centre, sorting and packing food donations as part of “food bank week” which collected 683kg of food for the Chiltern Foodbank thanks to the generosity of local people. I also helped collect, scan and deliver grocery orders from Wendover Budgens alongside staff and volunteers; Budgens has also sourced food from local suppliers to help them with the loss of some of their own business, which has been a great way of local firms helping one another.

In fact, local businesses have shown great resilience and flexibility throughout this difficult period. A recent trip to Whitewaters Café, No 2 Pound Street, Rumsey's and The Bakers Shop not only left me needing to do some exercise to work off all the delicious food, but also demonstrated how well firms have adapted so they can continue to serve the community and provide jobs for their staff. I am very pleased that Wendover market has been able to reopen some stalls with safety measures in place and that soon, as further restrictions are lifted, even more Wendover businesses will be back up and running.

Whilst coronavirus continues to impact on people’s daily lives, I know that anger and frustration about the conduct of HS2 Ltd still weigh heavily on local people’s minds. I entirely share these concerns and continue to fight for better treatment of residents by HS2 Ltd. I have been pushing the HS2 Minister, Andrew Stephenson, hard on the government’s commitment to improving the conduct, transparency and accountability of HS2 Ltd. I have just sent him feedback from local people on their experiences of HS2’s land and property scheme, and will challenge every instance of HS2 Ltd letting my constituents down.