GEOFFREY CLIFTON-BROWN
MP FOR THE COTSWOLDS

CHRISTMAS is a wonderful time of year.

It provides us with the opportunity to spend time with our friends and family and remember the important things in life.

However it is also a time when we should remember that not everyone is as fortunate as ourselves.

Not just in this country but around the world.

In particular my thoughts this year are with the people who have been displaced as a result of the Syrian conflict.

Millions of Syrians have been forced to flee their homes and sadly I suspect many more will have to do the same for some time to come.

Early in the New Year I will be visiting a Syrian Refugee camp in Turkey with a number of fellow Conservative MPs for a social action project to help those people who have been displaced as a result of the war. It has been a very busy year. We in the Cotswolds have much to be thankful for.

The numbers of jobs and apprenticeships have been increasing and we can be very proud of the performance of our schools. I was very pleased to award Katie Meddins-Fawden, aged 10, from Mickleton Primary School, as the winner of my Christmas card competition this year. We can all be thankful that we are not experiencing the levels of flooding that we did this time last year.

Throughout the year I have been working hard to ensure that flooding issues in the Cotswolds are taken up by the relevant agencies and in many, but by no means all, action has been taken to ensure that the area is much better prepared for flooding in the future.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.