Last week ended with some unsettling news about GKN as Leonardo consider taking the manufacture of Wildcat helicopter parts back in-house.

It’s a commercial decision and I am confident that many of those highly skilled engineering jobs will be kept in the area, and at the time of writing negotiations with unions are ongoing, but of course thoughts are with the employees and their families at this uncertain time.

I am organising a meeting for those affected this Friday.

I speak with Government Ministers on a regular basis about the helicopter industry in Yeovil and they are very supportive of it and want to keep it strong.

We must continue to take measures to increase our skilled engineering base and build on our rich engineering heritage in helicopters and beyond.

Unemployment in the area has halved since 2010 and through infrastructure investment and education we can upskill our workforce further and these will be big focusses of my work in Westminster in this Parliamentary session.

I raised skilled employment and GKN in the House of Commons on Monday and have secured a meeting with the relevant Ministers to discuss opportunities further.

The Minister rightly pointed to the 1160 apprenticeships starting in the constituency in the last year as an excellent achievement.

I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome Baroness Manzoor of Knightsbridge to the Conservative Party. Baroness Manzoor has left the Liberal Democrats over their undemocratic approach to Europe.