My week in Westminster started last week with a question on Foreign Affairs in the main chamber. I know that a number of my constituents served during the Falklands war and I remember seeing the boats leave the river Tamar.

Because of this I asked the Secretary of State to reiterate the resolve we showed then we still have today and he responded that, “the UK government remain steadfast in their resolve to ensure that the Falkland Islanders’ right of self-determination is upheld.”

Following this I attended an event highlighting the work of the Tri Service Safety Officers organised by my friend and colleague Steve Double the MP for St Austell & Newquay. Tri Service Safety Officers are police community support officers, on-call firemen, and NHS first responders all combined into one role. Working together with the local authority, TSSOs focus on prevention and early invention to target vulnerability and risk to improve quality of life and reduce frontline demand. I know that they are hugely welcome by the communities they serve and I would like to thank them for all the excellent work they do in South East Cornwall.

Following this I attended the House of Lords where my good friend Peter Booth was admitted to the House of Lords with the title The Lord Booth. Peter Booth lives in Cornwall and was the former Chairman of South East Cornwall Conservatives.

As the constituency chairman for both the 2015 and 2017 General Elections he played a pivotal role in my re-election and I am very grateful for this. Since leaving as my chairman Peter went on to chair the national Conservative Party Conference as well as many other roles. I know he will make an excellent addition to the House of Lords and it is good to see another person from Cornwall in the upper chamber.

On Thursday it was back in the chamber this time to lobby the Fisheries Minister for help for the vast majority of fishermen in my constituency who rely on catching pollack at the start of the year. I asked the if they would look at compensation for these boats or at least decommissioning help if they cannot catch this important stock.

Another meeting in Westminster last week was with the financial secretary to the treasury MP Nigel Huddleston to discuss the abolition of furnished holiday lettings tax regime. I know how a lot of residents have written to me with concerns about this legislation and I was able to brief the Minister on these.

Back in the constituency I spent my Saturday morning out with volunteers collecting signatures on a petition which I am running to stop the increase in the Tamar Tolls. I would like to thank the more than 3,500 who have already signed this. I plan to present this to Parliament on April 23 and it would be good to get as many as possible. You can sign the petition at www.tollspetition.co.uk

Sheryll Murray, Conservative MP for South East Cornwall