I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas spending time with family and loved ones. As we head towards a new year, I'm grateful to Oakham Nub News for asking me to share a few reflections on the past year.  

2025 began with the impending prospect of having six weeks to save Rutland, as Local Government Re-Organisation of local authorities of fewer than 500,000 people put our status as a ceremonial county at risk.

The strength of our community never ceases to amaze me, and six weeks later over 7,000 of you had come together to sign one of the biggest wet-signature petitions Parliament has received in the 21st Century!

Alicia Kearns collecting petition signitures (Photo: Alicia Kearns)

Since then, I have been fighting to ensure residents have been given a democratic say on these once-in-a-generation changes. I was beyond disappointed the Government chose not to pass or adopt my recent amendment to protect Rutland's ceremonial county status, but rest assured I will not stop fighting until the Government delivers on its word to protect our status and identity.  

March saw the launch of Rutland's exciting new on-demand bus service thanks to a share of the £23.7 million in Levelling Up Funding I helped secure, meaning that every village in Rutland now benefits from buses for the first time! Most residents have access to free bus travel until March 2026, so do give it a try. 

On the theme of transport, 2025 saw the completion of A1 safety upgrades between South Witham and Little Ponton, while work has also finished on the closure of thirteen A1 central reservation crossings thanks to our campaign. 

However, there is still more work to be done, and in 2026 I will be focusing on the closure of more complex A1 central reservation crossings such as Great Ponton, in addition to continuing to call for increased traffic officer patrols on our stretch of the A1.  

Turning to hosting the first Rutland and Stamford Disability Forum, we had some really productive discussions about how to improve the accessibility and inclusion of services locally. Following the Forum I have been encouraging local bodies to tackle some of the issues raised so we can improve the experience of those living with a disability locally.  

With many of you welcoming family and friends into your homes for the Christmas period, it can be more frustrating than ever when our broadband and mobile phone signal is unreliable for everyone!

Over the past year I've been pleased to have secured broadband and mobile phone signal upgrades to over 40 areas locally, and in 2026 I will continue to lobby mobile network operators and broadband providers to tackle the 'notspots' in our communities.  

Alicia Kearns with Angela Rippon at Rutland's Great Dementia Conversation (Photo: Alicia Kearns)

October marked a year since we welcomed national treasure Angela Rippon and a panel of dementia experts to The Barnsdale for Rutland's Great Dementia Conversation. Over the past year we've been continuing to work to break down the stigma around dementia and improve early diagnosis and support for people living with dementia, and their loved ones. This was a busy month as I also hosted my annual Flooding Summits, bringing together Parish Councils, the Environment Agency and local Resilience Teams to help make our communities more flood resilient.  

Only last month we had the opening of the Stamford and Rutland Hospital's exciting new Day Treatment Unit. The team here will treat everything from hand and spinal surgeries to bladder cancer tumour removal and knee operations, thanks to funding from the Conservative Government. In addition to this, plans for our new National Centre of Medi-Tech Excellence are progressing thanks to our successful £23.7 million Levelling Up funding.  

Kearns' Oakham office (Photo: Grace Kennington)

Most recently I have been listening to your calls to increase the frequency of the train service between Leicester and Peterborough, and the need for an earlier service on a Sunday morning, both of which I will continue to explore options for. This followed the good news that free WiFi had been installed at Oakham Railway Station, and as we enter 2026 my work to secure a ticket machine for Oakham continues.  

Nationally, Labour's attack on our rural communities continues to make life especially challenging for our farmers. Looking back at 2025, I've done all I can to stand up for our rural communities, including co-laying an amendment to toughen sentencing for theft of high-value farming equipment, bringing the Shadow Farming Minister to meet local farmers, backing action to protect productive farmland from excessive solar development, and campaigning against the Government's cruel Family Farm Tax.  

Kearns' with Back British Farming sign (Photo: Alicia Kearns)

Last but not least, I have been working on a range of amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill to ensure better protections for women and girls. This included one to ban the depiction of non-fatal strangulation in porn, which I was relieved the Government finally committed to in November after months of my campaigning for it.

Looking ahead to the New Year, we will be kicking of 2026 in full swing with my inaugural Job and Careers Fair. If you're looking for a fresh start, this event is the perfect opportunity to explore the wide range of job options available on your doorstep. It's free, so just turn up on 23rd January, 10am to 2pm at the Stamford Arts Centre.  

I've crammed in as much as I can in for now, so from my family to yours, Happy New Year!