In his maiden address on Wednesday, March 3, Mr Cartlidge told his fellow members that he was confident his constituency would have a great future due to area’s diverse economy of tourism, major business and arable farming.
Now a month into his job Mr Cartlidge joked about the stunning ‘Lovejoy’ countryside, informing members of rumours about a possible return for the popular television series.
He said: “I recently heard on very good authority that a Mr Tony Jordan is putting together a new series of Lovejoy. My message to him is, ‘please do come and film again in our constituency. It’s a great boost to tourism, it gets the cash tills ringing.’
“And if he needs any extras, I am available — when the House is not sitting or with kind permission of the Whips Office.”
Mr Cartlidge spoke of the area’s fine artistic heritage with John Constable and Thomas Gainsborough and shared his support of the expansion plans for Thomas Gainsborough’s House museum and art gallery in Sudbury.
Mr Cartlidge said tourism was only part of the constituency’s success.
“The key to it is the diversity of our economy, which includes not only tourism to “Lovejoy” country and the rest of it, and acres and acres of arable agriculture, but seriously top-end manufacturers and exporters like Philips Avent [in Glemsford] and Celotex in Hadleigh,” he said.
Published by Suffolk Free Press.