'We drew a line in the sand and stopped decline'

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Plymouth Moor View MP Johnny Mercer on why the city has a brighter future under the Conservatives

THERE has been a lot of talk recently from the Labour Party about what they would do for Plymouth and, frankly, they are once again selling Britain's Ocean city short.

Since we have had a Conservative MP for Plymouth Moor View, our ambition for the area has been boundless. Don't just take our word for it, look at what we have done. We pledged to expand Devonport Dockyard for the first time in a generation.

Labour laughed at this and labelled it impossible, but we understood the importance of Devonport to Plymouth's identity and what a thriving dockyard would mean for the future of the city.

HMNB Devonport, the largest naval base in western Europe, is the jewel in Plymouth's crown. Occupying 650 acres, the dockyard hugs the west of Plymouth with 15

dry docks, four miles of waterfront, 25 tidal berths and five basins. Since 1691, it has formed the backdrop to the city's rich seafaring history.

Surviving the Plymouth Blitz and, in more recent history, an uncertain economic future and hungry land developers, it has proved incredibly resilient.