Shropshire MPs' column: Read the latest from the county's representatives in Westminster
Read the latest column from the MP for Shrewsbury, Julia Buckley.
For many of us, we didn’t have to think about any of this when we were kids – because social media and the online world as we now know it simply didn’t exist.
But now here in 2026 we have a government consultation on the idea of restricting social media for under-16s – and a dilemma over how best to secure the wellbeing of our children.
All this has prompted me to launch a survey to gauge public opinion on this issue in my constituency.
As the mother of two teenagers, I believe strongly that something needs to be done to better protect young people. But there are many arguments and counter-arguments currently doing the rounds, especially since the Australian government took the decision in December to ban social media for young people, a move that’s prompted other countries, including ours, to consider following suit.
I’m keen to find out what my constituents feel about all this so I’m launching a survey and I’m hoping as many people as possible will get back to me with their views.
What do you think? To what extent should we restrict our children’s use of social media – if at all?
The arguments around this are essentially of course about protecting young people’s wellbeing.
Liz Kendall, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, has said that AI and technology clearly have the potential to create jobs and growth, diagnose and treat disease, transform our public services, and so much more. But she says that’s not the full story, and I agree. There is a downside to all this.
Just days ago we were all shocked to hear of abhorrent – and illegal – spreading of sexualised deepfake images of women and children without their consent. The Secretary of State wants to fast-track legislation to tackle this. Again, though, the story does not end there. Parents are struggling with just how much screen time their children should have. Parents are worried about what their youngsters are seeing online, and the impact it has.
Like many of my colleagues up and down the country, we want to engage with our constituents to get their views.
My survey on this issue is available at: https://survey.labour.org.uk/uyv2nhb0qwioa8mdmrazbaf7u
POTHOLES: For far too long Shropshire has been plagued by potholes in our roads. So the announcement of a massive increase in Government funding to fix Shropshire’s potholes and carry out other road repairs is marvellous news. Shropshire Council will receive up to £168 million in highways maintenance funding from the Government between 2026 and 2030.
This is a truly huge increase in funding and will make an enormous difference to the state of our roads in Shropshire.
