SOUTH-EAST Cornwall MP Sheryll Murray has been appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Minister of State for Culture and the Digital Economy Ed Vaizey.

The promotion to PPS within the Conservative Party is an unpaid role but will offer Mrs Murray experience of working in government.

A Parliamentary Private Secretary is selected from backbench MPs to be a minister's 'eyes and ears' in the House of Commons, said Mrs Murray.

'I am very honoured to be given this Government role but can assure constituents that this will not deflect me from what I consider to be my primary role in Parliament – which is to represent the views of the people of South East Cornwall,' she said.

Issues

Mrs Murray also joined a delegation of MPs who went to Downing Street to highlight Cornish issues.

The group invited Prime Minister David Cameron to visit Cornwall to see some of the issues people are facing in the county.

They stressed that the economy is key and that Cornwall must have a marketplace which allowed businesses to grow and thrive.'We must see improvements to our roads, in particular the A38, and investment in our rail system,' said Mrs Murray.

'We need to look at health and social care and see how the Government can help those in need.'