As I write this column, we are just 10 days from the much anticipated Brexit day but it’s looking increasingly unlikely that Parliament will not allow us to leave next Friday.

Like the majority of my constituents, I voted to leave the European Union, not as an MP as I had not been elected on 23rd June 2016, but as a proud and confident believer in our country.

It is therefore an immense disappointment to me personally and an ongoing frustration to the whole country, that our Brexit seems to be slipping away.

My view of how this has happened is that MPs voting in the House of Commons have perceived the Withdrawal Agreement as being a non-binary choice.

That is to say that MPs with different viewpoints consider that their own perfect version of leaving (or not leaving at all) – without a deal, the Malthouse Compromise, the Canada ++ model, the Norway model of staying in the Customs Union… the list goes on, are considered possible, if the Prime Minister’s Withdrawal Agreement is defeated.

After a period of deep consideration over the Christmas period, despite having my reservations about the Northern Ireland backstop I risk assessed the situation and considered the Withdrawal Agreement to be, at least, a means to an end. I therefore voted for the Withdrawal Agreement in January. I voted for it again in February and I voted to keep ‘no deal’ on the table, and most recently I voted against extending Article 50 as I believe that we should honour the promise to leave the EU on 29th March.

There has been much work behind the scenes to ensure that when we do leave the EU, our ways of working, learning and living will continue without interruption or disruption, as far as possible.

One of those preparations has been to secure our nuclear safeguards regime, so that fissile material can be discussed and moved to ensure the nuclear industry continues to thrive when we leave Euratom. In a community which is so dependent on fissile material, within our large employment sites at BAE Systems, LLWR and Sellafield and in the supply chain companies, this has been vital progress.

We have also been working to develop an alternative to the Common Agricultural Policy. As a farmer’s grand-daughter and having now visited many farms in my capacity as a rural MP, I know that it is so important that upland and lowland farmers have the certainly of a prosperous future. As I have said many times to the DEFRA team and the Environment Secretary of State, Michael Gove – there can be no other industry where such knowledge, experience and skills are passed on through the generations.

Farmers know their land best and should be trusted and rewarded for good land management, world class animal welfare standards and the highest quality food production.

I am aware that some farmers have ongoing problems with the Rural Payments Agency. Can I please encourage any farmer not receiving their payments or experiencing difficulties to get in touch with my office as we are eager to help and want to ensure that future systems do not burden already busy farmers with such onerous bureaucracy - I can only achieve this, with your help.