CREWE faces a critical time as the impact of Covid-19 has been hard felt on traders and businesses while work on major redevelopments are on hold. But Crewe and Nantwich MP Kieran Mullan hopes a £50 million pot of cash can help transform a town centre he believes should be less reliant on shops. In our question and answer session the MP outlined his vision as well as his work during the lockdown with his former employers, the NHS.

Crewe is faced with a number of big challenges which have been exacerbated by coronavirus. The town centre is in dire need of attention and big projects need to go ahead or restart. How important will be the Royal Arcade development be going forward and what time scale do you think people can expect? What about the Market Hall restoration and redevelopment work?

Before I was elected I campaigned hard for Crewe to be one of the Towns to receive a Towns Fund grant. I brought the Minister in charge of the fund to Crewe to walk round the town centre with me and see for himself the challenges it faced.

That is why I am very pleased we got across the line. We can now have up to £25 million to help regenerate Crewe. I am already working with the team that has been put together to decide how to spend this money to make a difference. It is a great team with a mix of business, politics and strong local voices.

People should hear more about it in coming months. We are also in the running for another £25 million to help the high street specifically (The government's Future High Streets Fund - Crewe's bid has just got through its initial rounds).

For me I think we need to see a better mix of leisure and residential space in the town, less shops. People are shopping online more and more, so we need to adjust. We also need to tackle congestion and parking challenges.

We need to make it easier for people to visit the town centre and I am unashamedly supportive of people needing to use their cars a lot of the time. But it will also be good to make it easier to walk and cycle as well.

The bus station is a mess and it is unacceptable that it has got into that state so I am pushing Arriva and Cheshire East to agree a short term plan for that. I know the Market Hall work is going well and that is going to be vital alongside the Royal Arcade redevelopment.

Of course, because of coronavirus decisions on the redevelopment are taking longer than expected. But whatever ultimately happens, with the extra funding we are getting and the team of people who really are determined to improve things for Crewe residents, we are going to make an impact. Crewe Town centre is going to look very different.

But one thing I learnt very early on is that people have heard this before. I know people want action not words, so all I will say is watch this space. We are going to make a difference and you are going to see it.

What support can you give to small businesses in the town centre?

I am glad that so many business got grants and were able to furlough their staff. I know it made a huge difference. I have done my best to visit local businesses and encourage others to do the same. I would encourage everyone to take advantage of the 50 per cent deal the government has come up with for people eating out in August from Monday to Wednesday.

I have also campaigned get Cheshire East to change its mind on bringing parking charges back so soon. Thousands of people have signed the petition I setup. Thanks to everyone that has. We need to make life easier not harder for our local businesses.

Will HS2 be the game-changer that many hope for or is it too far down the track for people to get really excited about?

I think with the Towns Fund money and HS2 we have a really exciting opportunity to cement in a really strong future for Crewe as a place to do business, live, work and raise a family. All the right ingredients are there and even with it's challenges Crewe is still considered a key town locally for businesses and jobs. HS2 is going to make Crewe an even stronger competitor and it is already attracting businesses to the area.

But when I speak to people they tell me we need to do more for the high street and make it even more welcoming for people in terms of things for families and young people to do.

I think the future could be really positive. We have seen business like the Lyceum thrive and we know the community is fantastic when we look at how it responded to things like the Beechmere fire. We just need that extra help to level up and capitalise on the great strengths we have.

Can you explain a bit about your back story and what you did before you were elected?

I'd say I come from a pretty ordinary family really. We weren't well off, but my parents worked incredibly hard from pretty humble beginnings and made sure I grew up with the same values they had. They taught me to work hard and do something that helps other people whenever you can.

I think it was inevitable that I would end up doing a job like being a doctor. My Mum was a nurse and my Dad a policeman so you could say public service is in my blood. I grew up hearing about what they did and it taught me that it is making a difference that means you can go home of an evening holding your head high.

Before being elected I worked on programmes that compare how hospitals perform across the NHS to try and find the best performers and learn from them. I did this as well as still working on the front line in A&E as a doctor. I thought it was important to always carry on looking after patients and never lose touch with the coalface. I saw in the policy work I did that it is too easy to lose sight of what is really going on when you stop seeing patients.

I have also served as a volunteer policeman. Nothing beats catching criminals in terms of feeling like you have made a direct difference to peoples lives. And in my personal time I love rugby and play for Crewe and Nantwich RUFC.

You returned to the NHS to continue your work as a doctor. What was it like at Leighton Hospital during the early phase of the pandemic? How did it affect the accident and emergency department? How many hours were you working? And how proud where you of the work done by your former colleagues?

I think the management and staff at Leighton did an incredible job of preparing for coronavirus and adjusting how they did things. The flexibility of staff to do what was needed was amazing and it was great to get to see it first hand. They worked hard to streamline across the whole hospital different patient services into different groups and to ask staff to work where they needed even if it wasn't their ordinary job. And staff just stepped up and did what was asked of them.

I had always intended to try and fit in some time on the front line once I had found my stride as an MP. When I decided to go back I was worried we would end up like Italy, totally overwhelmed. Thankfully we weren't.

But I still wanted to help if I could so for six weeks I combined my MP duties with looking after patients on the wards part-time. Staff were incredibly welcoming. It was good to be able to demonstrate that politicians can roll up their sleeves and help at times of need.

And if I have one message that I took away from this it is to say thank you! Staying home meant the NHS was not overwhelmed. Thank you for staying home and thank you for your messages for the NHS. Staff really noticed and cared.

What made you pursue a career in politics and made you think you'd make a good MP?

Early on in medical school I found I was more and more interested in trying to understand the causes and not just the symptoms of what brings so many patients to the doors of the NHS. Whether it be a mental health crisis, drink or drug addiction, loneliness.

But not just from a traditional public health perspective. I was left asking why do some people have these challenges and not others? How can we help people to lead happy healthy lives by themselves? I think family and social factors are really important. I wanted to really get at these root causes.