WITH its stunning coastline, rolling hills and breathtaking vistas, there are few corners of England that can match Furness for natural beauty. Whether it is the architectural grandeur of Furness Abbey or the natural splendour of the Duddon Valley, you can hardly turn a corner around here without stumbling upon another example of wonder in our patch of Cumbria.

But while Furness is rich in scenic potential, we have been poor at converting this potential into a thriving tourist economy and have historically punched below our weight compared to the rest of the country.

The most recent figures from Cumbria Tourism paint a stark picture. A staggering 42.9 million people visited Cumbria in 2015, but only 6.6 per cent of them nipped down the road to Furness.

The result is that of the £2.6m spent in Cumbria by tourists every year, only a tiny fraction makes its way to us. In fact, for every pound spent in Furness by tourists, 19 are spent elsewhere in Cumbria. This isn’t good enough, we need to up our game.

If we are going to do better then there are a number of things that need to happen.

First, we need more investment. There was good news this week that nearly half-a-million pounds has been allocated to Barrow as part of the government's Coastal Communities Fund. Among other things, this will help brilliant local organisation ArtGene to convert a derelict building at Sandy Gap into a new visitor centre and create ways to enhance other natural beauty spots for visitors and the local community.

This is the kind of ambition we need and it is a credit to everyone at the local Coastal Communities Team that the funding was secured.

Second, we need to improve awareness of what is on offer in our area. ArtGene’s Seldom Seen project details all the amazing sights and activities in Furness, many of which came as a shock even to people who have lived in Barrow all their lives.

If the locals don’t know about some attractions, then what hope is there in attracting people from further afield? We need to spread the word and make sure that people think beyond the national park when they think of visiting Cumbria.

Finally we need to improve connectivity. New direct flights from Manchester Airport to China open a real possibility of bringing more high-spending tourists to the area, but I was dismayed recently to discover that Cumbria does not even feature in Transport for the North’s map of possible connections from the airport.

Even if people did know about it, we all know that train connections into Furness in both directions are sporadic and unreliable, even if they are some of the most beautiful routes in the country. We need to push hard for our roads and railways to be prioritised in the Northern Powerhouse investment strategy. We can also do more with the new cycleway around Morecambe Bay which should be tempting day-trippers for a day of exercise and stunning views.

There is so much potential to build on and I am glad that Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership is putting together a growth plan for the visitor economy.

This needs to be a strategy for the whole county and I will be pushing to make the case for Furness to be at the forefront of a renewed push to bring people from across the world to visit our beaches, valleys and villages that make south Cumbria such a magical place to live.

Ballots are dropping this week for the election of the new general secretary of Unite, the country’s biggest trade union.

Unite has thousands of members in the shipyard and has been a vital part of the Keep Our Future Afloat Campaign that worked so hard to help secure the massive majority for renewing our deterrent last year. It's an important vote so I hope that all local members vote in the election and make sure the voices of workers in Barrow are heard.