Great news today with the growth figures. As the reporter from Sky said ‘This is a genuinely good growth rate, the first “trend growth rate” we’ve seen in years’. Growth is up 0.6%, services 0.7%, production 0.8% but construction down by 0.9% because of the bad weather - concrete has not been setting in the rain and building is way behind. It is worth reminding people that since 2010, we have grown faster than France, Germany, Italy and Japan. Of course, there is more to do to ensure that this is long lasting. I hope interest rates will come down shortly to reflect the rapid fall in inflation so that we will all feel better off.
We had an interesting Wednesday with the defection of one of my colleagues. I was one of the first to spot her taking her seat and it was a big surprise to all of us as she is a member of the European Research Group (ERG), one of the right wing and Brexit groups. I know there are more than a few Labour backbenchers who are not happy and who can blame them! I have just been told that I will be moving to her office as I am presently on a floor in the Old Scotland Yard building surrounded by Labour MPs so I suspect it will be a swap. My office is like an oven in the summer so I am pleased to be moving to a far superior one. Thank you Natalie.
There are two weeks to catch up on. Last week was busy with meetings including continuing the Education Select Committee’s inquiry into social care which is proving to be very interesting. I am looking forward to the final report. We agreed the report on teacher recruitment, training and retention and another report on Financial Education this week which will be released at the end of next week. I hope that our recommendations will be agreed by the Government. On Wednesday, I met with the chair of OfQual to talk about the new proposed exams and how they monitor all the exam boards. There are a lot of young people in the middle of their exams now so I hope they do well. Other meetings included one on farming and the support from banks. I am hoping to have the farming minister down to the constituency soon because this will be a good opportunity to look at the financial side of farming too. I have been watching the latest season of Jeremy Clarkson which gives a good idea about the huge financial implications of being a farmer.
On Thursday last week, I held a meeting on improved broadband provision for the Bramdean, Kilmeston and Cheriton area. We are nearly there. I will be pleased when it is completed as it has taken far too long and a lot of time from all sides to achieve this. I will be shortly undertaking a survey of the area to see where there are still patches left to be connected to fast broadband.
On Friday morning I did one of those visits which was rather more indulgent. I went to the dedication of the new Cunard cruise liner, the Queen Anne, and we were given a tour. The last time I was on a cruise liner was when I was four and we sailed to my father’s job in Lagos. I suspect Queen Anne is a lot grander and I am sure that lots of people will enjoy their holiday on her. The captain is the only woman in charge of a liner in the company. I hope that she will inspire others to follow. The Bishop of Winchester did the dedication and the Lord Mayor of Southampton exchanged plaques with the captain.
I enjoyed the Bishop’s Waltham Garden Fete on Sunday, spent Monday planting all my purchases, and then it was back to Westminster on Tuesday where we passed more legislation on the Finance Bill. Some more good economic news this week on innovation investment which I thought might also cheer you up (data source is Dealroom):
UK startups raised $3.9 billion in Q1 of 2024.
🎖 The UK is the third most popular destination on the planet for start-up investment – behind only the much larger US and China but ahead of all other G20 nations.
📈 The UK remains far and away Europe’s #1 destination for venture capital, attracting 70% more investment than Germany and more than France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands received all put together!
💻 Sectors that investors were putting money into here include Quantum computing, semiconductors, energy, AI, life sciences and fintech.
We are becoming a world leader in these industries and need to ensure that our education system provides the skilled labour they need. I asked the Chancellor about personal tax cutting on Tuesday and I hope with the growth in the economy and inflation falling, that will be the case soon alongside the cut in National Insurance. I dropped into a meeting on electric bike batteries. As someone who has an electric bike, I have been very concerned over the number of fires caused by these batteries. People should only use ones that have been properly checked and do not buy cheap ones on the internet. They explode very quickly and it is thought that 11 deaths this year have been caused by batteries. I will be looking into this further and asking for legislation to prevent the further import of unregulated imported electric batteries.
Today I have had an online meeting with the Portsmouth hospital trust as well as visiting a SSE substation and held another Scams and Fraud forum which I know people found very useful last time.
Have a great weekend.
