Apologies for no newsletter last week, I had covid. I am sure that those of you who have had it are not surprised when I talk about the debilitating tiredness which it causes.
I managed one event last Friday which I only did because it was a public event on water which I had advertised widely and tested negative for beforehand. I had to cancel the rest of the week including what was going to be a great weekend with friends and I have been struggling back in Westminster this week.
The whips kindly let me go back to my flat early on Monday – that meant 9pm! Do make sure you get plenty of rest if you get covid.
Onto more interesting news. It has been another turbulent week in politics and that has been a hallmark of Boris’ time at No 10. I hope that once we get a new Prime Minister, we can continue our agenda without any diversions but I suspect the media and public will not find it so entertaining.
By Wednesday, it was very clear that he had lost the confidence of many of his ministers and I told the Chief Whip that his premiership was no longer tenable. It is sad as he is a brilliant politician and has delivered on his promises, but I am afraid that we have been marched up and down the hill one too many times.
The "herd mentality" that the PM referred to in his resignation speech worked in his favour for much of the time, but the latest scandal and lack of clarity on his recollections was too much.
I was disappointed with his response to my PMQ which was a chance for him to highlight all the good stuff the government has done on levelling up and town centres, but I also wanted to try and get him to commit to more funding in the future as these funds are now closed and Waterlooville is becoming more derelict.
On a more positive note, there are new owners of Wellington Way and I have met them today. There are successes too, with some great independent traders elsewhere in the precinct and a busy market today.
We passed an important part of legislation this week on Northern Ireland which will mean that veterans of Northern Ireland will no longer fear the knock on the door for an investigation. It is now being looked at by the House of Lords.
Reconciliation is the only way forward and I am very pleased that the government has managed to push this through. I know that this is very difficult for people in Northern Ireland especially as they live next door to those who committed atrocities but reconciliation can work, Rwanda and South Africa being prime examples.
I was drawn in the ballot for questions to the Attorney General and used it to highlight a case of one constituent whose ex-partner deviously became pregnant without his consent. The police referred it to the Crown Prosecution Service but there is no law that prevents this so the Attorney General has promised to see how to amend the legislation.
In the afternoon, I spoke about simplifying alcohol tax to help our local wine, beer and cider producers. I think the government has got the message and I hope to get some good news on this shortly.
The media will be concentrating on the leadership contest over the next few weeks but I can assure you that the rest of us will carry on to get legislation through and I know the Prime Minister will use his last days in office to concentrate on this.
We do have a cost of living and energy crisis and we need to assure the Ukrainians that we stand firm behind them. I will be looking to make sure that any new Prime Minister focuses on ways of helping households manage the next few months.
As always, I look forward to hearing your views on this and anything else.
Have a great weekend.
