Happy St George’s Day!
It has been a busy week in the Commons with a lot happening, much of it involving defence and security policy. We had the Committee Stage of the Finance Bill. I spoke to urge Ministers to ensure people are encouraged to save for their retirement, and to make sure that, as the economic outlook improves, everyone feels the benefits.
MPs also considered amendments to the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill which had been added in the House of Lords. The Bill provides greater certainty for service personnel and veterans in relation to vexatious claims and the prosecution of historical events.
A separate Bill specifically relating to events in Northern Ireland will also be introduced, since it lies outside the scope of this Bill.
Later in the week, we had a statement from the Defence Secretary regarding the proper acknowledgement of the sacrifice of soldiers from countries which were British colonies or protectorates at the time of the First World War.
The predecessor to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) failed in its duty to give proper respect to many fallen soldiers from Africa, the Middle East and India after that war. This is a terrible injustice that must be put right and I am pleased the Government will now ensure the CWGC is able to correct it.
As some of you know, I was brought up in various countries as a child as my father was in the Army and then Foreign Office so foreign policy is a big area of interest. I asked a question about the peace process in Afghanistan, I am very concerned that we are leaving the country with the Taliban controlling 50% of the country. We all saw how people, especially women, were treated under its government and it would be very disappointing if Afghanistan was to go backwards once we have left.
You can see my question here.
Another failed state is Yemen – the place where I was born - and it is a lot more complicated than the Labour party portray the conflict. I tried to put this over in my speech which you can find here.
The only way forward is getting all parties in this civil war together and working on a future plan for how the country is going to be run. We can then end the devastating humanitarian crisis there.
The speech that had most traction in the media was the one I made in the debate on the impact of social media abuse on women in public life. Sadly, it is getting out of control. It can be seen here.
I came off Twitter as a public person about a year ago and it has saved me a lot of time worrying about what people were posting.
In Covid news, it was good to hear that our excess deaths are much lower than other countries and that covid deaths are falling dramatically. Our policy on vaccination has been very successful and I hope that it means we can start travelling again.
We are also trialling audiences at some events, such as the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield, and I hope that means that more theatres, cinemas, sporting events will be reopened quickly.
It is lovely to be seeing family and friends in gardens especially with the good weather.
I will be out litter picking on Saturday and campaigning with local candidates in Bishops Waltham during the day plus saying goodbye to Bishop Christopher, the outgoing Bishop of Portsmouth in the Cathedral in the afternoon.
Have a great weekend.
