Since I have been elected in 2019, it has been a whirl of events that have been outside of the usual remit of introducing, scrutinising and changing legislation – the main job of an MP.
This week has been dominated by the leadership elections for the next Prime Minister and it is extremely important that we find the right one during this cost-of-living crisis. The Government is already helping vulnerable people - payments of £326 will have started arriving in their bank accounts this week, with a further payment in the autumn. Our economy is still growing faster than it was before the pandemic, but we must be careful about the short-term increase in inflation.
I am pleased with the amount of scrutiny that the candidates are getting. I am not campaigning for any individual because I need to be absolutely certain that we get the right person and I have been attending hustings and listening carefully. I have also had a number of emails supporting different candidates so thank you for those insights. We will have the final two by next week
It has also been extremely hot around Westminster. My office is west facing with no air-conditioning so it is like an oven from 2pm onwards. Even the air-conditioning in the Chamber has not been working properly which is why we need to refurbish the buildings as soon as possible.
I have been on a basement tour and to see the gas, electricity and water pipes all jumbled up next to each other. It does not fill one with confidence that we won’t have a catastrophic event like the 1834 fire when the first building burnt down. We voted to get a commission to start planning the refurbishment during the week. There needs to be no more delays to getting on with it. You can find out more about this project here
We also passed legislation on changing the Northern Ireland Protocol and it will now go to the House of Lords. We have left the EU but the situation in Northern Ireland is not acceptable and I hope that we can find a way through the impasse that all parties agree with.
We are not scrapping the Northern Ireland Protocol but the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement is our first priority and has maintained peace and stability for many years. Every treaty has the opportunity to be amended and this will deliver on the protocol’s objectives such as the Common Trade Area, Single Electricity Market and North-South co-operation.
It will also help fix the movement of goods, regulation, VAT and subsidy control by having a red and green system of which goods will enter the EU. There is an argument that this should have been sorted in the first place but at least we are doing something to correct it now.
I had a large number of meetings this week on a wide range of subjects from wine and beer duties and dairy producers to Help for Heroes and the British Council, to name a few, alongside meeting with leadership contenders.
A highlight was showing more constituents around Parliament on Monday morning. This is becoming a regular slot so please contact my office if you would like to come. It is a good opportunity to see the building and hear about what it is like to work there. I try to keep my diary free on Monday mornings so I can do the tours myself.
Lastly, I signed the Memorial Book for the victims of Srebrenica. The town had a big impact on me when I visited recently as did the museum there marking the atrocity which has been funded by the UK. It is so sad to see history repeating itself with the war in Ukraine although I hope that we do not see the large scale genocide that happened in Bosnia Herzegovina in any country ever again.
Have a great week and please keep cool in this heat, I will be finding a cool spot to work during the final week in Westminster before recess.
