That phrase a ‘week is a long time in politics’ has never been more apt this week. It started with the dismantling of the Prime Minister’s mini budget and ended with her resignation.
In the middle we had a ‘whipped’ vote on fracking, where those of us (including me) were told that if we didn’t vote with the Government, we would lose the whip. The consequences of that are important because it then means we would not have a say on any party policies, including writing to Sir Graham Brady about the leadership, and not being able to influence ministers.
The Labour motion was about taking control of the order paper – ie the business of the day which is normally set by the Government so there was more to the motion than just fracking and made it easier for me to vote against. A straightforward motion on fracking would have been much better if they had wanted to cause real dissent on the Government side.
So where do we go from here? As you know, I supported Rishi over the summer leadership election, including hosting two events for him to meet members. I am still supporting him as we need someone who understands economics during this cost-of-living crisis.
I would like to see Rishi and Jeremy Hunt working in tandem to sort out our economy and give reassurance to both the markets and to each of us. Like many others, I have a large mortgage and the interest rate rise is eye-watering. I completely understand what constituents are feeling.
I met with Barclays Bank today in Waterlooville to talk about interest rates and help for businesses and customers.
I also had my cost-of-living morning at Wecock Farm today and alongside other organisations such as Citizens Advice, Portsmouth Water and British Gas. We were able to point people in the right direction. I am hoping to hold a similar event in Wickham soon.
Please let us know if you have any concerns as we do have good links with many organisations who might be able to help. I asked the Chancellor on Monday whether he would include incentives for businesses to invest in mitigation of putting up corporation tax.
This was one of the reasons that I supported Rishi as encouraging businesses to invest for the future is the only way to grow – we need certainty too.
On a more positive note, I had a visit from Padnell Junior School on Monday morning. It is always a delight to show young people around Westminster as well as any constituent. Please do contact my office if you would like a visit. I keep every Monday morning free for this. We can get two tickets a month for PMQs so we have a list of people but do join that list if that is what you would like to do. It means that we cannot go round the back of the Chambers though which is possible on a Monday.
I had a lot of meetings this week, including with Sport England about their support for facilities in Meon Valley.
I was pleased to be able to speak on teacher training on Wednesday. I am concerned that there are now too many ways of getting into teaching and most do not include the rigorous training that I believe is needed and used to be the case. I compared our training to that of Finland which usually comes at the top of education surveys. I was only given 4 minutes to speak – you can hear it here.
Yesterday I spent a day at RAF Halton to learn about the training of new recruits. This is part of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme where we spend 15 days a year with one of the Services. I have done this with the Royal Navy, Army and attended the Royal College of Defence Studies, so this is my last year. It is very important that Parliamentarians understand defence and how the Armed Forces work. I also spent an hour this week talking to Capita about a transition programme for those coming out of the Armed Forces and veterans.
I am out campaigning in Bishops Waltham tomorrow knocking on doors to hear people’s views so hope to meet some of you.
Have a good weekend.
