Voice from Westminster

NEIL COYLE MP

It has been nine months since this Government took Great Britain out of the EU, and many of the concerns predicted by the business community are hitting employers and customers alike. The avoidable supply chain chaos means chicken outlets with no chickens, McDonalds having no milkshakes, and empty shop shelves whilst British fruit and veg rots in fields and animals are unable to reach supermarkets.

Southwark businesses ranging from small family-owned firms to huge multinational companies have told me about the negative impact here, including firms ending deliveries to Northern Ireland due to delays and additional fees. The Conservatives claimed they had ‘an oven-ready deal’ but it was always half-baked and alternatives to this mess were available if we had stayed in either the Single Market or Customs Union whilst ending our membership. To try and resolve matters I have asked the Secretary of State for Business to: speed up the DVSA Registration Process for HGV Drivers; add HGV drivers to the list of eligible occupations for a Skilled Worker Visa; and enable driver apprenticeships by lowering the minimum HGV driver age to 18.

Other post-Brexit problems were being faced by wine importers and I am pleased my campaign with the Bermondsey-based Wine and Spirits Trade Association has led to Government plans for new, complex, costly paperwork to be scrapped altogether, after Ministers announced a deferral earlier this year.

Ministers seem to think the capital’s £39 billion net return to the Treasury will reappear without support. Thankfully, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has been leading pandemic recovery efforts with a £6m investment in the ‘Let’s Do London’ campaign, the biggest domestic tourism campaign London has ever seen championing our businesses, cultural institutions and attractions hit so hard by covid. Southwark council is also now sifting applications for the £300,000 High Street Recovery Fund and I hope businesses are successful in bidding to rebuild locally too. It has been great to see the hospitality sector beginning to rebuild but we need our high streets to thrive and to boost public confidence after such a bruising period.

In sadder news, a despicable arson attack took place at the West Lane war memorial on the Rotherhithe and Bermondsey border. Poppy wreaths were burned and melted, damaging the granite in what was a deliberate act of vandalism.

The memorial was built a century ago, unveiled in October 1921 and was funded by community donations and local businesses. Peek Freans led the campaign to build it and I hope our community can show the same spirit in funding its repair ahead of the centenary memorial service on 8th October at 3pm. If you can help or donate please email me at: Neil.Coyle.MP@parliament.uk

The combination of Brexit and Covid also means we face a damaging shortage of HGV drivers. The Government has been slow to recognise the problem and Ministers extending drivers’ permitted hours compromises safety but fails to address the scale of the issue with dire predictions now forecast ahead of the busy Christmas period. “Ministers seem to think the capital’s £39 billion net return to the Treasury will reappear without support. Thankfully, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has been leading pandemic recovery efforts with a £6m investment in the ‘Let’s Do London’ campaign.”