14 minute read
Politics
Triumph in waste incinerator battle
It’s the summer recess but there’s nothing recessional about it as work continues to roll in. I’m writing this after an advice surgery but sadly plans for the roving one I liked to do in the summer had to be put on hold because of security concerns following the murder of my colleague Sir David Amess.
A triumph at Wiltshire Council strategic planning on Wednesday over the proposed waste incinerator at Westbury. This thing was meant to take waste from across our area rendering it into irreducible slag for landfill and whatever goes up the stack. In return, the plant was to generate a few electrons to justify calling it an energy from waste plant, which sounds nicer than waste incinerator. Not green, not green at all, especially when dumped on a densely populated town.
So, on Wednesday I attended Wiltshire Council’s strategic planning committee again. The applicants wanted to get this signed, sealed and delivered before welcome new government environmental targets come in that would undermine its case.
Truth is we don’t need any more incinerators. The 1989 film ‘Field of Dreams’ has the line ‘if you build it, they will come.’ The same is true of incinerators. If you allow them to spring up, waste will be found to keep them going. Far better to do things like separate food waste for disposal by bio-digestion. That happens in some parts of the Blackmore Vale but not in Wiltshire, despite capacity. I must add that bio-digesters should be as far away from homes as possible because they smell, as Warminster residents will tell you.
Just before recess I again called for a moratorium on incinerators in the Commons, which is the logical consequence of the new environmental targets we have seen in draft form and that are likely to be formalised at the end of the year.
Wiltshire Council having stoutly rejected the incinerator application on Wednesday, the matter now gets determined by a government inspector in November. So, the fight goes on.
I’m actively supporting Rishi Sunak for leadership of my party and thus Prime Minister. The candidates have all been impressive but it’s Rishi who is connecting with the wider voting public. They will determine the outcome of the General Election in two years. That really is the test if my party is serious about winning rather than debating. In the hustings the former Chancellor’s grasp of the detail around the economy and the NHS has put him well ahead of the field, particularly as cost of living and healthcare are my constituents’ chief concerns.
Conservative MP for South West Wiltshire Dr Andrew Murrison
Town needs to pull together
As national government is paralysed by the Conservative leadership contest, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on how our town and parish councils are getting on.
Most of them toil away generating little attention or controversy – completing the essential work of the upkeep of our towns and villages.
I say most of them… Recently, Dorset Council, which is responsible for overseeing the conduct of town and parish councils, published the number of complaints about them it received in the last two years.
Here’s the summary for the Vale area:
Blandford 1
Gillingham 0
Shillingstone 1
Sturminster 0
Shaftesbury 37
Shaftesbury Town Council accounted for 65 per cent of complaints across Dorset. Many of those complaints come from fellow councillors, and only one was upheld. A further 14 complaints were made to the police – none of which were upheld.
Dorset Council said investigating all these complaints incurs ‘significant resources…clearly this does not constitute good value for local taxpayers’.
The reputation of this town is being maligned by the very institution which should be promoting it. The consequence of this has been seen in two recent events.
Firstly, the competitive bid for £800,000 of funding to develop a community facility on Mampitts Green. A community land trust was formed in July 2020 to build a community hall. One of the town councillors, Peter Yeo, sits on its board. But in September 2021 the town council decided to push an alternative, rival proposal, fronted by Mayor and Dorset county councillor Piers Brown.
A public consultation was held – much time and resource was spent developing an ‘official’ town council proposal. And what happened? This July, it was announced that the Mayor lost. The community land trust won.
Secondly, we have the recent announcement that local children will be able to swim free of charge in public pools this summer. What you might not know is that Shaftesbury Lido was originally excluded from the scheme.
The first the town council knew about it was when Dorset announced it was starting in Gillingham. Fortunately, the town clerk was quick on the case, and the Lido is now included.
At May’s annual town meeting, I spoke of the need for Shaftesbury’s leaders to stop referring to Dorset as some alien, arm’s length authority, when on the contrary the Mayor is a member of its ruling administration.
We need fresh, positive engagement with Dorchester, to overturn the perception that, in the words of a Sherborne councillor, ‘there is something odd about Shaftesbury Town Council. They always seem to be at each other’s throats’.
If county hall holds similar contempt, it’s no wonder ‘official’ proposals for community centres are discarded, and the town’s leisure facilities are an afterthought. Shaftesbury needs unity locally, and credibility in the county.
Greg Williams, on behalf of Dorset Labour
Change at top, troubles on the ground
‘Change? Why change? Things are bad enough already,’ said the Marquis of Salisbury in 1830 and it must be at the back of the minds of many Conservatives as they consider how to vote in their leadership election. Boris would be better than having either of these two, they muse. We should not, though, intrude on private grief.
The trouble is that it matters. It matters to all of us if there is a big shift to the right. It matters a lot to us here in the Vale: We are relatively isolated. We have to travel to work; we have to travel to school; we have to travel to hospital; we have to travel to find a decent high street.
Many of us also depend on higher cost electricity and heating oil because the gas network is limited. The rising cost of fuel and energy is truly frightening and will blight the lives of many. The market needs restructuring now – support for the vulnerable must continue and investment in insulation and renewables needs to accelerate. Laissez-faire does not provide solutions. It just generates super-profits for the few.
There is no doubt, too, that the trade deal with Australia will impact farming in Dorset. The absence of any kind of democratic scrutiny over this deal was shocking but there are many more such deals to come. They are likely to be struck with the same consumer and high-end tech and services business interests uppermost. As with the Brexit ‘deal’, we are having the future shape and balance of our economy imposed on us without any say in the matter. Some will be favoured, of course.
There are big questions about tax and spend – the PM hopefuls have little choice but to dangle carrots in their grotesque more-Thatcheritethan-thou ritual dance. Meanwhile, feet back on the ground, how are we going to find what is needed for Defence, Net Zero, Education and, above all, the NHS and Social Care to create a system which employs people on a decent, motivating wage? Telling the nation the money can be plucked from the magic growth tree makes a mockery of our real-world experience. New and improved hoodwinking from the people who brought us the wonders of Brexit!
Elsewhere, and more locally, we have the unedifying spectacle of a re-write of our Local Plan and a two-year delay after 9,000 comments, outrageous targets from Central Government and a requirement to pick up any shortfall from other authorities. As Lucy used to say in the Peanuts cartoon, ‘good grief!’.
I am hoping that there will be an opportunity at the Gillingham and Shaftesbury Show to discuss these and other issues with many people. We are in the business of listening as we work towards presenting the nation with a vision of a fairer, more balanced society. Another good reason to come to a great show!
Mike Chapman, on behalf of Liberal Democrats across the Blackmore Vale
Why I’m backing Truss for leader
The leadership election for the Conservative Party and our next Prime Minister has entered its penultimate stage and it has shown just how meritocratic the Conservative Party is with the most diverse group of candidates I think we have ever seen, now shortlisted to two.
I was delighted to welcome the Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss to West Dorset on Tuesday.
Liz has been consistently at the forefront of leading our diplomatic effort across Europe and the United States with a track record of consistency and strength when it comes to dealing with adversaries such as Russia in support of Ukraine. She has got more than 70 trade deals over the line and is deeply committed to trade, business and economic growth. For West Dorset, these are the qualities that would help us unlock the opportunities ahead for the many hundreds of small and medium enterprises in our area, and that is so important because 97 per cent of our businesses are small- or micro-sized.
And we aren’t just leading the way on foreign policy – the Kept Animals Bill, for example. A world-leading reform that galvanises our status as a nation with animal welfare at its core. I have been supporting an important local campaign by local farmer Cameron Farquharson to make dog attacks on livestock a criminal offence, otherwise known as livestock worrying, which would be included as part this Bill.
The Government’s ambition to rejuvenate High Streets by obliging landlords to hold rental auctions for vacant retail premises through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill should also pass through this turbulent period and continue through Parliament in the Autumn term. This Bill will also give local people a greater say on local development which will make a huge difference when it comes to mass housing proposals on outer edges of rural towns.
These two Bills are just two examples of the great work Liz will build on should she be elected. This change in leadership will also provide an opportunity to bring about changes in the way government meets rural needs. I shall certainly be pushing as hard as I can to get the Transport Department to reconsider Dorset’s entitlement to bus service improvement funds, for example, as well as planning rules being changed.
The opportunities and challenges we face are multidimensional and highly varied. This is why we need a Prime Minister who is competent, experienced and versatile. Liz Truss has been a strong and dependable member of Government for many years now. As Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Liz has experience in managing the purse strings of the country. As Secretary of State for International Trade and Foreign secretary, Liz has built up a solid reputation as a champion of free trade and democracy, having signed off many new trade deals with nations across the world worth billions of pounds since the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union. And her two years as DEFRA Secretary would mean as Prime Minister, Liz would already know the challenges faced by farmers in the UK and would be able to hit the ground running on addressing these issues, too.
Conservative MP for West Dorset Chris Loder
Politics
Education unlocks life’s opportunities
As I write, many students across north Dorset will be anxious until they receive their results. I wish them all they could hope for.
The recent time in school, given the pandemic, has not been an easy one. I know students will have given of their best. Others will be apprehensively thinking about that step change from primary to ‘big school’.
The uniforms ‘that you will grow into’ are being purchased as parents go through the checklist of what their child needs. It is indeed a big step particularly when a child is moving from a small village primary to a larger high school setting. To all of those going to big school I wish you much happiness, new friends and a wonderful learning experience.
Enjoying the respite of holiday are our school staff who do a fantastic job for our young. I want to take a moment to thank them, and the Governors, who do so much to educate and support. It was my recent privilege to address the Dorset Secondary School Headteacher’s Conference. I had some good tough, challenging questioning and given much food for thought regarding changes needed to the curriculum – points I shall raise with whoever the new Minister is after the Leadership sands have settled. However, what I saw was, what had struck me as a pupil and now as a parent – the focused determination to do the very best for their school and pupils and their commitment to excellence.
From my experience I know how important education is in providing all the skills to unlock the opportunities life creates. Without that solid education we are cavemen trying to thrive in a digital age. The world of work is changing. Something like 54 per cent of jobs available today did not exist 20 years ago – such is the impact of technology, automation and artificial intelligence. Education, good grades and qualifications are no longer optional extras.
I am particularly proud of the fact that if you are a youngster today you have the widest range of educational choices provided via the State than at any other time in our history. The resurrection of apprenticeships has been nothing short of miraculous and a welcome addition to the learning mosaic. So too is the renewed focus on technical education with the advent of T-levels.
The refocusing on the important role of – and it is a shame that they are often the unsung heroes of post-16 education – our FE Colleges is great news. Those who shape education policy have come to realise that one size does not fit all. They have also recognised that, while all young people want to learn and wish to accrue skills, they have different ways of doing so. The role of government is to ensure the widest and deepest range of learning outlets to meet those varying needs.
Conservative MP for North Dorset Simon Hoare
Whatever you do, don’t look up!
There can no longer be any doubt, we humans are both the cleverest species on the planet and the most stupid. Not an easy task, but we’ve managed it.
The recent satirical film ‘Don’t Look Up’ uses comedy to ruthlessly parody the woefully suicidal responses of politicians, industry and the media to an existential threat in the form of an asteroid on course to destroy the earth. The film would be funny if it didn’t so accurately portray our present world.
It’s not a subtle film, but the time for subtlety has long passed. For decades scientists have patiently stressed the disastrous consequences of our fossil fuel addiction. In return they have been deliberately undermined and side-lined by greedy, dishonest and selfish key decision makers in politics, industry and the media. Little wonder that in desperation many of them are now becoming environmental activists.
Fearful of losing votes, politicians have avoided telling the truth and instead hidden behind high-profile popular environmentalists like Sir David Attenborough.
The major polluting industries have protected their massive business profits by funding climate denial and delay stories for the media to spread. Some are now engaging in cynical greenwashing campaigns to try and convince us they are taking the issue seriously. More lies. I recommend the BBC documentary ‘Big Oil vs The World’. If it doesn’t make you angry then watch it again.
Finally, major sections of the media have persistently engaged in climate denial. Some of it subtle, like recent coverage of the UK’s recordbreaking heatwave accompanied with pictures of crowds on a beach. Nothing to see here folks, it’s just nice sunny weather!
Global warming is causing ever more extreme weather events around the world, including heatwaves, droughts, storms and flooding. All as predicted. No use kidding ourselves, this is just the beginning and it’s going to get worse. How much worse depends on what we do now.
The Conservatives have been in power for over ten years. In that time they have not only failed to take the actions needed, they’ve actually scrapped projects like the zero carbon house building regulations and railway electrification, pulled the plug on the once booming solar panel industry, blocked onshore wind projects, encouraged fracking, subsidised fossil fuel production etc.
Apparently not a single Tory MP attended the recent climate emergency briefing given to Parliament by Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK’s chief scientific adviser.
This was a presentation that previously Boris Johnson had said gave him a ‘Road to Damascus’ moment in his understanding of climate change.
The environmental legislation voting record of all five of Dorset’s Tory MPs speaks for itself. Check them out on the website TheyWorkForYou.com
We have been failed disastrously, and that is going to cost us all dearly.
