7 minute read
MPs
MPs are under the microscope 24/7
I’m writing before polling day but have been out knocking doors so have a keen sense of where we’re heading, at least in the south.
My guess is it’s not great for my party which will have to do some long hard thinking in the days and weeks ahead.
Meanwhile, sleaze has been in the news again. I try to avoid being judgemental, particularly when I’m not in full possession of the facts.
I’d just make one observation, though. It makes no sense to suggest MPs are any more or less venal than any other group. Why would they be?
Indeed, since they’re pre-screened for criminality, misdemeanours and otherwise colourful pasts, you might expect them to be less likely than average to indulge in questionable behaviour. So what’s going on?
Talk of parliament being institutionally racist, misogynistic, corrupt etc is, in my view, a gross oversimplification.
It isn’t my experience as a
Conservative MP for South West Wiltshire Dr Andrew Murrison
fairly seasoned and, I hope, objective observer of workplaces and the people who work in them.
In reality, like every other place of work, parliament has undergone an attitudinal and behavioural transformation over the two decades I’ve been an MP, reflecting the society from which it is drawn.
It is a very different place to the one I entered in 2001 – I’m pleased to say.
No, the big difference is that MPs are not so much in the spotlight as under the microscope.
And it’s relentless, 24/7. I’m struggling to think of any other walk of life where every utterance, every move is potentially not only career-ending but reputationally terminal.
A stand-out feature of the UK media is the particularly salacious delight it takes in amplifying politicians’ faults and foibles.
The danger is that parliament is seen for what it isn’t and people shift from the healthy scepticism that characterises a vibrant democracy to outright cynicism.
It means that able individuals are put off politics as a form of public service and others quit early – as is happening now, an exodus I expect to accelerate towards the General Election.
That said, it remains a genuine pleasure and great privilege to serve our neck of the woods.
I’m certainly planning to continue – as long as voters are prepared to put up with me!
Could you be a school governor?
If one subscribes to the theory that every cloud has a silver lining, then we must accept that Covid did, too.
The silver lining was the tangible increase in the number of people who undertook some form of voluntary work to help their communities.
Many people tried volunteering for the first time. They liked it and they are keen to identify another outlet for their energies.
The increase of working from home for many, for part of the week at least, also means lots of people have a bit more time on their hands as the need for work travel is reduced. With that in mind, over coming articles I am going to point out some volunteering opportunities.
Up first is becoming a school governor. It is a job I have done in two schools, including a time as chairman of a governing body. It is a role my wife Kate fulfils as the safeguarding governor at our youngest daughter’s primary. It is an incredibly satisfying thing to do.
Just pause and consider the role of education. Shaping our future generations, inspiring confidence, building platforms from which to launch the whole of a pupil’s life. Working alongside our dedicated teachers to make a real difference. Helping to sculpt the ethos and values of a school. Equipping our young people with the skills and learning to meet the challenges of tomorrow. It is hoped to foster the energies of social mobility, bridging the productivity and skills gap.
Many of our local schools would like to add to their governing bodies. You don’t have to be a parent or education expert. You just have to be someone who likes rolling their sleeves up, getting involved and working as part of a team. A team which asks themselves only one basic question – how can we make this school even better for the children who come here?
The workload is not onerous but the personal rewards are incalculable. If you are a business woman or man with a keen eye for financial planning, budgeting and resource allocation, your skills are needed.
If you’re interested, why not contact your local school, either primary or secondary. If you would like me to make the introduction to your nearest school, please email me with your address to simon. hoare.mp@parliament.uk
Conservative MP for North Dorset Simon Hoare
MPs’ round-up
Out and about in the constituency
This week, I’d like to share with you some insights from my constituency diary appointments.
On Saturday, 23 April, it was a very enjoyable morning supporting the charity vintage tractor run in and around Beaminster and Bridport in aid of Mountjoy School.
Paula Randall brought together a fantastic show having been set back two years as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
People came from across Dorset to participate.
It really demonstrates the strength of support for this cause and the special role Mountjoy School has in supporting students and families from across the area.
The following Sunday, I attended St Andrews Church in Leigh for an award presented to the church for raising the most money for the Dorset Historic Churches Trust during its annual Ride and Stride event in September.
In fact, nearly £2,500 was raised from the parish.
The importance of our local churches cannot be overstated.
They are living, breathing buildings that are at the heart of every village community, the source of counsel and spiritual support when people need it most, as well as historic monuments to the history and stories of our parishes.
The work of the Dorset Historic Churches Trust is really important and I encourage you to support it and the many parish churches which need our help to sustain their work and presence.
Looking ahead, on Saturday, 14 May, at 3pm, a Thanksgiving Service will be held at Sherborne Abbey for the Yeatman Hospital.
One of the reasons I worked so hard to get the Minor Injuries Unit reopened is because I appreciate just how fortunate we are to have such an important facility in our community.
This service will underscore the importance of the Yeatman Hospital to Sherborne and surrounding villages and I warmly encourage you to attend if you can.
Conservative MP for West Dorset Chris Loder
Police funding is cause for concern
We’ve read and heard a lot in the local media recently about crime.
No, no – I’m not talking about the MPs for once but crime here in our community.
There’s real concern it is increasing and that the local police force is too thinly spread to respond to it.
Shops have been broken into, catalytic converter thefts are on the increase, even a charity box in Stur has been stolen.
Gillingham has seen robberies and sexual assaults.
While these incidents are – rightly – getting a lot of attention, if we look at the statistics, crime levels have been relatively flat through 2021 and into 2022.
What’s really worrying local people is the anecdotes of people calling 999 but no police car being dispatched.
A campsite in Melbury was recently overrun with ravers but when the owner called 999 they were told no police could attend as only one car was covering the whole of north Dorset.
If people don’t think the police are going to respond, then they are less likely to report a crime, casting doubt over those statistics.
The police and crime commissioner for Dorset was challenged on staffing levels recently but refused to give details, citing operational reasons.
If the PCC won’t say how many bobbies are on the beat, surely that tells us there are gaps.
The issue – as ever – seems to be funding.
The sense that rural communities are low crime communities pervades central government thinking.
This year, Dorset received one of the lowest police funding increases, along with rural Gloucestershire and North Wales.
Overall police funding has only just returned to the level of the last Labour government, despite the Tories pushing taxes up to the highest levels since the Second World War.
No levelling up money. No regional bus grants. And now one of the lowest police funding settlements.
So much for Dorset being represented in Westminster.
You can tell a lot about a Government by what it chooses not to do as much as what it prioritises.
This week, it dropped the proposed audit reform bill.
Four years, three reviews and one huge consultation since the collapse of Carillion, with a consensus painstakingly forged across auditors, the audited and both sides of the house – and it’s been dropped.
Apparently privatising Channel 4 and crippling the BBC is more important than stopping corporate malfeasance. Priorities, eh?
