13 minute read
Politics
High streets should be vibrant places
Town planning may sound a bit dull, but it impacts on all of our lived experiences.
Derelict, sad, neglected townscapes depress and demoralise. I want the heart of our towns, large and small, to be vibrant happening places not forlorn threatening spaces with tumbleweed blowing through them.
So, I have high hopes for the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill and for the Government’s future high streets funding, some of which has, happily, reached our little corner of England.
But we do need to futureproof our high streets rather than hanker after a retail past which consumers no longer want. That means in many cases contracting town centres allowing change of use from commercial to much-needed residential, in turn reducing pressure on precious green field sites. Truth is that many of the core elements of our town centres are handsome buildings which have been allowed to deteriorate. How can we foster civic pride and a sense of space and place if we neglect the built environment of our town centres?
As a Conservative, I’m ever vigilant for the heavy handedness of government, national and local, but I do welcome powers in the Regeneration Bill which will allow action against owners who wilfully neglect commercial property.
That stems from flagrant examples in my constituency, one of which, in Warminster, has blighted the town centre and the experience of townspeople for several years. I’m pleased that our lobbying has helped, at last, to inculcate some common sense.
Please can I in passing mount a defence of often maligned coffee and charity shops. I’m particularly fond of independent cafes which allow people to chill out in congenial surroundings. The bone of contention with charity shops is the favourable tax status they often have, and we do need to ensure that small retailers are not too disadvantaged. However, they do serve an important function both charitably and socially. The important thing is the mix of premises on the high street, aesthetics, safety and access.
Significant work is under way in Trowbridge town centre, as befits Wiltshire’s county town. In Westbury there is a conversation about the layout of the top end of the classic 1970s shopping centre with a view to improving flow towards the library and gardens. Tisbury is a favourite of mine, a rural gem, full of interest. In the smaller centres, like Mere, housing developments, always controversial, should at least help to sustain shops and services for residents old and new.
Conservative MP for South West Wiltshire Dr Andrew Murrison
Digging holes and fighting fires
What’s the connection between digging holes, fighting fires and roosting pigeons?
Most of us have had occasions when we’ve dug ourselves into a bit of a hole. I have, and the lesson I’ve learned is that it’s best to stop digging, put the spade down and step away from the hole. Definitely do NOT just dig more slowly, or switch to a smaller spade, while trying to dream up inventive ways of someday climbing out of the ever-deepening hole before it collapses on top of you.
Fighting a fire is similar. The sooner you get on with it, the easier it is to put the flames out. What doesn’t help is fanning the flames while pondering whether there might be some new technological way to extinguish them.
And as for the pigeons, well we have rather a lot of them coming home to roost right now.
If you delay taking action when you find yourself in a
Ken Huggins on behalf of the Green Party in North Dorset
hole, you end up firefighting. Struggling to deal with crises as they arise, without having the time or resources to prevent future crises happening.
Some of the holes that our Government has dug include the NHS, with more than 100,000 staff vacancies, staff under intolerable pressure, ambulances delayed and queuing outside A&E, treatments delayed and patients at risk. The police, with staff vacancies, recorded crimes at a 20-year high and fewer than one in 18 offences resulting in a charge or court summons. The water companies failing to stop leaks and pumping raw sewage into watercourses. Millions of poorly insulated homes using too much energy and costing their occupants dearly this winter. Renewable energy infrastructure inadequately supported, so that we are still over-dependent on burning fossil fuels, which keep fanning the flames of global warming and vulnerable to overseas events. Livestock farming that overuses antibiotics, contributing to the alarming rise in the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. And, of course, our Fire Service, where firefighter numbers have been cut by over 20 per cent since 2010, and badly needed fire engines have been standing idle for lack of crews. This summer’s heatwaves show how such problems are exacerbated by the relentlessly changing climate. Last year there were 247 major wildfires. So far this year there have already been 745, including here in Dorset.
I see little cause for hope in either of the two contenders for the Tory leadership, as neither appears to appreciate the urgency of addressing climate change.
Two glimmers of hope elsewhere are in the United States, where it finally appears that Biden’s bill addressing global warming is to be passed into law, and Australia where the new Labour/Green coalition government is working hard to roll back years of climate denial and delay by the previous Conservative Government.
The Green Party here is working hard at all levels to bring about the changes we so urgently need ourselves.
Three cheers for our farmers!
The recent hot and dry weather will have impacted all of us, be we gardener or farmer. For the latter, pasture has not been growing, making livestock farming challenging to say the least. Crops have ripened early but yields are likely to be lower given the lack of rainfall. We have all seen in the media fields and heathland destroyed by fire, some caused naturally but far too many caused by irresponsible behaviour. So, let me make this plea – no bonfires, no unattended or left barbecues and certainly no sky lanterns!
As I write we are on the cusp of our local agricultural ‘showcase’ our very own Gillingham & Shaftesbury Show. Many months of planning and weeks of preparation all coming together for a one-day window on rural north Dorset. The show, and this time of year generally, as harvests are made, remind us of the importance of agriculture to our local and national economy. It puts food on our tables and sustains an incredible amount of jobs when food processing is rolled in. It is larger than the UK’s automotive sector in terms of contribution to our GDP.
In recent times there has been a false debate – are you for the environment or for agriculture. I am, as every farmer I speak to is too, both. The two are not different forces pulling in opposite directions, rather they work in tandem.
What I am certain of is that we must increase, sustainably, UK food production. Ukraine and vagaries in the supply chain underscore the imperative of producing good quality, high-standard foods. High standards in terms of animal welfare and the environmental concerns. There is no merit in, or argument to sustain, the decline of our livestock sector. Good pastureland sitting idle while foreign imports – often raised to much lower standards – fill our shelves. No point urging us all to dominate our diets with soya when deforestation occurs to meet the increase in demand. We need joined-up thinking in our food chain thinking.
I was delighted to welcome Rishi Sunak, who I am backing for Leader of my Party and PM of our country, to Sturminster Newton recently. He, like me, represents a predominantly small livestock farming constituency. In his address to fellow Party members he made very clear his support for boosting UK food production and for precluding the use of high grade agricultural land from non-food production purposes. Moreover, he reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring that future trade deals secure regulatory equivalence. He will not countenance an unlevel playing field for our farmers.
So, as we enjoy the Gillingham & Shaftesbury Show – and my huge thanks to them for providing complimentary tickets to conflict-fleeing Ukrainian families in Dorset and Somerset – and look forward to the Sturminster Newton Cheese Festival, The Oak Fair and the Dorset County Show, let us give three cheers for our local national farmers. We simply would not survive without them.
Conservative MP for North Dorset Simon Hoare
Full steam ahead at Shillingstone
Simon Hoare MP revisits the North Dorset Railway at Shillingstone Station to catch up on redevelopments and officially open the improved Trailway
North Dorset MP Simon Hoare returned to Shillingstone Station to see a Scots Pine tree he planted six years ago to replace a cypress tree which had become a landmark at Shillingstone Station before it closed.
He also inspected the progress being made by North Dorset Railway in restoring and rebuilding this stretch of the historic former Somerset and Dorset Railway.
Mr Hoare performed the official opening, as part of the railway extension project, of the re-aligned and improved Trailway between Shillingstone Station and Lamb House Bridge, Bere Marsh.
Dorset councillor Pauline Batstone and Joe Hickish, chairman of the North Dorset Trailway Network, helped cut the tape.
The first official user of the Trailway was John Davies, who was riding his mobility scooter from Child Okeford and was delighted with the enhanced Trailway alignment and surfacing.
After the ceremony the visiting guests were given a tour of the trackbed workings and the historic station site.
Mr Hoare thanked North Dorset Railway volunteers for their passion and energy in
Simon Hoare MP performs the ceremonial duties at Shillingstone Station.
helping achieve the vision of an operational railway. Thanks to their efforts, it may at some point be possible to travel to Sturminster Newton by train.
To find out more about the North Dorset Railway, become a member or volunteer visit www.northdorsetrailway.co.uk or follow S&DJR Shillingstone on Facebook.
A winter of discontent approaches… The Bank of England’s forecast of 13 per cent inflation is truly terrifying. The average energy bill will reach £3,600 in October, before exceeding £4,000 in the new year.
I must advise against these ‘don’t pay’ your utility bill campaigns. This is not the poll tax. Not paying will drag down your credit rating, have the bailiffs at your door and worst of all see you disconnected mid-winter. What readers might want to know, though, is that you will still benefit from the protection of the energy price cap if you cancel your direct debit and choose to pay in arrears instead. Do this with caution though, as budgeting will be harder – particularly if you don’t have a smart meter. Heating oil prices also remain stubbornly high, despite crude oil prices declining.
And what of Government action on the energy crisis? Next month, we will have a new prime minister – most probably Liz Truss. The fourth Tory leader in six years. Having presented herself to the Tory membership as the continuity-Johnson candidate, she’ll attempt the deranged pivot of blaming some alien, previous administration – of which she was part – for the structure of the energy market.
The one-upmanship of the candidates’ tax relief measures has distracted from some of the toxic elements of the contest. Remember Penny Mordaunt? Once the front runner, until Truss’s semihysterical Mail allies launched day after day of bilious personal attacks on her, for – heaven forbid – having expressed an open mind on gender self-identification. Once eliminated, poor Penny then publicly demeaned herself by backing Truss in an attempt no doubt to ensure herself a cabinet job.
Messrs Hoare and Murrison look set to stay on the backbenches, after having backed – like most MPs – the Sunak horse. And what of West Dorset’s Chris Loder? We see in these pages he has plenty of time to attend the opening of tourist attractions. Perhaps he could explain to readers why, in July, having secured an important Westminster Hall debate on ‘Rural transport connectivity in the South-West and Dorset’, he didn’t turn up to it? Ministers were on hand to respond on this vital issue, but in Loder’s absence – with no apologies or reason provided – check Hansard – the debate had to be cancelled.
The natural party of government? More a party that has awkwardly gone on too long. As an alternative, Labour may still have its challenges. Its difficulty in supporting workers who need a pay rise while simultaneously being critical of the breakdowns in negotiations that lead to strikes remains. But at least Labour looks increasingly like a government-in-waiting under Starmer’s leadership. As the conference season approaches, I look forward to seeing the policies which members across the country have been working on make their way to the fore.
Greg Williams, on behalf of Dorset Labour
Mike Chapman on behalf of Liberal Democrats across the Blackmore Vale
To intervene or not to intervene?
The NHS is safe in our hands, they say, although recent reports suggest a dentist taking on NHS patients is a very rare beast indeed. Social Care is being resolved, they say, but now potentially without the earmarked funding from the National Insurance rise if Truss becomes PM. She avowedly prefers tax cuts to more ‘hand-outs’, dissing Sunak’s efforts as Chancellor throughout Covid and in response to the energy price rises.
More broadly… Take back control, they said. The great defining mantra of our age turns out to be a feeble bleat in the wilderness. Without the power actually to do things, change things, the concept of ‘control’ is meaningless. Yes, you may have your hands on the steering-wheel but the engine is losing its oomph, the fuel is unaffordable, the state credit card is pretty much max-ed out, the brakes on inflation are failing and we are going downhill into a long recession. We need leadership with a capital L: capable, experienced and with demonstrable integrity. I am not at all sure that is what we are going to get. The Liberal Democrat stance on energy is crystal clear – intervene on energy pricing by harnessing the gap between production cost and market price. Social unrest might otherwise be on the cards. Otherwise, we might as well hand the reins of government to Amazon or the supermarkets. They know how to leverage suppliers.
Enough doom-mongering. We are a liberal democracy – we each have a voice and here in the UK, at least, the State doesn’t get to stop us using it. Liberal Democrats in the Vale, just as elsewhere, have that core, potent belief in liberty and its offspring – working for the good of all and to the detriment of none. That is not flim-flam. Everyone gets to have opportunity and everything is as fair as it can be. Personally, I am sick and tired of the seesaw of ‘rightier’ than thou, squire and ‘left-ier’ than you, comrade, which does nothing but undermine our common values and divert us from our mutual best interests. These last weeks have shown again how much we need electoral reform just as surely as further intervention and support measures in this cost-of-living crisis.
So, to the Show. Here is something that really does highlight our common values and interests – livestock, horses, dogs, food, drink, big new bits of agricultural kit, producers of all manner of things crafty and country, hell-bent on selling to us. Wonderful! What is not to like?
A shout out, too, for the NBVM. The Show marks a year since this wider political section was introduced, expanding on the then Members of Parliament-only entries. More evidence of the benefits of fairness and opportunity! I hope that in our own ways we have all informed, illuminated, even occasionally entertained.
