MPs

MPs’ round-up

We need people to get involved and vote

Later this year in May, we will have the first elections for the new Somerset Council. The existing County Council and the four District Councils — Mendip, Sedgemoor, Somerset West and Taunton, and South Somerset — are to be replaced with a single Council governing the whole of Somerset. It has been a long time coming; many will remember that a similar proposal for a unitary authority was made (and soundly rejected) back in 2007. But times change, and the ever-growing pressures on local councils to deliver their vital services has increasingly made clear the need for a more joined-up approach throughout the county. It is not a cost-cutting exercise, nor an attempt to dilute political engagement with local issues. It is simply the recognition that more needs to be done, and that better infrastructure is needed, to help our local authorities do what they do best. But while 25 years of gestation may seem like a long struggle, that was actually the easy part. Walter Bagehot — our own local constitutionalist, just down the road in Langport — was very clear on this. As he put it, the “great difficulty which history records is not that of the first step, but that of the second.” Putting the new structures into place is relatively straightforward. The trick is making them work. Reflecting upon how political institutions evolve and sustain themselves, Bagehot noted that the challenge was “not of making the first preservative habit, but of breaking through it, and reaching something better.” When the first proposal for a unitary authority was rejected in 2007, there was a genuine concern that there would be too few representatives covering too large an area. It would be too difficult for residents to get in touch with their local councillors, and that it would be too difficult for councillors to keep abreast of local developments. And that certainly would have been a step backwards. When the new Somerset Council sits in April 2023, there will be 110 councillors covering Somerset. That’s twice the size of the existing County Council, and integrating the functions previously divided up between County and District Councils. That’s definitely an improvement on the previous proposal, but there is still that tricky second step which Bagehot mentions. We need to make it work. And that means we need as many different voices and perspectives to be heard in the local elections in May. We need as many people as possible to get involved and to cast their vote. That way we can really make it a unitary authority for Somerset.

Somerton & Frome MP David Warburton

Air ambulance donation

New Year’s Day Vintage and Classic Vehicle Run raises £1698 for Dorset And Somerset Air Ambulance Over 120 pre-1991 cars, buses, lorries and tractors took part in the run that was sponsored by Harts of Stur, along with 20 plus pre-1995 motorbikes, gathering in Sturminster Newton’s Station Road car park before embarking on a 39-mile, single hill or 48-mile, four hills run through the West Dorset countryside. The organisers would like to thank all the volunteers that helped marshal on the day, the local businesses that donated prizes for the raffle and the many people that turned up and donated so generously to the charity buckets whilst enjoying the sights and sounds on display. Pictured beside a pristine vintage MG are representatives of the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance being presented with a cheque by Graham Hart, managing director of Harts of Stur, and organisers of the vehicle run. The final sum raised was £1698, slightly more than was shown on the cheque at the time of the presentation.

Dorset businesses

For those of you who don’t follow Twitter, I was under a bit of fire last weekend from the BBC presenter Chris Packham and his crowd. As it made a few newspapers, I thought I should just share my insights with you about it. Every opportunity I get in the House of Commons, I look to make the case for better funding of our police service. I did so again on Wednesday last week because we are low down the list in terms of government funding (40 out of 41) and it needs to be higher. We only have three people in our rural crime team for the whole county and I was surprised to see that such a common-sense

MP for West Dorset Chris Loder

MPs’ round-up

Putin must know that his ambitions are perilous

‘Partygate’ rumbles on in the Palace of Varieties. I have posted my views on my blog (www.andrewmurrison. co.uk). I have previously said I await Sue Gray’s report into goings-on in Downing Street. What she’s just delivered is practically useless because the Met say they’ve changed their mind and are now going to investigate. So, I now feel obliged to await the Met’s response and Ms Gray’s definitive report thereafter. I hope they come sooner rather than later and we can clear this up one way or the other and move on to things that have an impact on the lives of people I represent. One of those things is the prospect of a nasty conflict in eastern Europe. My constituency contains a great deal of military hardware, a garrison and a large number of soldiers and their families. I have two children in the Armed Forces. This thing matters. If Putin gets away with his imminent incursion further into Ukraine and if it goes well for him, he will push his luck as sure as night follows day. That probably means a direct test of NATO’s resolve - an incursion into one of the Baltic states for example on the pretext of defending Russian speakers who Putin will say are being oppressed in some confected way. That means an attack on NATO itself and under Article V the rest of us are obliged by the treaty that has kept us safe since the Second World War to respond. But what if there is no public appetite among member states for a potentially bloody war with a nuclear power? If NATO blinks people would say what’s the point of it and it would probably fold. Putin’s triumph would be absolute and his place as Russian ruler for life assured. A more likely scenario of course is some sort of deniable ramped up militiabased operation. We will all know it’s Putin’s Russia pulling the strings but either side could more easily retrench or, indeed, save face. Into this mix pour an escalation in the offensive cyber Russia has been directing at its neighbours. I approve of the UK government’s robust but proportionate response to Putin’s aggression so far. There is no enthusiasm for British boots on the ground in the states and satellites of the former USSR but we can do a great deal short of that to make it crystal clear to Putin and his lieutenants that his expansionist ambitions are perilously risky. Eventually the misrule of the man who recently launched the most outrageous attack on our cathedral city down the road will end as all nightmares do. Then, inshallah, the longsuffering Russian people will be able to come back in from the cold. I welcome Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s move to mitigate the looming energy cost crisis. It’s a truly global issue but the sheer scale of it is about to hit low and middle income households like a train. Sadly, the fundamentals will likely persist for some time before improving from mid-decade. It does reinforce our need to produce energy indigenously and at pace. That gives an economic edge to what has hitherto been a chiefly environmental imperative. More offshore wind farms would be good together with nuclear and long-range interconnectors capable of smoothing supply when the wind doesn’t blow such as a link with Morocco that I’m encouraging ministers to take up.

MP for South West Wiltshire Dr Andrew Murrison

Dorset businesses need investment and ‘levelling up’

view – saying that we should be tackling drug-trafficking/ dealing, rural theft and frequent animal injuries as a priority, rather than spending a lot of time on a deceased rare bird, caused a lot of controversy – but it is true to say that equally from my perspective, I don’t think Dorset is the place for eagles and I don’t want to see them here. To be honest, I didn’t even know they were here! But a very interesting report by Scottish Natural Heritage outlines the many problems they pose to our farmers, including eating new-born lambs. It is a worthwhile read if you’re considering your view on the issue too – you’ll just need to Google it. I met with Dorchester Chamber of Commerce the week before last to discuss the various opportunities and challenges we face here when it comes to ‘levelling up’. As things stand, I feel rural businesses in West Dorset have not been championed as much as they should be by Dorset LEP in getting investment to the west of the constituency. Did you know, in West Dorset, we have six per cent more smart meters installed here than the national average and near Dorchester, we have the UK’s first biomethane to grid anaerobic digestion plant. This provides sustainable, renewable gas to around 7,500 homes midwinter and up to 100,000 homes in the summer. West Dorset truly leads the way in energy policy, and a fine example to the rest of the UK in terms of energy sourcing and consumption. We are, I feel, a good example in West Dorset of the direction of travel the UK needs to take to overcome the current energy crisis long term. If I can help with constituency issue, please get in touch at: House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA or online: www.chrisloder.co.uk