MPs’ round-up
Defence spending is paramount during these times As the vaccine rollout in our area continues apace – with over half of adults in Somerset having now received a vaccine – the tragedies attendant on covid are now slowing. But as we emerge, blinking, into a post-covid world, it’s important we don’t lose sight of the very real external threats our country continues to face. Much of our focus over the last year has been on those NHS and care staff who’ve kept us safe amidst unprecedented pressure – no one will ever forget the heroic role they’ve played in first mitigating, and then pushing back the ravages of covid-19. But alongside that domestic resilience, it’s important to remember the vital role our military play in keeping us safe. And I’ve been delighted by the
Somerton & Frome MP David Warburton Government’s determination to meet our NATO obligation – hitting not merely the 2% of GDP spending level, but increasing the defence budget by at least 0.5% above inflation for every year of this Parliament (representing an
extra £24.1 billion over the next four years). And as the Government embarks on a new Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), we’re going to see the need for our defences to keep pace with the changing threats posed by our adversaries. And that may lead to the necessity for discomforting decisions to be made – ensuring our spending on each branch of the services is proportionate to their utility in keeping the country, its citizens and its values safe. In 1926, Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig scoffed at the mushrooming use of mechanisation in warfare, prophesying that “as time goes on, [we] will find as much use for the…well-bred horse” as in the past.
And since the last review in 2015, we’ve seen drone technologies advance at a frightening rate, cyber-warfare normalised as a means of applying pressure on a state-tostate level and proxy wars continue to rage. This global pandemic has not acted as the proverbial common enemy, pulling humanity together and smoothing out differences. Instead, it has, in many areas, deepened divisions, entrenched suspicions and provided a rationale for oppression of a type that would usually be unthinkable. We owe our troops an enormous debt of gratitude for continuing to keep us safe. And there’s no better requital for their sacrifice than to ensure they’re given the appropriate tools to do exactly that.
Extraordinary rollout is seeing results It’s a privilege to lead a small team helping to vaccinate people in some of the most disadvantaged postcodes in the country. This week we are told there will be a dramatic increase in vaccine supply, which is important to keep up momentum as people come forward for their second jabs. The national rollout has been extraordinary and we are now beginning to see the results in case rates, hospitalisations and deaths. However, covid is with us for the long term. The burden on healthcare will continue to be substantial. We must look for easier ways of protecting people such as through single jabs or even nasal sprays, perhaps delivered annually in the post. Parliament’s rustication and partial abeyance means I can spend time helping in the vaccination effort. But we do need to get the place fully up and running again. There can 62
MP for South West Wiltshire Dr Andrew Murrison be few institutions that have not been touched by the current crisis. It will be interesting to see which changes endure. There are plenty of arcane ways of working in Parliament that I will be very happy to see the back of permanently but, equally, we can’t spend all our time on Zoom calls and proxy voting.
n We all contribute to traffic one way or the other and we all suffer from its consequences. In particular it’s a major contributor to poor air quality that blights even our pleasant, predominantly rural, neighbourhood. But apparently easy solutions that involve banning traffic from one area inevitably end up landing the problem on someone else’s doorstep. I recently wrote to Defra and the Department for Transport (DfT) ministers concerning Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) Council’s plan to implement a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) that would dump traffic from the A36 and A4 onto the A350 which runs straight up my south west Wiltshire constituency. BANES seeks to cut the emissions that offend the residents of Bath’s elegant terraces by introducing levies
to most road users. Trouble is, Bath’s through traffic transiting north-south will then rumble through Westbury, which is already an Air Quality Management Area. This despite DEFRA/DfT’s joint ‘minimum requirement’ for CAZs stating unequivocally that ‘Clean Air Zone proposals will not result in the displacement of the most polluting vehicles away from town centres to surrounding areas.’ There is a solution which is to take traffic out of the centre of Westbury by building a bypass. Happily DfT is now looking at this as part of the M4-Dorset scheme which I highlighted in the BVM a couple of months ago. The Bath CAZ and its consequences has given renewed urgency to what has been an issue lodged firmly in the all-too-difficult box.
