MPs’ Round-Up

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 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.

Somerton & Frome MP David Warburton

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 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.

MP for South West Wiltshire Dr Andrew Murrison

MPs’ round-up Much to be said for spirit of compromise

Nobody in my experience (and that’s as a parish councillor, district councillor, county councillor and your MP) ever seeks elected office to make things worse for their area or community. While we all wear different coloured rosettes at election time the broad theme that unites us is to do our level best for the people we represent. I stand as a Conservative and have been elected in 2015, 2017 and 2019 to speak up for the people of North Dorset. I represent, without fear or favour, all residents of North Dorset whether they are eligible to vote, voted for me, voted for someone else or did not vote at all. It is why I am opposed to any change in our electoral system, not because it favours one party or another, but it means the one elected member has to listen to and represent all shades of opinion not just those with whom they agree or vice versa. There is a very special bond, an umbilical cord if you will, that joins the electorate to the elected. I’m not saying it’s a perfect system but, in broad terms, it works. It also means it’s a system where, having heard all views, you quickly arrive at the position that no one voice/party/group etc is the keeper of the eternal truth. Is always right while the ‘other side’ is always wrong. I don’t know whether it’s a by product of the echo chambers of social media, populism or what but too much of politics is painted as good v bad, right v wrong, black v white. MPs inboxes are full of people telling them to do one thing or another. People advocating diametrically opposing points of view on the same subject with the only shared denominator being that the author believes themselves to be right with no room for doubt or the possibility that another correspondent may have equally strongly held views that take them to an entirely different. In my experience most political issues are complex. They are resolved by compromise, concession and accommodation. Every Bill I have ever been involved with or followed has its concession strategy. The minister starts from position Ultimate but realises ground needs to be given to get buyin and ultimate success. Unbending didactic approaches usually end up on the rocks. It is not a sign of weakness or lack of principle to seek to accommodate or build the biggest tent of agreement. It is, rather a sign of maturity and respect for the other point of view. However, to have that respect one needs to appreciate that there is another point of view and that one’s own, no matter how sincerely held, might not be right. There is a comfort, I appreciate, in the intellectual comfort blanket of black and white. My viewpoint, for what it’s worth, is that most political solutions are a shade of grey (whether there are fifty such shades I hesitate to comment upon). So, as we rebuild and regenerate as a society let us embrace the respectful and accommodating and put aside the absolutism of populism. We will be a better country if we do.

MP for North Dorset Simon Hoare

I’m pushing to get animal welfare bill over line

My family have been tenant farmers in West Dorset for almost 100 years – I grew up on the family farm and care deeply for animals. Relentless in the pursuit of animal rights, I’ve been lobbying for my Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill. I’m delighted that my Bill completed its passage through the House of Commons last Friday, March 12. The Bill now goes to the House of Lords and it’s a race against time to ensure it becomes law before the summer recess. nAt the time of writing, more than 23 million people across the UK have received their first dose of coronavirus vaccine. As of March 7, 48 per cent of West Dorset constituents had received their first dose – that’s the sixth highest proportion of any constituency in England! The announced a historic and creative Budget providing more than £407 billion of support for families, jobs and businesses across the country and here in West Dorset. Whilst I am nervous about such high levels of public borrowing, much of this support will be of great benefit to people in West Dorset. The Government has extended furlough to the end of September, provided two further grants for the self-employed along with extended eligibility for these grants, a six-month extension to the Universal Credit uplift, and various new grants and loans for businesses. Particularly important for West Dorset’s tourism sector – which accounts for more than 6,000 jobs – the Chancellor has frozen alcohol duties, extended of the

MP for West Dorset Chris Loder

targeted approach means that 92% of over-60s in Dorset have received their first dose, paving Dorset’s route out of lockdown which began with the return to school last week. nA couple of weeks ago, Chancellor Rishi Sunak business rates holiday, and continued the reduced rate of VAT for hospitality. This will help get pubs, brewers and cafes back on their feet! nThe Dorset Local Plan will shape development in our county until 2038. Thank you to everyone who responded to the consultation which closed on Monday. I deeply hope that Dorset Council will take account of feedback from the public and amend the plan, prioritising modest and dispersed development to sustain our communities, rather than mass development on the outskirts of our towns. n To receive my latest updates from Westminster and West Dorset, please sign up to my newsletter at chrisloder.co.uk.