MPs’ Round-Up

MPs’ round-up We only want fairness in vaccine contract dealings

Reflecting on the cataclysm that befell Europe in 1914, Churchill said of the Balkans that they “produce more history than can be consumed locally”. And it’s difficult not to feel that we’re living through a period in which the newspapers are the first draft of a history that will be pored over for generations to come. But as the vaccine roll-out signals (we hope) the approach of the closing chapters, I’m conscious of the enormous logistical efforts that are underway across the country –as well as in our part of Somerset. Having been in touch to offer my support to those tasked with delivering the vaccine in Wincanton, Bruton and beyond, I know the very real challenges they face in delivering those vaccinations we so vitally need. And as someone with a background in establishing and running small businesses, I find this renewed focus on action rather than rhetoric both refreshing and sobering. It is in the aggregate of thousands of individual efforts (from NHS workers, the human myriad links in the supply chain and the individual responsibility of the public) that deliverance from this latest iteration of lockdown will be found. We’ve now delivered more than 7 million vaccines, with four out of five of those over 80 having received their first dose. And in the last 24 hours, we’ve seen diplomatic daggers drawn as the European Union have suggested they may prevent some of the 40 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine entering the UK – this to overcome shortages of the vaccine consequent upon the EU’s delay in placing their order. Of course, the pandemic is a global problem – and will only be eradicated through concerted, supra-national action. But as the UK placed its order three months before the EU belatedly did so, a more smoothly operating distribution network is to be expected. In insisting that AstraZeneca honour their contract with the UK Government, we are not asking for preferential treatment, only fairness. And that’s the least NHS staff – and the vulnerable to whom this vaccine offers so much hope – deserve.

Somerton & Frome MP David Warburton

Ignore spite from Paris – we’re doing well

So, we continue on our pandemic rollercoaster. Deaths recorded with covid have tipped over 100,000 but the good news is that 8 million have now been vaccinated and case fatality due to medical advances appears to be improving. Of course, the UK press is always more interested in the blame game than reporting success. That’s in its nature. But even the good old BBC has to concede success in the vaccine rollout. In the south west we are reaping the benefits even more than in other regions. In England 80% of over 80s have been jabbed. In the south west it’s 83% – the highest number of the seven regions. It gets better, because in Wiltshire the figure is over 85%. A big well done to all involved. None of us should take any pleasure in the contrasting shambles of the EU’s vaccine procurement programme. No schadenfreude please. We are all in this together and we should be as angry with the EU as its own citizens, who are now asking what on earth the point of it is. When its creaking inadequacies were exposed, instead of working with bestin-class, the EU Commission attacked it, defaulting to vindictive, protectionist rhetoric and lashing out at Astra Zeneca. Sadly we have come to expect spite in spade loads from Paris in recent years – though I’m truly sorry the French Sanofi vaccine has run into the buffers – but was disappointed that Germany decided to confect a story about the Oxford jab being ineffective for the over 65s. Its complete nonsense that will strengthen the anti-vaxers who are nibbling away at confidence in all of our lifesaving vaccine programmes. There’s no place for vaccine nationalism. Indeed, I’m proud of the leading role taken by the UK in COVAX, the international body for helping everyone get jabbed up regardless of nationality and have raised it in the Commons. On the relative success of the UK vaccine programme, the truth is that nation states are inherently nimbler than lugubrious bureaucracies like the EU that have to consult 27 jurisdictions and move at the pace of the slowest. The vaccine rollout has made this as clear as it is obvious. The benefit will be counted in lives saved and hopefully an earlier release from this terrible lockdown than would otherwise be the case. In other news, I have been talking roads with Wiltshire councillors and officials. Locally we have a big stake in the national Road Investment Strategy (RIS) in the form of improvements to the A303. But whilst east-west infrastructure must be improved, we can’t forget traffic going north-south, chiefly along the A350. So, I’m pressing for a M4Dorset improvement scheme which is only briefly touched on in the Department for Transport’s RIS policy document. I know Wiltshire Council is focussing on it right now and am heartened that the Department of Transport is working up proposals that are due out next year. Improving the A350 and the completely hideous A350/A303 junction at Willoughby Hedge is a high priority for me and for my constituents living in the Blackmore Vale.

MP for South West Wiltshire Dr Andrew Murrison

MPs’ round-up Lessons to be learned about democracy

Democracy: Back when I was allowed to visit schools across North Dorset (which I did regularly and always learning something new in the process) a question asked more often than not in the primaries was: what do you need to be a MP (the other was usually have you met the Queen). My answer to the first was that there was no exam to pass or certificate to secure merely that you received one more vote than the person who came second. I have relied upon this answer since I was first elected in 2015. Recent, terrifying events in America illustrated how fragile the democratic flower is. Moreover, it highlighted the dangerous destination of the demagogic, populist path. As democracies mature we are inclined to take its workings and civility for granted. What Washington showed was that we ALL have a role to play to nurture the democratic plant. Those events have changed my answer to the question asked. Hitherto it will be that there are two things that allow one to serve as a MP: first, you have secured at least one more vote than the person who came second and, second; the person who came second accepts that fact and recognises your victory. It sounds so easy. So obvious. The Trump rabble reminded us of the complexities of simplicity and, unfortunately, created the need to remind ourselves of the majesty of democracy. Let that lesson never be forgotten.

Volunteering: The challenges of covid have placed pressures on many services. As a result the call has gone out for volunteers. I have been given what I consider a huge honour of going along and mucking in to help support the delivery of lateral flow tests at two of our high schools and helping with the vaccine programme at my local doctor’s surgery. I have had the pleasure of working alongside fellow parents, local residents, Rotary and others. The quiet efficiency from a standing start that the schools and surgeries have provided has been nothing short of a breathtaking miracle. On several cold mornings it has been my privilege to see some of our older North Dorset residents on frames, in chairs, walking slowly, unaided or assisted to get their jabs. Differing ages, health conditions and the like but utterly united to get themselves vaccinated. I asked a lady who I’ve got to know quite well over the years whether she was anxious: “Simon” she said, “I’m 92. The day before I was evacuated to Devon I was told my father had been killed. We did what was right then and we must do so now.” Now, I blame the cold wind that hit me as I walked back to my car at the end of my shift. It must have wafted a speck of grit into my eye. I am so humbled to have been allowed to be a tiny cog in this enormous wheel.

MP for North Dorset Simon Hoare

4,000 homes would just be ‘urban sprawl’

Dorset Council’s Local Plan sets out the targets for future housing development in Dorset and identifies areas where they can be built. The plan is now open for consultation until 15th March. The Local Plan considers not only where houses will be built but how many; and these decisions will, of course, have an impact on the future of our employment, community services, schools, retail, leisure and much more. I have a strong view about the Local Plan. It needs to support our village and local economies and we should not be planning for large scale developments such as the 4,000 houses proposed to the north of Dorchester. If you feel strongly about it, you must act now to ensure your view is taken into account, by making well served by enormous new housing developments of the scale planned for the north of Dorchester. New housing should go to support our local market town and village economies by protecting the future of our village shops, schools, pubs, garages, and churches – rather than enabling urban sprawl. Please respond to this consultation; you will find more details on my website at chrisloder.co.uk/localplan In Westminster, the Environment Bill came back to the House of Commons last week, along with my call to the Government to further reduce the use of single-use plastics. The UK’s ten biggest supermarkets are still putting nearly 900,000 tonnes of plastic packaging into the market. When I was a little boy, I would go with my parents during the school holidays to Sturminster Newton’s Monday cattle market. I remember vividly a huge delicatessen in the back of the supermarket there but, in the early 90s, the deli was closed because plastic packaging was more costefficient. We have lived to regret the environmental impact ever since, with 50% of all plastic made in the last 15 years and only a third being recycled. So, in Westminster on Tuesday, I tabled my plastics amendment to the Bill. You can see more about this, including my speech in full at chrisloder.co.uk/plasticpollution For my latest updates please sign up to my newsletter at chrisloder.co.uk

MP for West Dorset Chris Loder

sure your local Dorset Councillor knows your view; and you must also respond to the consultation. Your elected councillor will be able to vote on the plan in due course. Our rural economies are not