MPs

Bishops should be abashed over their grandstanding

Immigration is not a subject I have talked about frequently in the BVM, as it rarely affects us directly in West Dorset, but I think it is important to share with you my insights on what is going on about it nationally. A few weeks ago, 12 bishops wrote a letter to The Guardian saying they were deeply concerned about Government’s plan (namely the Nationality and Borders Bill) to deal with immigrant crossings in the channel amongst other things. Whilst I think the bishops’ letter is grandstanding, because it was sent to a left-wing newspaper rather than the 650 MPs in parliament who do have an influence, I would like to share my own views. Only a few weeks ago, we had more than 1,500 illegal immigrants cross the English Channel in a single day. They are not fleeing a threat, they are not fleeing persecution in France these people are illegal immigrants, encouraged by the French, facilitated by people traffickers to cross the channel. It has been outrageous in my view, that our government has also given France £58 million to deal with this issue, mainly because they haven’t! The bishops’ letter purposely looks to confuse immigrants with refugees. They are totally separate. Although I agree previous policies have not worked, being a member of EU made it very difficult to manage. This Bill will address it and I support the action taken. If anyone is in any doubt that this country takes seriously its role in helping refugees, you just have to look at what we have done to help Afghan refugees in recent weeks. n Retired RAF Squadron Leader Ken Symonds AFC lives in Martinstown near Dorchester. He has been missing his Bomber Command medal clasp ever since the Second World War, but on Saturday, just a few days after the anniversary of the Battle of Britain it was a great honour for me to present him with his Bomber Command clasp. Ken, 97, flew Lancasters, and was on the very last Lancaster home on the final bombing raid undertaken. It was his crew that flew over Buckingham Palace on VE day. He served 40 years in the Royal Air Force, and the bravery of him and many others like him is the reason we live in a free society today. If I can help with constituency issue, please get in touch at: House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA or online: chrisloder.co.uk

MP for West Dorset Chris Loder

We should appoint a Supply Minister

The season of mists and mellow fruitfulness is upon us and we should all be basking in the glow of the last days of late summer sunshine. However, it is clear to everyone – particularly those contacting me or giving me their views on the issues of the day, that we are facing a testing and difficult autumn and winter. Harold Macmillan’s warning that ‘events, dear boy, events’ are the politician’s curse seem more than writ large. Our leaving the EU was always going to create issues in need of solutions. We thought that we would have a post-election, large majority ‘space’ during 2021 to deal with them. Then along came covid with all of the distraction and resource divergence it required. Government was absolutely right to do. None of us knew how long it would last and precious few would have predicted it to be this long. And then along came Afghanistan. And overarching all of that the ever-present climate emergency and preparation for COP26. So most if not all of the Government’s plans have been affected by events outwith its control. But, Governments can walk and chew gum simultaneously and legislation is still moving through the sausage machine. However, the big issue facing our country is not new laws but supply. I begin to wonder whether we should not have a new Minister of Supply to co-ordinate and bring heads together across Whitehall. We have a clear problem with the supply of labour. I have yet to hear from a business that is not having issues with recruitment. We are an aging population with a falling birth rate. Immigration and work visa policy must be economically focussed. We are clearly at the beginning of an energy supply situation. Inflationary pressures will rocket if a cold winter sets in. Petrol and fuel supply difficulties (principally due to driver shortages) can be addressed by military deployment but that is only a sticking plaster. Hopefully, the ending of furlough will see more people return to the world of work. As covid restrictions ease, and as the need for workers from overseas becomes apparent to all but the narrowest of minds, we will see an injection of human capital into the workforce. Local farmers and food producers are worried. Local shop owners and other businesses are anxious about the slow operationability of their new supply chains. Again, as covid restrictions are lifted across the world, business will have more resource to find the solutions so desperately needed. Our dedicated health and care workers, already exhausted, fear a new covid variant or a particularly hard-hitting flu epidemic (possibly magnified in impact by the control of social interaction last autumn/winter). The above are the problems/ issues we know. There are things which are yet to even loom on the horizon. There are some comforts that we can draw upon. The size of the Government’s majority ensure it can carry its business in Parliament. Heaven help us if we were trying to deal with the issues raised above with a wafer thin or non-existent majority. The money markets have faith in our Chancellor of the Exchequer and the chill winds of recession are not being felt in the UK. This gives the Government scope to continue the pragmatic commonsense that saw both furlough and the recent NI decision. A meteorologist may very well describe the political weather as ‘unsettled over the coming weeks and unknown thereafter’. As a governing party we are going to have to be agile and fleet of foot to help steer our national ship to calm water. I shall do all I can to do to ensure North Dorset is looked after.

MP for North Dorset Simon Hoare

MPs’ round-up Pandemic heroes showed us what we were lacking

Our village awards a silver salver each year for the greatest contribution to the well-being of the community. The winners this year were, of course, the covid support group: the people who volunteered to go get prescriptions, food, newspapers and more for those in isolation, those caring for the vulnerable or those simply too frightened to go out. There were and still are many such groups across the Vale. What they uncovered and sought to service was a scale of need, isolation and vulnerability that I do not believe most of us knew was there. There does now seem to be renewed interest in coming together in local community groups and activities, perhaps just as an unconscious result of this understanding. Another candidate for the salver might well have been the local farmer who, in recognition of the almost complete loss of wildflower habitat hereabouts, planted several acres with bee and birdfriendly plants for the sake of it. No apologies for making the point: caring for people and caring for the environment are not just big ticket, top-down policy matters. Most of the real action is local, done by real people and real teams directly connected to their communities and places. I am excited to see another volunteer-based initiative bearing fruit across the county with the launch by Dorset Business Mentoring of their Dorset Business Advancement Programme which is looking to share best practice and to tap into the experts we have in our midst. There are 52,000 businesses in Dorset of all shapes and sizes. More than 98% are small businesses and they are the life blood of our economic activity. These enterprises are formed by, led by, carried out by an army of individuals who work long hours, keep their teams fed and watered… and then have to do the paperwork. To back their skills, hard work, confidence and motivation beyond covid we should not wait for government-funded cavalry riding to the rescue, armed with consultants, health-checks, tick-lists and labyrinthine grant schemes. Support and advice for small businesses delivered locally by harnessing expert knowledge and understanding and by fostering strong peer group networks is more likely both to be better value for money and to endure. Across the piece, the sum of our individual and community expertise and actions makes a real difference. If we do step up, lend a hand, pitch in –whatever – it is great to know we are not alone. This is not to deny the benefits of scale in some areas or the proper operation of market economics but it is about challenging the besetting sin of a culture that says, “let the devil take the hindmost.”

Mike Chapman, Chair of North Dorset Lib-Dems

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