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New Blackmore Vale, September 17, 2021
blackmorevale.net
MPs’ round-up
Urgent action is needed to combat river pollution The late summer sun of the past couple of weeks has coincided with the return of MPs to Westminster, where political debate is also heating up. There are a number of important issues to contend with, but with COP26 just a couple of months away, I believe the environment must remain firmly top of the political agenda. Whilst global efforts to stem the tide of climate change are rightly at the forefront, I’m also working hard on environmental issues close to home. For many, warm summer days stir nostalgic memories of refreshing river swims – but these happy memories are no longer being made. The failing health of our nation’s rivers is an incredibly concerning issue, but it is not too late to save them. Every river in England is
Somerton & Frome MP David Warburton polluted beyond legal limits and only 14% are in ‘good’ ecological health. Each and every day the health of our rivers is deteriorating after being repeatedly flooded with human sewage and suffering from the run-off of nutrient-rich animal slurry from agriculture. I have already spoken with colleagues in Government
and been in touch with district councils, Wessex Water, Natural England and the Environment Agency to discuss the phosphate issue that is preventing planning permissions from being granted across very much Somerset. I was also pleased to speak at the Somerset Rivers Authority workshop just a few weeks ago. The declining health in our rivers is sadly linked to insufficient budget for the Environment Agency to carry out enforcement and pollution prevention. Each farm in England can now just expect one inspection every 263 years! Of course, I have every respect for our fantastic farmers here in Somerset who are excellent stewards of the environment. Enforcement isn’t about coming after farmers who care for their land but, quite the
opposite, ensuring that our responsible local farmers are not undercut by other farms with little regard for environmental protection. The recent funding boost for farmers to tackle water pollution is a welcome sign that the Government is taking these issues seriously – but it doesn’t fix the whole problem. This is why I am supporting River Action’s ‘Give Us Back Our Rivers’ campaign, which is calling on the Government to double environmental protection budgets. We must urgently clean up our rivers – to protect nature, fix our planning crisis, and to give us cleaner waterways to enjoy. You can follow what I’m up to both in Westminster and Somerset at davidwarburton.org.uk/news.
Private insurance cannot be off table This week Parliament returned to ‘normal’ operating procedures. No more proxy votes or virtual participation. It’s either be there or be shouted at by the Chief Whip! Anyway, I think the powers that be decided we should return not slowly and peacefully but with a bang – the political version of a cold shower if you will. And so it was that we had a vote on raising additional taxes to pay for the NHS and for Social Care. My first instinct was to abstain or vote against. You can call me old fashioned. We had, after all, made a manifesto pledge not to raise NI, income tax or VAT. I see a manifesto as a contract with the electorate. They choose you based upon what your party promises, and you abide by it. It is why I voted against the reduction in Overseas Aid. I know some others were opposed to the NI rise because they believe in low or the lowest taxes. That has always struck me
MP for North Dorset Simon Hoare as a somewhat ideological approach. If one wants good quality, reliable public services they need to be funded by the public purse i.e., through taxation. I had no problem with the principle of raising taxes. It was having said we would not that weighed on my mind. Then I remembered we were on the cusp of the anniversary of 9/11 and the Twin Towers. That event changed everything. Nothing has been the same since. And so too has covid. Unprecedented demands on
public spending and borrowing to see us all through and to keep the NHS serving us. Keeping us safe and well. The perfectly logical focus of the NHS has created a massive backlog of waiting lists in all areas of health care. All MPs know this as we hear it in our inboxes and advice surgeries. As your MP I was therefore left with a choice: 1) vote to increase taxes ringfenced for healthcare to tackle and reduce the waiting lists or 2) argue the point that we said we wouldn’t increase tax and that covid hadn’t changed anything and vote against or abstain. To do the latter would have turned me into an ideologue prepared to put into second place the health needs of many of my constituents. To do the former meant I was prepared to run some political fire to do the right thing for those who need the NHS. I voted for the increases in order to help the people of North Dorset.
Now, we all know we could provide 150% of GDP to the NHS and it would not be enough. The Health and Social Care Bill currently before Parliament presents an opportunity for ministers to take back some powers from NHS England and restore an element of democratic accountability. We must use the coming weeks to work out what we want Social Care to look like in the 2030s, 40s and 50s. We will fail if we only think of it as elderly care. Social Care demand includes more than the elderly and we neglect this at our peril. We need to restore Local Government funding thereby allowing councils down on the ground, and who know their local communities and their needs, to increase their social care provision. Private social insurance provision cannot be taken off the table as we explore solutions to these problems. And they are difficult problems.
When possible, we’d like to give a voice to members of other political groups on these pages. Email newsdesk@blackmorevale.net
