Welcome to this week’s newsletter.
This week, the Chancellor announced his Spring Budget. This included measures to help grow the economy and keep costs down for hardworking families. Read below for details of some of the things announced but it includes a further extension of the energy bills support scheme and more help with childcare costs. Locally it means £2 million more for pot holes which I have to say is one of the things most raised with me as the MP!
In Parliament, I voted to crack down on channel crossings by supporting the Government’s Illegal Migration Bill. I support it because I believe it is both fair and sensible, not just for the British public but for the people who come here legally.
It was great to hear that local Councillor, Alen Gage, has successfully ensured that residents get a say in future public artworks. I was disappointed by the state of the Solar Gazer that was put up on Jack Mills Roundabout without anyone being asked and successfully fought for it to be removed. It is good that the public now gets a say on what will replace it.
I went to a reception by the charity Breast Cancer Now to learn more about Breast Screening. Around 35% of people in Crewe eligible to have a screening are not taking this offer up. Catching Breast Cancer earlier is critical to treating it successfully, so I would urge everyone eligible to go and book theirs.
It was announced this week that the Ministry of Defence will get an additional £5 billion of investment. This is positive news, giving our armed forces the funding they need to continue to keep us safe.
Finally, the Prime Minister has announced that the first series of AUKUS submarines will be built by both the UK and Australia. The AUKUS is a new defence partnership between the UK, the US and Australia - ensuring our countries work together more closely and providing new jobs and investment.
Have a great weekend.
Budget - Growing the Economy & Keeping Costs Down
I Voted to illegal boat crossings
Residents to Get Say on Public Artworks
Breast Cancer Now
Defence Funding
AUKUS - Defence and Security
Traffic Report
Budget - Growing the Economy & Keeping Costs Down
This week, the Chancellor announced a budget for growth, helping create better jobs and more opportunities across the UK.
Some of the announcements include:
- Introducing 30 Hours of Free Childcare For Children 9 Months to 4 Years - Cutting costs for parents and giving them the opportunity to return to work
- Extending Energy Price Guarantee For 3 Months - A typical household will continue to pay no more than £2,500 a year, giving families certainty
- An Additional £200 Million To Fix Potholes - Including over £2.3 Million to fix roads here in Cheshire East
- Fuel Duty Frozen and Extending the 5p Cut - Saving an average driver £200 a year
- Launching a Universal Support Programme - Helping people with disabilities who want to work
- Making changes to pensions to encourage older workers, including doctors, to stay in work.
I know that times are tough for many families with an increase in the cost of living. This budget not only helps keep bills down but breaks down many barriers to people who want to remain or go back to work.
I voted to stop illegal boat crossings
This week I voted for the Government’s Illegal Migration Bill.
I’ve spent my entire working life in roles of public service of one form or another, I consider myself to be a compassionate person.
I am not supportive of this policy because it creates dividing lines. I support it because I believe it is both fair and sensible and in keeping with being a compassionate person.
Why do I think it is fair?
The fairness of an asylum policy should not be based on your ability to make a journey to a foreign country. That is not fair. Those opposed to the policy say if there were safe and legal routes they wouldn’t need to.
But let’s follow that line of thought through.
Let’s say we set up processing centres in France. Whilst the journey would be a less strenuous one, a grandmother in a wheelchair or a double amputee would still be less able to make it than a fit adult. So let’s say we have them somewhere like Turkey. Let’s say this would be more accessible.
What would happen next?
Even if there is disagreement on the exact figure, no one can deny that many millions of people around the world would be eligible for asylum in the UK. It is obvious to me that if tens of thousands of people are willing to make such a long, arduous and dangerous journey by boat to seek asylum in the UK, that many, many more would make an easier journey to somewhere like Turkey.
I can’t imagine it being less than double, and there is no reason to think it wouldn’t go up. It would be completely untenable to maintain that; anyone who understands British public opinion must know that. So you would have to introduce some a cap.
And then what?
Of course, you would have to start turning people away. Naturally, a humane policy would prioritise granting asylum to the elderly, the disabled, the ill people asylum. This would leave fit younger people as the ones we turned away, and there is no reason why they wouldn’t decide they will make the crossing by boat to the UK anyway, and we are right back where we started.
That is why the safe and legal routes on their own would achieve nothing.
Because at the heart of this issue is the fact that there are many more people who could legitimately claim asylum than the British public would or reasonably should take in. If your test of an asylum policy’s humaneness is whether a particular deserving individual could have made it here under the new policy, you are using a test no asylum policy could pass. Because unless we agree to take everyone, there will always be people who would like and deserve to come here that won’t be able to.
What the British public expect is that we take our fair share.
And for those that say we don’t at the moment, our action in relation to Ukraine and Hong Kong and Afghanistan demonstrates our record. And the political reality is, of course, whilst we are not in control of the situation, we are not going to be able to secure the support of the public in agreeing an annual quota of any significant amount.
But if we do get control of it again, I am confident we will continue to work with the UN and other agencies to continue our tradition of offering safe haven to people in need. And that takes me on to why tackling this issue is sensible, as well as fair.
Even if you personally want the UK to take many more refugees than we do, we have to remember this is taxpayers money.
Compassion paid for by someone else is compassion that must be offered carefully.
Because if it is not, you will find that resentment and hostility brews up, and you create the exact unwelcoming environment you accuse others of wanting to stoke. This Government is not prioritising this issue because we want to make people care about it.
We are prioritising it because they already do.
The British people are fair and compassionate.
And they ask me and ask each other, if people are coming from France and they are young men, are they really the people we have in mind when we say we want to be a safe haven for the most vulnerable? Does a preference to come to an English-speaking country give you the right to come here? And if we aren’t in control of the numbers, how are we controlling what we spend on it?
If we ignore those questions, if we say airing them as politicians and reflecting their views that it shouldn’t be happening is right-wing rhetoric, we are heading for trouble. Because those are sensible questions to ask, and if you don’t want to answer them, someone else will.
That might seem harsh on the face of it. But I am a Conservative because I believe we should act with our heads as well as our hearts, that we should care less about how something looks and more about what it actually does. That is why I am supportive of this policy and why I am confident the majority of the British public will be too.
Residents to Get Say on Public Artworks
Cheshire East Councillor Alen Gage has successfully fought for residents to always have their say on future public artworks.
Allen pushed this following the building of the controversial ‘Solar Glazers,’ installed on the roundabout on Jack Mills Way, which was pulled after complaints from residents and myself.
I, like many residents, was frustrated that developers were just allowed to put up an eyesore of a structure on the Jack Mills Way roundabout – without locals being told or asked. It gave a bad first impression of Crewe, and the finished artwork would have no relation to Crewe at all.
Well done to Allen, who has worked hard to get this change and ensure that people will always get a say in any art that is put in in our area.
Hopefully, we can now get artwork that looks good and shows off our proud history and heritage.
Councillor Gage said:
“I submitted a Notice of Motion in November calling for the public to be given a say on any public artwork being implemented in their communities.
“Recently, we have seen the removal of the expensive but failed ‘Solar Gazer’ on Jack Mills Way, a piece of alleged artwork that bore no benefit or local cultural significance whatsoever.
“The council produced a draft policy talking about engagement at the outset - an often selective or invitational process. I discussed with colleagues on the Economy and Growth committee and urged them to table an amendment ‘locking in’ a full consultation open to all, which thankfully found wider support and now guarantees that the public will have a say from now on.
“Public artwork helps define both the places we live and also the outside perceptions of the places in which it is implemented with long-lasting effects. If the council believes they are doing the right thing when commissioning public art, they should have nothing to fear by allowing the public to express their feelings.”
Breast Cancer Now Charity
I have friends and family that have suffered from breast cancer that was identified late. Screening saves lives!
I was genuinely shocked to be told that 35% of women in Cheshire East don’t take up their screening offer. The figures are even higher for Crewe.
I met with Breast Cancer Now CEO Baroness Morgan, who shared the figures with me. They campaign for women to take up screening.
If you are eligible, I would encourage you to get an appointment booked.
Find Out More About Breast Cancer Now Here
Defence Funding
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia last year and the concerning actions of China have shown that we continue to live in a volatile world with growing threats to the UK and our interests. These events are no longer isolated. We are all now very aware of how we can be impacted by these events right here at home, with increases in fuel and food costs.
We must therefore make sure that we are ready to stand our ground and face up to any challenge.
It is therefore really positive that the Government has committed an extra £5 Billion of Defence spending, helping our forces in their vital work to keep us safe. The Prime Minister has also set out an ambition to see Defence spending rise to 2.5% of GDP.
AUKUS - Jobs & Security
The Prime Minister has announced that the first generation of AUKUS Submarines will be built in the UK and Australia.
AUKUS is a new defence partnership between the UK, the US and Australia - ensuring our countries work together more closely.
This will not only allow us to better defend global security but also provide valuable investment and high skilled jobs in the UK.
Traffic Report
The following are road closures for the week ahead, as reported by Cheshire East.
Weston Lane (Between Larch Avenue and Casey Lane) - Until 24th March
Goddard Street, Crewe - 30th January until 31st March
Mill Lane, Oakhanger - 16th January until 14th April
Flag Lane, Crewe - 18th January until 10th April
Delamere Street (Between Flag Lane and Saint Mary’s Street) - 18th January until 10th April
Lord Street (Between Union Street and Camm Street) - 21st March
Gresty Lane (Between Depot Enterance and No.15) - 23rd March
Main Road, Shavington (Between Main Road and Newcastle Road) - 20th until 24th March
Woodland Avenue, Nantwich - 20th March
Hurleston Buildings, Nantwich - 21st until 24th March
Newcastle Road, Nantwich (Between Newcastle Road and Cheerbrook Roundabout) - 20th until 23rd March.