As I am sure a lot of you are feeling, it’s the time of year when there is a sense of urgency to get things done before Christmas. The John Lewis advert is out (and brilliant that they have used their platform to talk about fostering) and suddenly there is Black Friday and so on. The Christmas adverts are often well made and effective because they include a gentle nudge on values. It is a busy time in Westminster too but one which I hope will also reflect good values and priorities as we face many challenges.
Education is rightly a focus and I had a really good visit to Preston Primary School last week to talk to year 5s about Parliament and how our democracy works. Questions from children at schools are often very insightful and better than those in the House of Commons and I always enjoy that.
As chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Education I am currently working on a plan for areas that we can contribute to. Special Educational Needs will still be a big priority but we will continue to talk with experts on other issues and I am grateful for the time of teachers here in Somerset for their views and experiences.
Whilst the newspaper headlines and national economic picture are perhaps too gloomy I have been really impressed by the spirit and enthusiasm of our local businesses here and it’s great to see so much innovation amongst small firms in Yeovil as was highlighted in my meeting with the Yeovil Chamber of Commerce at the Innovation Centre. I was glad to see various reliefs to Business Rates in the Autumn Statement but I will continue to press for more, and champion investment and support that can release our local potential such as the Future High Street Fund that we secured last year. Councils do also need to implement properly on the ground.
We always have great Christmas events here and thanks as always to those helping. Crewkerne has a great schedule starting on Friday and there are lots of other “Lighting Up” events too.
It is a shame not to be starting a World Cup with more undiluted joy at seeing sport bring everyone together. It’s something I will be speaking to the Government about so please do let me know your views on the situation in Qatar. Sport can be a hugely positive force for good but at the same time it does seem that the money and governance around FIFA is out of control.
During the pandemic and since I have also raised issues about responsible betting and I understand there are wider concerns on this at the moment. With the increase of online sites based overseas it is harder to regulate but if you do have any worries about gambling please do seek the right advice, and keep any little bit of fun just that. We could all do well also to remember that the best gifts are not the most expensive but those that maximise time and love.