After far too long a period of challenge and division in or country, with the benefit of hindsight it
seems obvious that we all needed Her Majesty the Queen to pull a marmalade sandwich out of her
handbag. Her sketch with Paddington was one of so many highlights of the Jubilee celebrations or,
as they became on social media, the #PlattyJubes. It was great to see how much younger people got
involved, and having Wildcat and Merlin helicopters made here in Yeovil and maintained and
readied at Yeovilton leading the Palace fly-past was a particular source of pride for us locally.
The Queen asked that memories be made and they were. So many street parties and village events,
neighbours coming together, maybe a few hazy heads the next day - the whole long weekend was
filled with such goodwill and joy, as well as a huge amount of gratitude for such an astonishingly
long-serving and brilliant public figure.
Hopefully it was a boost for various local industries and in particular the hospitality industry which
continues to have a challenging time.
My main focus now in Westminster is to encourage fresh and innovative ways in which we can keep
our economy strong and opportunities plentiful in the coming years, not least for local farms and
farmers and other local businesses. There is great urgency to this as the world comes out of the
pandemic and deals with global supply chain issues and price fluctuations exacerbated by the
Ukraine war.
It is essential also to update implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol so it preserves the
Good Friday Agreement in all its dimensions and power sharing, in practical and legally sound ways.
I have had meetings this week with No 10 and Cabinet Ministers on these matters and will continue
to do all I can to help work on plans in this regard.
For understandable reasons during the pandemic we have had a lot of spending commitments but
we now need a revolution in productivity, better regulation and lower taxes to grow our businesses
and incomes.
Getting around efficiently is important too and I am keen to see any changes to bus routes properly
thought through. I was in touch with the Government about this in March and we got bus services in
Somerset a great deal of extra national support during Covid and since but money doesn't grow on
trees and they need to move onto a more sustainable footing.
Reconfiguration is up to the local authority working with operators but I want to see all areas still
have good coverage, route extension plans maintained and the large amount of extra money I
helped get used wisely. I also want to make sure views are fairly represented by the new local
administration so please do get in touch if you have any specific concerns.
As always, if I can be of any help of if you have any concerns please do email marcus.fysh.mp@parliament.uk or call 01935314321