It’s been another challenging week here in what we are told has been an unusually warm February. With the high winds it certainly hasn’t felt like that and many will have been affected by flash floods. These have receded quickly and at the time of writing no roads in the area are closed but as we head into spring I will be in touch with relevant groups to see what lessons we can learn and how better to further the work in mitigating damage and disruption in the future.
Against this backdrop it was perhaps unexpected to have a serious fire but thoughts are with those coping with the aftermath of the blaze at the PMBL battery manufacture site in Chard. The cause is being treated as accidental and the fire service responded quickly and in force. Their bravery contained the situation and I hope to catch up with them soon to offer our thanks and learn more about the incident. It’s also been a huge blow for the local Tae-Kwon-do club but great to see them working with Holyrood Academy to use the space there. Details are online and if you have been thinking about a New Year fitness plan but not quite got round to it yet why not give it a try?
The temporary road closures caused by flash floods are a stark reminder about just how important getting around is to almost everything we do, whether it’s getting to work, taking children to school, doing the weekly shop, or a number of other things we might otherwise take for granted. This is why I always lobby for a freeze in fuel duty and have done so again with the Treasury in advance of next week’s Budget. Given the spike in various costs over the last year we also need to cut tax in a way that workers can see in their pay as well as non-inflationary measures such as relief on research and development costs and other investments. It is a discussion for another time but the fact that the Government’s policy is constrained by forecasts by the Office for Budget Responsibility should be considered given that the forecasts are always wrong.
We have had perhaps the worst week so far of politicians tying themselves in knots, trying to win points whilst not offending anyone on the news channels or social media. I am sure I am not alone in thinking that most people are not that interested in who is distancing themselves from what and so on. Language is important and there is a duty not to incite further tensions but it would be very refreshing to hear more along the lines of, “Here are the facts and here’s what we intend to do to make things better.”