This week saw Liz Truss visit the Queen to be asked to form a Government and be the next Prime Minister. Rishi Sunak moved with speed and determination during the pandemic but Liz is the right choice to take the country forward. Other candidates such as Penny Mordaunt , Kemi Badenoch and Tom Tugendhat all bring strong ideas and skills to the table and are part of the new Cabinet which is the most diverse ever. I look forward to working with all colleagues and especially those in the Cabinet to get the right policies in place for the UK to thrive.
There may not have been a new Prime Minister in recent history with quite such an urgent crisis to tackle. The rise in fuel costs needs urgent intervention to help families and businesses get through the winter and Liz is determined to help straight away in addition to addressing issues of market structure and supply. Her focus on growth is absolutely right, and she is also very pro-union and completely understands the challenges and nuances of dealing with border issues in the island of Ireland.
Given the pressing issues facing the Government, the leadership contest process has been too long. I am sure this will be reviewed in the coming weeks to make things quicker in the future. It is not Boris Johnson’s fault that he has not been able to take more action on the cost of fuel and other cost of living issues – in the circumstances you can’t take policy decisions of such scale and ramifications and then leave them to your successor in a few days.
I had a good meeting in Yeovil at the end of last week with our Police and Crime Commissioner, Mark Shelford, to talk about speeding and other anti-social behaviour and police related issues. Thanks to everyone who has got in touch on issues of policing which I have passed on. It’s really useful to have first hand accounts and I will keep people updated. Avon and Somerset have been recruiting more Police Officers and I know that Mark is working hard on the right set of priorities for us. Parish and Town Councils may also be interested to know there is a very cost effective speed camera programme they can participate in to discourage speeding.
This Saturday is Catch the Bus Day in Yeovil. It’s important we get our buses on a sustainable footing that supports people without cars or other transport and I am urging the Council not to forget our part of Somerset. If you can please show your support – details are online. Also coming up soon are the Summer Fayre at South Petherton Community Hospital on the 17th and also heritage days with a number of events in Chard. Again details are online but if that’s not easy for you do get in touch with my office and we can forward them. Finally, for those of us dads with young children, the Yeovil Library Dads’ Club sounds like a great idea and is running from 10-1130am this Saturday. It’s aimed at under 5s but all are welcome. We are so lucky to have these great community projects going on and so many dedicated supporters who run them.