It’s that unique time when there is a feeling of excitement especially for children finishing the long autumn term at school but there are also very significant challenges. Please do take care on the roads and in general. Whilst we will always be affected by the weather I have been stressing the importance of minimising the impact of flooding with councils and other agencies for some time. Works on the A30 Mangle Cave Hill are necessary but will delay some journeys around Chard and Crewkerne after Christmas so do check journey times and factor that in.
It’s also a time of year when people can feel lonely or isolated so if you can do take some extra time to check on a neighbour, put the kettle on or help with the shopping. As always we are hugely grateful to our emergency services and healthcare workers, many of whom deal with additional issues during the winter months.
Government business in Westminster is running up to Christmas and has this week included debates on levelling up and regeneration, trade deals with Australia and New Zealand and our support for Ukraine. It’s also positive to see that inflation has started to drop as that and the cost of living are the biggest difficulties we face.
The Prime Minister has set a new plan to tackle illegal immigration which includes a deportation arrangement with Albania. I receive a lot of emails and letters on this issue which tend to be a result of frustration that it is a problem we have not yet found a lasting solution to. Hopefully these new measures will be a turning point.
I am continuing to work with other MPs and industry experts on online security and identity issues. The extent to which groups have access to details of our lives is a worry and I think one that is underestimated. Freedoms lost during Covid must be restored in full, but we also need to ensure we put a brake on other creeping surveillance. There is no easy answer, but it is something we need to keep raising and working on.
Sadly, we are seeing a lot of strike actions by unions now which are designed to cause maximum disruption over Christmas. We cannot fully make public sector workers immune from inflation and rising costs at the expense of those working in the private sector but hopefully the independent pay review bodies that govern much of it will find reasonable compromises. Above all, striking should always be a very last resort given the consequences for others if vital services are affected