Thank you for registering for my newsletter, it has been one of those things that has been on my to-do list for weeks and weeks but I didn’t want to send out the first edition without knowing that I’d be able to set up a regular pattern of newsletters to keep you all up to date with what’s going on in Westminster and the work I’m doing on behalf of people across Lichfield, Burntwood and our villages.
In this first edition I can’t really go much further than what everyone agrees should be the first priority of any government: keeping the country safe. This is obviously true no matter the time, but the recent news stories from across the Atlantic have shone a light clearly on the challenges that we will need to face head on in the coming months.
There is little doubt that the actions of the Russian state are making our continent less safe. Putin’s illegal and inexcusable war of aggression against Ukraine has never been far from the headlines for the last three years, and increasingly Russian naval vessels are threatening UK undersea infrastructure and Russian planes are pushing the limits of UK airspace.
Against this backdrop we need to be clear that the Russian government is a hostile state which is seeking to undermine our way of life and that our support for Ukraine’s fight for its future and its sovereignty should be absolute.
Given the international situation, I was proud to be in the Commons when the Prime Minister announced the accelerated plans for the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War – almost my entire life.
Whilst it’s very true that defence spending was not the reason I got into politics, it is abundantly clear to anyone that, in an increasingly dangerous world, responsible politicians can’t hide from their responsibilities.
There are unfortunately some politicians in the UK who are trying to muddy the lines on this issue and are happy to march to the Kremlin’s tune. Please be in no doubt that this approach is dangerous and that I will never line up to appease a dictator on our continent.
Some of the decisions that have gone alongside this commitment have been difficult. There is no way of sugar coating that and cutting aid funding is not something that any MP wanted to do, but it is the right thing to do when we are facing an international environment like the one we find today.
Whilst the international headwinds may have changed in the last few weeks, and the new administration in the USA is reducing its support for Ukraine, I was so proud to see the PM leading the diplomatic effort to maintain the consensus on Ukraine across the West.
The US is our most important ally and is Ukraine’s most important ally. Out of all the diplomacy this month I do hope that we are moving towards a just peace in the region. A just peace can only be found if Ukraine is at the negotiating table, and with a strong security guarantee for the country as it rebuilds after the horrors of the last 3 years.
Closer to home though, we also know that there is much more to do to keep people safe across the UK. There is scarcely a day that goes by where I am not contacted by someone who is concerned with shoplifting, antisocial behaviour, or a whole raft of other policing matters. Whilst we are lucky to live in an area where crime is much lower than the national average no one wants to rest on their laurels and wait for that to change.
It was noticeable that during my first visit to a business in our constituency after the election, a Tesco store, one of the first things that came up from the manager was the need to do more to prevent shoplifting and violence against shop workers. In December, I was proud to see the government make a new specific offence of “assaulting a shopworker” and changes will stop some shoplifting being seen as “low value”. These changes will help make work safer for people working in our shops and will drive criminality away from our high streets.
We’ve also been hard at work in Westminster to introduce a new Neighbourhood Policing guarantee, backed by £100million of investment, which will put more police in our communities where they belong and help crack down on antisocial behaviour on our high streets and near our homes.
Another crucial change which is coming is the expansion of police powers to combat online crime. With the rise of digital technology, we are seeing an increase in cybercrime, fraud, and online harassment. The Crime and Policing Bill will come to parliament on Monday. It contains plans to give police the authority to tackle online threats and protect individuals from these increasingly sophisticated forms of crime. It will also allow police to enter premises where they know there are stolen phones and electronics and finally give them the powers to seize and crush illegal quad bikes, e-bikes and other off-road vehicles which are either unroadworthy or being used for antisocial behaviour.
We must not lose sight of something that politicians don’t talk about enough though – violence against women and girls. The scale of the problem is shocking— each year, millions of women and girls across the UK experience some form of violence, whether it be domestic abuse, sexual harassment, or online abuse. The numbers are sickening and whilst everyone agrees that something needs to be done, for too long that “something” hasn’t been good enough.
The Crime and Policing Bill will also make spiking a specific criminal offence with prison sentences of up to 10 years, it also contains plans to reinforce stalking laws to keep victims safe and will close a loophole so that sex offenders can no longer change their names.
Finally, I want to touch on one other piece of legislation which is a bit further along its journey into law, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. This came through its first stage in early January and contains a whole raft of excellent measures, like steps to make school uniforms cheaper for parents and lifting the effective ban on local authorities opening new special schools.
The reason it belongs in this discussion though is the provisions which will help protect children from sexual abuse. The introduction of a “single child identifier” will make sure that different agencies can work together better and ensure that no child falls through any gaps. The ban on parents, who are under investigations around child protection, from being able to home school their children and the register of children not at school will also mean that it will be much more difficult for abusers to hide their abuse from the professionals who work to keep children in our communities safe.
As we look towards the future, we have got to invest in our security, policing, and social policies to ensure a safer and fairer society for all. Whether it’s defending our values on the international stage, strengthening our police forces to tackle crime, supporting victims of violence, or ensuring that our children have the best possible start in life, these are all issues that affect us directly.
I am committed to ensuring that the voices of people in our area are heard and I will be working to ensure that people across Lichfield, Burntwood and the villages live lives which are safe, healthy and happy. If you have any questions or thoughts on the issues discussed in this newsletter, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.