How Suffolk will feel the impact of military action in the Middle East
I know that many readers will be concerned about the developing situation in the Middle East following the US’s military action against Iran this weekend. First and foremost, our top priority must be to ensure the safety of UK citizens in the region, and I would urge anyone affected to register with the Foreign Office for the latest updates and of course follow their travel advice. If you have relatives stranded in the region please do not hesitate to get in touch with my office and we’ll do all we can to assist.
On the military side, as Shadow Defence Secretary, I’ve been attending briefings from Government officials and appearing regularly on national media to try and make sense of it all. I very much regret the weak, indecisive position taken by the Prime Minister. Of course, nobody wants conflict – but any course of action has risks. I believe the greatest risk of all would be to allow a regime like Iran, willing to murder thousands of its own people, to possess nuclear weapons.
Whatever people’s view on US action, on one point we should all surely agree: the world is becoming ever more dangerous, and Britain needs to spend more on Defence. So it was regrettable that the Chancellor didn’t find a single extra penny for Defence in her Spring Statement.
As was the case with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the events in the Middle East have caused a global surge in the cost of oil and gas this week. Understandably, this will cause great concern for my constituents about the subsequent knock-on effects on energy bills. Whilst we won’t know the full effects for some weeks, as the situation develops, just last month I visited Goff Petroleum’s HQ in Norfolk who supply heating oil to thousands of my constituents.
Heating oil can be a cost of living challenge in itself as it comes with one-off costs as you have to buy in bulk. However, Mr Goff shared several money saving tips, including options to spread out the costs with a payment plan and the most important of all – shop around for the best deal. The price of oil fluctuates on a daily basis, even without the global shocks we’ve seen of late. This of course has a knock-on effect on motorists, with so many families across South Suffolk reliant on a car to get to work and – it’s certainly not a luxury.
Whilst I very much hope that the soaring prices we’re seeing are short term fluctuations, it makes it even more indefensible when the Government adds to the burden with ill thought through taxes. The Family Farm Tax; higher Employer National Insurance contributions; higher business rates. These are all taxes that make life more expensive, as businesses inevitably have to pass on the cost – whether that’s the price of a pint, or the cost of employing staff in a care home.
Perhaps most importantly, these taxes don’t just push up the cost of living, they create unemployment and reduce new opportunities for work. That should concern us all, given that the Chancellor announced in her Spring Statement yesterday that the rise in unemployment since the election is likely to spike further than expected this year.
In particular, this includes a worrying rise in youth unemployment. Suffolk may be - demographically speaking - one of the oldest counties, but I know that everyone who lives locally, from every generation, wants young people to be able to find good quality jobs in our community. Nobody wants the only option to be a long commute to the ‘big smoke’. Our local shops, pubs, factories, tech companies, service providers, retailers, public sector employers – they all need new talent to help them thrive, in turn delivering apprenticeships and the chance to build a career.
So, as you may ask, what can we do to deliver the climate where jobs are more plentiful? As a party, we’ve set out a bold plan to support the economy by reforming welfare to help people back in to work; scrapping business rates for thousands of high street businesses; repealing the Family Farm Tax to safeguard our food security and finally by repealing the Family Business Tax to support the risk-takers who drive economic growth. The impact of the anti-growth policies the Government are pursuing cannot be understated – they’re stifling business confidence at a time when we should be doing all we can to support our job-creating economy.
Aside from national policy, I try to do all I can in the constituency – for example, by holding an annual Jobs Fair to link our fantastic local employers with school leavers and those looking for a new opportunity. My next Employment & Skills Fair is under six weeks away, taking place on Friday 10th April from 10:00 – 12:00 at the Stevenson Centre in Great Cornard. We have so much to be positive about in South Suffolk, with some great local employers, but they need our backing more than ever.
James Cartlidge is Conservative MP for South Suffolk
Published by the East Anglian Daily Times.
