Prime Ministers changing; hosepipe bans and wildfires in Suffolk; farmers warning of a terrible harvest; fuel prices surging and falling like a rollercoaster – though always seemingly accelerating faster on the way up. As ever, these remain far from normal times.
Of course, whilst the extraordinary weather brings its challenges, there is plenty of upside to such an abundance of unbroken glorious weather. The point is, we continue to live in a turbulent political period, at home and abroad. Given this is exam season – and I wish all my participating constituents the very best – what is the question we in Westminster will have to answer when the Commons returns at the beginning of September?
First and foremost, the economy. Andy Burnham may be new to Number 10, whether in its northern or southern location, but he appears to have repeated Starmer’s trick of making announcements without saying where the money is going to come from. From bus fares to energy bills, it all makes for positive press, but the exam question for Labour – how will they fund it all?
To me, the most important element of the answer must be a thriving economy. Locally, that’s why I’ve long campaigned for the regeneration of Sudbury, a lovely market town but one not achieving its full potential. So I was pleased to join with the Town, District and County councils recently in securing funding for a feasibility study about potentially relocating the bus station, so that we can finally attract private investment into the long-dormant Hamilton Road site. With vacancies reducing, if we are to continue providing opportunity for local people to find employment, we must drive the redevelopment of Sudbury’s retail economy.
Nationally, we could do with the Prime Minister reconsidering some of the anti-business measures that are raised with me in despair every time I speak to a pub landlord or local entrepreneur. In particular, based on my own experience running a small business, the new employment red tape poses a profound threat to hiring – especially for young people starting out in life. Labour need to think again on piling such costs on our wealth creators.
Meanwhile, with farming facing a tough enough position from the natural elements, they could do with more help from their own Government. I sincerely hope that Andy Burnham will recognise the existential threat posed by the Family Farm Tax, and think again.
Then there is our precious North Sea oil and gas. Whatever sobering lessons we’ve witnessed with our own eyes on global warming in recent weeks, those protestors in London recently begging Burnham not to ‘set fire to the globe’ by approving new fields in the North Sea have to understand – the alternative is not lower emissions; the alternative is relying completely on imported oil and gas, which we will need for decades to come. Indeed, importing gas from the likes of Qatar brings higher emissions. So I’d like to see Andy Burnham deliver on the hints he has repeatedly dropped, and commit firmly to doing what every other country on earth with our natural resources would do – drill them for the benefit of our economy, supporting jobs and prosperity in the UK.
At this point, readers might say: Mr Cartlidge, you want tax cuts from Labour, you also back higher defence spending, what about the exam question of how are you going to pay for it?
That would be fair, and there are two key parts to the answer. The first I’ve already stated: back pro-growth measures, like allowing new drilling, and you don’t just get more jobs, you get more tax revenue to fund our precious public services. The second is one I’ve referred to previously in this column – the need to slash our welfare bill by moving people from welfare to work.
And here, there’s a clear joined up plan. If you roll back the hugely burdensome red tape Labour are heaping onto our employers, and take other steps to lower costs such as energy bills, our businesses will have the backing to create the very jobs we need if we are to get people working again. That has to be the central part of the plan to get our finances into shape, and fund the services we rely on.
So, I hope that Andy Burnham will use his first month in charge to really reflect on why Starmer failed, despite having such a large majority, and then return in September able to be transparent about his plans. In the meantime, I hope my constituents are able to enjoy a pleasant summer break.
Published by the Suffolk Free Press.
