As ever, it’s been a busy time on both local and national fronts and whilst last week may be classed as a big week in Westminster - due to not one but two Ministerial resignations - there may be an even bigger week to come depending on the results of this week’s Makerfield by-election.
On the national front, last week’s events were particularly notable given the resignation of Defence Secretary John Healey, which for some hours left me without a Secretary of State to shadow, a unique experience to say the least. I paid tribute to Healey for doing the honourable thing in an impossible situation. The fact is, he was up against a weak Prime Minister and a stubborn Treasury. So, upon finding that the amount they were going to offer him was derisory, he resigned rather than lend his name to the dangerously inadequate Defence Investment Plan (DIP). As I have written previously, the long-awaited DIP should explain how new equipment and defence infrastructure will be funded over the coming decade. But after waiting for it since last Autumn, the fundamental issue remains – the Government can’t properly fund defence because they are unwilling to take the tough decisions to pay for it.
In his resignation letter, Healey was right to point out that the consequence of the Prime Minister’s inaction is a country that is “less safe and less prepared” to stand up to growing threats. We need to be honest about the fact that Britain faces an unprecedented level of risk to its national security. At a time of war in Ukraine, instability in the Middle East, we need strong defence now more than at any point since the Cold War – this point was rammed home with reports that a Russian vessel may have fired on a British yacht off the Isle of Wight.
It’s precisely because defence is in the national interest that this week Kemi Badenoch and I renewed our offer to work with the Prime Minister to find the savings required to properly fund defence. I will never pretend that these are easy decisions, particularly making savings from the welfare budget - but given the more dangerous world in which we live - they are essential.
In recent weeks, a surprising cast list of notable Labour voices have called for welfare to be cut to fund Defence, from former Defence Secretary Lord Robertson to former Prime Minister Tony Blair. To be clear, tackling the dependency culture and cutting the welfare budget is something I have campaigned for, not least following my experience running a small business when staff were unwilling to work more than 16 hours because of the welfare trap. This is also why I hold an annual Jobs Fair, to help local people make the jump from welfare to work.
On a local and more positive note, I am absolutely delighted by the news that the world-famous painting ‘Mr & Mrs Andrews' is coming to Sudbury, to be displayed in the house where its creator Thomas Gainsborough grew up. People may be aware of my campaign to bring another Suffolk masterpiece back to where it originated. Of course, I’m talking about the equally famous ‘Hay Wain’, which I’d hoped could make a stop at Flatford – at the site of its inspiration - on its way to Ipswich later this year. Whilst this was not possible, ‘Mr and Mrs Andrews’ is a masterpiece from an equally famous painter from the constituency, so I’m incredibly excited that it will be on display at Gainsborough's House next year, as part of Thomas Gainsborough’s 300th birthday celebrations.
At a time when our economy is facing challenging head winds, we’ve got to be doing all we can to make the most of the upcoming events in the arts and culture space in South Suffolk, which boost tourism and in turn support our local economy. But we don’t just have Constable’s 250th birthday celebrations this year and Thomas Gainsborough’s 300th celebrations next year, we recently had the formal reopening of Benton End in Hadleigh. Benton End is a real treasure with beautiful historic gardens and an art school with extraordinary lineage – attended by famous modern artists Maggi Hambling and Lucian Freud. The garden itself is a delight, originally nurtured by Cedric Morris, and it was wonderful to see it featured on Gardeners World recently.
Celebrating our extraordinary cultural heritage is not just about the economy and local businesses, as important as that is. In such challenging times, this is about being proud of where we come from and making the most of what we have on our doorstep.
Published by the Suffolk Free Press.
