I was absolutely thrilled that Her Royal Highness, the Princess of Wales, chose to visit Sudbury’s historic silk industry – as well as meeting pupils from St Gregory’s Primary School. These have been glum times on many fronts, economically and internationally, but to have a royal visit to Sudbury Silk Mills was a timely reminder of the huge strengths we still possess locally, whatever trials and tribulations are testing us. I’ve no doubt that Sudbury’s roll in providing beautiful silk products to senior members of the royal family over the years will have added to the attraction from the Princess’s point of view, but above all, this was about celebrating our town and the historic industry at its heart – which, with this kind of positive PR, hopefully can also look forward to a thriving future.
And, frankly, we need it to. Economically, a growing worry of mine is the rapid worsening of the labour market. I base this assertion on both statistical and anecdotal evidence. Anecdotally, I keep hearing from job hunters about the sudden reduction in vacancies; and a number of recent reports have backed this up empirically.
For the first time I had an estate agent attend one of my constituency surgeries, concerned at how the property market seems to have ground to a halt – with constant speculation of new taxes hardly helping. Meanwhile, food prices continue to grow, putting pressure on the cost of living. And farmers face the combination of a weak harvest and a terrible new tax.
Amidst these challenges, I always try to stay positive. Yes, we had fewer vacancies at my Sudbury Jobs Fair earlier this year – but we still had quality jobs on offer. Pubs may be closing, but there are also people stepping in to reopen or re-energise our hostelries. I wish them well, and will continue to do all I can to promote our local firms, and the strengths of our tourism offer - so vital to hospitality businesses.
Internationally, we continue to be tested. As Shadow Defence Secretary, naturally I’ve been concerned at the incursion of Russian drones into the airspace of NATO allies – Poland and Romania. With this taking place alongside a major Russian military exercise in Belarus, we should be concerned, but also clear that this kind of aggression is totally unacceptable. This week the Prime Minister announced that the UK will contribute Typhoon fighter planes to enhance security for our East European allies.
The key point here is that we are part of an alliance, NATO. That alliance exists to provide mutual assistance to its member states. I happen to believe that these drones were deliberately flown into NATO airspace, and that Putin is testing our resolve. As such, we in turn need to show that our resolve is strong by standing in solidarity.
Poland lost over 5 million people in World War Two. When I visited the country as a Defence Minister, I found an extraordinary determination to restore their military strength and ensure there is never a repeat of those tragic times. It’s all about deterrence. To deter war, we need to show our adversaries that we and our allies are strong, and will stand up for each other when attacked.
That’s why we need to back our defence industry. I was delighted to hear that a Ukrainian drone company is investing in Suffolk, with plans not just for drone production, but also testing them in the constituency, at Elmsett Airfield.
Last week I attended DSEI in London Docklands, the main UK defence industry trade event. Of course, we had our protestors outside and I know there will be readers who find the ‘arms trade’ distasteful. But without it, how do we defend ourselves and countries like Ukraine?
Indeed, the lesson from countries like Poland is that they are galloping as fast as possible to rearm because they feel the threat so close to home, right on their border. But that threat also lurks in our seas. So, with economic clouds growing, and international tensions still high, backing our defence industry – especially when the jobs are created in Suffolk – should be something we embrace.
Ultimately, we all want to return to a time of plentiful peace and prosperity. But such comfort is hard won, and easily given up. As I’ve written before, we need to get our national mojo back to drive economic confidence – and ensure we can afford to rearm at the pace and scale to make the likes of Putin think twice before threatening us, or our allies.
Published in the Suffolk Free Press.
