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January 2024 January 2024
NEWS FROM WESTMINSTER
OVER THE HILL

Firstly, a Happy New Year to all of you. I hope you
all had a wonderful Christmas with your friends It is almost impossible to write
and family, however you celebrated. I always find the above date and know that
the start of the new year a great moment for this article will be in the coming
reflection. 2023 has been a year which has been year as it is currently the first
more politically stable in the UK than some recent week of December 2023 and
years, but internationally events have not been so
settled. we haven’t had any of the
colder weather that we would
Headlines have been dominated by events in the have had in past years. As
Middle East, and as I write the humanitarian children we would have been
pause has ended, with a resumption of hostilities. We will continue to almost praying for snow at
provide humanitarian support to the region, and continue call for the Christmas, mind you that was some seventy plus years ago. We would have been
release of all hostages and for a diplomatic solution to be found. We also very disappointed to have got to the end of December without snow. I remember
continue to support Ukraine, and I was pleased that the new Foreign as a five year old with my two older brothers, who where aged seven and eight at
Secretary’s first mission visit was to see President Zelensky to underline our that time, taking me to school every day. We had to travel about a mile and a
support for their struggle against Russian aggression. half across fields to get to school. If it snowed we had to go along the country
lane as snow would be too deep along the footpaths on the fields. This added
Here in Dorset another half a mile to our journey but our mother who had a baby daughter to
over the last year look after and father would have been at work, so we had no option but to travel
I have received alone. We really enjoyed those days and our mother had every confidence that
over 6,000 emails we would arrive safely at school and then return home that afternoon.
and letters from
constituents. My There were no school buses or parents with cars to give us a lift. So we had to walk
team and I have and that took us considerably longer than on a normal day because we had to
responded with throw snowballs and make snowmen en route.
over 5,000 emails Today of course parents would not be expected to put their children to such
and letters, and I demanding escapades but we loved it and my mother was very relieved when
have sent over we did arrive home. There was very little traffic on those country lanes and we
10,000 surveys – would rarely see even a car on our whole journey.
asking you for your views on a range of issues, for me to feed back to Ministers.
But being an MP is not about numbers – it is about people. Every week, local I remember those days well and if Christmas came and we hadn’t had snow, we
residents get in touch needing help with a wide range of problems. Perhaps their boys would be very disappointed. Nearly all the Christmas cards those days
visa application for a family member has got held up, or their application for a seemed to have snow scenes on them. Or am I imagining things? Whatever, we
new broadband connection has been refused. Or their Ofsted registration for were living in a different world, where everybody not only looked after their own
their new nursery business has got stuck along the way, and needs but everyone else’s as well. So we were safe and that was all that mattered. In
investigating. Maybe they have tried to get answers from a business, or those days everybody knew all their neighbours and all who passed by on a
government department, or they need answers to a question that no-one seems regular basis.
to be able to solve. We have helped with all these issues and more last year - I
always say I do not have a magic wand – would that I did! But my team and I Things are so different today. In mid November we had a twenty one year old
will do our utmost to help if we can. grandson who had just returned from Canada, where he had gone to help with
the harvest. How different things were over there!. Combine harvesters in some
The Prime Minister has asked me to take on a new role in Government. I am now cases had cutting heads twice the size of those here and tractors with horse
the Illegal Migration Minister, and will be attending Cabinet. Illegal Migration is power again double that of those used over in this country.

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