I’ll start with the global, then the national, then the local.
The Middle East
The images of missiles and tracer fire over Tel Aviv and Tehran this week herald a new apocalypse in the Middle East. The prospect of a nuclear Iran is terrifying: imagine such a power in the hands of a regime so weak it cannot muster more than a few hundred conventional missiles, most of which can’t penetrate Israel’s defences, and so fanatical it might use it.
Israel is right, in my view, to try to take out Iran’s nuclear programme; they are doing that job for the whole civilised world. Likewise their battle in Gaza against Iran’s proxy Hamas is a civilisational imperative, made incalculably difficult by Hamas’s tactic of blending with and hiding behind the civilian population and facilities.
The counter-tactics of the IDF are of course proper subjects of our scrutiny and, where appropriate, censure; and even if it hampers their war effort Israel should do everything possible to get humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.
But at its heart this remains a decades-long struggle between a UN-recognised, democratic sovereign state and a movement composed of local terrorists and foreign despots which wishes to exterminate it and to wage a war of destruction on the West. We must not let our rightful distress at the plight of Palestinian civilians (the principal victims of Iran’s puppet regime in Gaza) or our objection to particular IDF operations obscure the fundamentals of the battle in the Middle East.
UK politics: defence, economy, death
At the 2024 and 2019 elections Labour promised to respect the EU referendum result, to keep the UK out of the EU customs union and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, and to restore the UK’s sovereignty over its fishing waters. All these commitments were fudged, if not yet entirely breached, by the EU ‘reset’ Sir Keir Starmer executed last month. I spoke in Westminster Hall with my concerns - see here.
Israel’s success in defending itself against Iran’s missiles starkly exposes our own inadequate defences. The Strategic Review commissioned by the Government reported this month, with a series of good ideas which the Government accepted - but all depend on Treasury funding which is patently not forthcoming. For instance, ‘up to’ five new nuclear-powered submarines are promised; ‘up to’ may mean one, or none, and ministers could not commit to any.
I also detected in the Defence Secretary’s statement a cooling of the Government’s commitment to the new helicopters to be built in Devon, which would have a positive effect on the economy and industry of our region. I challenged him on this, and asked for assurance that the Chinook fleet is safe; I wasn’t reassured by his answer (see here).
By the way, the whole Strategic Review was briefed in advance of the statement in Parliament to journalists and indeed to defence contractors. This was a flagrant breach of protocol and I and others made a fuss about it (here).
I spoke in a debate on behalf of HM Opposition about the proposal from Labour and SNP politicians to give migrants full access to the welfare state, rather than just - as now - full use of public services. I objected, and suggested the best way to address child poverty is to reduce the flow of poor families into the UK; strengthen families and communities through constructive social reform; and boost the creation of well-paid jobs through pro-growth policies to reduce taxes and cut the cost of energy and employment. Labour are doing the opposite of all these things, and our economy is now as precarious as it has been in my lifetime.
Oh, and we’re back in the Assisted Suicide debate. I sat through the final day of Report stage on Friday, in which my side (the anti-AS side) won a significant victory: the House voted to stop doctors discussing AS with children. This amendment had been rejected by the bill’s sponsor, and the Government, in committee and I was very heartened that MPs have insisted on it. It shows the Bill does not have a cast-iron majority. The big vote on the Bill as a whole - either rejecting it, or letting it proceed to the House of Lords - comes this Friday.
Local matters: the rivers, the police, and Winterbourne Monkton
The state of our rivers is a good metaphor for the state of things more generally. The Kennet and the two Avons (Bristol and Hampshire) - both rare chalk streams - have watered southern England for six million years, but in modern times they have become depleted and polluted.
Part of the problem is agricultural run-off, and part is human sewage. The first problem was being addressed in part by the Sustainable Farming Incentive, and the second by the Water Restoration Fund which ensured water companies were fined for sewage spills and the proceeds reinvested in local restoration projects in the areas affected. The Government has stopped new applications to the SFI, and scrapped the WRF altogether. Thames Water was fined over £100 million last month for sewage spills, but now none of this money is being redirected to the Thames area - including the Kennet catchment.
I met Charlotte Hitchmough from Action on the River Kennet, on a bend in the river near Marlborough, to discuss this scandal - amidst a gaggle of teenagers jumping into the water, which was a heartening sign of both the river itself, and the so-called digital generation, retaining some of their proper vitality. Watch us here. I also tabled an amendment to the Infrastructure Bill last week which would have required the Government to protect more chalk streams, if the Government had accepted it, but they didn’t. My speech here.
I’ve been working with Kit Malthouse, my neighbouring MP in North West Hampshire, to tackle the scourge of illegal hare coursing and the associated criminality - theft and violence - of the gangs that do the coursing. Wiltshire Police have considerably ramped up their rural policing thanks to the priorities of our elected Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson. But we are blatantly underfunded when compared to urban forces, and the very small increase in overall police funding will mean only a trickle of new money reaches Wiltshire. My comment here.
Winterbourne Monkton - one of a dozen Winterbournes around Wiltshire; this one on the Marlborough Downs above Avebury - is a pretty village bisected by the main road but tranquil and prospering. I met the parish council last week and afterwards chatted to Wiltshire Councillor Jane Davies about the challenges and opportunities here. The village hall is newly built in a deal with the developer who put up a handsome new estate, which has brought new young families to the village, sustaining life for nearby schools and for the pub. Our conversation here.
Afterwards the chairman of the parish council Simon Petchey showed me around the church. This is a treat. The tower is held up by ancient tree trunks. The font - ‘a splendid C12 tub with chevron decoration dissolving into a barbaric figure’, says Pevsner - christened John, the father of William Marshall, a principal instigator of Magna Carta. My chat with Simon by the font is here.
