Chris Whiteside's Blog

The government has announced  a comprehensive new package to tackle HGV driver shortages  which will deliver up to 50,000 more drivers a year and help to address the effects of the worldwide lorry driver shortage. HGV drivers are helping to keep the whole country running, as they have been throughout the pandemic – but there is a global shortage of drivers.    That is why the government is taking action here in the UK to help industry leaders attract drivers and build a more resilient sector, and following a public consultation we are overhauling HGV driving tests to streamline the process and make 50,000 more tests available each year.    This will help more people to kickstart their career as a well-paid HGV driver as we take global leadership in tackling the long-standing challenges faced by countries around the world.

"A passionate commitment to social justice is no substitute for knowing what the hell you're talking about." ( Thomas Sowell )

I have suuccessfully completed the Swimathon 2021 5k (5000 metre) challenge, 200 lengths of Copeland Swimming pool, to raise money for Cancer Research UK and Marie Curie cancer care. Took two hours nine minutes. Tired but happy. Thanks to those who have already sponsored me. Anyone else who wishes to do so can donate online via Justgiving by clicking on this link Christopher Whiteside is fundraising for Cancer Research UK, Marie Curie & The Swimathon Foundation (justgiving.com) Here are my swimming hat and medal for this year (I have quite a collection now:after doing this for 28 consecutive years)

A meeting of the County Council Local Committee for Copeland will be held on tomorrow, Monday 13 September 2021 at 10.15 am. This will also be physical meeting which will take place at Cleator Moor Civic Hall and Masonic Centre, Jacktrees Road, Cleator Moor, CA25 5AU The agenda and all supporting documents can be found at  Agenda for County Council Local Committee for Copeland on Monday, 13th September, 2021, 10.15 am | Cumbria County Council

The government has  announced the first investment from the £100 million UK Seafood Fund , supporting the UK fishing industry now and for the future. The fishing industry is pivotal to the wellbeing of coastal communities and we are determined to support its productivity and sustainability.    That is why the government launched the £100 million Seafood Fund, and fishing businesses across the UK will now have access to £24 million of investment to develop technology, trial new gear and support world-class research to improve the productivity and long-term sustainability of the industry.    This support for the fishing industry is helping us to level up coastal communities across the country as we build back better from the pandemic.

Next week  the Prime Minister will set out the next steps in our Covid response , protecting the gains of Britain's historic vaccine rollout that has allowed life to return to a sense of normality.   Thanks to the efforts of the public, the NHS and our phenomenal vaccination programme, it was possible to proceed with Step 4 of the roadmap out of lockdown  in England on 19 July and return life to a sense of normality – but the winter months ahead will bring renewed challenges.   That is why next week, the Prime Minister will set out an autumn and winter plan for managing covid – including a final decision on the vaccine booster programme for the most vulnerable from the JCVI, and how the government intends to repeal powers that are no longer necessary from the Coronavirus Act.   Vaccines will continue to be our first line of defence over the months ahead, and the government urges everyone who does not have a specific medical reason not to do so to get both d...

On Thursday   thirteen British nationals were flown to safety from Kabul to Doha   - as the UK will continue to do all we can to facilitate safe passage out of Afghanistan. The UK government is working with our international partners to hold the Taliban to their commitment to allow safe passage for those who want to leave Afghanistan.    As a result of these efforts and support gratefully received from the Qatari Government, thirteen British nationals were able to fly to safety from Kabul to Doha – as the UK continues to call for the protection of human rights, and the education and employment of women and minorities in Afghanistan.    The UK will do all we can to hold the Taliban to their commitment to allow safe passage for foreign nationals and vulnerable Afghan citizens.

"It's not the content of the criticism which troubles me, it's the hysterical tone."  "We desperately need to change this tone, for it is not merely poisoning thepolitical system; it is infantilising the electorate. It causes us to reduce difficult trade-offs to character attacks, nuances to parodies. At the very least, the next time you feel moved to suggest that all politicians are fools and charlatans, perhaps reflect that it was us who put them there. If there is idiocy in the system, therefore, we should look in the mirror." ( Matthew Syed , extracts from an article in today's Sunday Times called "It damages society to always call our politicians cheats and liars)

The government  has announced data protection reforms to boost economic growth and protect the public , capitalising on our freedom as a sovereign trading nation as we build back better. Data is one of the world’s most important resources and we all want our laws to take a common sense approach to benefit our economy and society.    That is why the government has announced reforms which will keep people’s data safe and secure – imposing tougher penalties and fines for nuisance calls and text messages – while taking a common sense approach to cookie banners and launching a commission to examine what can be done to mitigate algorithmic bias.    This will help to unleash data’s power across the economy and society, for the benefit of people and businesses across the UK.

This is Swimathon weekend and I will be attempting the 5,000 metre challenge at 4pm this afternoon to raise money for Cancer Research UK and Marie Curie Cancer care. I first took part in the Swimathon twenty-seven years ago in 1994.  I have completed it every year since then, though last year because of the pandemic I had to do Swimathon 2020 in two halves. This year I again plan to do the full 5,000 metres 200 lengths of Copeland pool, Hensingham, in one go. If I am successful that will be the 28th consecutive year I have swum the 5,000 metre challenge. The Swimathon is Britain’s largest charity swim, and gives people of very varied swimming abilities an opportunity to raise money for charity by swimming distances of up to 5,000 metres. Swaimathon 2021 is raining money for Cancer Research UK and for Marie Curie cancer care. Cancer Research UK, the worlds leading cancer charity is dedicated to saving lives through funding research to help prevent, diagnose and treat cancer. Cancer ...

 It has been an amazing summer for British sport. Congratulations to all the member of the British Olympic team who performed so well at the Tokyo Olympics - and to all the British Paralympic team members who performed so well at the Tokyo paralymic games. And now congratulations to 18-year old Emily Raducanu - from qualifying to winning the US Open tennis championship, and to win the Women's medal without losing a single set! 

 

 Agnes Hill - "Aggie" to her friends - former Leader of St Albans Council 1988-1990, former member of Herts County Council, my immediate predecessor as Chairman of St Albans Conservative association, member of the family practitioner committee, governor of various schools, and much else besides, has died after a short illness at the age of 82. Aggie was a force of nature and nobody who ever met her will forget her. She became leader of St Albans Council in incredibly difficult circumstances after Liberals and Labour had done what "progressives" do best - spent all the money and created a financial crisis. That included passing a budget just before the Conseratives were electd to a majority on the council which the council's auditors suggested was possibly illegal - a budget which Agnes Hill then had to manage. She did more to put things back on an even keel than she ever got credit for. I didn't always agree with her - we had one telephone conversation betwe...

Twenty years ago today fundamentalist terrorists murdered three thousand people in New York - most of them American citizens but some of every nationality including British.  The victims included people of every creed including the Muslim faith on behalf of which the murderers claimed to be acting - although it is not difficult to find passages in the Holy Quran which seem to me to utterly conflict with what they did.  The victims also included heroes of the emergency services who rushed towards the twin towers while others were rushing away.  We should never forget those who died. Or cease to work for reconciliation while making sure that free societies are defended.  

A fair-minded and reasonable person listening to the arguments advanced on both sides would concede that some of the points put forward both by objectors and supporters of the mine alike were stronger than others. Most of those of us who support the mine, for instance, would not be in agreement with the one individual who put an "alternative point of view" than man-made climate change isn't real. That isn't our argument at all: we agree with government policy to stop burning coal in power stations and support this mine only because it is specifically for metallurgical coal to make steel, for which there is not yet a proven alternative. On the other side of the argument, almost all those speakers against the mine who had made even the least actual knowledge of West Cumbria or who had made the slightest effort to engage with the people of West Cumbria agreed that there are areas of real poverty in and around Whitehaven and that there really is a desperate need for jobs ...

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day , also known as International Suicide Awareness Day Many people have no idea how prevalent suicide is until someone they know tries to kill themselves - and often succeeds. In the UK in 2019, 6,524 people took their own lives. Men aged 45-49 and women aged 50-54 have the highest suicide rates in England and Wales. Suicide is the most common cause of death among men aged 20-49 and women aged 20-34. (The figures quoted above for suicide rates among women may appear at first glance to be contradictory but are not: the suicide rate among women is higher for those in their early fifties than for women aged 20-34, but the latter group are much less likely to die for most other reasons.)  If someone you know is under a lot of stress, talk to them. Let them know that they are not alone. If they have given any sign that they might be considering self-harm, encourage them to seek help. And don't assume that they would not be the sort of person who would ...

On "the Boris Johnson dilemma" "As well as not wanting him to change anything, voters also don't want to live with the consequences of not changing anything."  (Lord) Danny Finkelstein , article in The Times on Wednesday.

 

This is what I had to say today in my verbal evidence on the West Cumbria Mining proposals for a new coal mine at Woodhouse Colliery to produce metallurgical coal to make steel. “Sir   I represent the Egremont North & St Bees division on the County Council, an area which includes the locations of the proposed Rail Loading Facility and much of the underground works. I am speaking as an individual and not on behalf of the council.   I am concerned about time given the large number of speakers so I will not repeat everything in my comments previously submitted but concentrate on the main points and issues.   This is a huge and enormously complex application and the issues are not at all straightforward which is why the resolutions of the County Council’s Development Control and Regulation committee, (DC&R) in favour of the application were qualified by a wish to impose a Section 106 agreement and in total a hundred conditions. If the application is ultimately approve...

 

 The public inquiry into whether West Cumbria Mining's planning application for Woodhouse Colliery should go ahead started this morning at 10am The inquiry is being held online and will go on for the rest of the month. I am due to speak tomorrow.

A regular meeting of the full council of Cumbria County Council was held at the Carlisle Racecourse, Durdar Rd, Carlisle CA2 4TS, this morning (Tuesday 7th September 2021) at 10.00 am. The agenda and all supporting documents can be found on the County Council website at Agenda for County Council on Tuesday, 7th September, 2021, 10.00 am | Cumbria County Council There were questions about the A595 (from me) and about bus services among other things. I will post within the next day or so a speech I made about West Cumbria Mining. I was also interested to hear a speech by a Labour councillor about how what an awful deal the PFI contract to build the original Cumberland Infirmary at Carlisle was for the NHS and taxpayers of Cumbria, and he suggested that those responsible should be prosecuted for fraud. He was of course right that this was a terrible deal - the taxpayer and the NHS have paid at least six times the value of the hospital since this deal was agreed just after the turn of the ...

 

On Saturday the Northern Ireland Secretary announced that  the UK will be investing more than £730  million into the new PEACE PLUS programme  to fund and support peace and prosperity across Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland. PEACE PLUS comes at a critical time and as in previous PEACE programmes will support initiatives aimed at peace, reconciliation and fostering cohesion across all communities in Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland.   The UK government remains deeply committed to our obligations as set out in the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and the institutions it created. That is why the government is investing more than £730 million into the PEACE PLUS programme and continue to support the work of the Special EU Programmes Body which oversees the programme.    This delivers in full on the commitments the government has made, and backed by a majority UK contribution of almost 75 per cent of the total budget, this wi...