Chris Whiteside's Blog

This week, the   Prime Minister will visit Rwanda for a Commonwealth summit , working with our Commonwealth partners to built trade and security co-operation. The Commonwealth combines vast and rapidly growing markets with a real and quantified trading advantage that will create jobs at home and, at the same time, ease pressures on the cost of living.  That is why the Prime Minister will join Commonwealth leaders in Rwanda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting this week, mobilising the UK’s regained sovereignty to seek to sign free trade or economic partnership agreements with our Commonwealth partners.  The invisible threads which bind our family of nations – particularly a common language and familiar legal systems – provide unique commercial opportunities which will become ever more important for British jobs and livelihoods. 

 

I found it very moving to see the UK and Ukrainian leaders lay wreaths together in front of the wall of pictures of people killed in Putin's illegal War. Here are the candles I and others lit at St James Church this morning.  I prayed for all who have died in this conflict, for their families, and all who will miss them.

On Friday, the   Prime Minister met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv , further demonstrating our unwavering support for Ukraine.  Britain has taken a leading role in the international response to the war in Ukraine by imposing harsh sanctions on Putin’s regime and providing Ukraine with vital supplies throughout the crisis.  That is why the Prime Minister visited Kyiv for the second time since the war began. He set out four vital steps Britain and our allies must take to recruit time to Ukraine’s cause, including building Ukraine’s military capacity and preparing Ukrainian forces, as well as preserving the viability of the Ukrainian state with constant funding and technical help.  We must strengthen the hand of our Ukrainian friends to finish this war on the terms that President Zelenskyy has laid out and we will continue to step up our military and economic support to ensure that is the case.  

Conservatives from the North West were in Wakefield yesterday campaigning in support of the excellent local Conservative candidate Councillor Nadeem Ahmed for Thursday's  by-election. Nadeem was born and grew up in Wakefield and still lives in Wakefield with his family. Left to right: Cumberland CM Sam Bown, myself, candidate Cllr Nadeem Ahmed, Workington MP Mark Jenkinson and one of next year's Conservative candidates for Wakefield council. North West Young Conservatives chairman Laura-Beth Thompson and NW Deputy Chair Rosie Redstone with some of the team from North West YCs and North West CWO (Conservative Women's organisation.)   

 

The June meeting of Cumbria county council will take place in the Council Chamber, County Hall, Kendal LA7 9RQ at 10 am on Thursday 23rd June 2022. The meeting will be open to the public. The first substantive item on the agenda will be a presentation from the Chief Constable of Cumbria Constabulary, Michelle Skeer The full agenda and supporting documents can be found on the council website by clicking on the link which follows: Agenda for County Council on Thursday, 23rd June, 2022, 10.00 am | Cumbria County Council

This week the government   launched a campaign to kickstart careers in our logistics and supply chain sector , boosting jobs and bolstering supply chains across the UK. The pandemic shone a spotlight on the importance of our country’s freight sector – and the movement of goods has always been at the backbone of our economy.  That is why the government has implemented 33 actions to tackle HGV driver shortages and protect our supply chains – now backed by a £7 million investment to boost the uptake of innovative new freight technology and our £345,000 Generation Logistics campaign to make it easier for people to kickstart their careers in the industry. The government remains committed to working closely with the industry to attract a strong pipeline of talent, strengthen supply chains across the UK and deliver a world-class haulage sector.

There is a good piece on the BBC Website fact-checking some of the outrageous claims of Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, which you can read here

 "Two months on from my last visit, the Ukrainian grit, determination and resilience is stronger than ever, and I know that unbreakable resolve will long outlive the vain ambitions of President Putin." (PM Boris Johnson , speaking during his visit to Ukraine this week, during which he discussed with President Zelenskyy a proposed training scheme for the Ukrainian armed forces which the IK is proposing to help set up.  Downing Street said the UK-led training scheme would have the potential to train up to 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers every 120 days and would allow them to "accelerate their deployment, rebuild their forces and scale-up their resistance". Soldiers would learn "battle-winning skills for the front line, as well as basic medical training, cyber-security and counter explosive tactics". President Zelenskyy, in a message posted on his Telegram account, said:  "Many days of this war have proved that Great Britain's support for Ukraine is firm a...

The government has brought to parliament a   Cost of Living Payments Bill , which will provide families with cash cost of living payments from 14 July – supporting the lowest income families in our society in the face of global cost of living pressures.  To combat global cost of living pressures we committed £37 billion of cost of living support – including one off cash cost-of-living payments of at least £1,200 for over 8 million of the lowest income families. That is why this week the government introduced the Cost of Living Payments Bill, meaning the first initial automatic instalment of the £650 payment will be £326, paid on 14 July, with the rest of the payment to follow in the Autumn. Pensioners will receive an extra £300 while disabled households will get a £150 payment – on top of the £150 council tax rebate paid in April and the £400 discount on energy bills this Autumn.  We have a responsibility to protect those who are paying the highest price for rising inflat...

Yesterday the UK government announced   a new wave of sanctions on Putin’s enablers , as Britain remains unwavering in our support for Ukraine.   Britain has taken a leading role in the international response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, imposing harsh sanctions on Putin’s regime and providing Ukraine with vital supplies throughout the crisis.  Continuing that support, Britain has now announced a new wave of sanctions on Putin’s perpetrators of suffering in Ukraine, including the Russian Children’s Rights Commissioner for her alleged involvement in the violent transfer of 2,000 vulnerable children from the Donbas, as well as Putin’s military commanders and arms dealers.  We will not tire of defending freedom and democracy, and will continue to sanction yet more individuals and businesses to cripple the Russian war machine

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has   set out a new plan to build a better railway for Britain , including how the government intends will modernise the industry.   Railways should remain a natural choice for people who want fast, reliable journeys between our main towns and cities, however vital changes are needed if it is to keep pace with modern life.  That is why the Transport Secretary has set out the change needed to overhaul the industry and secure its future, including modernising maintenance practices and making better use of technology to deliver a more efficient system for passengers, as well as looking at a full range of options to stop rail unions from hurting the general public.  While unions still want our railways to operate as they did in the steam age – this will not deter Conservatives from our mission to build a modern, resilient railway in tune with a changing market. 

"It is hard to command forces to act in support of a delusion." "As the offensive in Ukraine completed its third month, many observers began to note that Russia had become stuck in an unwinnable war that it dared not lose." "Analysts and military planners are certain to study the war in Ukraine for many years as an example of the limits to military power," "Putin’s war in Ukraine, then, is foremost a case study in a failure of supreme command." ( LAWRENCE FREEDMAN , Emeritus Professor of War Studies at  King’s College London, extracts from an article on the4 Foreign Affairs website called " Why War Fails ")

A new pilot scheme has been launched to help rape victims get the support they deserve , as government and law enforcement agencies step up efforts to reduce this horrible  crime and help victims. Rape convictions are up two thirds over the last year and cases are being completed five weeks quicker - but more needs to be done. Cases of this horrible crime are still taking far too long to bring to court, we need to look very carefully at whether,  while ensuring that victims and accused people alike can be assured there will always be a fair trial, too many who are guilty are still getting away with it. We certainly need to go further to improve support for victims, and eradicate the backlog caused by the pandemic. So the government is launching pilots at three crown courts that will see all court staff, police and prosecutors given specialist trauma training, as well as specialist support like Independent Sexual Violence Advisers made available for victims and the rollout of n...

Today the Conservative government announced a   £743 million funding boost for life-changing technologies , investing in innovative British research projects that will create skilled jobs, improve lives across the UK and grow the economy. The incredible work of the Vaccine Taskforce showed that our country is home to some of the best scientists and innovators in the world – but we need to build on that incredible success and go further. That is why the Conservative government has today announcing over £743 million in investment across a variety of innovative projects – including the development of the latest quantum technologies, a flying climate laboratory, and a giant ‘microscope’ that will support vaccine discovery. Continuing to lead the way on the development of the latest technologies will boost our economy, create the highly-skilled jobs of the future, and improve the lives of millions across the country.

 

For three hundred years Britain has had some of the most efficient farms in the world. But through those centuries we have concentrated on earning money abroad from other areas of economic activity - manufacturing in the 19th and early 20th centuries, banking and financial services for most of the past hundred years - and then importing food from all over the world. With the environmental challenges we now face, and the strategic risks of relying on importing food which Putin's invasion of Ukraine illustrated, it is time to rethink that strategy.   I think we particularly need to rethink the fact that we have been operating policies like "set aside" which amount to paying people to get out of farming and stop producing food. I'm not necessarily arguing that we should distort the market in favour of local food production, but I certainly do think it is time to stop distorting the market away from domestic food production. I was pleased to see the government produce a n...

This is London tech week to which   the Prime Minister welcomed attendees on Monday , reiterating the government's commitment to supporting the tech sector to drive jobs and growth across the country. The United Kingdom is one of the leading destinations for foreign investment in Europe, and fourth in the world for tech investment, which plays a significant role as a driver for jobs and economic growth. That is why the Prime Minister welcomed attendees to London Tech Week, reiterating this Government’s commitment to producing the best results in tech, including investing £22 billion into R&D. This coincides with the new UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement coming into force today, deepening ties between Asia and the UK on tech and digital trade. London Tech Week is more important now than it has ever been with the tech sector powering growth and job creation across the UK, driving forward the levelling up agenda. It's a good idea - I hope that in the not too distant futur...

Figures released yesterday morning reveal that   the employment rate increased between February and April 2022   – showing that the government's Plan For Jobs is helping businesses to provide jobs and create wealth. The government has provided £37 billion of support, getting people into work with the security of a job is even more important to help families tackle global cost of living pressures. New figures released yesterday morning show that the employment rate rose by 0.2 per cent to 75.6 per cent between February and April 2022 compared to the previous three-month period – with unemployment below pre-pandemic levels.  The government's Plan For Jobs is vital to help businesses bring economic security to millions of workers, more trade for businesses, and greater prosperity throughout the country.

 

We still have the extraordinary situation that the NHS in North Cumbria still makes major use of paper records - and we have people pushing trolley loads of them  round hospitals like WCH, and spend lots of money and time driving them around the county and checking them in and out.  I have repeatedly asked about the plans to improve this and move our local health service into the 21st century at meetings of Cumbria Health Scrutiny and will continue to do so during my remaining few months on the committee. Given the urgent need to improve this, I was delighted to see that this week the government has announced a new Data Strategy to support our NHS as it meets the challenges of the future , tackles the Covid backlog and delivers better care for patients across the country.  Having seen the benefits of the NHS App during the pandemic, the government have committed to support the NHS in more modern ways to meet the challenges of the future holds. So they have announced an ne...

The government has   announced a cap on student loan interest rates , protecting graduates from rising interest rates in September. A rise in interest rates due to global economic pressures meant student loan borrowers faced a 12 per cent interest rate in September – our priority is to help people keep more of what they earn. That is why the government has intervened and capped interest rates to a maximum of 7.3 per cent in the largest scale reduction of student loan interest rates on record – so a graduate with a student loan balance of £45,000 would reduce their accumulating interest by around £180 per month compared to 12 per cent interest rates. Graduates only have to repay these loans when they are earning more than £27,000 a year, repayments are based on their income, they do not need any assets, and after a period it gets written off. Conservatives have always been clear that where we can help with rising prices we will, and we have cut future interest rates so that no new g...

"Forty years since British soldiers liberated Port Stanley we remember with pride all those who served and died freeing the Falkland Islands from foreign occupation.  Because of them, Falkland Islanders today live and thrive in peace and freedom." ( Boris Johnson today on Twitter

"Nothing places Johnson more squarely in the Conservative tradition than the allegation that he has subverted his party’s true principles." (Robert Saunders, Reader in Modern British History at Queen Mary University of London, from an article on Renewal called ‘ Let Them Eat Cake’: Conservatism in the age of Boris Johnson. " The Conservative party re-invents itself every few years to reflect the changing challenges in British politics and, as Saunders accurately points out, successive leaders of the party have been accused every few years of betraying the principles of a previous generation of Tories. Since Brexit Boris Johnson has been transformed from a "Heineken" politician to a "marmite" one who some people love and others hate, and in most cases far too much to be able to think about him rationally or write about him dispassionately. Robert Saunders' article describing Boris Johnson's leadership of the Conservative party in a historical c...

The film The Lady of Heaven is a 2021 drama written by the Shia cleric  Yasser Al-Habib , depicting the life of Fatima, daughter of the Prophet Mohammed. Al-Habib says of the film that  "This film conveys a message of love and peace. It is a call to a better mindset when dealing with challenges. I am certain that should humanity follow in the steps of The Lady; peace, justice, and equality will prevail and triumph. I pray for this to happen." However, the film has been heavily criticised by some other Muslims, particularly but not exclusively from the majority Sunni tendancy within Islam. An example of such a view, from the 5Pillars website, would be the opinion that,  “The film Lady of Heaven is deeply offensive and inflammatory and has caused much distress to Muslims across Britain. “The film directly disrespects Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and spreads false information on Islam. The aim of the film seems to be to cause hurt and pain, as well as cause divisions and sectarianis...