It is a great honour to have been re-elected as the Member of Parliament for South Suffolk. I am incredibly grateful to everyone who supported me – but recognise many did not, and that it was a very difficult result for my party. My pledge therefore is to get straight back to work, representing all of my constituents, no matter who they voted for… even if for no one at all.
I have already requested a meeting with Babergh District Council and relevant stakeholders about the future of the Delphi site. When I chaired the South Suffolk Taskforce, we had some very constructive proposals for the former factory – including expressions of interest we had sought that seemed to offer a brighter future. Alas, the site was sold late in the day to the current owners, and to date there has been minimal engagement, certainly when it comes to responding to my correspondence. I hope that now changes. It was early in the election campaign when I happened to be driving back from a local canvassing session and saw the huge black plume of smoke emanating from the recent Delphi fire. This shows why we must make progress.
We’ve also had a really positive result in Hadleigh this week, with news that the town will be the beneficiary of a new banking hub. TSB and Barclays have closed since I was first elected in 2015. Yes, the world has moved on in that time, and many now bank online. Nevertheless, I am keenly aware that there is also huge desire for more accessible local banking services. A banking hub is similar to the kind of branch we are all used to, but with the facilities shared by different companies, and I look forward to working closely with all concerned.
I’ve already been sworn in; I will have my first surgery soon; I’ve been out and about across the constituency, from Sudbury to the Shotley peninsula; I’ve already met local businesses that are keen to grow; and I’ll be setting out soon how I will be backing another round of funding applications from the likes of local charities and churches. In short, I’m keen to get on with the job.
At a national level, it’s been a real privilege to serve as Minister for Defence Procurement, particularly with all the work I oversaw supplying munitions to Ukraine, and in parallel, replenishing the stocks of our own armed forces. I said in my speech at around 6am on election day morning – after my result had been formally confirmed – that I wanted the new Government to succeed, and that on matters of national interest like Ukraine they would have my full support.
That is the stance I will be continuing as Shadow Defence Secretary, in the interim shadow cabinet formed immediately after the election defeat, and until we have a new leader of the Opposition in place. I will be constructive and work with the Government wherever relevant, whilst holding them to account on key issues – such as their plans, or lack of them, to increase defence spending in what is self-evidently a more dangerous world.
Indeed, it is hard to see international events calming down any time soon. The attempted assassination of Donald Trump underlined how we live in turbulent times. Such attacks on democratic politicians are totally abhorrent. I have myself, like all my colleagues, received abuse and – occasionally – very serious threats that have had to involve the police. That is modern politics. Yet, whilst Mr Trump is clearly a divisive political figure, I hope we can all agree that his murder would have been a disaster for democracy. We must resolve our political differences through debate and peaceful discourse, not by the bullet.
I suspect the public at large will be glad that the election is now receding in the rearview mirror. As I look back on it, I remember hundreds of discussions with local people, on their doorstep – or occasionally in pubs, or over hedgerows, sometimes stopped by a passer-by. Elections are generally cathartic, and this one more than most, but the singular exercise of canvassing the democratic opinion of our electorate – even when their views are robustly proffered in response, and not in one’s favour – is something to cherish. I learned quite simply that people were fed up with us as a Government. There was not, on the whole, huge enthusiasm for the victorious alternative – but Labour deserve their chance, and I hope they succeed. A new era awaits.
Published in the Suffolk Free Press.
