As we were celebrating local community events here in
Cornwall on Friday 26 June, a terrible tragedy was unfolding on a Tunisian
beach. Holidays are something we look forward to and
the last thing we expect is for a welcome period of relaxation to be blighted
by horror and death. That this incident
impacted a couple from Bodmin only served to bring it even closer to home.
My thoughts and prayers are with Cheryl Mellor as she
recovers, and with the rest of Stephen Mellor’s family. I am deeply sorry for their loss and trust
that the support of family, friends and the local community can give them some level
of comfort.
When faced with such horror, our immediate reaction is
disbelief and then anger; we want to react swiftly and fight back against the
enemy, even if that enemy is not easily identifiable.
As a new MP, the responsibility that Parliament has towards
the people of this country to make fair and rational decisions has been brought
home to me more than ever this week. I
am taking the necessary time and counsel before reaching my opinion on the
course of action that the UK should take.
Of some things I am certain; the first duty of any
government is to protect its citizens. We cannot sit back and allow our
citizens to be murdered either at home or abroad without standing up and
defending our liberty. Secondly, we should respond, but not with a knee-jerk
reaction. We need a carefully thought-through
response that will be effective.
There is currently a groundswell of support growing for the
UK joining the airstrikes into Syria, but I remain to be convinced that such a
move would be effective as a deterrent of future terror acts, but could
potentially bring about the suffering of more innocent people. We need to careful consider whether such a
move could serve to escalate, rather than dampen, further attacks against the
UK and our people.
There are many factors that need to be weighed in the next
few weeks; the safety of our citizens, the impact that any intervention will
have to further inflame the situation in the region and the role that our
servicemen and women will have to take.
The decision to send our military personnel into harms way is not a
decision that should be taken lightly.
I am very aware of the responsibility of making a decision
of this nature. The one thing I commit to do is continue to listen to the views
of local people as well as the debate in Parliament and ensure that, if there
is a vote, I will make my decision based on what I believe to be right for our
country.
My team and I are here to serve the whole constituency and
seek to make a real difference to the lives of everyone who needs help and
support in any way.
If there is any issue that we can help you with then please
contact us on either 07555069714 or on office@stevedouble.org.uk.
