Newspaper column 22 September 2022 - Looking back on a momentous week

In the week since the death of Her Late Majesty, I have been honoured to perform duties on behalf of my constituents, in Westminster and in Truro & Falmouth, to both commemorate the late Queen and to welcome our new sovereign, King Charles III.

Last Friday lunchtime, I laid flowers on the green at Truro Cathedral, alongside Cornwall Council’s Chair, Pauline Giles and its Leader, Linda Taylor. In the evening I returned to attend a very moving Evensong and to sign the Book of Condolence. 

On Sunday, I returned again, to attend the proclamation of the new King.  This is an ancient ceremony and wonderful to be a part of.  In an age of 24-hour news and social media, the proclamation felt like a window onto times gone by, where county towns and villages would have heard the news for the first time at the proclamation, as well as confirmed their loyalty to the new monarch, by shouting “God Save the King!”.  Truro’s proclamation was read first in English, then in Cornish.

Straight after the Truro proclamation I was back to Westminster.  On Monday morning in Westminster Hall Members from the House of Lords and the Commons welcomed the new King and Queen Consort.  Addresses were read by Speakers of both Houses and a reply made by the King.  Westminster Hall is a building that has captured my imagination since I first visited it as a teenager.  The silence of this ancient hall, broken only boots of the King’s Guard or buglers was incredibly atmospheric.  We then had the honour of being the first audience to sign the National Anthem in the King’s presence and he appeared genuinely moved.

On Tuesday I stole a couple of hours and walked through St James’ Park towards Buckingham Palace and on to the garden of flowers in Green Park.  I was able to smell the fragrance from the tributes before I could see them.  Reading cards and tributes from young and old and from all over the UK and the world was quite something.  My faith in the goodness and kindness of people was reinforced by this experience.  Away from the usual divisions that I sometimes face as part of this role, this, I felt, was a truer representation of the hearts of people.

On Wednesday I was able to sign a book of condolence on behalf of my constituents in the House of Commons Library.  As well as sending our heartfelt condolences I welcomed Their Majesties.  I also expressed our gratitude for their hard work over many years as our Duke and Duchess.  As many of you will have seen, Wednesday was also the day Westminster Hall received Her Late Majesty to lie in state.  I was honoured to be the first Member of Parliament to enter the hall, once allowed, to pay the respects of my constituents to the Queen.  Many constituents are unable to make the journey to London and it was a genuine privilege to be able to convey their respects.  The gloriously bright and vivid purple, red and gold is a sight that will stay with me forever.

Back in Cornwall I have signed the book of condolence in Falmouth and there are further services to attend ahead of Her Late Majesty’s funeral, which is a National Day of Mourning. Since the Queen’s Death the Palace of Westminster has been in formal mourning and we are unable to conduct any meetings or business.  The House is expected to resume its business on Wednesday 21^st September.

However, we are still on hand here in the constituency to answer any queries that you may have please get in touch with me by email at Cherilyn.mackrory.mp@parliament.uk , or by telephone on 01872 229698. My regular constituency advice surgeries are held in a covid-safe environment at my office, so please do get in touch should you wish to meet me about any matters that I can be of assistance with.

Newspaper column 14 September 2022 - The Queen

Last week was a historic and significant week in so many ways, some of which I may write more about in the coming weeks.

But there is of course only one subject to write about this week - the sad death of our Queen Elizabeth II.

Much has been said about the length of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign and how she was a reassuring constant for our country and the Commonwealth throughout her seventy years on the throne. Parliament sat over the weekend to allow MPs to give tribute, where we spoke about her sense of duty, her wisdom, her kindness, her sense of humour and about how she touched the lives of hundreds of thousands of constituents during her lifetime of devoted service to her country. As well as showing all of these qualities, the Queen was also seen around the world as a talented and diplomatic Head of State, navigating the waters of international diplomacy with great tact and skill over the years, which were reflected in the tributes paid by rulers from around the globe. But above all of these things, Elizabeth II was a mother, grandmother and great grandmother, and we must also all pass on our sympathies to the Royal Family for their loss, at this most difficult of times.

Personally, I was incredibly honoured to see the Queen on several occasions, both at Buckingham Palace during a Garden Party, and at the State Opening of Parliament, both formal occasions in Royal Palaces. However the meeting I will remember the most, was the time the Queen came to Cornwall, for what turned out to be her last visit to the Duchy. This was on the occasion of the G7 Leaders Summit, and the Queen joined the heads of state from the G7 countries at an event at the Eden Project. In order to get there, she came down on the Royal Train and alighted at St Austell station, where I was honoured to be in the civic line up to meet her. This was, in my memory, the only time that as well as the Queen visiting, we also had the then Duke and Duchess of Cornwall, Charles and Camilla, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Katherine. Three generations of the Royal Family in St Austell at the same time. It was very clear at her visit, that this lady, while diminutive in stature and in her mid-nineties, was very much a commanding presence, who lit up the whole room and commanded our absolute respect. It is not protocol to share conversations you have with the Queen, but I will treasure them always.

We have seen further historic events this week. Over the weekend I was present at the reading of the Proclamation of Accession to the throne of our new King, Charles III, on the steps of Truro Cathedral by the High Sheriff of Cornwall. This is part of an ancient tradition, that predates the availability of mass media, so the first the general public would know of having a new monarch was when the proclamation was read out.

Then on Monday, the King and Queen Consort visited Parliament and we welcomed them to Westminster Hall, where he addressed both the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The King promised to uphold the constitution and thanked the Houses for their tributes to the Queen.

I wish King Charles III a long and prosperous reign, as well and also look forward to seeing the new Duke and Duchess of Cornwall, William and Katherine, in their new roles. Long Live the King!

 

Newspaper column 7 September 2022 - First week back

 

This past Monday saw Parliament return after the Summer Recess. It has been great spending some time with my family over the past few weeks, but also as always has been a good opportunity to get out and about and meet with people and businesses across Mid-Cornwall. Thank you to everyone who took the time to welcome me over the summer.

Monday also saw the conclusion of the leadership election with Liz Truss confirmed as the new Leader of the Conservative Party, who then also becomes Prime Minister, with this appointment taking place on Tuesday.

There were two very strong candidates for our next PM and I wish Liz Truss the very best in her new role.

While the Leadership competition has been taking place over the summer I was very clear to both candidates that top of their agenda needed to be looking at what more can be done to help families and businesses with the cost of living crisis. The increase of the costs of living, caused by Putin’s war in Ukraine, continues to be an issue I am regularly contacted about. While the Government has already put a wide number of measures in place to help, it is clear that this is a unique and rapidly evolving situation, and that the new Prime Minister will need to do more as we head into what will be difficult winter months.

As we come to the end of another summer season, I am also keen to hear feedback from residents and businesses about how it has been this year, particularly compared to the exceptional circumstances of the previous two years,

In particular we are having issues with providing affordable housing for local people in Cornwall, something which has been made worse by the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

Another contributing factor to this has been the continuing rise of short-term holiday accommodation, particularly at the detriment of full time accommodation.

The Government has launched a new review to help understand the impact short-term holiday lets are having on housing in communities in tourism hotspots.

This comes following the rise in use of rental booking websites and apps, with a large increase in the number of properties listed on platforms such as Airbnb in recent years, especially in high tourist areas like Cornwall.

I am pleased to see the Government has listened to concerns and is taking positive action to ensure short-term holiday accommodation plays a positive role in Cornwall in the future.

This is not a ban on short-term holiday lets, as we understand the important part they play in supporting our local economy. This review will give us a better understanding of how we can best support local communities in those holiday hotspots, and also the tourism industry, to ensure that they can both work together.

I have launched a survey on my website www.stevedouble.org.uk to allow you to give me both your experiences of the recent summer season, and on short term holiday let accommodation.

This will help me gather views and information on peoples experiences of the summer season this year, as well as the benefits and challenges related to short-term lets.

I will then ensure your views are heard as part of my response to the Government, so they can decide what further action to take.

As ever, of I can be of any further assistance, my office is available for any constituents needing help, advice or guidance – tel. 01726 829379, email – office@stevedouble.org.uk

Newspaper column 31 August 2022

I know the announcement last week of the increase in the energy price will be a cause of great concern for many households and businesses across mid-Cornwall. The ongoing impact of the pandemic and invasion of Ukraine continues to have a devastating effect on our economy.

The government has already announced a substantial package of support but it is clear that these latest prices mean that more needs to be done. I think most people appreciate that new policies, especially those that involve spending large amounts of public money are not allowed to be announced before a new Prime Minister and government are in place.

However, whoever wins the election to be the new Prime Minister, I will be making the case as soon as they are in office for further support to be announced and put in place as a matter of urgency.

We have now come to the end of another peak tourism season here in Cornwall. Schools are getting ready to go back and next week Parliament will return from summer recess. There is plenty to get to work on in the coming weeks ahead and I am looking forward to getting back to Westminster and representing our constituency in Parliament as your MP after spending the summer at home here in Mid-Cornwall.

The Duchy remains one of the most popular holiday destinations in the UK and across Europe. I have particularly noticed many more European visitors this summer. Whilst this summer has clearly not been quite as noticeably busy as the last couple of years, we have still seen large numbers of tourists coming to enjoy all Cornwall has to offer, many who do return year after year, and I can understand why people love coming to visit our beautiful county.

Yes, we can all agree that there are some negative impacts for residents created by the number of tourists who visit the county. The roads get busy, shops can be crowded and maybe the places we locals like to visit can become overcrowded. This is nothing new, we have always been faced with these challenges as part and parcel of people wanting to visit Cornwall.

However, I know people are also concerned about the impact the number of second homes, holiday lets and Air bnbs popping up in communities across Cornwall has, along with the pressure tourists can place on our local NHS and other services.  This is an issue that the Government is addressing and is currently reviewing the effect of short-term holiday lets in popular tourism destinations, like Cornwall. The evidence will be used to look at the ways it can protect those communities and the tourism industry to ensure they can both work together.  

Another area that we are addressing is the impact of second homes. To tackle this, the Government is giving new powers to local authorities, like Cornwall Council, to be able to double council tax on unused second homes to boost funding for local services. This is something I have long campaigned for, both during my time as MP for St Austell and Newquay and also when I was a Cornwall Councillor.

I was also pleased to receive a letter last week from the Health Minister that recognised the challenges Cornwall is facing with our health services including waiting times for ambulances, delays in discharging people from hospital and the difficulty in recruiting staff. Whilst there are no quick and easy solutions, it was reassuring to know that the minister understands the unique combination of issues we face and the steps that are being put in place to help.  

However, I think it is important, despite all the challenges tourism can bring, that we recognise just how important it is to jobs and the economy in Cornwall. I have always been a strong supporter of the tourism industry, serving as Chair of the influential Hospitality and Tourism All Party Parliamentary Group for six years, and have seen its importance to the Cornish economy. In fact, our constituency of St Austell and Newquay depends on the tourism and hospitality sector more than any other single constituency in the country.

The sector plays a huge part in the lives of so many people in Mid-Cornwall. One in three households in Cornwall relies on tourism for at least part of their income as well as supporting hundreds of businesses in the wider supply chain from food and drink producers and tradesmen to retailers and service businesses like cleaners. We need to remember the value of tourism, and that overall, the positives do outweigh the negatives for Cornwall and its residents.

It’s also important that we continue to support our local hospitality and tourism businesses in Mid-Cornwall throughout the year to ensure they can continue to thrive outside of the summer months.

During summer recess, I have visited and met with businesses in the constituency, and listened to some of the challenges the business is facing as we recover from the impact of the pandemic as well as the rising cost of energy and other business costs, recruiting and retaining staff and the availability of affordable premises.

These conversations with local businesses and residents will help me in my discussions with the new Prime Minister and Ministers when they are in place next month to ensure we do all we can to support local businesses throughout the year.

I am proud to represent and serve a constituency that so many people want to come and visit for their holidays and will always be a vocal champion for our tourism sector and the businesses it supports.

As ever, of I can be of any further assistance, my office is available for any constituents needing help, advice or guidance – tel. 01726 829379, email – office@stevedouble.org.uk

 

 

 

Newspaper column 27 July 2022 - a busy last week in Parliament before Summer Recess

 

Parliament has now risen for the summer which means I will be spending more time in our constituency, getting out and about trying to meet as many people and businesses as possible in the next few weeks, as well as spending time with my family.

Although Parliament has now risen, last week was a busy one. First up I met with the new Housing and Planning Minister, Marcus Jones, to make the case for further action to address the housing crisis in Cornwall.

The meeting, held at the Department for Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities, was an opportunity to ensure the new Minister understands the current challenges facing us here in Mid Cornwall and listens to the case for reforms to the planning system.

Housing, especially its availability and affordability for local people, continues to be one of the top issues that is raised with me by residents in the constituency, so I was keen to feed this back to the new Minister. It is important he is aware of the particular pressures we face, as well as proposals for what we need to do to improve the situation.

The Government’s new Planning and Regeneration Bill is currently passing through Parliament and provides an opportunity to take steps to ensure more housing is available to local people in the future.

In the meantime, the Government is running a consultation on the impact of short-term holiday lets on communities in tourism hotspots like Cornwall to help us understand the scale of this problem and take appropriate steps to alleviate it, such as introducing a register for short term holiday accommodation or further reforms to the planning system such as requiring change of use planning permission to convert to a holiday let.

However, it is important to remember that there are no quick and easy answers for the current housing issues we are facing, but we do need to take steps to ensure we are never in this situation again and I was pleased that the Minister listened to my concerns.

I will continue to do all I can to work with my Cornish MP colleagues, Cornwall Council and the Government to implement sensible and practical steps to ensure local people can access the housing they need.

Last week I also had the opportunity to visit St Austell Jobcentre and see the fantastic work that the staff are doing to support local people back into employment. This followed a very interesting and positive visit to Newquay Jobcentre a couple of weeks ago. 

This tied in with the recently released employment figures for St Austell and Newquay, which are excellent and really demonstrate how the hard work of the DWP staff in St Austell and Newquay Jobcentres is making a difference.

The figures for Universal Credit published by the Office of National Statistics show that in June 2022 there were 1,895 actual claimants in St Austell and Newquay constituency, which was 3.0% of the population aged 16-64. The equivalent UK claimant rate was 3.7%. There were 250 claimants aged 18-24, which was 3.5% of the population aged 18-24. The equivalent UK claimant rate was 4.3%.

 

Over the past year the number of claimants has fallen by 1,340 in our constituency, and the numbers of people in St Austell and Newquay claiming Universal Credit are also lower now than in March 2020 before the pandemic.

 

This is good news and thanks to all at the Department for Work and Pensions who work hard supporting people back into employment. It was also great to meet with some employers to talk about the innovative ways in which they are working with St Austell Jobcentre to get new staff.

I want to end this week’s column by talking about one of the highlights over the past year, which has been the return of local schools from Cornwall to Parliament. It’s always a pleasure to meet with pupils and last week I met with children from Penrice Academy in St Austell and spoke to them. Tours and visits haven’t been able to take place for a number of years due to covid, so it is great to be able to welcome them back.

Anyone who would like to book a tour of Parliament can do so via the website here: www.parliament.uk/visiting/ or contact my office and we will try to arrange it for you.

If I can be of any further assistance, my office is available for any constituents needing help, advice or guidance – tel. 01726 829379, email – office@stevedouble.org.uk

Column 13 July 2022 - My new Ministerial role

 

It was former Prime Minister Harold Wilson who coined the phrase “a week is a long time in politics”. Throughout my seven years as an MP there have been numerous periods when that phrase was relevant, but none more so than this past week.

As I am sure readers will be aware, I have been a supporter of Boris Johnson throughout the turbulent past few months, still believing he was the best person to lead our country through our current challenges. This was not a blind faith, but a view formed from seeing him deliver for our country time and again in recent times.

It was therefore incredibly difficult and indeed sad for me to come to the conclusion last week that he could no longer continue to govern our country and should, in the best interests of the county and the Conservative party, resign from office.

The events at the start of last week sadly showed that despite attempts to change the way his office in Downing Street operated, little change had taken place. We quickly and decisively reached a tipping point among MPs whereby many who had previously supported him withdrew their support with many resigning from the government ministerial roles.

As a member of the whip’s office, I was of course caught up at the heart of the turmoil. I know some locally, including local journalists and media outlets, questioned why I did not comment sooner in the week on the events taking place and publicly express my views. The explanation for this is simply due to the role I had. At times such as the past week the whip’s office play a vital role in ensuring Parliament continues to be able to function. Many people do not fully appreciate the amount of work that goes on to ensure Parliament is able to function smoothly. There is a great deal of management, organisation and administration that must take place to ensure not only the House of Commons chamber, but also the many committees that take place every day, happen without a hitch. A great deal of this work is carried out by the whips.

With so many ministers resigning, it was a full-time job to keep on top of what was happening and ensuring Parliament, and our democracy, continued to function. At a time like this, whatever our personal views, it is not appropriate or particularly helpful for whips to be giving a running commentary to the media or posting on social media. Another part of our role is to feed back to the Chief Whip the views and concerns of MPs. In order to be able to do this objectively, it is important that we are not clouding the conservations we have with our own views.

That is not to say I did not make my own views clear to the Chief Whip, I certainly did. Once I did put finger to keyboard, in the very early hours of Thursday morning, once it seemed likely that the Prime Minister would be stepping down, I was able to clarify my own thoughts and draft a statement. The statement I drafted reflected my feeling at that time. I was exhausted, mentally, emotionally and physically. The prospect of having to form a new interim government and the upheaval and effort it would need felt very heavy at that time. The last thing I wanted was the prospect of having to learn a new role in government, potentially a new department and working with new people. So I did include in that statement a line which said I would be happy to remain in the whips office but would not be accepting any new role in the government. It was a true reflection of my thoughts and feelings at that time – I meant it. As long as the uncertainty and lack of clarity over the Prime Minister’s leadership remained, I was not prepared to be in any other role.

However, 36 hours later when I had returned home to Cornwall, managed a reasonably good night’s sleep in my own bed and been able to get the events of the week into more perspective, I felt much better and much more positive about the clear path that has been set out towards an orderly transition of leadership in the autumn, as well as the formation of a new government to cover this interim period to provide stability and ensure essential government business would continue. Therefore, when the Prime Minister did call me on Friday afternoon and invited me to become a minister in the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), I was willing to consider it. I did not say yes immediately, but having carefully considered the offer and given the clear change in circumstances the Prime Minister’s resignation statement brought, I decided it was the right thing for me to do to support the functioning of government in these unprecedented times and accepted this new position. Another important reason that guided my thinking is that DEFRA covers many key areas that are particularly relevant to Cornwall such as agriculture, fishing, coastal and rural matters including things like sewage and of course environmental policy.

I know that there will be those who will criticise me for ‘changing my mind’. I did. However, it was Winston Churchill who once said, ‘those who never change their minds never change anything’.

The important thing for our country right now, whilst we go through this process of electing a new leader of the Conservative Party who will be our next Prime Minister, is to ensure this time is as smooth as possible. This means government ministerial roles need to be filled by those who are willing to serve in this way. I have no idea how long this new role will last but I am willing to carry it out to the best of my ability for as short or long as required to play my part to help our country through this time.

Newspaper column 6 July 2022 - Tax cuts, holiday lets and the cost of living

Today we have seen the biggest single tax cut in a decade thanks to this Government increasing the National Insurance threshold overnight from £9,880 to £12,570.

This will not only save 30 million workers up to £330 a year, but also lift 2.2 million people out of paying any National Insurance or income tax on their earnings at all. 

I am so pleased to see this week’s tax cut – worth £6 billion – as it is likely to make so many people in the constituency better off and shows that this Government is committed to supporting people through difficult times.

Speaking of tough times, this week we will also see some of the measures promised by this Government to relieve some of the pressures that households across the constituency are facing in the midst of the cost of living crisis take effect.

In May the Government announced help for households across the country with £37 billion of financial support.

This included a council tax rebate, cut in fuel duty, a minimum of £400 for every household to help with energy bills and at least £1,200 for the eight million most vulnerable ­households.

From next Thursday (July 14), eight million of the lowest income households, including pensioners on pension credit, will see the first part of the £650 cost of living payment as part of the support measures automatically hit their bank accounts, continuing until the end of the month.

The second payment will be made in the autumn and all those who live in the UK and are in receipt of Universal Credit, Jobseekers Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Pension Credit are eligible.

I know that the cost of living crisis is a huge concern and worry to so many people and am pleased to see that the Government has listened to concerns and is wasting no time in getting this further support for households out to those who need it the most. This Government has a track record of listening to constituents’ concerns and taking decisive action to address them if it can.

This brings me to another issue that the Government is currently considering and one I been working for some time as part of my ongoing efforts to address the current housing situation in Cornwall amid the pressure the rise in short-term holiday let accommodation is placing on housing that is needed for local people.

Last week the Government launched a 12-week review to help understand the impact short-term holiday lets are having on housing in communities in tourism hotspots, like Cornwall.

This comes following the rise in use of rental booking websites and apps, with large increase in the number of properties listed on platforms such as Airbnb in recent years, especially in high tourist areas.

I am pleased that the Government is taking positive action to ensure short-term holiday accommodation and local communities can both work together.

However, it’s important to stress that short-term holiday lets play a very important part in supporting our local economy, so this is not a ban. This review will give us a clearer understanding of how we can support those local communities in holiday hotspots as well as the tourism industry.

All views on the impact of short-term holiday accommodation will help the Government determine how to protect much-loved communities and the thriving holiday industry.

I would urge anyone who has been affected by short-term holiday lets to take part in this call for evidence so that the Government can get a clear picture of the impact they are having on our communities here in mid-Cornwall.

It is reassuring to see that the Government has listened to the concerns I have raised on behalf on constituents and is taking action to address the housing crisis we are facing. This is in addition to the Government measures which have already been announced to give local communities greater ability to manage the impact that second homes can have in some locations.

These measures include closing tax loopholes, introducing higher stamp duty and permitting councils to apply higher council tax on second homes.

The call for evidence will run for 12 weeks until 11.45pm on September 21 and rest assured that I will be responding to the survey after listening to feedback from across the constituency.

More information on the call for evidence is available here: Developing a tourist accommodation registration scheme in England - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

If I can help you on this matter or another, please do get in touch with my office – tel. 01726 829379, email – office@stevedouble.org.uk