Last week saw some significant developments internationally
with a number of steps taken to help safeguard our interests abroad, as well as
with the ongoing Ukraine conflict.
Over the past couple of years we have seen significant cost
of living pressures, and some of the main reasons for these have been due to
conflict abroad and the subsequent impact on supply chains and energy costs.
Decisions such as those made last week will help safeguard and futureproof the
UK against future issues such as this.
The Ukraine conflict has been one of the biggest
international issues over the past two years, and the UK led the free world’s
response to Putin’s illegal invasion. At home we welcomed those Ukrainians who
needed refuge, while in Ukraine we provided equipment and training to their
forces to help them fight back.
2024 will be a critical year in the Ukraine conflict,
Putin’s forces have been pushed back and Ukrainian territory reclaimed, but it
has become a war of attrition and at this time Ukraine needs her allies more
than ever to prevent the tide turning and the positive progress that has been
made being lost.
With this in mind, on Friday the Prime Minister signed the
historic UK-Ukraine Agreement on Security Cooperation. This is the start of a
100-year alliance that we are building with our Ukrainian friends.
It sees us increasing our military support to £2.5billion –
taking the total of UK military aid to more than £7billion. With even more
gifted directly from the UK’s equipment inventory, and £200million will be used
to produce and procure thousands of drones, manufactured in the UK, including
for surveillance and long-range strike drones.
As the Defence Secretary said on Monday, ‘there is no such
thing as an isolated conflict’, and if the war in Ukraine is lost, and Putin
gets his way, this would lead to increased prices at home in the UK and the
destabilisation of the entire region. Therefore the Government has my continued
full support in continuing to back our friends in Ukraine.
Another area where we were forced to take decisive action
last week was as a critical part of the US-led international operation to
protect freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
As an island nation we have always been dependent on the
sea, and globally 90% of all world trade is by sea. Of that 90% some 15 per
cent of the world’s shipping passes through these narrow shipping lanes.
We have seen recently that the Houthi rebels from Yemen, a
Shia Islamist political and military organization, have, with the backing of
Iran, persistently violated the law by menacing commercial vessels in the
region. Again this disruption to shipping has a snowballing impact on the UK,
causing more and more increases in our costs of living.
And last week the Prime Minister and Defence Secretary
authorised air strikes in retaliation against the Houthis, along with the US,
dealing them a blow and reducing their capabilities to disrupt international
commercial shipping going forward.
In both Yemen and Ukraine, it is right that the Government
has taken action now. Although doing so does take funding, not doing anything
would result in far more costly problems later down the line, not just for the
Government, but for all of us.
As ever, if I can be of assistance on any matter, my office
is available for any constituents needing help, advice or guidance – tel: 01726
829379 or email: office@stevedouble.org.uk
