Campaign reply - Trophy hunting

I have received a number of campaign emails on the matter of trophy hunting.

There is to be an early day motion and I have been asked to sign it. As a principle I never sign early day motions as they very rarely achieve anything whilst at the same time running up costs to the tax payer. However that is not to say I do not have sympathy with your concerns.

In recent times trophy hunters have come under significant scrutiny in social media and other platforms. There is clearly a growing sense of disquiet of certain aspects of this “sport”.

Whilst I am at heart against the banning of things, I believe legislation around trophy hunting could be looked at further.  Now we have left the EU we will of course be free to make our own laws again and that will serve this cause and the nation very well on all manner of matters.

Campaign reply - Rail Passengers

Several constituents have sent me a copy of a campaign email which at heart is seeking the nationalisation of the railway. I disagree.  It also makes deeply flawed statements about the rail network and completely overlooks the progress made since privatisation such as passenger numbers doubling and the biggest investment in the railways since Victorian times.

Much of the views expressed in this campaign were reflected in the Labour party manifesto which as we all know was heavily rejected at the last election. The Conservative party manifesto made clear the  commitment to the railways and how best to continue record investment to improve them. There is a lot that still needs doing after decades of neglect and under-investment during the disastrous state owned era.

For the avoidance of doubt the government will ensure we see best value for money so that rail users can enjoy more reliable and frequent services.  Cornwall has seen the provision of  a million extra seats recently with the introduction of new, faster and more frequent trains. It will continue to act against any part of the rail service that is failing.

The Conservative party manifesto made many references to our railways. Below is an extract from one section. It sums up the vision for the future of the railways and one I am pleased to endorse as did so many at the last election:

A transport revolution

A key part of our plan to level up the UK’s cities and regions is to connect them. Leeds is the largest city in Western Europe without a light rail or metro system. And European cities are often more productive than our own in large part because they have better infrastructure. We will connect our cities:

 We will build Northern Powerhouse Rail between Leeds and Manchester and then focus on Liverpool, Tees Valley, Hull, Sheffield and Newcastle. We will invest in the Midlands Rail Hub, strengthening rail links including those between Birmingham, Leicester, Nottingham, Coventry, Derby, Hereford and Worcester.

 We will also invest in improving train lines to the South West and East Anglia.

 We will extend contactless pay-asyou go ticketing to almost 200 more stations in the South East, meaning that 50 per cent of all rail journeys and almost all London commuter journeys can be completed using a  contactless bank card.

 We will give city regions the funding to upgrade their bus, tram and train services to make them as good as London’s, with more frequent, better-integrated services, more electrification, modern buses and trains and smart ticketing – such as the vision proposed by Andy Street for the West Midlands.

 The railways need accountability, not nationalisation. So we will end the complicated franchising model and create a simpler, more effective rail system, including giving metro mayors control over services in their areas.

 We will make a £28.8 billion investment in strategic and local roads. We will invest £1 billion in completing a fast-charging network to ensure that everyone is within 30 miles of a rapid electric vehicle charging station. We will consult on the earliest date we can phase out the sale of new conventional petrol and diesel cars, while minimising the impact on drivers and businesses.

 We will require that a minimum service operates during transport strikes. Rail workers deserve a fair deal, but it is not fair to let the trade unions undermine the livelihoods of others.

 HS2 is a great ambition but will now cost at least £81 billion and will not reach Leeds or Manchester until as late as 2040. We will consider the findings of the Oakervee review into costs and timings and work with leaders of the Midlands and the North to decide the optimal outcome.

 Connectivity is not just about the UK’s great cities. To help communities across the country,

we will restore many of the Beeching lines, reconnecting smaller towns such as Fleetwood and Willenhall that have suffered permanent disadvantage since they were removed from the rail network in the 1960s.

Newspaper column 5 February 2020 - Looking forward after Brexit

As I am sure we are all aware, the UK left the European Union on Friday. I know that for many this was a moment of celebration – the culmination of three and a half years of struggle to deliver on the 2016 referendum result. For others it is the end of years, even decades of campaigning for the UK to leave the EU.

But I am also very much aware that there are plenty of people form whom this is a moment of regret and sadness. Those who believe this is not the path the country should be taking. So while I was one of those who allowed themselves to enjoy the moment at 11pm on Friday, it was also with a deep sense of the task ahead.

My strongest emotion on Friday was one of relief. As someone who has lived through the past three and a half years at the heart of the wrangling in Parliament, it is a relief to finally reach this point so that we can move on. It is a great relief to be able to deliver on what the vast majority of politicians said they would do – respect the referendum result. In that sense it is a relief that we have shown that democracy is alive and well in our country and that when a majority of people vote for something it actually happens.

Any sense of celebration is tempered by the need for us to now come together as a country, heal the divisions that have been so raw in recent times and face the future with a renewed sense of common purpose and confidence in our nation. So while I fully understand all those who felt the desire to make a big show of their celebrations of this historic moment, I also fully support the Prime Minster who sought to keep things fairly low key.

The reality is that not much has changed since Friday. Officially we are no longer a member state of the EU. We have left all its institutions, no longer have MEPS and will take up our seats on international bodies as an independent state once again. However, we are now in an eleven month transition phase until the end of this year. During this time we will continue to abide by all EU regulations.

This period of time will primarily be used to negotiate our future relationship on trade and cooperation in areas such as intelligence and security. It will also give time for Parliament to put the necessarily legislation in place so we have the legal framework we need for the UK Parliament to take over the democratic responsibility for areas that have been under the EU until now. Due to the make up and deep division in the previous Parliament we were unable to pass the legislation before. Now Boris Johnson has a majority we can get on with passing these bills that will provide our farmers, fishermen and businesses with many of the details they need to know about the future regulations they will need to operate under.

This week Parliament will begin debating the Agriculture Bill, which will provide the legal framework for our famers once we are out of the EU Common Agriculture Policy. This will lay out the way we will support our farmers and the standards we will expect them to adhere to for important things such as animal welfare and protecting our environment and countryside.

Also last week we began the process of the Fisheries Bill and Environment Bill being presented to Parliament. One of the key aspects of leaving the EU is the UK being once again in control of our own fishing waters. This bill will return power to the UK Parliament to decide who is allowed to fish in our waters and will mean we can ensure our own fishermen get a fairer share of the quota.

The Environment Bill will establish our commitment to protect the environment and enable us to be in control of the standards we operate by. I am particularly interested in the measures this Bill will provide for protecting our seas and holding water companies more effectively to account for discharging sewage.

In the coming weeks we will also have a new Immigration Bill, that will provide the new policy the UK will operate by once we end free movement of people and control our own borders.

So we have a busy and important time ahead in Parliament now we have actually left the EU. This is primarily what Brexit is about. Returning the democratic responsibility for all these things, and many more, to our own Parliament where you can hold me as your MP to account for the decisions we make.

This is a historic time in our nation’s history. I count it a huge honour to be representing our constituency in Parliament at this time and I will never forget that it is you, the local voters who put me here, and you that I am ultimately accountable to.

Alzheimer's Society's Fix Dementia Care Campaign: Write to the Chancellor

Thank you to those constituents who have recently contacted me as part of the Alzheimer's Society's Fix Dementia Care Campaign: Write to the Chancellor.

I have my own personal story that my family is working through at present with my father so I am aware of the challenges that both Dementia sufferers and carers face on a daily basis.

As a Parliamentary Private Secretary for the Department of Health and Social Care I am unable to lobby the Government in the manner requested.

However I am pleased to confirm that the concerns raised will be part of the Government’s social care plan that we are bringing forward by the end of this year. I will certainly ensure I raise this issue with the Minister as part of the work on this important plan.

Campaign reply - Please join the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Parkinson’s and attend the AGM on Tuesday 4 February, 5-6pm

Thank you to those constituents who have contacted me about joining the All Party Parliamentary Group for Parkinson’s disease and requesting I attend their meeting in February.

I would normally be more than happy to join this group and endeavour to attend the meeting in February, Parliamentary business allowing.

However in my position as Parliamentary Private Secretary for the Department of Health and Social Care I am unable to join groups that relate to this portfolio. I will however use my position to continue to ensure that issues surrounding Parkinson’s, its treatment and management, are highlighted within the Government.

Newspaper column 29 January 2020 - We got Brexit Done!

Last week saw the passing of the EU Withdrawal Brexit Bill after it came back from the House of Lords and passed the final vote in the House of Commons. Her Majesty the Queen gave the Bill her Royal Assent on Thursday and it is now law that we will be leaving the EU at 11pm on Friday.

The passing of the Withdrawal Bill marks the end of the first step of our leaving the European Union and delivering on the result of the referendum in 2016 where our constituency, Cornwall and the UK voted to Leave.

It has been a rocky road, and one that has been made a lot more difficult than it should have been by some MP’s from the last Parliament doing everything they could do frustrate its passage, and delay or stop Brexit altogether.

In my eyes this activity had the potential to seriously damage the public’s trust in not just any particular political party, but in the institute of Parliament and democracy in general. If we had failed to deliver on the single biggest vote in our history it would have been a long road to rebuild trust. Thankfully we are not in that position now.

This outcome is only possible due to having a majority in Parliament as a result of last month’s election. Boris Johnson should be given great credit for the steps, and risk he took, which thankfully have paid off.

The Bill which had previously struggled for months to make any progress through Parliament and came to a stalemate which led to the General Election in December, has now passed through Parliament into law in a little less than a month.

We have ‘Got Brexit Done’ and delivered on the primary commitment of our manifesto.

Leaving the EU on Friday will enable us to progress to focusing on our future outside of the EU and our future relationship with them. The crucial thing is that now we will be negotiating with our friends in the European Union from the perspective of having already left, rather than continuing to ponder the question as to whether we will be leaving or not.

I am proud to be part of the Government that has delivered Brexit and now look forward to working with this government to ensure our future outside the EU is a positive one both in terms of our ongoing relationship with the EU and also with the rest of the world.

It will also free our Parliamentary schedule to concentrate on the important domestic priorities in our recent manifesto, which we have already in the last week seen benefit for Cornwall in the form of an additional £23.7million for the Devon and Cornwall Police and the confirmation that Cornwall is part of a pilot to support older people in staying in their homes and out of hospital.

There was one vote last week which I know had raised some attention from our political opponents and that was on the matter of child refugees. Opposition parties sought to place an amendment to the Withdrawal Bill to include a commitment to continue to take child refugees. However, this Bill was not the place for this amendment. The government’s position has not changed on this matter and our commitment to take child refugees is already enshrined in law. It should not be caught up in our process of leaving the EU in the way this amendment sought to do. We will continue to be an open and compassionate country that is a safe home for children fleeing war and persecution. This will not change.

My team and I are here to serve the whole constituency and work hard to make a real difference to the lives of everyone needing support. The office is open to the public Monday – Friday 10.00am – 4.00pm (no appointment necessary). If there is an issue you would like my assistance on then please, either visit the office or contact me on either 01726 829379 or office@stevedouble.org.uk. Additionally, I hold regular, appointment only, advice surgeries across the constituency. Dates of these can be found at: www.stevedouble.org.uk/events

Campaign reply - Clean air and healthy lungs in St Austell and Newquay

Thank you to those constituents who have written to me as part of a campaign titled ‘Clean air and healthy lungs in St Austell and Newquay’.

I will support measures to tackle air pollution and smoking and improve the care received by thousands of people in St Austell and Newquay who live with a lung condition.

I will certainly endeavour to attend the Taskforce for Lung Health’s parliamentary reception on Monday 27th January 2020, Parliamentary business allowing, in order to find out more about what I can do to support this cause.