We live through the last week of the Johnson administration with a new leader of the Conservative Party, and therefore Prime Minister, to be announced within days.
Historians will write extensively about this short period of tenure possibly like no other given events of the huge majority achieved in 2019, Brexit, the pandemic and the Ukraine war. The means by which the Conservative Party changes Prime Minister mid-term is by itself riddled with peculiarities. It is the Party’s MPs, via the Parliamentary Party’s rules (of the 1922 Committee) that permits a sufficient caucus of MPs to initiate a dethronement. There is no written constitutional status of PM, who is, by convention across all political parties, the figurehead put there by acclamation of the MPs of the biggest Party returned at a general election. In the not too distant past, given that it is the MPs who are required for ongoing support of the Government’s agenda by Parliamentary votes (hence the ‘whipping’ system), the head of the Parliamentary Party and therefore PM was decided by those MPs who have to work with him or her. There is a logical basis for that but not unreasonably, and similar applies in the Labour Party, newer rules put a shortlist to the broader membership for their decision to prevail.
Within the Labour Party they allow their paymaster Trade Unions an influence as well. Others might point to the fact that because of the way modern election campaigns are framed and media interest thereafter, much is focused on the leader and hence a change of leader should lead to a general election. This is not how our constitution works for reasons given, we do not have a ‘Presidential’ style of government, merely MPs in constituencies who form the building blocks of a Parliamentary majority.
I was delighted to see a renewed positive Development Consent Order for Manston airport announced. The mere fact that 700 acres of mainly brownfield local land could remain in limbo for so long with uncertainty stretching across eight years was ridiculous no matter what one’s viewpoint. Indeed if the decision had gone the other way it would at least have allowed us to know where we are and plan something different. We now have a path to pursue.
We have to recognise that East Kent, blessed as it is with its tourism appeal (despite the best efforts of Southern Water to upset it), cannot survive on seasonal trade alone with its inherent high peaks and low troughs. We are not best placed geographically to attract high employment businesses but contra to that Discovery Park continues to thrive, particularly in hi-tech start-ups which is hugely positive. We were blessed through historical happenstance with an airport. It is a plain fact that areas with an airport have thriving economies, not just on the back of jobs relating directly to airport operations but in logistics and other ‘place to be’ industries as well.
Let us work together to make the most of the opportunity given to us. The other brownfield site which continues to frustrate, with similar discussions over a longer period of uncertainty, is Ramsgate port and I continue, on an almost weekly basis, to examine all options that will maximise local employment, add value and wealth and stop the annual haemorrhaging of cash that is a drain on local taxpayers. The Levelling Up grant to Ramsgate offers a once in a generation opportunity as a kick-starter.
The loss of bus services has rightly caused local anguish. I have had numerous exchanges and meetings with Stagecoach to try to soften the blow with some limited success. What we have seen is a perfect storm on the back of the result of the Covid lockdown combined with Kent County Council also having to look at the real cost of, in some cases, little used supported services across Kent. All local authorities across the country face similar challenges.
The weave of bus company revenues is a complex one; it would be fair to say that these are not private companies reliant on the market in any real sense once the mix of taxpayer funded free bus passes for the elderly and disabled, Kent County Council Travel Saver schemes for the youth and supported routes are included. The bus companies face a stark reality in the face of higher wages and driver shortages, increased fuel costs and the demand for newer ‘greener’ bus fleets. Some routes were losing £50,000 a year on a pure cash basis as travelling numbers across all types had not recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
I have long advocated ‘car share’ and similar schemes. I can be sure that no matter where you live, there’d be a car driver going exactly where you’d want to go, probably on a minute-by-minute basis. There’d be obvious hurdles to overcome – insurance, safety and a myriad of other bureaucratic barriers that we’ve put up in modern Britain to frustrate a good idea but I think worth looking at again with the seriousness it deserves.
The ‘illegal’ crossings of the channel continues, seemingly unabated. This is a topic in itself which I will be taking up with the new administration but, as ever, I will report to you my thoughts at greater length over the weeks ahead.
Finally, the newly announced ‘cap’ on average domestic energy at £3,500 per year is clearly unsustainable. I touched on the pluses and minuses of options available in my last piece. We can be sure that there will be a revised support scheme coming as the new costs are simply unaffordable.
The reason I ‘bang on’ about energy so much and why I formed the Net Zero Scrutiny Group is precisely for this reason, formed long before Putin’s illegal war made a bad situation even worse. This is reality time; advanced economies need growth and a buoyant economy to pay for public services. We need domestic energy security, internationally competitive prices and an energy mix that works. Those ideal time to have made the tough decisions was ten years ago. The second best time is now.
