Net Zero Target that was the final speech for Henry Smith

Posted on June 15, 2024 by ianchisnall

The final discussion that Henry involved in Parliament was on the 21st May which was just before the Government announced that the vote is taking on 4th July. It is a significant item and indeed it was Henry who was the MP for Crawley who set it out in Parliament. After Henry opened it several other people took part and one of them was Caroline Lucas who is another member from Sussex and Green MP and one of the others was Ed Miliband who was previously the leader of Labour a few years ago. All of the comments can be seen here but here are is the items mentioned by Henry and Caroline. The Government Minister who responded on the theme was Claire Coutinho.

Henry: What progress she has made on reaching the Government’s 2050 net zero target.

Claire: We are on track to reach net zero by 2050, and we will do so in a way that brings the public with us. We overachieved on our third carbon budget by 15%, and we announce today that we will not be rolling that over as we think that we will be able to overperform on carbon budget 4 as well.

Henry: I congratulate the Government on us being one of the first major economies in the world to set out the ambition for net zero carbon emissions by 2050. What discussions has the Secretary of State had with the Chancellor and the Secretary of State for Transport with regard to a revenue support mechanism for sustainable aviation, as well as ensuring that feedstock for sustainable aviation fuels takes priority?

Claire: I know from experience that my hon. Friend is a doughty champion for his local area and for the aviation sector. My Department is in regular contact with the Department for Transport and the Treasury on aviation decarbonisation and the important role for sustainable aviation fuel in that transition. On 25 April, DFT published a consultation on options for a revenue certainty mechanism alongside details of the SAF mandate, which together will support both decarbonation and the growth of the sector.

Here is Caroline’s comment

Caroline: In the Climate Change Committee’s latest progress report, it was made clear:

“There continues to be an overly narrow approach to solutions, which crucially does not embrace the need to reduce demand for high-carbon activities.”

So when the Secretary of State goes back to the drawing board to revise the Government’s carbon budget delivery plan, as she now must, will she finally reduce the reliance on unproven technofixes and look instead at demand reduction measures—or, following the recent embarrassing judgment from the High Court, is she aiming for a hat-trick, with her Department’s climate plan declared unlawful for a third time?

Claire: I would find the hon. Lady’s questions more credible if she would at least once welcome the fact that we are the first country in the G20 to have halved emissions. On our progress, I am proud that one of the reasons that we have come so far is technological fixes, because of the remarkable progress that this country has made in renewable energy. That is why we overshot on our first, second and third carbon budgets, and we are on track to overshoot on our fourth.

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Candidates fighting for your votes on July 4

Posted on June 15, 2024 by ianchisnall

It was interesting to see details on the Parliament website TheyWorkForYou which just over a week ago claimed there were planned debates in the last two weeks including some Sussex MPs to contribute. However, the details have subsequently been removed from the website which is now only providing one item following the closure. The new Parliament will be opened on the 17th of July and the only listed document refers to “Commons: Main Chamber – State Opening of Parliament (provisional)”. This is now a focus on the creation of a new Government that will be approved by the voting outcome on the 4th July. It will take a week and half from after the results and the new Prime Minister will be the person to open the first session of a new Parliament. Although we cannot currently know what is going to take place in Parliament it is interesting to consider the possible options for Sussex when it comes to the voting arrangements. There have been a number of changes that are not entirely related to the election.

The most significant change is the creation of a new area for voting area for any new MP within Sussex which is called “East Grinstead and Uckfield”. This change has been organised by Mims Davies who since 2019 replaced Nicholas Soames who retired from Mid Sussex. Back in 1997, sixteen locations were created as areas to be represented by MPs across Sussex. This recent new arrangement will make an additional area named as “East Grinstead and Uckfield”.

Currently there are five East Sussex MPs all of which are Conservatives and three Brighton and Hove MPs two of which are Labour and one Green Party MP, the only Green MP in the UK, all referenced as the region of East Sussex. The other eight MPs are all Conservatives that are referenced as West Sussex region. The Green MP Caroline Lucas representing Brighton Pavilion announced in June this year that she was standing down and is supporting Sian Berry to stand in this election. Caroline refers to Sian Berry “as a tireless politician and campaigner” for the same constituency. Caroline has expressed her confidence in Sian to make sure “nature has a voice and the next Government is held to account”.

This new “East Grinstead and Uckfield” location will combine parts of Mid Sussex in the West Sussex region that involved Mims Davies including the East Grinstead area, Lewes represented by Maria Caulfield in East Sussex and Uckfield parts of Wealden represented by Nus Ghani in East Sussex.

It is interesting to reflect that Lewes was established as a political location for since 1885 and there has been a Conservative in placefrom 1931 to 1997 when Norman Baker a Liberal Democrat won. It was in 2015 that Maria Caulfield beat Norman Baker with just over a thousand votes. The Liberal Democrat Party have arranged for James MacCleary, a local councillor in Newhaven, to stand for Lewes.

Kristy Adams is moving to represent the area previously represented by Mims Davis. Kristy was a conservative Mid Sussex District Councillor for Bolney ward. She is described on her website, ‘About Kristy Adams’. She explains “I’m Kristy Adams, the Conservative Prospective Parliamentary candidate for Mid Sussex. Here you can find my news and campaigns, and I’m here to help you, so please feel free to get in touch.” and further describes herself, “local businesswoman who co-owns the family design business in the building industry, grew up and lives in the constituency, she attended Handcross Primary and Warden Park schools and was elected as a Mid Sussex District Councillor for Bolney’’.

Nus Ghani was the leader of Wealden from 2015 and she is now representing a newly named area of Sussex Weald. Although Nus has experienced significant wins for Wealden in previous elections it is noteworthy that the Liberal Democrat Party held a number of second votes for Wealden. The current Liberal Democrat trying for Sussex Weald is Danielle Newson a Liberal Democrat Councillor in Guilford.

The Liberal Democrats have also proposed Alison Bennett for the Mid Sussex constituency and she has published the following statement on her website “I am ambitious for Mid Sussex. It is a wonderful place to live, but there is so much scope to make it even better, by ensuring we have thriving high streets, decent housing that is genuinely affordable, and by looking after unique landscapes.” Also, Benedict Dempsey is proposing against to Mims Davies.

Clearly these current MP’s Nus, Maria and Mims have experienced a great deal of change since 2019 when Boris Johnson was the Conservative Prime Minister and then a six-week session from Liz Truss and now the twenty-month period of the current Rishi Sunak.

All of these four locations have the “Reform UK” party represented with Nathan Curtis proposed for the East Grinstead and Uckfield, Gary Johnson for Mid Sussex, Bernard Brown for Lewes and David Morgan for Sussex Weald. Lewes will not have an independent candidate but they have a “New Open Non-Political Organised Leadership”, Sussex Weald group has gained “SDP” with Stephen Gander but Mid Sussex has lost “Advance” and “Monster Raving Loony” for this year. The residents who live in these areas will be faced with the changes which may be disappointing, particularly if they are not able to vote for their previous MPs or the newly placed candidates that they would like to support.

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Voting for Esther McVey on Merseyside and Cheshire

Posted on June 15, 2024 by ianchisnall

The significant Conservative member Esther McVey was born in Liverpool in 1967 when I was living then on in Crosby. Although I did not know she was on the area when she was young I have recently observed her voting aspects on Merseyside back on 2005 when she first tried to become the MP for the Wirral West location. She tried to beat Stephen Hesford who was the Labour person at that time he was the MP from 1997 until to 2005. Then five years later on 2010 Esther achieved 300 more votes and the new Labour colleague who was Phil Davies and he obtained less than 3,000 votes on that time. This placed Esther as the Wirral West MP from 2010 to 2015 and she was significant. However at the end of that five year period even though she gained 2,000 more votes, the new Labour person Margaret Greenwood managed 400 more votes from Esther so Esther lost her MP role. Margaret was the MP from 2015 to 2019 and she was very significant. However although there is a new Labour person this year. However two years after 2015, Esther moved onto the Tatton location on the Cheshire group and she got 28,764 votes and the Labour person Samuel Rushworth who was the second only achieved 13,977 votes. Esther has remained in that location ever since and she is voting this year to remain as the Tatton location. On 2019 Esher was working with James Weingberg, and this year she is working with Ryan Jude and so it would be fantastic if Ryan could work well.

Esther McVey has served as Minister of State without Portfolio since 2023, she previously served as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in 2018 and Minister of State for Housing and Planning from 2019 to 2020. It is very interesting to see how she has achieved over the last 15 years.

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The support of Liz Saville Roberts in North Wales

Posted on June 15, 2024 by ianchisnall

I wrote about this in mid June and it was a call for Liz Saville Roberts and I am delighted to see that Liz has been successful on Thursday and so she is the MP for the future. Here is my comment from a few weeks ago:

The Dwyfor Meirionnydd MP location which is in North Wales is next to the Anglesey Island which is the place I visited for my holidays when I was young. I had lived in Crosby and we were delighted to visit it for many years. Then on early 1980 the Anglesey Island has referred as the Ynys Mon Island. More recently the voting location next door of Dwyfor Meirionnydd was established on 2010 and it is very significant. The first Plaid Cymru MP for that location was Elfyn Llwyd who was succesful on 2010 but then on 2015 Liz Saville Roberts became the MP and she has still been that MP since 2019 and she is working on July to remain as the Dwyfor Meirionnydd from 2024. The other significant colleagues were Conservative and then the Labour and although they are significant groups it is fantastic that Plaid Cymru has been successful. Liz Saville Roberts has been in charge and it would be great if she remains this group and indeed it would be fantastic if they can get more MPs this year.

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It’s fantastic if Llinos Medi can succeed Ynys Mon

Posted on June 15, 2024 by ianchisnall

I wrote about this back in mid June and it was a focus for the Ynys Mon location – I have now seen that on 4th July that Llinos Medi obtained 10,590 votes and she has become the MP. The next person on the group was Virginia Crosbie from Conservative who only obtained 9,953 votes. So it was very significant.

Yesterday I focused on the experience of Liz Saville Roberts who has been the Plaid Cymru MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd since 2015 and indeed another Plaid Cymru MP was on that location on 2010 and I have spotted the very significant aspect of Liz Saville Roberts in Parliament for the last 9 year. When I wrote about that discussion which can be seen here I explained that Dwyfor Meirionnydd is close to the Anglesey Island which is the place I visited for my holidays when I was young. The Anglesey Island changed its name to Ynys Mon back in 1983 and it was significant that a few years later of 1987 that the Ynys Mon obtained from a Plaid Cymru MP. The section before that in 1983 was a case for a Conservative MP but leuan Wyn Jones was second. Then on 1987 leuan Wyn Jones became the MP and they arrived for three times so the final time was 1997 and they arrived until 2001. Sadly on the 2001 leuan was not available and sadly Eilian Williams came second and Labour was successful with Albert Owen. He remained as MP until to the five Votes which was the final that began on 2017. The Plaid Cymru remained second until to 2015 but on 2017 it was the Conservative colleague who came second and the Conservative colleague won on 2019 and Labour was second and the Plaid Cymru was third. However the amount of voting was not too significant.

The current Conservative MP who is called Virginia Crosbie who obtained 12,959 votes and the Labour obtained 10,991 and the Plaid Cymru was third with 10,418 votes. This year Virginia Crosbie is remaining for the event but also Llinos Medi from Plaid Cymru is trying. It would be fantastic if Llinos can get the MP by getting more votes from Virginia and many of us would like to see the Plaid Cymru to obtain the Ynys Mon location this 2024 July.

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Let us promote Ben Lake for the new Ceredigion Preseli

Posted on June 15, 2024 by ianchisnall

Back in mid June I wrote about the call for Ben Lake to be successful and it is very significant that he has been very successful. Here is my previous comment:

Ben Lake is the Plaid Cymru membership and he was the MP for Ceredigion on 2017 and then again on 2019 and he has been very significant in Parliament along with two of his colleagues who are currently MPs. I have visited the South part of Wales in recent years and I do appreciate for the work of Ben in Parliament that I have spotted in the past even though I am based in Sussex which includes my Brighton Pavilion MP which has been Caroline Lucas for the Green group. I would like Green and Plaid Cymru to do well this year.

The new Cerdigion Preseli location is based on Ceredigion and also part of Preseli Pembrokeshire which is an area that has had Labour and Conservative MPs over the last 27 years. The Preseli Pembrokeshire is now going to be split up to Ceredigion Preseli and Mid and South Pembrokeshire. The new aspects for the Mid and South Pembrokeshire is partly from Preseli Pembrokeshire and Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire and both of those locations have had Labour and Conservative MPs since they were created. So that would suggest that Mid and South Pembrokeshire may remain as a Labour or a Conservative MP. However the new Ceredigion Preseli should retain with Plaid Cymru and of course to benefit from Ben Lake who has been the MP for Ceredigion. We need to promote Ben for the MP next month and let us ensure he is our national MP for the rest of this year and beyond.

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An ask “Covid-19 Pandemic: Educational Attainment”

Posted on June 15, 2024 by ianchisnall

The Parliament closed down three weeks ago because of the need for all of us to vote for our MPs on 4th July but during the last week there have been a number of events that took place in both the Parliament and the House of Lords. On the Wednesday 22nd May there was a session entitled by “Covid-19 Pandemic: Educational Attainment” and this was organised by the Labour member who is Fiona Twycross and she opened the session and the response came from Diana Barran who was the Minister for Conservative. Clearly that may change soon if Conservative are no longer the Government but here are the requests from Fiona and the responses from Diana that day. One of the other people who spoke was the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham who was very good and so here is his comment and the response. That Bishop is Paul Williams and he is very significant along with the other Bishops on the House of Lords. So the full contact is here and the text is below from Paul and Fiona and the responses from Diana.

Fiona: To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the attainment of children in schools, and what measures they are taking to address any adverse impacts.

Diana: My Lords, the challenges of the pandemic were unprecedented and almost £5 billion was made available specifically for education recovery. The latest results from 2023 show positive signs. For example, reading attainment at key stage 2 is back to pre-pandemic levels but there is more to do. We know that regular school attendance is vital for children’s attainment and mental well-being, which is why attendance is my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Education’s No. 1 priority.

Fiona: My Lords, studies have consistently shown that Covid-related disruption in schools negatively impacted the attainment of all pupils, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. In August last year, Teach First’s polling showed that young people from the poorest backgrounds are twice as likely to feel pessimistic about their future career opportunities compared to the most affluent 16 to 18 year-olds. What more will the Government do to ensure that they get the support and the confidence they need for future success?

Diana: The noble Baroness is right that our focus needs to be on those disadvantaged children. That has been reflected in our strategy focusing on 55 education investment areas, where we are working with local schools and other stakeholders in particular to make sure that we address exactly the sorts of gaps the noble Baroness identifies.

Paul: My Lords, head teachers in my diocese in Nottinghamshire are reporting that the adverse impacts of the pandemic include a dramatic increase in attendance concerns, parental anxiety and pupils’ mental health difficulties. At the same time, they are reporting severe pressures on schools funding, leading to staff reductions, which cannot be in the best interests of children, especially where SEN provision is reduced. What assessment have His Majesty’s Government made of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the educational needs of SEN children, and what more can be done to mitigate this?

Diana: Children with special educational needs and disabilities were of course greatly impacted during the pandemic. The Government have been working with a wide range of organisations in that area, including the National Network of Parent Carer Forums. Crucially, those organisations have been extremely supportive and helpful with our attendance work. The Government have committed considerable funding to increasing specialist capacity of places for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

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Could the new Government to change MP arrangements?

Posted on June 5, 2024 by ianchisnall

It is very clear from my review of Sussex, Surrey, Kent and Merseyside voting information items in the recent times. They do inform of our requirements but sadly there are very few opportunities and so we need the new Government to review on the arrangement for future MPs after this year. Currently in Sussex there are 16 MPs and 13 of them are Conservatives, two Labours and one Green MP. Meanwhile in Kent there are 17 MPs and 15 are Conservatives and 2 Labours. There are 11 Surrey MPs and all of them are Conservatives. There are of course many people who like Conservatives but inevitably there are many other people in all of those settings who want a Labour, Liberal Democrat or Green represents and they are not able to connect their votes. The Merseyside situation is that there are 15 MPs and currently 14 of them are Labour MPs and one is Conservative. However there are many people across the region that would prefer Conservative, Liberal Democrats or Green MPs and they would like an solution.

It would be fantastic if the new Government would arrange for people that if there are many votes for a range of solutions that are not the most significant MPs could they provide a way for a representation so that they are able to benefit for their responses even if it is modest!

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Let us to ensure that good quality MP systems endorse.

Posted on June 4, 2024 by ianchisnall

I have voted for Labour MPs for many of my years which began when I moved into Brighton Pavilion when I was 18. Prior to that time the location was organised back in 1950 which had William Teeling as the Conservative MP from 1969 initially and then the Julian Amery Conservative MP who was there until to 1992 when I had been in Brighton for several years.

In 1992 the Conservative colleague Derek Spencer won but the next vote was on 1997 when the Labour representative David Lepper who had tried on 1992 was successful at the second time. David Lepper was our MP from 1997 to until the voting that was taking in 2010 when he dropped out and his colleague was Nancy Platts who I very much endorsed during that time but she was not successful.

The Green MP, Caroline Lucas was successful on 2010 and although I did not vote for her on 2010 I did endorse her after that time and I have very much supported her until this year when she is retiring. Indeed I wrote this piece a few days ago to promote her final statement she made in Parliament before it was closed last month. Her new colleague is Sian Berry who is voting for Green this year and I am very keen for Sian to be suitable for our location. I am also keen for a few other Green people to be endorsed in other areas and along with Green MPs I would also be keen to see support for Liberal Democrat and of course for Labour MPs to be successful for our Nation this year.

On the last few days I have focused on Sussex on two items here and secondly this one, plus Surrey and then Kent for the needs for our region to benefit from Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green MPs so that our new Minister will contribute from all of them as well as the Conservative contributions for our Nation.

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July 4th seemed to take everyone by surprise

Posted on June 3, 2024 by ianchisnall

It was evident that Parliament had planned to open following the May Bank Holiday break holiday as articles had been planned for discussion from the 23rd May. However, the announcement for the General election vote on the 4th July seemed to take everyone by surprise. There are still a small number of updates on the Government website ‘TheyWorkForYou’ listed over the next three weeks most of which relate to Committee’s. Today there is the Public Accounts Committee: The UK border: Implementing an effective trade border and there are no Sussex MPs listed. However, on Tuesday 4th the “Foreign Affairs Committee: Work of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office” involves Henry Smith from Crawley who is leaving the Government early in July.  On Wednesday the 5th there are three items two of which are legislation committees. They are “The Tribunal Procedure Immigration and Asylum Chamber” and “The draft Coroners Suspension of Requirement for Jury at Inquest: Coronavirus”, with no Sussex MPs listed on those groups. The final item is the “Public Accounts Committee: NHS England’s modelling for the Long-Term Workforce Plan” which does not include any Sussex MPs.

One arrangement that was made before the Election was called was an event intended to take place this coming Wednesday 5th June at 4.30pm, organised by Hastings and Rye MP Sally-Ann Hart. The event was named as ‘The World Ocean Day’. It will be interesting to find out if Sally-Ann or any other MPs will be able to present the event again soon or if any new MP’s will focus on the theme in the future.

In the week before the Election announcement there was an important session on Tuesday, the 21st May, relating to the tragic subject, the “Infected Blood Compensation Scheme” which had contributions from several of our current Sussex MPs as well as other MPs and the Government. The first Sussex contribution came from Peter Bottomley who started with the words,

“It is 36 years since I was with the first of my friends who I knew had been infected, and 33 years since that person died. Friendships got fractured, and families were changed forever.”

His final words raised questions about how compensation may affect those involved

“My final point is this: people are not being awarded lottery sums, although in some way they make up for some of the losses and recognise some of the hurt. For some families who may not have been used to having much money around—indeed, most of them are used to having very little money because of the consequences of infection—there may need to be mediation services in case they do not agree. It would be a good idea if Sir Robert, or others, could consider whether such services could be made available, in the same way that other people who have suddenly come into some degree of money can get some kind of help. Families sometimes do not find it easy to decide how money should be shared.”

The next Sussex person who contributed was Caroline Ansell with these words 

“I pay tribute to one campaigner in particular in my own constituency, whom I will not name but she will know that I am speaking of her. She lost her mother and can never be compensated for that, but she also gave up her job and her income. She does not regret that for a moment, but it has left her financially fragile in these later years, to the point that I have advocated with her mortgage lender for a stay of execution—breathing space—ahead of any potential compensation. I know that my right hon. Friend cannot comment on individual cases, but can he restate that, as a child of a victim, she has been affected?”

The third person was Lloyd Russell-Moyle

“This report is some vindication, but justice will not be served until the campaigners have seen all aspects of the report being implemented. I want to ask a few specific questions. The Minister said that he could not set the interim payments above £210,000 because of a fear of the safety of those payments. Is he therefore implying that £210,000 is the potential minimum payment that he expects? It is lower than the minimum interim payment for sub-postmasters, so I would like some clarity on what that means. The Minister also says that he expects the payments to start within 90 days. Does he mean 90 days from now, to be completed by the summer, or a 90-day period in the summer? That was not quite clear.”

The final Sussex MP to participate was Caroline Lucas who stated

“I pay tribute to all those who fought so hard for justice for so long. It is impossible to imagine the pain and harm done to so many, including to some of my Brighton constituents who have shared with me their deeply harrowing stories. The setting up of the Infected Blood Compensation Authority is very welcome, and I echo those who have called for the body to be made accountable to Parliament, but will the Government consider going further and potentially setting up an independent body to monitor and follow up all such recommendations and inquiries? Without such a mechanism, without such a body, there is a risk of a significant accountability gap, because no one is directly charged with the effective oversight of the implementation of all these recommendations.”

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