As an aide to the ministers in the oddly-named Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) I have spent Tuesdays and Thursdays through October sitting behind Kemi Badenoch MP in a committee room upstairs in Parliament. Kemi is the lead minister for the Elections Bill, which as per procedure has been scrutinised line-by-line in committee.
My role is perfectly redundant, as Parliamentary Private Secretaries (which is what I am) do not speak in debates or committee sessions which are led by their own ministers. In the old days the PPS would pass notes to the minister from other MPs or from officials; now everyone communicates directly by WhatsApp. So I alternated studies of the gorgeous Victorian artwork with attention to the detail of the Bill, which was actually quite interesting (it modernises various aspects of elections law in an attempt to stamp out fraud). I am glad that the Bill has now passed through its Committee stage, and I get my Tuesdays and Thursdays back - until the next one.
I chair the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Prescribed Drug Dependence. This was set up by some brave campaigners with experience of doctors wrongly putting them on antidepressants that they then struggled, with appalling withdrawal symptoms, to get off. A week ago one of the advisers to the group, Dr James Davies, published research showing that the NHS spends £500m a year on unnecessary (and harmful) drug prescriptions. I had the opportunity to raise this issue in the debate this week on the menopause, which was itself a fascinating discussion. The Labour MP who brought the debate explained that she was on antidepressants for 11 years because her doctor did not understand the symptoms of the menopause. You can watch my brief intervention here.
The Prime Minister hosted members of the Conservative Environment Network to Downing Street this week, ahead of the COP climate conference which is underway in Glasgow. It was good to be there and to hear about the progress that has been made - and the huge responsibilities on the world’s governments to make the progress we need now.
Speaking of the planet, there has been a lot of coverage of the vote a week ago on the Duke of Wellington’s amendment to the Environment Bill, which would have simply banned water companies from discharging untreated sewage into our rivers. The Duke’s objective is of course right - it is scandalous how much raw sewage ends up in the water - but I explained my reasons for voting with the Government against the amendment here (and spoke on BBC Radio Wiltshire about it - listen here). I held a meeting this week with some local campaigners concerned about the state of our rivers, and will be meeting my eastward neighour Laura Farris MP this week to discuss the Kennet. I hope to be able to announce some further plans in this regard soon.
Last Friday I was honoured to attend the annual Alamein dinner given by the Royal Artillery at their base in Larkhill. The Gunners have been involved in every battle fought by the British Army since their formation in 1714; William IV gave them the motto Ubique - ‘everywhere’ - which substitutes for the battle honours which, by tradition, they are never awarded. But they particularly remember the 2nd battle of El-Alamein in October 1942, famously the turning point of the Second World War, where the Royal Artillery played a crucial role.
The Master Gunner - the head honcho - General Sir Andrew Gregory gave a very inspiring and moving speech about Alamein: inspiring because of the heroics the Gunner performed, and moving because he paid tribute to Captain Leslie Gosling, a veteran of the battle and a regular guest at the annual dinners. Captain Gosling died this October, aged 105.
Last year, with the support of the local Conservative Association but as a strictly non-political exercise, I set up the Devizes Constituency Community Fund, to raise money for good causes in our area. I am delighted that we were able to give away £20,000 to Covid support groups. Now we need to focus on the great range of needs that still exist locally, and have worsened during the crisis. Rupert Stephenson, the chairman of the Conservative Association, has organised an amazing online auction which goes live next week. As an appetiser, however, he is offering the first lot this week, because it must be used on Friday: a pair of tickets to see Nigel Havers and Patricia Hodge in Noel Coward’s Private Lives at the Bath Theatre Royal. Bid here!