I spent Friday and Saturday this week in Larkhill, the military town. One thing dominates local conversation here: the hundreds of Afghan nationals relocated here, and to neighbouring towns, since the fall of Kabul to the Taliban. These are former soldiers and interpreters who worked with the British Army, and their families, who would be at risk of their lives if they remained in their country. We have so many in Wiltshire because of spare or derelict Army accommodation which has been renovated to provide temporary homes for the Afghans while they wait for a permanent move to the big cities.
It is a good and noble thing the UK has done, offering its former allies sanctuary here, and a source of pride that the Afghans have been welcomed and accommodated so successfully by a combination of the MOD and Army, Wiltshire Council, community groups and local people.
It is a bad thing that the process has been so complicated for the Afghans themselves, so poorly communicated to local communities, and that so many people remain in Wiltshire months and months after they were supposed to move on. Although these issues will often be exaggerated and amplified on social media, there are real issues with anti-social behaviour and particularly the presence of boys and young men, in large groups, who have grown up in a culture totally different to Wiltshire’s. There is no possible excuse for it, but it is no wonder that we have instances of intimidation and even violence in the other direction, from the British towards the Afghans.
I visited a primary school in Larkhill. The head teacher could not be more positive about the Afghan children, but she stressed with admirable bluntness the burden they place on the school. Dozens of children who cannot speak English, hold a pen - let alone write with it - or do basic maths, put a huge demand on teaching staff, to the obvious disadvantage of the other children. The school is happy to look after these kids but they clearly need more resources to be able to do so.
I spoke to the shura - a council of 40 or so Afghan men, which takes place every Friday in a community centre - through a translator. All expressed their deep gratitude to this country, and to the local community, for giving them a home where they are safe. They politely explained how frustrating it is to be in limbo for so long. And they nodded with understanding when I explained how important it is that they encourage their young people to maintain the goodwill of the local community.
‘Assisted dying’
I spent a lot of the last Parliament trying to stop the UK legalising euthanasia, or ‘assisted dying’ as they euphemistically call it. Sadly Keir Starmer is supportive and now that one of his MPs (never vocal before in this debate, it must be said) has announced she will introduce a Private Member’s Bill on the subject, the PM has agreed to give it time in the Commons to pass through the legislative process and become law, if MPs approve.
I hope they won’t, for reasons I’ve often set out and will do again. I know all the arguments in favour of assisted suicide - as it should be called - and I respect some of them. But at a time when we desperately need proper investment in end-of-life care - when hospices, including our own Prospect House in Wroughton, are crying out for more support - and when disabled people rightly feel serially neglected in the NHS and in society, I dread to think of the consequences of introducing a cheaper, easier, cleaner solution to the ‘problem’ of ill, disabled or dying people. Look at Canada for a cautionary tale.
Tory leadership
I was very pleased and relieved that Robert Jenrick got through to the final for the Tory leadership this week. He and Kemi Badenoch now face party members. I’m glad the MP stage of the contest is over. My colleagues are utterly inexplicable. I have no idea why the votes fell the way they did in the various ballots (well, I do: it was because some people tried to engineer not just one but both finalists, in the hope their candidate’s perceived strongest opponent would be knocked out; a risky and silly game with an electorate this small) but the result was, in my view, a good one.
For the best case yet written for ‘Why Jenrick?’ I point you to today’s Sunday Telegraph column by Daniel Hannan (here), who is (like me) well disposed to Kemi but thinks this is the moment for Rob.
VAT on school fees
On Saturday morning some 50 people joined me at the Sharp Hall in Larkhill to discuss the impending imposition of VAT on school fees. All but one were military; none are rich; all use boarding schools because their jobs mean they move home almost annually, or are posted abroad at short notice, and day schools simply can’t provide the continuity of education they need. This is why the government provides a ‘continuity of education’ grant to military and diplomatic families; but it doesn’t cover the full fees, and an extra 20% of the total will have to be borne by the parents. All the parents I met said they will have to consider leaving the armed forces if these costs are introduced.
I object to taxing education on principle (no other country in the world does it); but I also object because it threatens to deprive our armed forces of thousands of bright and motivated personnel just as we face a defence manpower crisis in the midst of a global security crisis. I will write more on this shortly, and the Conservative Party will campaign with all its might against this misguided and unethical policy.
