THE WEEK IN REVIEW
I had the pleasure of joining the Good Friday procession with the Sedgefield Churches together. This starts with readings and hymns at St Edmund’s before processing to St John Fisher for more and then to the Sedgefield Methodist to conclude. It was a lovely experience, helped by the weather.
After this I popped along to the craft and small business fair at Neville Community Centre. On Saturday I called in to the Sports Club at Moore Lane to see Aycliffe and Sedgefield seconds playing. When I left, the young Aycliffe team were fighting back after a difficult start, but it was good to read later that they put a good score on the board that Sedgefield only just passed before running out of wickets.
I left the cricket to call in at the Town Centre where the Easter Bunny and friends were dishing out Easter eggs, well done to all involved.
On Monday I went to the Easter picnic at Sedgefield, this was also a beneficiary of good weather, and saw many families with children enjoying themselves. I read last week about Simon Peacock from Newton Aycliffe who has volunteered for the Invictus Games, well done and congratulations on being selected Simon.
The news from Westminster, over recess, was dominated by three subjects. The war in Ukraine; the fines for the Prime Minister and the Chancellor and then the introduction of the plans for frustrating the channel crossing people traffickers business model utilising an economic partnership with Rwanda.
I am pleased we are amongst the leading supporters of Ukraine in their defence of the country and sincerely hope that we can get to a situation where Russia is pushed out of Ukraine and punished for the crimes committed. I have to say that I say this more in hope than expectation as, whilst I support all the Government is doing,
I cannot see a good outcome.
The fines for the PM and Chancellor understandably received a lot of press and I have had many messages criticising them and saying I should be asking for their resignation as well as some saying it is blown out of proportion. As with when this first blew up, I am trying to take a position only when I know facts rather than what I read in the press.
It concerns me that many are doing precisely the opposite.
My current thoughts are that whilst mistakes have certainly been made in Number 10 the fixed penalty notices received by the PM and Chancellor are not resigning matters and I said this in the Chamber on Tuesday when I also shared with the PM the annoyance constituents have shared with me about his error of judgement and he apologised to the people of Sedgefield.
We had a briefing on Tuesday regarding the proposals by the Home Secretary to utilise an economic partnership with Rwanda to frustrate the small boat crossings, and this seems to me to be a wholly appropriate strategy. It should frustrate the business model of the people traffickers whilst giving those looking for a new life
a supported opportunity in a country whose economy is one of the fastest growing and one where they can prosper.
It will also reduce pressure on our immigration teams to help them deal with people in genuine need like those fleeing from Ukraine.
