Brexit and My MP - Part 52

Blimey! Something close to a reasonable response.

Dear Richard

Many thanks for contacting me about the contest for the next leader of the Conservative Party.

I share your concerns about a no deal Brexit. I continue to believe that it would have serious consequences and so I will do – as I have already done – all I can to make sure it doesn’t happen. I am a moderate, One Nation Conservative and will naturally be looking to support a candidate who accords with those values. It is now for the different candidates to set out their stall about how we deliver Brexit and bring the country back together.

I know you have argued before that a second referendum would be the best outcome at this point. We may indeed end up with a second referendum, although my reservations persist and I fear that nothing will be resolved in the process.

Thank you again for contacting me about this.

My best wishes,

Anne

The Rt Hon Anne Milton MP

Member of Parliament for Guildford

Minister of State for Apprenticeships and Skills

CCC Wants Net Zero By 2050

The CCC's latest report to government is unequivocal - it is imperative that the UK achieves net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. There was a time when the UK was lauded for its lead in tackling climate change. No more. A number of countries are now well to the forefront but if the government were to accept the CCC's recommendations, enshrine the target in legislation and ACT ON IT that would be a massively important global statement.

Achieving net zero will not be easy; many of the key tools have not been tested at large scale. A particular instance is carbon capture and storage. Because some source of emissions will be impossible to bring to zero (in the agricultural sector, for instance) directly removing CO2 from the atmosphere will be a crucial technology.

Parliament has made the symbolic move of declaring a climate emergency. Now it is time to actually do something about it.

Brexit and My MP - Part 51

Dear Mrs Milton,


I have refrained from writing to you for some months for fear of sounding like a cracked record. However, Mrs May’s recent announcement of her resignation date plus the results of last week’s European elections prompt me once again to put finger to keyboard.


May I start with the question of a new Conservative Party leader and, hence, likely new Prime Minister. I am horrified by the number of candidates who have publicly announced that they would countenance a no-deal Brexit. Informed analysis from a wide variety of credible sources clearly shows that a no-deal Brexit would be highly damaging to the UK economy, would hurt the economies of many, if not all, the remaining 27 EU countries with further repercussions on the relationships between those countries and the UK, and could well exacerbate the increasingly fractured social fabric of Britain. To espouse such a policy seems to me to run counter to everything that our Members of Parliament, and particularly our Prime Minister should be seeking to achieve – which is the best for the country and its peoples. I hope you will do everything you can to ensure that no party leadership candidate who is willing to consider a no-deal Brexit makes it to the last two to be voted for by the wider party membership. To have such a candidate become Prime Minister will serve only to increase the already chaotic Brexit situation.


Moving on to the European elections, although turn-out was on a par with previous such elections and less than for the 2016 advisory referendum, none-the-less it is clear that “remain” and “leave” sentiments are roughly evenly matched. Indeed, given that there would appear to be no single form of Brexit that gains universal acceptance within the “leave” camp it could be argued that “remain” is, in fact, the majority view in the country. Three years on from a lie-riddled, mendaciously-tainted referendum it is surely time that the whole question of the UK leaving the European Union is revisited from scratch.



Yours sincerely,




Richard Bawden

Climate Emergency? What Climate emergency?

As Edie put it in this article, the declaration by the UK Parliament of a Climate Emergency is hugely symbolic. But is it any more than a symbol? The UK Government has been woefully lax in putting in place measures for the country to reach it's stated aim of 80% reduction by 2050, let alone the net zero position recommended recently by the CCC. The cynic in me is not holding my breath.

Weasel accounting, weasel words

Aviation and shipping are sources of atmospheric CO2. So why does the UK government not account for them in its carbon budgets? 'Cos it makes the figures look worse, of course. Really, it's time the shambolic occupants of the Palace of Westminster either got their collective acts together or they disappeared over the horizon never to be seen again.

Draft Environment Bill - Another Brexit Casualty?

This link says it all. MPs from all parties are bemoaning the loss of faith the public has in government but with news like this trickling out day after day is it surprising?

Why Does Guildford Not Support Its Theatre?

We've just had an excellent evening at Guildford's Yvonne Arnaud Theatre taking in this production of Equus. I was lucky enough to see the original back in the early 70s (yes, 'fraid I'm that old) and was at another one a few years later at the Redgrave. The original I found gut-wrenching, especially the performance of Alec McCowan as Martin Dysart (and, would you believe, Peter Firth played Alan Strang). The Redgrave production was a bit run-of-the-mill but this latest outing, while not quite up to the visceral original is still an excellent experience. The biggest difference is the character of Dysart. Zubin Varla's performance is well thought out, consistent and believable; however, it doesn't capture the sheer desperation that Alec McCowan portrayed when contrasting the bleakness of his domestic life with the ecstasy that Strang achieves. What I really enjoyed tonight, however, was the portrayal of the horses, all done through choreography without the need for the skeletal heads of the original - brilliant work.

Thoroughly disappointing was the reception afforded the showing by the population of Guildford. On a Friday night there were all of 12 - yes, just 12 - punters (including us) in the circle; and we could see plenty of red plush seats uncovered by Guildfordian bums in the stalls below us. What is it with Guildford and its theatre? This was a cracking performance of a thought provoking play. Why wasn't the place packed? Yes, I know I've grumbled like this before - and , no doubt I will do so again - but really, am I living is a sea of Philistines?

CCUS - Government Continues to Dither

I was involved, in a small way, in one of the competition bids for Government funding for a CCS demonstration project. Our bid may not have been the strongest but it soon became clear that there was little willingness on behalf of Government or the Civil Service to help any project manage the convoluted rules and requirements of the competition. In the end the government, much to their shame, pulled the competition. One has to hope that all the money and effort that went into preparing the various bids will not have been wasted. Somehow I think that won't be the case.

Here we are, 4 years later and nothing has moved on the CCS front. The BEIS committee's new report is unequivocal about the role that CCUS has to play in decarbonising the UK. Will Government act? Don't hold your breath.