I did warn you in last week’s article that events were happening quicker than I could type!
I had expected a General Election to be called and that to now be in full swing! I was wrong. The motion for a General Election was defeated again. I had presumed as the opposition had been calling for one for months and made it very clear they want us removed from office that they would have supported one.
We felt that a General Election was needed, as after 3 (long!) years and over 500 hours of debates and votes in the Main Chamber, Brexit remained deadlocked. Parliament has rejected: the former PM’s Deal, No Deal, Customs Union, Single Market, Norway+, Canada+, Revoking Article 50, 2nd Referendum and various other combinations. We have seemingly exhausted all options, with only the EU Summit on October 17th offering us a final chance to secure something new to debate and support. The PM is right that everything should focus on this and we and should leave the EU on October 31st. All attempts to secure something new from the EU are being undermined by the opposition, seeking to simply frustrate, delay and ultimately block Brexit.
A General Election would allow the public to decide who should lead the negotiations and whether we are right to deliver Brexit, or if the opposition are right to oppose. A majority either way would have broken the deadlock and we trust and respect the democratic will of the British public. This is the first-time ever an opposition has refused an election. Why would they do this, other than they know the public do not support their actions to frustrate, delay and ultimately block Brexit.
Straight after they blocked a General Election, they orchestrated a stage-managed protest within the Chamber, revelling in their determination to block the democratic will of the British public. This shameful behaviour simply runs the very real risk of breaking trust in politics - not just in them, but all of us tarnished by the same brush. The public expect better and we collectively have to find a way to break the deadlock, General Election or not. If we could all compromise, even if just a little, we can agree a Deal and get on discussing the many other issues of importance both locally and nationally.
On a more positive note, I’d like to say thank you to a very generous local business. I was contacted by GSinstyle, based in Kembrey Park, who supply promotional clothing. They often have left-over stock and rather than throwing them away, they wanted to link up with a charity so the clothing could be re-used. I introduced them to Dressability, a fantastic local charity which adapts clothes for people with disabilities, and locally help provide clothing and over 100 blankets to various homeless organisations and charities every year. They have collected all the left-over stock which they will use and share with the Swindon Night Shelter and the Big Breakfast club. This is a lovely example of local organisations working together to benefit the local community.
