As I’m sure many of you will have seen that MPs voted on the Privileges Committee report into the conduct of former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. I was proud to vote to approve the report and did so with our communities at the forefront of my mind. I saw firsthand how much we all sacrificed locally to keep each other safe, going without seeing friends and family for months at a time, not able to say goodbye to loved ones and so much more. The Prime Minister broke the rules he repeated to us each night on the TV and then lied to us about doing so. I believe the sanctions recommended by the report were right and voted to approve them.
Whilst I was pleased that Theresa May did vote for the report, it was disappointing that so many Conservative MPs chose to abstain in the vote including the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. To choose to not show leadership on this issue is simply not good enough. We’re facing incredibly difficult times as a country and need strong leadership to get us through it, I don’t believe we’re seeing that from the current Prime Minister.
Elsewhere, I was concerned to see statistics showing that 10,800 households in the Warwick and Leamington constituency will be affected by the Conservative mortgage penalty alone with an average increase in mortgage payments of £3,400. These are really shocking figures and I know so many people locally will be experiencing this first hand. It is completely irresponsible to sit by let the public face this mortgage catastrophe which was made in Downing Street. My colleagues in the Shadow Treasury team have announced plans to support homeowners. Meanwhile the Prime Ministers insists people just need to “hold their nerve”. It’s completely out of touch and frankly patronising to families who are doing everything they can to keep going during the cost-of-living crisis. If you’re struggling with the cost-of-living and need support, I’ve put together a booklet of fantastic organisations who may be able to help. If you’d like a copy, please drop me an email.
Many of you may remember the photo I did back in July 2018 to celebrate 70 years of the NHS where 70 constituents, born each year since 1948, came together to thank the NHS for all it has done for us. I’m pleased to share that I’m organising a similar event this year – ‘Born in the NHS – 75 at 75: celebrating the NHS’. If you’d like to take part, please email me with your name, address and date of birth. I look forward to seeing some of you there!
Finally, I was pleased to attend a range of events over the past weekend, in Lillington, St Nicholas’ Park, the Pump Room Gardens, Foundry Wood amongst others. It was great to see our communities coming together to mark everything from Armed Forces Day to International Yoga Day! Thanks to all for a warm welcome.
As always, please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any issues or concerns you would like to raise with me. I can be reached on [email protected] or on 01926 882006.
Matt Western
MP for Warwick and Leamington
