Since I wrote my last article, I’ve run 2 events featuring government ministers for constituents: my 3rd annual Climate Summit and my first Farmers’ Forum.
I ran my first climate summit in the run-up to COP26, with Chris Stark, the Chief Executive of the Independent Committee on Climate Change, giving the keynote address alongside various local and national experts.
I shared the views and ideas that came out of the event with Alok Sharma, COP President at the time, who wrote back a detailed response that I shared locally. At the second summit, Alok gave the keynote address himself and, at the third one this year, I was pleased that Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, agreed to give the keynote speech. You can watch the full event including sessions on renewable energy and water quality here.
There’s an important debate at the moment about the cost of getting to net zero and how it should be handled at the time of cost of living pressures. My view is the same now as it was before the cost of living increases: it’s very important to get to net zero and we have to do it in a way that means those on lower incomes are supported to make changes that they can afford to, rather than have more pressure put on their finances.
Having spent my pre-politics life working with people on low-incomes, I know that many people would like to make changes to help protect the environment if they could, but providing for their families in the immediate term has to take precedence.
I also don’t think there should be any tension with economic growth. Indeed, between 1990 and 2021 this country cut emissions by more than 40% while the economy grew by 65%. And, in case anyone was wondering: I think the sorts of protests we are seeing by Just Stop Oil in which people’s ordinary lives are disrupted are completely wrong. They’re also going to put people off the environmental movement if people associate it with idiotic protests at sports events and at people’s weddings and are thereby counter-productive.
My Farmers’ Forum was attended by Mark Spencer, the Farming Minister, and attended by many of the great farmers we have across the constituency, who farm dairy, beef, pork and arable. This event was in person so you can’t watch it on my Facebook page or website, but we had a wide-ranging discussion about food production, farming incentives, the environment and much more.
Both events were an important tool for local people to give their views directly to members of the government and gave both ministers ideas to consider.
