Parliamentary sketch – Not just a case of urgent thumb twiddling

We’ve been told the Government has run out of new laws to impose on us. This presupposes that the primary purpose of any Government is simply to heap yet more law, red tape and regulation on an already overburdened populous and business community…

In fact, for a Westminster Village that is presented as having little more to do than twiddle its thumbs, we seem to be run off our feet!

We may feel like pawns in a game of chess with the self-styled macho Mr Putin determined to strut his stuff into Crimea. But is it really a game of Russian roulette?

Alongside this, I have dared to rebel (yet again!) in my attempt to face down the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, who wants to cede powers to himself to close hospitals – even those that are performing well!

Meanwhile, back at home, I’m keen to get an ambitious plan to create a new Primary Care Health Campus on the St Clare site in Penzance back on track. One election hopeful who, in attempting to “seize the initiative” has put at risk the future of West Cornwall Hospital with a preposterous proposal to rebuild that hospital on the St Clare site as well, has set us back some way. However, I remain optimistic that there shall be a silver lining for the Penzance area in the cloud of the inevitable closure of Poltair Hospital.

I’ve promoted West Cornwall again in Parliament as leading the country with the first community-led badger vaccination programme. We are debating the evidently failed attempt of the Government to introduce a badger cull in Somerset and Gloucestershire. I warned Government Ministers that this ran the very high risk of making the situation worse.

My proposal, which will now be managed by the Zoological Society of London under the excellent guidance of Professor Rosie Woodroffe, will be scaled up this summer eventually covering the more than 200 km2 of the Penwith peninsula and other areas.

When I invited the Deputy Prime Minister to the constituency to inspect storm damage and the need for Government support over three weeks ago, we demanded support for fishermen as well as businesses affected by flooding.

Whilst we have succeeded in securing the kind of aid our fishermen desperately need and deserve, I’m having to negotiate some of the details which, inevitably, are making it hard for those fishermen worst affected to enjoy the benefits of the assistance we all believe they are due.

When I get a moment I’ll see if I can do some of that thumb twiddling others seem to be talking about…

You can contact Andrew George by email: andrew.george.mp@parliament.uk. His constituency office can be contacted at Trewella, 18 Mennaye Road, Penzance, Cornwall, TR18 4NG. Telephone: 01736 360020.

Andrew George MP
Kernow a’n West ha Syllan
West Cornwall and the Scillies
Kwartron Porthia
Constituency of St Ives
Tel: 01736 360020
Fax: 01736 332866

11th March 2014