Warwick MP's column: Warwick Station, conduct in government and meals on wheels

By Matt Western MP

9th Feb 2023 | Opinion

Matt Western MP: 'The prime minister’s promise of better standards and integrity has evaporated'
Matt Western MP: 'The prime minister’s promise of better standards and integrity has evaporated'

It was an honour to be addressed by President Zelensky in person this week. His speech served as an important reminder of our commitment to support the people of Ukraine.

In some good news locally, I was really pleased to see that work has begun on the much-needed lifts at Warwick Station.

These lifts will make the station accessible and are thanks to the heroic efforts of Labour Councillor John Holland who has been tireless in his campaign to get the lifts installed. He pressed me and I got the government to finally act.

This coming week sees my third annual MP Awards take place on Thursday 16 February and will be a chance to highlight and celebrate our incredible communities. The event will be streamed live onto my Facebook page so please tune in.

It's a year on from the chaos that started to engulf the Government as the revelations around the former (by two) prime minister's conduct, or lack of, around his own lockdown rules.

Last week also marked a year since I asked the then PM, Boris Johnson, whether he, himself, had bent the rules. He told me to wait until the police enquiry. I did. It transpired that both he and the now Prime Minister were fined for their behaviour.

Although it seems much longer ago, it has only been 12 months since those revelations came to light.

More recently there has been the issue of tax avoidance at the highest level of government, the former Chancellor, and 24 allegations of bullying surround the Justice Minister, Dominic Raab. The prime minister's promise of better standards and integrity has evaporated.

His public standing is weakening.

And only last weekend, we saw the infamous 49 day Prime Minister emerge with a 4,000 word essay on how her disastrous premiership was anyone's fault but her own.

She said she's been reflecting on her time as prime minister over the past 100 days since she stepped down – back in reality, many, such as the constituent I spoke to on Saturday, may have now found themselves reflecting on having to pay thousands of pounds more in mortgage bills following her brief stint in No. 10...

In more local issues, I was deeply concerned to see that the meals on wheels service provided by Warwickshire County Council will be ending on 31 May and that the alternative provisions being suggested involve using delivery services such as Deliveroo or using meal subscriptions services such as Gousto and HelloFresh.

I've heard from a number of constituents that these alternatives are not suitable at all for their elderly relatives who rely upon the meals on wheels service.

It's very disappointing to see further cuts being made to services which are so important for members of our community. I've written to the Council to express my concerns, particularly the fact that this announcement was made with no knowledge of the situations of those receiving this service.

The Labour group on the county council have made clear they would invest additional funds to ensure this service could be maintained.

As always, please do not hesitate to get in touch with any issues or concerns. I can be reached on [email protected] or on 01926 882006.

     

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