It finally looks as though we are having a General Election to help us get Brexit done.
That said, I write this before the latest debate on an election and while Labour state they will now support one after three times blocking such a move, they seem to want the Electoral Commission to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in it – a situation which would take some six months to organise.
First it was about a no deal Brexit. Now there seems to be more excuses in the pipeline to prevent an election – we will know by the time you read this.
We must have an election so the people of this country get the Parliament they deserve, and one which delivers the will of the British people and gets Brexit done.
I note with some considerable frustration that the opposition parties blocked Brexit again last week after finally agreeing Boris’ new deal, stating we did not have enough time to debate the Bill.
Yet we have recently had two days of debate on Parliamentary language after the Prime Minister dubbed the Benn amendment - which gave the EU control of the withdrawal timetable - the Surrender Act, a further couple of days to discuss a General Election, and even more time on superfluous matters to frustrate the Brexit process. It’s pathetic.
If the opposition had wanted, we could have talked through the remainder of the Withdrawal Bill in time for an exit from the EU today, and we could now be concentrating on debating the extra funding for police officers, the extra funding for the NHS, and extra funding for schools, and a forthcoming Budget to get business done.
I’m pleased to see Barclays perform a u-turn on blocking its customers from using the Post Office for withdrawals and deposits.
I co-signed a letter to the bank’s chief executive condemning the move, after I wrote to him concerning the closure of branches.
I’m pleased to see the bank ensure its customers, many of whom will be vulnerable and who do not want to use internet banking, able to continue using Post Office branches in future.
I met this week with Business, Energy and Clean Growth minister Kwasi Kwarteng to ask for a permanent moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in Fylde, and for the revocation of the hydraulic fracturing licences.
Following the 2.9ML seismic event earlier this year, and those smaller events before it, the evidence shows Fylde’s geology is not suitable for a safe shale gas industry to be developed here.