FOLLOWING a busy summer in the constituency, I returned to Parliament at the beginning of September to start the new political year.
And although there were only a few weeks between Parliament’s return and the Conference recess, I have been busy holding the new Government to account.
As Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury, I have been able to speak several times in the House of Commons Chamber and scrutinise the plans of the new Treasury frontbench. For example, as part of the Budget Responsibility Bill, I questioned the Government on their fiscal rules.
The Chancellor, despite claiming she has an ‘ironclad’ commitment to reducing government debt, has repeatedly failed to rule out changing the definition of debt in her fiscal rules to allow for significant – and potentially reckless – increases in borrowing.
Transparency and clarity are important in relation to the public finances, and Ministers should never forget it is not their money they are spending; it is the public’s money.
I was also pleased to speak in the House of Commons following Lord Darzi’s report into the NHS. A key conclusion of the report is the absolute necessity of focusing on productivity and not just throwing money at the NHS.
I therefore took the opportunity to ask the Secretary of State why he took the easy option when ‘solving’ the doctors dispute by throwing money at the problem – without requiring any productivity enhancements in return.
Parliament hosted its annual ‘Back British Farming Day’ reception in September, and I was pleased to meet representatives from the NFU and discuss the challenged facing farmers and rural areas.
I am incredibly proud to represent a predominantly rural constituency where farms and food production are major employers, and I supported policies under the previous government to strengthen British farming. I will continue to advocate for the farming sector from opposition and ensure it gets the support it deserves.
As ever, I have enjoyed a number of visits in the constituency over the last month.
Highlights include visits to Valefresco in the Vale of Evesham, the Peopleton Village Show and Droitwich Salt Fest.
I know, however, that there may be areas which have struggled over the last couple of weeks due to the intense rainfall and recent floods.
If you have been impacted by this then please do contact me, as my office and I will be happy to try to help where possible.
I can be contacted by email at [email protected].
Nigel Huddleston
MP for Droitwich and Evesham constituency
