It was Enoch Powell who once said that ‘all political careers end in failure.’ It is perhaps too easy to apply that description to Boris Johnson’s dramatic flouncing out from Parliament after taking against the findings of the House of Commons Committee of Privileges. It was also a tragic end (for the time being at least) to a period in Government which has been colourful and turbulent to say the least but included some highs in the way he navigated the vaccine rollout and girding the loins of the West in support of Ukraine especially.
However, the findings of the Committee were damning and deliberately misleading the House and the Committee itself is a serious finding. For Boris then to attack the integrity of the Committee and its members only compounded his misplaced petulance especially as the Commons had voted unanimously to set it up and who chaired it. If he was so convinced that he had been wronged then he had the opportunity to stand up in Parliament and make his case but instead he walked, leaving us no choice but to vote overwhelmingly to uphold the report’s findings, including my own. That may be unpopular with some constituents but to have defied the Committee’s evidenced findings would have been to undermine the democratic scrutiny of Parliament itself. Importantly this must draw a line under the unnecessary distractions which have hindered the Prime Minister’s to get on with delivering the everyday priorities that our constituents expect and need to see.
Well done to Lancing Parish Council and the organiser of the first Green Dreams fair on Lancing Beach Green last Sunday. With stalls from the Sussex Dolphin Project, Lancing Recycle and Men in Sheds amongst others it underlined Adur’s environmental credentials where we have some exciting projects in our small but perfectly formed district that help us punch above our weight.
We will be out in Southwick Square on Saturday for a street surgery from 11am if you want to pop by, and see the progress being made with the regeneration work there too.
