Another week has flown past, and I find myself writing this column on Sussex Day. It is a good day to celebrate the special corner of the world we luckily get to call home.
Tourists have always flocked to our coastline but in recent years our glorious countryside has been discovered – as has our award-winning Sussex wine industry!
A few years ago, the Conservative Government placed a Designated Product of Origin on Sussex wines in recognition of its quality and a boost to producers. I invited local producer Kingscote to Westminster for my Taste of East Grinstead and Uckfield in November and the taster glasses of this wonderful wine went very quickly!
This week also saw British Beer Day. All our local pubs are crucial focal points of our community and Labour’s budget is putting many hospitality businesses at risk. I am running a campaign to help save our pubs by raising this issue.
I continue to be concerned that Labour’s Planning Bill will result in significant over development on Sussex’s precious countryside. Meanwhile clear brownfield sites across our area continue to languish and don’t add to the numbers needed in the right places with the right mix. This is made worse by a new top-down approach without the underpinning of local plans to get this balance of needs right for our area. Hence, we Conservatives could not back this legislation.
Elsewhere this week we finally saw details of the Government’s Winter Fuel Payment u-turn. I have long been an advocate for this as too many pensioners who were just above very low thresholds particularly in colder isolated rural areas and as this Government didn’t process means tested applications in time; many lost vital support.
Now this winter payments should resume, and we need the details to be urgently ironed out. Please continue to apply for pension credit however, as it is a gateway to other key support for pensioners.
As I write we are about to hear further details of the Government’s further u-turn on a proper national inquiry into rape grooming gangs.
Readers may also recall the widespread concern victims and survivors were ignored for fear of causing community tensions which has resulted in a great injustice.
In debates in Parliament back in January I called on the Government to hold a thorough national inquiry to ensure this scandal can be dealt with once and for all and voted for this to take place.
Sadly, this failed when Labour MPs voted against with all of Sussex’s Lib Dem MPs abstaining on such an important issue.
Another busy week beckons not least with Assisted Dying legislation – I am grateful for all your thoughts and emails on this.
