My Week in Westminster: Remembrance
Last week was focused on Remembrance for those who have given their lives for us in battles from 1918 to the present day. I have always found these commemorations moving and important - my kids have had to stand in rain, fog and the cold since they were babies at our village memorial and listened to our church wardens read out the names on the stone.
Well this year took on a whole new level as I firstly went to the Submariners Parade in London last weekend, as part of my Parliamentary work with the Royal Navy - it is known as the Silent Service for a reason: these Navy personnel are on duty and at the ready 24/7 under the seas and oceans protecting us all, but their invisibility leaves them oft forgotten; then on Remembrance Day itself, I went to a small Commonwealth War Cemetery in the northern Italian town of Tezze, to lay a wreath for 72 Northumberland Fusiliers who are laid to rest after dying on 27-28th October 1918 - far from home & in the very last fortnight of the Great War.
I stood and read out all their names, finding it very hard to fight back the tears as I considered each man, and having read the agonisingly sad inscriptions on each of their tombstones. One read "Never a morning dawns, nor a night returns, but what we think of thee".
A heart-warming moment was when I placed a photo and cross at the foot of the headstone of Private William Chapman, aged 37, whose inscription reads "Though death divides, still memory clings, remembered by his wife and two little ones". It was one of the grandchildren of Private Chapman, my constituent Mr Chapman from Berwick, who had asked me to take this for him to his grandfather's grave. Clearly they have remembered him well for 98 years. It was such an honour to be able to share in that continuing family bond.
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Last week also had the excitement and drama of the US election result, which seems to have taken the commentators by surprise - again! I do rather think pollsters need to go back to the old fashioned talking-to-voters methodology, rather than assuming social media is a true reflection of citizens' views. What has perhaps shocked me most (other than the noise from bad losers of a democratic event) is that less than 51% of 240 million voters actually cast their vote, and that the difference in actual votes casts was less than 250,000. Are the voters of the greatest democracy in the world really that disengaged with their own political system?
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As we move towards the Autumn Statement next week here in Westminster, I am working closely with 50 colleagues lobbying the Chancellor to keep fuel duty down. For those of us in rural constituencies, the need for lower fuel prices isn't just nice to have, its vital to keep families moving to work and school, where rural transport is sparse at best, non-existent in too many parts of the patch.
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And as Christmas gets closer, I am once again running my "Buy One More Toy" campaign, collecting toys for the Salvation Army to give out to the families they feed across Northumberland and Tyneside on Christmas Day. If you feel able to join in and buy a toy for any age group (from teddy bears to books, make up and wash kits to jewellery, colouring books or puzzles) that would be fantastic. You can drop them off at our offices in Alnwick or Berwick, or call Jen on 01665 715712 to organise. Thank you in anticipation!
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