Energy costs and the situation in Ukraine are easily the biggest items in my inbox at the moment. I fully recognise the terrible impact which rising energy bills are having on people. In the short term, the UK Government has brought in a £200 loan for all households and a £150 discount on council tax bills for people on bands A-D. In the longer term, we are going to have to wean ourselves off oil and gas from unstable parts of the world and become more self-sufficient in energy. Unfortunately, renewables like wind and solar cost more than energy from fossil fuels. I have always sought to be honest and explain that the transition to net zero will impose costs on us all. However, the international situation has shown how continued reliance on Russia and the Middle East for energy is also hugely risky.
I had a meeting with Home Secretary Priti Patel last week to discuss the refugee crisis. She told me the Home Office is doing everything it can to ensure Ukrainian visas are dealt with as quickly as possible. Thousands of visas have already been issued and many thousands more will follow. We do need to know who is coming here for security reasons. But we want people to be able to come in large numbers and swiftly.
In 2018, Prime Minister Boris Johnson made clear the blame for the Novichok attack in Salisbury lay with the Russian Government. Sanctions were brought in and diplomats were expelled. Some opposition MPs disagreed, suggesting we should not trust our own security services and appearing “sympathetic” to Russia’s side. The UK Government ignored them and instead began training and arming the Ukrainian Army. Following the invasion, we have continued to supply military equipment to the Ukrainian Government. In the last few weeks, some of the same people who were reluctant to support the British Government in 2018 have been trying to find any connection they can between Conservative MPs and anyone Russian - then suggesting the Conservative government and its MPs are all “friends of Putin”. It is not an assessment shared by President Zelensky. In an interview with the Economist last week, he said Boris Johnson is “helping more than any leader in Europe”. The UK Government will continue to send arms to Ukraine, humanitarian aid to surrounding countries, armed forces personnel to NATO bases in the region and we will welcome thousands of refugees.
*Published in the Monmouthshire Beacon on 6 April 2022 and the Abergavenny Chronicle on 7 April 2022*