The Mail Column: 15 February 2020
Barra Culture
On Tuesday I sat down with Dr Katy Radford, who is soon to take up the role of Programme Director for the Barra Culture project. The queue to get into Portcullis House (the new-ish building where MPs take most of their meetings) was horrendous, so we ended up walking by the river to find a quiet spot to have a chat, alongside Kerry Kolbe from Signal Films. The Arts Council has invested almost £2million into this project which will highlight and celebrate the culture of Hindpool, Ormsgill, Central, Barrow Island and Walney in particular. It’s a great initiative and a real opportunity for the community to sing about Barrow. Often, in surgeries or meetings, I’m struck by Barrovians’ stories about their home town, which are dropped into conversation almost as asides. I love these stories and the pride in the community, and its history, that they clearly show. Katy will have rich pickings when she starts work, and I can’t wait to work with her and the team and see the result of the work they’re doing on all our behalves.
In Parliament
I visited Number 10 earlier this week to meet with the policy team there about my Private Members Bill. I’ve been frankly staggered by the response since its launch, with hundreds of organisations offering support and assistance to help move it forwards. I’m under no illusions that there is a tremendous rock to push up a hill to make my vision of a body that will help charities and other third sector organisations better measure their impact and gain funding a reality. However, it is always helpful to have Number 10 row in behind you. 10 Downing Street itself is a bizarre building - a terraced house (albeit a grand one) turned into an office, home and place where affairs of state are carried out. Like many places in Westminster, it’s smaller than you might imagine. I climbed the famous yellow staircase, lined with pictures of former Prime Ministers, to be met by two of the policy team. We walked from room to room, each grander than the other, until we found somewhere to talk - the state room where Presidents and Prime Ministers are brought for formal dinners. One trade off of working out of a terraced house is that there are few formal offices. Perched at the end of that very long table, we discussed how to turn my idea into law, and why it would benefit charities in Furness and beyond. Ahead of September (when the Bill is read again in Parliament), I’ll be meeting with charities here, national bodies, and Ministers in an attempt to give the Bill the support it needs.
Barrow & Furness in the world
On Wednesday, I met with Caitlin Moat from Dalton. Caitlin had made the journey to Westminster to support the Vaccine Alliance, which argues that the worlds’ most vulnerable children should have access to vaccines to save lives, reduce poverty and reduce the threat of pandemics.
I was very happy to sign up to these pledges. As the Corona Virus continues to dominate the news, it’s a reminder that no only do we have a moral responsibility to protect those who can’t protect themselves but that, in doing so, we are also making the world a safer place. Thank you to Caitlin for reminding me of that.
That same day I ‘showed the love’ on behalf of Cumbria - signing a pledge to put climate change at the heart of British politics. As Storms Ciara and Dennis show us, the repercussions of not acting are already apparent - we have it in our grasp to avert a catastrophe, and for that reason, and for our children, we have to act.
