Mail Weekly Column: 05 December 2021
This was my first week back in the Commons after an enforced absence through injury. It was slightly surreal, though, hopping round on one leg from the Chamber to my office. But there was plenty to keep me busy as I made the case to Ministers for more support for constituents affected by to Storm Arwen.
Winds of 100mph ripped across the UK but Cumbria was one of those areas hit the hardest. More than 115,000 properties across the North West lost power, many thousands of them in Furness. Thankfully, as I write this on Saturday, only a few dozen properties remain to be reconnected. For those in those properties though, cold and without heat and light, the issue could not be more urgent.
Being without power was an awful experience for so many. My team and I received numerous distressed calls from those asking how they might get laundry washed, or themselves and their family showered, so dependent are we now on electricity.
Full credit to Electricity North West for their work to rectify the havoc, however. What they managed given the damage was extraordinary. They drafted in engineers from the South of England, and were unfailingly responsive. Whenever I flagged an area of concern, they acted. They provided a food van at Grizebeck and in a number of other areas in halls and hubs. When alerted by my team, they attended properties outside Kirkby that had remained without power when the rest of the village had been successfully reconnected. But they didn’t act alone. Massive thanks are also due to everyone who pulled together to offer warmth, light, phone charging points, toilets and kitchens. These included churches, pubs, hotels, resilience groups, the Local Resilience Forum, the County Council, the Coro, Dalton Leisure Centre, and many more. At such times, our community really shows its spirit.
As always, there are huge lessons to learn. So on Wednesday I joined a debate in the House of Commons to press the Energy Minister on two issues. First, to ask that our local Resilience Forum’s requests are met. Second, that when we come to a final review of this, there needs to be an effective means of communicating with our community at such times: without broadband or phone lines, telling people to ‘check online for updates’ is useless.
By the time you read this, I hope that we should all have been reconnected. If anyone hasn’t, please get straight in touch and I will speak to Electricity North West direct.
On Friday night I spoke at the Inspiring Barrow Awards to parents and students of 16 schools across Barrow and Dalton. After such an incredibly difficult year, it was wonderful to see the evidence of their resilience, teamwork and leadership, and to see so many young people happy, celebrating their achievements and enjoying each other’s company. It was a privilege to be there.
