Mail Weekly Column: 18 July 2022
It’s been a sweltering week in Westminster.
On Monday I arrived into the Commons, prepped to ask a question of the DWP Minister about keeping the jobs that are currently undertaken by the fantastic DWP team in Phoenix House in Barrow in our community. Instead, walking though the archway that leads to the House of Commons chamber, still marked with bomb damage from WW2, I was presented with the sight of towels covering the famous green benches, and cleaning staff diligently mopping the floor. A water pipe above the chamber had burst, showering the Commons with lukewarm water. An hour later, all was restored and Parliament was back up and running.
I managed to ask my question of the DWP: whether the Minister would work with me to find a way to keep the Phoenix House jobs in Barrow. The work they do at Phoenix House is remarkable - dealing with some of the most complex disablement benefits that can be processed for people with severely challenging conditions. And due to Barrow’s industrial heritage, many of those people being served live in our community - indeed, we have one of the highest rates of mesothelioma in the country. I will meet with the Minister next week and intend to submit a parliamentary petition too. If you would like to sign it, please visit: www.simonfell.org/savephoenixhouse.
Away from the Chamber of the Commons, it was a busy week for another reason - we have been picking a Prime Minister to succeed Boris Johnson. So much of this last week was about sounding out candidates, attending hustings, and listening to what they have to say.
I have met one-to-one with each of the candidates standing to be PM and I’ve tried to be as clear minded as possible when speaking to them - asking the same set of questions to each and comparing their answers, the depth of their knowledge, their conviction, and also their experience. I can honestly say that it’s been an enlightening experience. I didn’t know them all before this process began and candidates who I would have written off have come across as warm and engaged in a way that I wouldn’t have expected.
I’ve also asked for your views. It’s fair to say that the responses that I’d received back were mixed and there was no clear consensus. So, instead, I decided to follow my own political nose and lend my support to Tom Tugendhat. Tom is Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee in Parliament and hasn’t sat in Cabinet before. But what he has done is show an unerring sense of duty in his job, doggedly challenged those in power, and has given some remarkable speeches demonstrating his clear thinking and leadership, including one of the best I have ever heard during the debate on the withdrawal from Afghanistan. It’s been an honour to be part of his campaign team these last few days, and to see him thrive in the TV debates.
This week we enter into more ballots as the list of 5 candidates gets whittled down further. I’d love to hear your thoughts on who you’d back as the field narrows further. Do let me know.
