Gary's views

Gary's weekly views

Each week an article by Gary has appeared in the Plympton Plymstock and Ivybridge News in South West Devon. The articles are published here

SUMMER

MPs rise for the summer this week. Thank goodness. The intensity of the Westminster hothouse means that we are all on our knees by mid-July. Everyone is bothered and bad tempered at this time of year and it is time for a break from sweltering, fume-ridden London.
It is a time to return full time to normal life for a few weeks. I always look forward to not having to go to London. Apart from 10 days in France Jan and I will be hiding away at Newnham where she has helpfully provided a long list of things to do around the house and garden. Can’t wait.
It is also a good time to catch up the essential reading list that keeps getting put to the bottom of the pile. This will include the soon to be published detailed plan on transport solutions for Sherford. From what I have seen so far, it’s not looking good. More on that soon. August will fly by and September is a great opportunity to visit all the local organisations that haven’t quite found a place into the Friday diary of the past few months.
But what of the bigger picture? There is intrigue and drama at Westminster once again. The government faces many challenges, but the biggest story in town by far is when the PM will step down and who will succeed him and whether he/she will then call a snap election. This could happen as early as next autumn. The rapid pace of change set by David Cameron over the past few months has left many colleagues gasping for breath. Personally, I welcome his radical approach: we change or we die. So after 9 years of fairly static politics, everything is up for grabs. This is a good thing for the health of our democracy.
But we go into recess with the international situation in real crisis. The situation in the Middle East is bad enough as it is, but it also possesses the potential to get much worse. The alarming sectarian violence in Iraq, the knife-edge diplomacy necessary to prevent Iran becoming a nuclear power, the radical Islamist pressures throughout the entire region, all add up to possible powder-keg. I hope I am wrong.
But it was ever thus. Politics, whether local, national or international, will never be “over”. There is always a fresh challenge. It is why we love it. Time to recharge the batteries in preparation.

posted by Nigel on Friday, July 28, 2006