My Westminster Update
As the new year begins in Parliament, I wanted to update you on the work I have been doing recently to represent you and your interests in Westminster.
Securing Justice for Grooming Gang Victims
Ensuring that victims of child rape and grooming get the justice deserve is essential, especially when we have a government that fails to comprehend the scope of the issue.
Like many of you, I have been shocked to see the government’s response to widespread concern about how the country can ensure scandals like these don’t happen again. We saw police coverups across the nation, which allowed the systematic abuse of thousands of children. Yet not a single member of the police force has gone to jail.
This is why I asked the home secretary Yvette Cooper to “set up a specialist unit within the National Crime Agency” which would allow these individuals to be held to account. This would ensure that victims of child grooming receive justice.
Alongside this, I was proud to vote for a national inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal to ensure widespread systematic abuse can be prevented. It was shameful to see Labour MPs ignore victims and experts by deciding to block a national inquiry. This is a complete betrayal of grooming gang victims, and I will keep working to ensure justice happens.
Backing Excellence in Schools
Over the past 14 years, our government worked hard to improve schools, allowing children to prosper across the country. As a previous Education Secretary, I understand the importance of granting schools the freedom of choice. It was this principle which saw England go from 21st to 7th in the PISA league table on maths.
Yet, the Labour Party want to pass a bill which destroys this freedom by pushing through ideological legislation like the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. This bill removes the freedom to pay the best teachers more and the ability to make choices on the curriculum.
This is why I raised the harms of this bill in a debate in Parliament with the Secretary of State for Education Bridget Phillipson. As I said then, it is clear that this bill is “not about driving excellence in our schooling system, but about dragging the excellent down.”
It is disheartening to see a government prioritise ideological whims over the academic excellence of our children.
Holding the Government to Account on the Economy
Time has proven that Rachel Reeves’ budget has been disastrous for the UK economy. First, she attacked the family farms, which contribute a great deal to the vibrancy of Staffordshire, with many facing potential closures. As I said in a debate in December on this issue, this vicious attack on family farms “does not leave enough money for them to invest or to live.” It has been proven, as many of us already know, that Labour has no understanding of the countryside.
If you thought this attack on the family farms was bad, the economy has proved that it’s not just the countryside which Rachel Reeves doesn’t understand – but also the city. The pound has fallen to its lowest level since 2023. The cost of Government borrowing has soared with the 10-year gilt yield rising to 4.93 per cent – the highest since 2008. Yet, the government do not seem to understand this with Darren Jones, Reeves’ number two at the Treasury, claiming that the “markets continue to function in an orderly way.”
I have continuously raised this issue in Parliament. This week, I asked Rachel Reeves whether she and the Governor of the Bank of England have spoken about the ongoing economic meltdown and the action they will be taking to bring back stability in our bond markets. Yet, from her response, where she told me, “We work closely together to ensure that the British economy remains competitive in global markets”, it is clear she does not fully understand this issue or the economy.
As always, my office and I have also been hard at work helping constituents with casework and other important matters. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with me if you have any queries or issues you would like to raise - I can be reached by email at gavin.williamson.mp@parliament.uk, or you can phone my office on 01902 846616.
Mr Williamson. You belong to a party that gave us Truss, AKA 'the Lettuce', who presented a budget that was not costed and sent financial markets into freefall. You also belong to a party that gave us Brexit, which your own Government figures indicate is costing the UK £40 billion year on year. The national debt has increased to the point where it has become unsustainable. Yet as soon as the current administration picks up this mess, you seem determined to wash your hands of everything that has gone before. You are in denial.
In regard to farming and the countryside, I once again point to Brexit. The lies that came from the leave campaign including prominent members of the Conservative Party have done more than all else to threaten the future of the farming community.
Considering there were 20 recommendations made in the last inquiry relating to the matter of child grooming, and the Conservative administration did not implement one of them, perhaps we can start by looking at the reasons why the concerns raised in the last inquiry were not addressed.