The vote for Conservative Party Leader now goes to Party members and their choice will become our next Prime Minister on September 5th. The two colleagues still in the contest are capable politicians and I fully respect that they are willing to serve in a position that the vast majority of people wouldn’t take on for all the tea in China. Liz Truss MP and Rishi Sunak now have much of August to debate in a constructive way and demonstrate their ability to bring the country together and tackle the particular challenges of high inflation, high taxation and a slow economy. Whilst we will hear of new ways to tackle the various priorities which include health and social care, climate change, the war in Ukraine and skills shortages, whoever succeeds Boris Johnson has a manifesto to honour and a mandate to do it so I’m hopeful that we will settle quickly and carry on tackling these challenges at pace.
All I’m going to say on the leadership race for the Conservative Party and prime minister is that the successful candidate has a massive job on their hands to bring unity in the country, drive down inflation, drive up provision in social care, speed up ambulance response times, ramp up access to homes and wrestle to address anxiety and uncertainty that people and businesses feel! It will have to be a team effort and I’ll do all I can to help!
Most of my normal time is taken up in Westminster so, when Parliament breaks for the school holidays, I suddenly find I can catch up on all the meetings across the constituency that have sat on my ‘job-to-do’ list as well as touch base with the various people and organisations that serve week after week to make the area function and work well! And there is something to be said about steering clear of London in mid-summer!
If you go down to Trevorgans Farm, St Buryan on Saturday and Sunday you could be in for a big surprise. Especially if you have not previously. I’m biased but it is, in my view, one of the most entertaining and interesting shows Cornwall has to offer. I’m talking about the St Buryan Agricultural Preservation Society’s annual rally which is back after a break due to covid!
This rally is over four decades old - I’ve not been attending quite that long - but every year it offers a great day out or two for the whole family. The purpose of the society is to protect and preserve the local heritage of agriculture and you can see and do a lot more besides. This is a great way for me to catch up with friends and contacts within farming and the local community and find out a bit more about the current situation ‘on the ground’ for those involved in farming.
Don’t feel you have to travel across to St Buryan as on Sunday you can enjoy the day at Mullion Football Club for the Summer Extravaganza from noon! Children can go in fancy dress and have their faces painted although I suspect adults can as well! There’s a bouncy castle but I suspect that is age restricted and there is sheaf pitching, bowling for a pig, slow bike races, live displays and food and stalls to spend your money on. And it’s free to get in!
I’m not really a football fan - I much prefer a game of rugby - but the way the Lionesses have played and progressed through the EUROs has got me captivated in a way I never really expected. I guess it could be that, despite all the odds and the fact that the men's game dominates, this team of women have battled on, played great football and won match after match scoring twenty goals and just conceded one! I’m full of admiration, wish them success on Sunday and hope they inspire girls to enjoy the same self-belief.
