Oral Answers to Questions
Chris Loder Excerpts(11 months, 3 weeks ago)
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The Prime Minister
That is completely wrong. As we have already said, we have a proud track record of welcoming those who are most vulnerable around the world—over half a million over the past few years from Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Hong Kong and elsewhere—and that is what this country will always do. But at the same time, when it comes to economic migration and other forms, it is absolutely right that we take strong action to curb the levels that we have seen, because they are simply far too high and place unsustainable pressure on our public services. I make no apology for saying that or, indeed, for saying that it is important that those who come here contribute to our public services.
Chris Loder (West Dorset) (Con)
Bishops in the House of Lords
Chris Loder Excerpts(1 year, 4 months ago)
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Chris Loder (West Dorset) (Con)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Davies. I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as churchwarden for my home parish in my constituency of West Dorset. I have had more constituents getting in touch with me about the matter than my hon. Friend the Member for South West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous) may have. I congratulate the hon. Member for Edinburgh East (Tommy Sheppard) on securing this debate.
As I have told my constituents, I do not necessarily agree with them in principle, but it is important to have an objective, clear and frank debate about why there are constituents and even members of the Church who feel increasingly strongly about the issue. Although I may disagree in principle with the hon. Member for Edinburgh East, we should understand why increasing numbers of people feel strongly about the role of the bishops in the House of Lords.
The Church of England has an incredibly important role to play throughout the land in unifying people with different views. It has a critical role to play in bringing people together and finding ways to have more in common than that which divides us. We need to reflect on that when we start to hear very clear political views from bishops in the House of Lords.
I did not intervene on the hon. Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark (Neil Coyle), but I suspect one reason that I disagree in principle is that I disagree wholly with what he says about why bishops should be in the House of Lords. It is not right that bishops, who have an important role to play in unifying their communities and who have the cure of souls, regardless of political view, are in effect being made to feel alienated from their own parishes and their own church communities.
I am delighted to have the Bishop of St Albans here in the Gallery. I was delighted to be in his congregation at the St Alban’s day festival not 10 days ago. It was very clear from the sermon at the lectern in that service that a very pro-immigration message emanates from his cathedral. That is his decision, but I am afraid we have to recognise that not everybody agrees with that position. We are increasingly seeing bishops in the Church of England becoming politicians who wear mitres. That is a decision for the Church of England and for individual bishops, but I think it is a damaging thing for the Church of England to do.
I have been a member of the Church of England for 30 years; if we were counting from baptism, it would be 41. I remember vividly that in my younger years I thought, “Why is the Church not being stronger on the issues that I feel strongly about?” I made representations to my priest at the time. It was probably part of the reason why, at an earlier point in my life, I had to discern whether I had a calling to the priesthood.
Chris Loder
I will give way in a moment.
Many members of the Church of England, and not just residents of my constituency, have been in touch with me about this debate. That is not because they agree with the hon. Member for Edinburgh East, who thinks that bishops should be taken out of the House of Lords, but because a good number of them wholly disagree with what some bishops have to say—I recognise that the Archbishop of Canterbury was in Portland only a few weeks ago—and believe that they have spent their life supporting a Church from which they now feel wholly alienated, based on what the bishops have been saying. I am sorry to say that that includes a good number from the diocese of Truro. Everyone ought to note that the bishop, who is being translated to Winchester and will therefore have a seat in this place by default, has had many issues within his own diocese, not least the fact that the future of a good number of parishes is in question. It is important to consider whether bishops should focus on political matters of the day or on the cure of souls and taking care of their own diocese.
Chris Loder
I am sorry; I wanted to give way to the hon. Member, but I think you are prompting me to finish, Mr Davies. I will happily speak to the hon. Member afterwards.
Tributes to Her Late Majesty The Queen
Chris Loder Excerpts(2 years, 2 months ago)
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Chris Loder (West Dorset) (Con)
I rise to speak on behalf of my constituents in West Dorset to pay tribute to our late Queen, whom we have loved and admired for our entire lives, to share in the deepest sorrow of the nation and to send our deepest sympathy to King Charles and the royal family. Queen Elizabeth was one of the few constants in our transitory life. The past 24 hours have truly brought home to us not only the life and service of our Queen but our own service to our community and nation.
Queen Elizabeth was a woman of great kindness and faith, incredible inspiration and steadfast leadership, and was a family role model for all of us. The Queen was of my grandparents’ generation, whose sense of selfless service and duty, particularly during times of difficulty, has allowed us to lead the lives of freedom and democracy that we enjoy today. Her late Majesty’s generation is one of selflessness, not of entitlement. Her generation is one of tenacity, of character and of wisdom that we must look to continue in our own lives.
Since my own grandparents passed away, I, like so many, have looked upon our Queen as the grandmother of the nation. That is why the loss that we feel is so sad and so difficult to describe. I am not able to put it better than Martin Lee, the rector of Sherborne, who said this morning:
“Our country has been held in her hands. With gentleness and firmness, she has never let go, always putting the needs of the nation before herself.”
In West Dorset, we have the fondest memories of many occasions that the late Queen Elizabeth visited us—first, in 1952, in our county town of Dorchester. The Queen visited my home town of Sherborne twice: once in 1998 when she unveiled the great west window at Sherborne Abbey, and again as part of her diamond jubilee tour in 2012. She returned to Dorchester in 2016 to open Queen Mother Square in Poundbury. Those fond memories have endured with us for many years and will continue to do so.
We, the people of West Dorset and the citizens of the United Kingdom mourn our Queen, but our new King and his family are mourning his mother. It is therefore with profound affection and the greatest sympathy from West Dorset that I wish His Majesty the King to know that he, the royal family and the late Queen Elizabeth remain steadfastly in our thoughts and prayers at this very sad time. God save the King.
Oral Answers to Questions
Chris Loder Excerpts(2 years, 2 months ago)
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The Prime Minister
I am not quite sure what the right hon. Gentleman’s position is, because on one hand he does not seem to want oil and gas extraction from the North sea, and on the other hand he wants them to pay more taxes. Why does he not make up his mind?
Chris Loder (West Dorset) (Con)
The Prime Minister
I certainly am on the side of the consumer. We need to ensure that we deal with all the issues in the energy market and the way that energy is regulated. I will certainly be saying more about that tomorrow.
Oral Answers to Questions
Chris Loder Excerpts(3 years, 2 months ago)
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The Deputy Prime Minister
As I said, the price cap in place will save £50 million households up to £100 each year. On top of that, because of the approach we have taken with the national living wage, full-time workers will be £4,000 per year better off. But, given the challenges that we understandably face, I think that people expect—including those in Scotland—for us to come together and stop this scaremongering and this sowing of division. That is why I would have thought the hon. Lady would welcome the fact, with some of the challenges that the Scottish ambulance service is facing, that we have the British armed forces helping the people of Scotland.
Chris Loder (West Dorset) (Con)
The Deputy Prime Minister
I thank my hon. Friend; I know he is a great champion for the people in his constituency. I understand that the Department of Transport has been engaging with the transport operators in his constituency. I also understand that South Western Railway intends to increase service levels to their pre-covid timetable by May 2022, and it has ambitions for an increase in the train service frequency on the Great Western Railway route. DFT will of course continue to work with GWR, and I continue to support him in trying to champion commuters and passengers on all those services.
His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Chris Loder Excerpts(3 years, 7 months ago)
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Chris Loder (West Dorset) (Con)
It is an honour to speak today on behalf of my constituents in West Dorset, to share in our nation’s sorrow and to send our deepest sympathies to Her Majesty the Queen and the royal family.
Prince Philip was one of the few constants in our transitory lives. The past few days have given many of us the time to consider not only the life and service of Prince Philip, but our own lives and service to our communities.
The Duke of Edinburgh was a man of home truths. He was not afraid to say what he thought, and he did not mind being controversial. In many ways, the expression of those home truths reflected the thoughts of the public, and we are worse off as a nation without that kind of honesty and common sense from him.
Prince Philip was of my grandparents’ generation. Their sense of duty and service, particularly during times of difficulty, has allowed us to lead the lives of freedom and democracy that we enjoy today. Theirs is a generation of selflessness, not entitlement. Theirs is a generation of tenacity, character and wisdom.
The people in West Dorset have very fond memories of when Her Majesty and His Royal Highness visited us on several occasions. They have visited my home town of Sherborne twice, once in 1998 when Her Majesty unveiled the great west window at Sherborne Abbey, and again as part of the Queen’s diamond jubilee tour in 2012. They also came to Dorchester, our county town, in 2016 to open Queen Mother Square in Poundbury. Those memories have endured with us for many years, and will continue to do so. Like so many families who have lost loved ones over this past year, the Queen and her family will have a funeral for Prince Philip that is much smaller than it might otherwise have been. While on Saturday we cannot be physically present, I would like the Queen to know that the country is standing beside her in spirit and sharing in her loss. While the nation mourns a Prince, the Queen mourns her husband. It is therefore with profound affection from West Dorset that I wish the Queen to know that she and the royal family remain steadfastly in our thoughts and prayers, as indeed does Prince Philip.
Oral Answers to Questions
Chris Loder Excerpts(3 years, 8 months ago)
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Chris Loder (West Dorset) (Con)
The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend knows whereof he speaks. He is probably one of the greatest experts on railways in this House, and we are certainly determined to follow his lead and to upgrade services in the west country and in Dorset. He knows what is happening at Dawlish and elsewhere. Network Rail has identified proposals, including the improvement of the performance of the west of England line, which is currently being assessed. He is knocking at an open door.
Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation
Chris Loder Excerpts(3 years, 8 months ago)
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Chris Loder (West Dorset) (Con)
No greater effort has been made in peacetime than what we have seen over the last 12 months in our national response to covid—at great personal cost but also, for many, at great financial cost. That is why we are now faced with almost £2 trillion of national debt. The level of expenditure is a cause of great concern and nervousness for me, as someone who has always paid my way and spent within my means. However, I know that the Chancellor will not want to borrow £355 billion this year, if at all possible, because borrowing at the current rate might be okay for the moment but clearly places us in a position of risk going forward.
Thank goodness, however, that there is a Conservative Chancellor in No. 11 Downing Street. Where would we be if we had a Labour Chancellor? I recall vividly the last Labour Chief Secretary to the Treasury—I even have his note here just to remind me what it would be like if there was not a Conservative Chancellor. I know that our Conservative Chancellor will look to get this financial situation under control. I am extremely pleased that he is doing his work, and I think we will see a renewed effort across the nation after covid to ensure that borrowing more generally is also brought under control, locally and personally. I listened intently from my office to the speech by the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill (Liam Byrne). I was very sorry to hear what he had to say—he was very critical of the Chancellor and his Ministers, who are doing exceptional work in exceptional times. He was also very critical of the Mayor of the west midlands, which I thought was desperately unfair. I just wanted to feed that back so the House knew full well the extent of feeling not just in this House, but across the nation.
In West Dorset, we are a community that continues to contribute to the national effort, and to help ourselves and others not just financially, but in that community spirit. With 15% of my constituents employed in tourism and 18% of them self-employed, the Chancellor’s measures in this statement are very much welcome. The 95% mortgage guarantee is also much welcomed by young people, to help them to get on the housing ladder.
The measures to extend the 5% VAT rate and the business rates holiday will make a huge, positive impact to the economy in West Dorset. I look forward to seeing an economic recovery after covid not just in West Dorset, but for the nation, and I thank the Chancellor and his team very much for that.
Armed Forces Bill
Chris Loder ExcerptsMonday 8th February 2021
(3 years, 9 months ago)
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Chris Loder (West Dorset) (Con)
May I start by paying tribute to Members of this House who have contributed to this debate this evening who have served in Her Majesty’s armed forces? I am extremely grateful to every single one of them, and I extend those thanks to every citizen of this nation who has given their service to Queen and country.
I welcome this Bill very much, and I would particularly like to commend the Secretary of State and the Minister for the hard work they have put in to make this happen. How pleased I am that this is a Bill that is unifying across this House in support of our armed forces.
As the Member for West Dorset, it is important for me to note in this Chamber tonight that one in seven people in Dorset has a connection to the armed forces. The progress, therefore, with the armed forces covenant is very important to me and it is very important to the constituents in West Dorset. I am very grateful to the Minister for the progress he is making in that area.
Dorset has a considerable military presence. We have 6,500 serving members in the surrounding military bases: whether that is Blandford Camp, Bovington Camp, RNAS Yeovilton or the Royal Marines base in Poole, Dorset is particularly well served by forces. But it is also important to note that, while West Dorset is the home to many serving and retired members of the armed forces, we play a very important role as well for those who are looking to progress their career in the Army, the Navy, the Air Force or the Marines. At Kingston Maurward College on the outskirts of Dorchester, our county town, there are many students who are preparing for their career in the armed forces with military preparation diplomas.
In Dorset County Hospital in the county town of Dorchester, we have 30 Royal Marines coming to support our doctors, nurses, our support staff, our porters and so on to make sure we can really make progress in this coronavirus pandemic at this time.
It is also very proud for me to be able to articulate, briefly, the very proud history that we have in Dorset with the Dorsetshire Regiment, dating all the way back to 1751, and its successor regiments: the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment and, indeed, today The Rifles; we celebrated its 14th anniversary of inauguration just a week or so ago.
But it is important for me tonight to make very clear that this debate and this Bill are about actions rather than words. For far too long, we have heard warm words rather than actions. I see it. I even see it this last week, when a priest from the Church of England, in the diocese of London, the Rev. Jarel Robinson-Brown, said that the celebration of Sir Tom Moore’s life is an act of white cult nationalism. That is fundamentally shocking and it should be called out, and each and every one of us in this place has a role to make sure that happens. Indeed, when we see action such as Extinction Rebellion’s act on Armistice Day this year to put a protest on the Cenotaph, it is absolutely shocking. I hope I can call on every single Member of this House to ensure that those actions do speak louder than words.
To conclude, I feel it is my duty and it is the duty of all of us in this House to represent our constituents in supporting Her Majesty’s armed forces. I, indeed all of us, have sworn an oath of allegiance to Her Majesty the Queen, alongside members of the armed forces, and it is with great pleasure and pride tonight that I support this Bill.
Public Health
Chris Loder Excerpts(3 years, 11 months ago)
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Chris Loder (West Dorset) (Con)
Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker.
We are faced with another difficult decision to make in this House today. As a Member of Parliament, I am here to be the voice of my constituents and, in the current situation, to defend their civil liberties as well.
In rural West Dorset, where the western tip is 55 miles from the key decision driver of Bournemouth, which has more than double the number of cases of covid, we, in our hospital in Dorchester, had just four covid patients at the end of last week. The case rate in Dorchester is now falling fast because of the diligent self-responsibility of local people. On 18 November, the case rate was 84.3 per 100,000, yet just a week later it was 45.2 and now it is 44.6. It is now at the lowest it has been since early October, and these numbers are lower than those in the Isle of Wight when the tier 1 decision was made. While I was greatly worried that, when we voted on 4 November for a national lockdown, this would be the case, our hospitals in Dorset are not overrun.
In West Dorset, 97% of our businesses are small or micro-sized. We have a high degree of self-employed. These people and businesses are taking the hit, and have done so willingly throughout this period. These businesses have spent considerable amounts to become covid-secure, and to restrict them to the extent proposed cannot continue any longer, in my view.
It cannot be expected of any Member of Parliament to lightly vote in support of removing these civil liberties. It is incredibly difficult to ever consider continuing support to keep small numbers of family away from their terminally ill parents, and as much as I am pleased that Christmas has some relaxations, I am concerned that the extent we are planning to do so can also cause unnecessary pain in the new year to our small businesses.
The Government have achieved much in terms of testing and reporting. They have achieved enormous amounts in terms of vaccines too. While I was deeply uncomfortable at the start of November to see the Government return to a blanket national approach, I do support the Government’s approach in returning to a more regional arrangement, but it should be going further and it should be more localised. Dorset should be in tier 1 of the restrictions, and in the absence of a detailed explanation as to why and how we are likely to get out of these restrictions, I shall struggle to support the regulations tonight.