Breaking Down Barriers to Opportunity

Richard Drax Excerpts

Wednesday 8th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Richard Drax (South Dorset) (Con)]

Pageantry is one of our country’s greatest strengths, with yesterday’s state opening of Parliament reaffirming our standards and values to the world. I am proud of our royal family, our country and our democracy. It saddens and concerns me that a significant minority do not share my views. Some of them plan to march in London during this Remembrance weekend, which is a time reserved for quiet reflection about those who have died serving in our name. They gave the ultimate sacrifice.

The right to protest peacefully in this country is long held, and rightly so. However, Saturday’s march must be banned. Not only is it disrespectful, but there is a genuine risk of disorder, potentially on a large scale. I urge those who are genuinely concerned about the war in Gaza to stay at home on this special weekend of Remembrance. To those who do attend, I say there can be no other reason other than to cause trouble.

As for the King’s Speech, I have mixed feelings. With a year to go before an election, I am always looking for red meat—certainly for a far stronger narrative. To be fair, no Bill alone can tackle the huge challenges the country faces, such as our debt, foreign wars and the consequences of the pandemic. What the nation is looking for is a healthy dose of common sense, a re-emergence of British values and an end to all this wokey, politically correct nonsense that is corrupting all that we hold dear.

A ban on smoking and the Orwellian driverless car are not top priorities either. The British people are crying out for a clear choice. For too long, with our high taxes and bloated state, we have aped those on the Opposition Benches, spending money that we simply do not have. Courage and conviction are needed now, and we did see hints of that in the King’s Speech. Tougher sentencing, more money for our armed forces, and more doctors, nurses and dentists, to name but three, are all positive and are to be welcomed.

However, words are easy; it is backing them up coherently that counts. For example, a new ambition to raise defence spending from 2% to 2.5% is good news, but arbitrary targets are meaningless. Would it not be more sensible to calculate what we need to defend our island and fulfil our NATO obligations before we even think of setting targets? Our armed forces are under-resourced—and this when the world order is under threat.

Another ambiguity is the new licensing regime to extract oil and gas from the North sea. While totally sensible, punitive taxes are hardly going to encourage companies to take such a risk. To secure investment, countless jobs and our energy security, the industry urgently needs low taxes. Oil and gas will continue to play a role in our economy for many years to come. To deny that will condemn the country to abject misery. Why was there not a Bill to redraft the Climate Change Act 2008, which will simply impoverish us, and scrap all the green taxes? I am all for reducing carbon emissions, but not until the renewables are reliable and affordable. And let us not forget nuclear, which will be a crucial part of the mix.

Welcome, too, is the reform of tougher sentencing for serious offenders. But, while those offenders will spend more time in jail, those committing less serious crimes will evade it because we have reached full capacity. New prisons are being built, but not fast enough.

One Bill that I would like to have seen in the King’s Speech is one reintroducing national service for those who need a hand up, and that number is sadly growing. We already spend billions of pounds on encouraging reliance on the state. Let us spend that instead on instilling in people that life is about contributing, about service, and about taking responsibility for one’s self.

I hope most sincerely that the much-awaited autumn statement will go some way to answering some of my concerns. What we need right now is a clear vision based on sound Conservative values. We are Conservatives, so let us start acting like them before it is too late.