Communities and Conflict

IT is summer, and one of the positive experiences of being an MP is the opportunity to attend many events in the constituency inspired by and run by local communities themselves. Amidst all the challenges of modern living, we are fortunate to live in vibrant communities where people are willing to work for one another. Community of spirit is so important.

Brexit

But while we can enjoy the good things about living in local communities, many individuals are facing particular issues about their place within local society. And some of the challenges have been vastly increased by the UK voting to leave the European Union, or Brexit as it is known. Although Fife, like all areas of Scotland, voted to Remain in the EU, the UK seems intent in forcing us out of the EU even although there are zero plans as to how this will be managed.

Since the vote to leave, there has been a rise in the number of individuals facing great uncertainty about their future. Those people who have originally come from EU member states, whether France, Poland, Germany,…indeed from any of the remaining 27 independent member countries….have been placed in a position of increased uncertainty.

That is why I have written to almost 2000 EU citizens living amongst our local communities, to emphasise that we value their contribution to our local economy and communities and want them to continue to make their home here. I have already raised the issue with the Prime Minister and will continue to press the Government to guarantee their security and home life in our community. I hope everyone will make an extra effort to make EU citizens feel welcome.

Chilcot report

Since my last column, we have had the publication of the Chilcot Report on the Iraq war. I took part in the debate. This huge report spells out in detail the way in which Tony Blair and the Labour Government systematically misled Parliament and the people about the reasons for going to war, and perhaps most damagingly of all, their complete failure to properly equip and prepare our armed forces for the conflict they were so keen to embark upon. In my speech in parliament, I also raised the complete lack of a plan for post conflict reconstruction. Innocent lives continue to be lost today because of the failures of the UK Government. As I put it in Parliament: 'Sir John Chilcot laid particular criticism at the door of Tony Blair, and stated: “He did not ensure that there was a flexible, realistic and fully resourced plan that integrated UK military and civilian contributions, and addressed the known risks.”

Local towns

Closer to home, I recently attended the World Towns Leadership Summit 2016, hosted by Edinburgh. There were many lessons Fife should learn from the summit, and I have already started discussions to encourage more focused work in our towns to secure our communities and local economies for the future.