We enter uncharted waters
Regrettably there is no Air Show at the Low Green in Ayr this year, so it was fortuitous that I was invited to attend the sensational spectacle that is the Royal International Air Tattoo, held at Fairford in Gloucestershire.
The sun shone and the aerial displays were breath taking but I still missed the aircraft flying over the sea with the stunning backdrop of Arran, undoubtedly the Ayr Air Show has a stunning setting – I for one am looking forward to next year.
Ayrshire’s Bard provided the other interlude for me from Parliamentary business, when I caught up with colleagues past and present from the Fire and Rescue Service for a most interesting tour of the various historical Burns venues. At time of writing this column I understand that Ayr United has excelled and is still in contention for the Betfred Cup, I wish the team all the best for the next stage. Down at Westminster, I participated in the “Polish Contribution to the UK War Effort in World War Two” Debate and it was lovely to receive an acknowledgement of my participation from the Polish Ambassador. I spoke in the “Developing a Retail Strategy for the Future”, an important topic given the state of our High Streets due to on- line and out of town competition, and the “UK Defence Expenditure” Debates. I attended the APPG on Green Deal Mis- selling which has been re- convened and noted that it is to consider drawing up a Questionnaire.
Unfortunately, as is so often the case with the extremely fluid Parliamentary timetable, due to a clash of commitments, I was unable to attend the Roadside Recovery Vehicles and the Use of Red Lights Debate brought forward by my colleague, Tracey Crouch MP for Chatham and Aylesford. This proved to be extremely disappointing as I was aware that this specific issue was of great concern to at least one roadside recovery business in my constituency and I had attended the preliminary events. I participated in the Animal Welfare ( Sentencing) Bill Committee; managed some interventions both in the Chamber and in Westminster Hall; posed a Cabinet Question on strengthening the Union; said my farewells to the outgoing PM and like the rest of the nation learnt the identity of our new PM , as we enter uncharted waters with various challenges ahead.