Mail Weekly Column: 29 April 2024

Any Government’s first duty is to national security and defence of the realm. And so I was delighted that on Wednesday the Prime Minister and Defence Secretary announced that 2.5% of GDP will be spent on defence by 2030, meeting the clear need with action. The peace dividend is sadly over and we live in increasingly contested times. But this investment will mean billions more funding over the next six years, confirming Britain as the biggest defence power in Europe, second only to the USA in NATO.

The increase compliments the investments flowing into the shipyard to deliver Astute, Dreadnought and SSN-AUKUS, and now to Furness itself with the £220million secured to support the community through the Team Barrow project. Supporting our collective defence, and the communities that enable it, is so welcome.

In the very early hours of that same day, we passed the Safety of Rwanda Bill after months of delay from Labour and their members in the House of Lords. Finally this should mean that we can get flights off to Rwanda and progress the plan to stop the boats. As a member of the Home Affairs Committee I have visited Calais, Paris, Brussels and discussed this difficult matter with Home Affairs ministers from across the globe. It is evident that, without a deterrent, we simply cannot stop the flow of people - every one of them enabled by a criminal gang. If we want a rational and fair immigration system, then we have to stop people jumping the queue and stop criminals and people traffickers peddling their dangerous trade. This Bill bolsters the plan to do just that.

Locally, I want to thank all of you who kindly responded to my call for evidence on the proposals by Westmorland and Furness Council to increase car parking charges in Ulverston by as much as 250%. This was an absolutely ridiculous decision that would have hurt local shops, damaged our tourism offer, and impacted residents too. All done with no consultation. Your valuable input helped me to make solid appeal to the Council, and I am sure that you will join me in being grateful to them for their swift and very welcome change of heart.

At Abbey House in Barrow on Friday night I was honoured to speak at the Furness Branch of the Royal Society of St George about Furness’ outsized role in the world, Team Barrow, and why we should be optimistic about our future.

I spoke of St George and his defeat of the dragon - and how here in Furness we embody that same spirit, punching above our weight. We have changed the world over and again - with the steel we have produced, and the boats we’ve built. And we will continue to do so for decades to come thanks to AUKUS.

This is why projects such as Team Barrow and our community campaign to achieve Royal Town status matter. They are designed to make this an even better place to raise a family and to improve perceptions of this frankly fantastic area. You can find my full speech here: www.simonfell.org/news/stgeorge

Finally, I was delighted on Saturday night to go to the Coro with Mrs Fell on a rare date night to enjoy the Ulverston Victoria High School Wind Band in concert with the Band of His Majesty’s Royal Marines. It truly was a musical spectacular – and a reminder of the incredible talent we have here. Hats off to the students, and especially Mr Butler, for all their work to deliver such a superb performance.