Gales View November 2018 Roger Gale MP

Westminster View - November 2018

November. Come back Guy Fawkes, all is forgiven. This past Parliamentary month has been beyond satire. Brexit Minister Raab heralded the Withdrawal Agreement that he negotiated and then resigned. Sports Minister Tracey Crouch negotiated a vital change in gaming laws and then resigned. Work and Pensions Minister Esther Mc Vey reportedly threw her toys out of the pram in Cabinet and then resigned. Stella Braverman, a junior Brexit Minister of whom you may well not of heard just resigned. And junior Transport Minister Jo Johnson, Mayor Boris's kid brother, decided to unite in dismay, or should that be disloyalty? with his sibling and resigned. On the plus side Cabinet Ministers Michael ‘The Gover’ Gove, Penny ‘Splash’ Mordaunt, Chris ‘Lorry Park’ Grayling and Andrea ‘Leader’ Leadsome stayed firmly put in Office as the Withdrawal Agreement was discussed, excoriated, approved and signed off by Europe and now awaits an uphill struggle to get through Parliament. A European Reform Group ‘attempt to bring down The Darling Bud, masterminded by Chairman ‘Captain Mannering’ Mogg, failed to muster the necessary forty- eight Tory backbench letters of request to trigger a No Confidence vote and ‘booze-ups and breweries’ spring to mind. God help us if these people ever get their hands on the levers of power. ’Oops. Pushed the wrong button. Sorry!’. The Tramp has deployed some fifteen thousand squaddies along his Country’s southern border to head off a caravan of many would- be immigrants crossing Mexico to seek refuge as ‘troubled peoples yearning to be free. Mutti Merkel calls again for the creation of a European Defence Force which might have come in handy when seeking to quell the riots in a Paris where President Mekon has dissipated all of his electoral goodwill inside a year and is now languishing in the polls well below the hard right’s Marine le Pen and what used to be called the Front National until it was sanitised. It’s elections in mind Spain engages in a little light grandstanding over the post- Brexit future of Gibraltar whole the rest of the Twenty- Seven appear to be fed up with Spain. The Neo- Soviet Union fails to get its KGB placement elected as the head of Interpol, a proposal that has been likened to putting a Fox in charge of the hen coop, and has to settle for a little light piracy in the Black Sea at the expense of Ukraine as a distraction. Vlad Putin always was a bad loser. Back on the Westminster front the Democratic Unionist Party, upon whose votes the Conservative administration depends for its majority, have taken their bat and ball away in protest against the ‘backstop’ provision in the Withdrawal Agreement, leaving the Government in the lurch. The centenary of the armistice that brought an end to the ‘war to end all wars’ has been commemorated. A pity that a bit of rain deterred the Commander in Chief of the US forces from joining other world leaders at a memorial when that same rain fell upon hundreds of thousands of allied soldiers who have their lives in the cause of freedom between 1914 and 1918 but We Will, and this nation did, Remember them.

And Prince Charles celebrated a seventieth birthday that makes many of us realise just how young we really are because if he hasn’t even started his full time job yet then the rest of us are clearly nowhere near retirement age.

There will come a time, I suppose, when people will say ‘do you remember Brexit’ in much the same way that people speak of the Second World War or The Winter of 1947

Or The Miners’ Strike or The Falklands War or The Maastricht Treaty because every game moves on (I was roundly reminded on a radio programme that I ought not to refer to it as a ‘game ‘because it is deadly serious business) and there will, presumably be life, Jim, if not as we know it, after we have left the European Union.

The present, however, the elephant dominates to room and political commentary and conversation, polite or frequently otherwise. Where there once was courtesy and a respect for those with differing opinions there is now vulgarity, personal attack, talk of ‘nailing down the Prime Ministers coffin’ and the like and the veneer of old world civility presented by those who like to posture themselves as of another, better, era have been revealed for what it is: a cheap covering over the common chipboard of ego and populism. It will, I suspect, be many years if ever before the damage done to the Mother of Parliaments by self-interest before national interest is repaired.

Theresa May has said that “It is not about me” and she means it. Sadly though, for others “me” is precisely what it is all about and it is not just the compromise of the Withdrawal Agreement that they do not like but the fact that it is Mrs. May’s compromise. Turkeys are not known for voting for Christmas but It is no longer beyond the bounds of possibility that there will be a General Election in the New Year.

In the meantime, there is the Meaningful Vote to be navigated. On offer are the Prime Minister’s Withdrawal Agreement, ‘No Deal’ hard Brexit or No Brexit at all. While it is clear that those who favour the latter on the common sense principle that we would be better off economically and in terms of national security that we will even if the Withdrawal Agreement is carried and negotiations over future trading arrangements are concluded swiftly and fairly. No Brexit does not, though, satisfy the pledge given to honour the referendum result so the choice is binary - the rock of a compromise agreement or the hard place of a hard Brexit. it Is a no- brainer.

The Government has recently published three documents entitled, respectively, “Taking back control of our money and laws while protecting our economy, securit6 and union”, “Long-term economic analysis “and “Assessment of the security partnership.

Predictably it was the economic analysis showing that we will be marginally worse off even under the Withdrawal Agreement than we would if we were to remain within the EU that attracted the media attention we will also be appreciably worse off under a No Deal Exit. The decision to leave, though, was not only or even about money. It was a political and an emotional decision based upon the desire of a majority to re- establish sovereignty, take control of our borders and reduce immigration. Ironically, while immigration from within the EU has fallen significantly since the referendum the numbers arriving from the rest of the world have risen dramatically.

It is, though, the “Assessment of the security partnership” that deserves for more attention that; it has received. The fact that we are no longer a Member State will, for example, affect our ability to command crisis management operations and missions and under a No Deal scenario with no transition period there will be no formal arrangements for the exchange of information or consultation about mechanisms to enable the UK and the EU to co- operate on sanctions. Ben Wallace, our Security Minister, has said that a No Deal will deny the UK access to databases vital in the fight against terrorism and crime.

The issues relating to the future provision for ex- pat UK citizens living in the ‘EU Twenty- seven’ remain unresolved also in the event of a No Deal hard Brexit. We have said grandly that EU citizens resident in the UK on March 29th, 2019 will be allowed to remain but where does that leave those many who move around Europe in the course of their employment and where does it leave those many who are resident in France, Spain and other EU States? The question of healthcare is being addressed in a measure going through parliament at present which will, we trust, resolve the issue for those many who would simply, at a certain time of life, find health insurance prohibitively expensive or impossible to obtain. What, also, will happen to the ‘exportable benefits’ that we worked so hard with the Commission to secure? And will pensions payable by the UK to expats still be uprated in line with inflation or will we have yet more countries on the list of ‘frozen pensions’ without ‘reciprocal agreements’ that we will have to address? We are led to believe that ‘it will be alright’ but in the event of a No Deal I remain to be convinced.

There is, then also the matter of transport between mainland Europe and the United Kingdom. In Kent, part of which County close to Dover I am privileged to represent, there are real concerns that post- Brexit we may face gridlock. I have met, at the end of the month, with a professional freight forwarder, with the Freight Transport Association, with the roads Minister, Jesse Norman, Kent constabulary, Highways England and with the Dover Harbour Board. To say that there are real concerns about our level of preparedness for a hard Brexit is an understatement. The experience of ‘Operation Stack’ in 2015 when thousands of articulated Lorrie lorries clogged up our highways and byways during a strike at Calais was not a happy one. The port of Dover and the Channel Tunnel together carry a huge percentage of the goods and riveted traffic travelling between the UK and mainland Europe. Outbound that means tens of thousands of tourists in addition to export freight. Inbound the disproportionate quantity of freight includes ‘just in time’ car parts without which our motor industry cannot survive, pharmaceuticals and goods upon which our construction industry depends. If new and stringent bureaucracy is imposed on either side of La Manche then the implications are frightening. First, traffic piles up by the minute and it has not escaped the notice of the vigilant that Easter 2019, which is the biggest exodus of tourists through Dover and the Tunnel falls early and therefore shortly after 29th March. Traffic backs up by the minute and it is easy to see how within hours rather than days, unless an accommodation is reached, the arterial roads of first Kent and then South East England and then the Midlands will become one inglorious car park. And if that is ‘Project Fear’ them I am Father Christmas.

It is comforting to know that a little late in the day but before his resignation as the Secretary of State for Brexit (widely but unkindly regarded as acting as David Davis` `suicide bomber`) Dominic Raab discovered that the route between Dover and Calais was of significant national importance. It costs, I am told, £250 a day to keep a lorry just standing still. There is a shortage of ‘logistics’ vehicles and more particularly of drivers throughout Europe. It does not take a degree in rocket science to work out that given a choice between having their trucks sitting parked on British roads, perhaps for days, or servicing the many other available destinations throughout mainland Europe not only continental but British Road hauliers will choose the latter. Who then brings the car parts and the life- saving drugs to Britain? The mantra that ‘trade is worth much more to Europe than it is to us’ is founded in fact but in the short term there is a recipe for chaos that cannot be overlooked and given the capacity for Gallic bloody- mindedness I’d say that ‘a degree of inconvenience’ might be an understatement also. North East Somerset may not care if the roads of Kent are clogged up or void of freight vehicles but when the good burghers of the West Country discover that they cannot take delivery of the new Chelsea Tractor because of job cuts at Jaguar Landrover or get their medicines or favourite foods then you will hear the wailing and gnashing of false teeth from the Mendip Hills to Westminster. Even Dad`s Army marches on its stomach!

The Withdrawal Agreement that Ex-Secretary Raab trailed as a success before he resigned over `amendments` to the text was approved following a stormy five-hour Cabinet meeting during which the Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey, currently in a relationship with a die-hard parliamentary Brexiteer, is said to have become `emotional and aggressive`. She later handed in her seals of office. The Agreement was then signed off by the Commission and Member States at a fleetingly brief `summit ‘in Brussels.

Those of us who are in regular contact with Members of other European parliaments are very aware that many feel that they have given too much to the UK and have been bounced by a Commission that kept its cards close to its chest until the last minute. The Prime Minister is almost certainly right to say that having to go back to the negotiating table following a Commons defeat on the `Meaningful Vote` motion would almost certainly end in tears; if the deal is re-opened then twenty-seven Member States will present a “me too” shopping list of alterations that could backfire horribly. It is going to be a hard sell given that some one hundred Tories have prematurely nailed their colours to the wrong mast but now is the time to take the many gains that are on offer, live with the bits that we may not entirely welcome and move forward. And that goes for our colleagues from Northern Ireland as well as for the rest of the United Kingdom.

Not that all is sweetness and light on the Opposition benches. Accusations of anti-semitism continue to swirl around Red Jerry, the constabulary are investigating allegations and forty percent of the population believe that he is guilty as charged but it is the fracture between the comrades on Labour`` Front Bench that once again bode ill for the `united front` that Corbyn is struggling to present. Faced with a Finance Bill containing £32 million of tax cuts Corbyn wishes to oppose this Treasury bonanza for the hard-pressed while Brother McDonnell is in favour leaving what passes for Labour`s `economic plan` in tatters. In the event twenty Labour Members of Parliament including Mrs Ed Balls, Yvette Cooper, David Lammy and Dame Margaret Hodge defied their whip and voted against the increase in Personal Tax Allowance notwithstanding McDonnell`s for once correct assertion that `this will benefit lower paid workers`.

The Opposition is also split over their aspirations for a `People`s Vote`, A `Second¬ (actually third) Referendum or a General Election. Comrade Corbyn has expressed his opposition to a second referendum stating that “Brexit cannot be stopped”. His Shadow Foreign Secretary, Lady Nugee, wants to put the question back to the electorate in, presumably, the fond belief that the result would be reversed. The likelihood of such an exercise, were it possible to get the necessary enabling legislation through both Houses of Parliament in time to hold a ballot well before 29th March, is that the pendulum might swing marginally the other way. Then what? Do we take the European route and persist with votes until the answer that somebody wants is achieved or do we accept the will of the People as expressed in June 2016? Mc Donnell remains in clandestine talks with The People`s Vote campaign while Comrade Corbyn is now mired in detail over the prospect of a head-to-head Televised inquisition with Theresa May prior to the `Meaningful Vote`.

Shadow Chancellor McDonnell has told the BBC`s Newsnight programme that he does not wish to live in Downing Street and that, at least, is a wish with which very many people will concur. Nevertheless, Governments always pay a price for internal division and the opinion polls give Labour a three per cent lead, at 39%to 36% over the Tories with UKIP on 16%. Somebody is taking this seriously because it is reported that Red Jerry has been given an MI6 security briefing. £15 billion pounds of share value have been withdrawn by investors, plans for a snap General Election are being laid.

The Prime Minister has said, and means, that “this isn`t about me” and outside the Westminster bubble there is a growing regard, particularly amongst women, for her fortitude and her determination to do what she, at least, believes to be in the national rather than partisan interest. No such scruples on her own posturing backbenches. Britain could be faced with the prospect of a brutal Leadership contest, no Brexit agreement in place, a chaotic “No Deal” exit, a second (third) referendum or an election. Those, or the Prime Minister`s hard-won Withdrawal Agreement, appear to me to be the alternatives. A Survation poll is at this point showing that 52% of the people believe that `May`s plan is the best for Britain` 41% believe that the Commons should support her agreement while only 38% believe that the House should vote it down.

In other news Tracey Crouch, the excellent young Sports Minister who also has had responsibility for gaming cashes in her chips after failing to agree a date for the reduction from £100 per play to just £2 per play on FOBT machines. Fixed Odds Betting Terminals, readily accessible in High Street betting shop, have allowed punters to lose literally hundreds of pounds in minutes and are known as “the crack cocaine of gambling”. Tracey has said that the Chancellor has deferred the implementation of the change that she as a Minister has negotiated by six months at the behest of the big bookmakers like Paddy Power with whom it is said that Philip Hammond met. Whether this `delay` was due in part to Cabinet lobbying by the Work and Pensions Secretary whose boyfriend is an MP and paid consultant for the Gaming industry we shall probably never know. The Government says that it in fact brought forward the date from its original implementation by six months but the `delay` until October 2019 will allow gamblers to lose another £1.6 billion and will rake in some extra loot for the Treasury. It will also, statistically, cost two debt-driven lives by suicide per day. Tracey Crouch, notwithstanding pleading from her friends, becomes the 19th Ministerial resignation from this Government. Back bench pressure is then brought to bear on the relevant section of the Finance Bill and the Government brings forward the implementation date. A waste, really, of a young Ministerial life but she will at least have the joy of spending a little more time with Steve, her partner, and Freddie, their toddler son.

Whether Jo Johnson`s Brexit-related departure from the Department of Transport is a point of principle or a thinly veiled act of sibling loyalty and personal ambition is a moot point. Certainly the two Brothers Johnson have used identical “Vassal state” terminology in their pronouncements and describe the present crisis as “the worst since Suez” but Jo has a long way to go before he scrapes the barrel of a Big Bro who `loyally` first incites his former Cabinet colleagues to `mutiny` and then, in Belfast, supports the government`s mutineer DUP colleagues in what is an almost naked attempt to bring down the administration of which he was once a part run by a Party that he still claims to have ambitions to lead. It is, perhaps, not the Government but the “not the Leadership contender” who is sailing Belfast-built Titanic-style towards the iceberg. In classic Mayor Boris populist style Big Brother calls for the UK to grant asylum to the pardoned but still in peril Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian. This would be the same BoJo who as Foreign Secretary botched an attempt to have Nazarin Zafari Radcliffe, a British citizen, released from an Iranian gaol and arguably made her situation worse. Future leadership material? I think not. (Jeremy Hunt, as now Foreign Secretary, is left to pick up the pieces and to try to secure the lady`s freedom).

We have, in Britain, a gang-created crime wave based upon drug dealing across `County lines` and murder by knife warfare. A senior police officer, Sara Thornton, formerly head of the Thames Valley force and now head of the National Police Chiefs body the NPCC, has heralded a shift away from the policing of `hate crimes` and back to what she has described as ‘core policing`. In other words, “we are not going to spend time apprehending people for wolf-whistling at pretty girls when there are serious issues of real crime like violence and burglary to address”. She may have set herself at odds with the Home secretary, Sajid Javid, who is keen to crack down on `hate crime`, but she has won applause from hard-pressed police officers who don`t like having their time wasted.

In other news, California Burning. It is still not clear how many lives were lost when wildfires swept through the Western US town of xxxxxx and the upmarket Malibu location of choice for Hollywood stars but once again The Tramp got both tweets in his mouth when he blamed the forestry industry for this natural disaster caused by high winds and dry timber. The global-warming denier, having visited the site and seen the devastation for himself, sounded chastened when he praised some truly brave and heroic firefighters for their efforts. No such pleasantries from The Tramp for Iran, however. As the President rails against European failure to support his action he threatens that “sanctions are coming”. Whether those sanctions will be imposed against the EU or Iran has yet to be seen.

The Commander in Chief did not cover himself in glory while in France for the commemoration of the signing of the armistice that ended the Great War in 1918. Some showery weather deterred a leader possibly more concerned with his hairstyle than his tribute from attending a significant memorial service. With an eye on The Man Who Has Not Served Tobias Ellwood, a Tory Minister who has seen active military action and rushed to the aid of a dying policeman stabbed by a terrorist in New Palace Yard observed dryly “a little rain did not deter our brave soldiers from doing their job”. The President of the United States may not have been best pleased either when, within earshot, France`s failing President “Mekon” Macron made reference to “the rise of Nationalist demons” throughout Europe. The US President has, of course, praised many of those “demons” for their own brand of populism.

A minor and unexpected setback for Vlad Putin. The ex KGB officer had hoped to secure the installation of one of his protégés, Alexander Prokopchuk, as the next head of Interpol in a move described as `putting the fox in charge of the hen coop`. The idea that a former KGB agent might take charge of the Novochok murder investigations in Salisbury did not go down well with the international community who elected a South Korean, Kim Jong-Yang, instead. And at the G20 in the Argentine capital Buenos Ayres The Tramp pulled out of a planned sideshow `summit` because of action taken by the neo-Soviet Union against Ukrainian warships in the Black Sea.

Ballswatch

Stag party flights from Britain are about to become a more sober business. Responding to unruly behaviour on the part of pre-nuptial revellers airports in Britain are looking to introduce `High Street opening hours` with no booze on sale before 10 am.

Strong reaction from the US to the Chancellor`s proposed `Amazon` tax. The suggestion that the online giant might be compelled to pay a fairer share of its dues in the United Kingdom is described as `inconsistent with international trading norms` and `a blatant revenue grab`. Or put it another way `we`re so big that we don`t have to observe the rules that others play by`.

A 36-foot effigy of former Foreign Secretary and Mayor of London Boris Johnson was burned at the traditional Edenbridge bonfire night. A sadness but I suspect that his days of setting the political world on fire are drawing to a close.

“Unless European fisherman are allowed into British waters people will stop eating fish and chips in Brussels “says the EU. That will have sent a shiver down the spines of the diners that frequent the Belgian capital`s vastly expensive nouvelle cuisine restaurants.

A by-product of a Hard Brexit might be that British taps run dry. It will, of course, be described as `project fear` but most of the purification chemicals come from Europe and stringent cross-Channel border controls and customs checks could impact upon those as well as just-in-time car parts.

More tweet-in-mouth from The Tramp while campaigning for his party`s candidate Dr Nick Stella in Illinois. The `slum` featured in a campaign advertisement turns out to be the village of Jaywick near Clacton in Essex. Jaywick once had a reputation as the armpit of England but is now on the up under its Member of Parliament, Giles Watling. The good burghers of Jaywick and Giles are justifiably less than amused.

This is the President who has thousands of armed troops to deter marching migrants from entering the United States through Mexico and described one hundred and seventy miles of razor wire fencing as `A beautiful sight`. What, one questions, might he have made of the Berlin Wall? The eighth wonder of the world?

Any advance on transgender choice? A sixty-nine year old man is claiming the right to be recognised as forty-nine in law “because that`s the age I feel”. If a chap can feel like a dame why can`t a geriatric feel like a teenager?

Jeremy Vine, the BBC Radio presenter, wants “Drive Time” to be re-named under its new presenter Sarah Cox because, says the pedalling Radio 2 host “the present nomenclature celebrates cars”!

Martin Selmayr, Jean-Claude Druncker`s enforcer, has announced that “The power is with us”. M. “Jeddai” Selmayr is clearly looking forward to the next round of Brexit negotiations.

Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland`s Independence First Minister, wants separation from the UK but the right to remain within the European Union and with it, of course, the Common Fisheries Policy instead of becoming an Independent Coastal State under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement. No hypocrisy there, then.

Valete

Nicky McIntyre (97) was the daughter of Greek wartime Prime Minister Ioannis Rallis. With her husband Harry MacIntyre, a sapper, she worked alongside the Special Operations Executive and, disguised as a bride and groom, engaged in the smuggling of explosives for the resistance.

Derrick Shriver (82) was the producer who, between 1969 and 1970 rescued an ailing Dr Who and with Jon Pertwee starring effected the transition from black and white to colour television while extending the programme`s appeal to reach an adult audience. Other credits include “United” and “Crossroads”.

Paula Lansdale (94), ex WRNS, worked with Thames/Carlton television on “Rainbow” with Geoffrey Hayes, The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe (1967) and Professor Brainstawm (1969)

Sir Jeremy Hayward (56) was the Cabinet Secretary and eminence grise serving Prime Ministers Blair, Brown and Cameron. Unkindly christened “Sir Cover Up” by the Bourgeois Women’s Tabloid because of his penchant for recognising the importance of confidentiality he was created Baron Heywood shortly after his retirement from the Civil Service and before his premature death from cancer.

Stan Lee (95) was the driving force behind the multi-million dollar Marvel comic book empire featuring Spiderman and The Incredible Hulk. As the writer and editor of `The Marvel Age of Comics` during the 1960`s he was the creator of Captain America and the originator of the `thought balloon`.

Babs Beverley (91) was one third of the 1950s girl band “The Beverley Sisters” also featuring Joy and Teddie. Discovered by Irving Berlin they appeared in the 1947 Television Show “Those Beverley Sisters”. Christmas hits included “I saw Mummy kissing Santa Clause! (1953), “Little Drummer Boy” (1959) and “How Much is that Doggie in the Window”. The Sisters became Gay icons in the 1990`s and appeared at The London Palladium, with Morcambe and Wise and on the Royal Variety Show five times.

Kirsty O`Neill (72) was a Hollywood stuntwoman. She took the Women`s land speed record in 1976 in a rocket powered car travelling at a top speed of 618 mph. She held the world speed record for a jet powered boat (275 mph) and water ski speed at 105 mph. She also held High Fall records at 127 feet (thirteen storeys) onto an airbag and 180 feet from a helicopter.

Screenwriter William Gorman (87) won Oscars for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All The Presidents` Men (Watergate) but turned down the chance to write scripts for The Godfather, The Graduate and Superman.

Richard Baker (93) was the BBC`s first television newsreader. After service in the Royal Navy between 1943 and 1946 Baker spent two years in repertory at Brighton`s Dolphin Theatre. On July 5th 1954 he launched, off-screen, the “Illustrated Summary of the News “and with Kenneth Kendall then became the on-screen presence of BBC Television News. For fifty years he presented news, current affairs and cultural programmes such as the BBS Henry Wood Promenade Concerts (32 years covering `The last night of the Proms`) and Start the Week on Radio Four.

Baroness (Jean) Trumpington (96) was a cipher clerk and codebreaker at Bletchley Park during the Second World War. A larger-than-life Mayor of Cambridge she was made a Conservative Life Peer in 1980. Asked by Garter King At Arms to choose a title and finding that Cambridge was spoken for she opted for the Cambridgeshire village of Trumpington because “I couldn`t really be Lady Six Mile Bottom, could I?” Jean Trumpington served in John Major`s administration as a Lords` Whip, Health and Social Security Minister, Agriculture Minister and Culture Minister. Attending the Rock Music Awards she is reported to have said “I am only here to collect autographs for my secretary. Is Elton John around”?

Monica Sims (93) was the Editor of BBC `Women`s Hour` in 1964. From 1967 she ruled BBC Childrens` Television with a rod of iron before becoming the first woman Controller of Radio Four.

David Conville (89) was the artistic Director of the New Shakespeare Company that performed in the Regents Park Open Air Theatre for twenty-five years.

And George HW. Bush was a wartime fighter pilot and served as Ronald Reagan`s Vice-President for eight years before becoming President of the United States of America in 1989. Described as `The Last Gentleman President` George Bush Sr. was Commander in Chief during the first Iraq War, Operation Desert Storm and was criticised for not driving through to Baghdad and removing the dictator Saddam Hussein. He was determined to save lives by limiting his commitment to driving Hussein out of Kuwait. His Presidency also embraced the ending of the Cold War under Mikhail Gorbachev, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the re-unification of Germany.

And finally………..

Into Margate Harbour, in my constituency, on 5th November, came thirty-three year old Ross Edgeley after one hundred and fifty seven days swimming the 1791 miles around the coast of Britain. During his incredible journey he encountered jellyfish, sharks, whirlpools and high winds and his tongue began to disintegrate through immersion in salt water. His records now include The South Coast (30 days), and Lands’ End to John O`Groats (62 days) He consumed six hundred and forty bananas during his endeavours.