On Sunday I was delighted to attend the Clymping Dog Show, a volunteer-led event which has been running in the 1950s to support the Clymping Dog Sanctuary which takes in strays and unwanted dogs to care and rehabilitate them for adoption. In judging the ‘Cutest Puppy’ competition I was reminded of the maxim ‘never work with children or animals’ as it was agonisingly hard to choose and I wanted them all to win!
As Parliament returns next week, I will be supporting the campaign for tougher sentencing on animal cruelty. This Private Members Bill was brought in by my Conservative 2019 intake colleague Chris Loder, and will have its Second Reading on 11 September. The campaign is supported by the RSPCA and will increase the maximum sentence from six months to 5 years – not nearly far enough in my opinion, but a very welcome signal that Britain will not tolerate inhumane treatment of animals.
My other (early morning) activity this weekend was joining Sussex Police, along with Police & Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne and Chief Constable Jo Shiner, to meet residents and Parish Councillors of Wisborough Green to discuss the problem of anti-social motorcycles and road safety. Earlier this year I joined the police for a ‘ride-along’ on Operation Downsway which aims to tackle exactly these problems – on Sunday alone, over 150 offenses were dealt with including excess speed, mobile phone use, unlawful number plates and no seatbelts being worn. I am pleased that Sussex’s roads are being made safer and would encourage any residents with concerns about nuisance hotspots they wish me to pass on, to get in touch.
In other news, I welcome the announcement from Morrison’s that they are phasing out plastic ‘bags for life’ and trialling replacing them with sturdier (and more environmentally friendly) paper alternatives. Like many people, when I visit the supermarket I have noticed that many customers seem to buy a new ‘bag for life’ on every visit. It is clear that this well-intentioned 5p charge policy is not actually saving the turtles, so it is good to see a business seeing the situation and taking the lead, trying other ways to do their bit.
Finally, it was interesting to see the BBC – led by Baron Hall of Birkenhead (a Commander of the British Empire himself no less) and funded by a compulsory ‘tithe’ on the populace under a Royal Charter – this week taking a stand against anachronisms by banning the singing of Rule, Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory. Aside from the dubious merits of this decision, if they are worried about ‘privilege’ I suspect readers could suggest many places closer to BBC HQ to be looking at!
