Chris Green MP: ​Transformation of local policing is very important

At the beginning of the year, it has become customary to hope that it is not as bad as the one that went before, or the one before that…

​We have been going through a turbulent time where the problems of the Covid-19 lockdowns were compounded with the outbreak of war in Europe.

The huge Ever Given container ship blocking up the Suez Canal for a week seemed to symbolise how well things were going.

When we thought that we were due a calmer time Hamas terrorists invaded Israel and triggered a conflict that is still raging.

Some hostages have been swapped for prisoners but the fighting has yet to run its course.

One of the aspects about the troubles I have highlighted is how much cross-party unity there has been in dealing with them.

From Covid and the lockdowns to the response to war, there has been very little difference between Sir Keir Starmer, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.

I suppose that, when people demand that politicians stop arguing and start working together, we have seen that in action.

I would not normally promote or desire cross-party unity as I believe that rigorous debate and challenge is more likely to produce the best most well thought through solutions.

A particular area of recent success has been with the performance of Greater Manchester police.

Law and order has always been one of the greatest areas of concern for my constituents and our police force began to fail so badly that it had to be put in special measures.

The policing leadership and mayor chose to close down a major custody suite simply because they had lost the will to arrest criminals.

I and other Conservative colleagues demanded that the Home Secretary replace the failing Chief Constable with one that would do the job that we all expect.

Arrests have gone up and crime has gone down across Greater Manchester and the Wigan borough.

To balance out the cross-party unity on foreign affairs, it is fair to say that the transformation in local policing is a result of the hard work of the girls and boys in blue as well as the willingness of those MPs who where willing to challenge the local leadership.

The end of the year is always a slightly unusual time for MPs.

Before entering politics, I had no anticipation that one of my most difficult tasks would be to judge an annual Christmas card competition.

This time, I had over 1,200 entries and they ranged from drawings of the Holy Family to Santa Claus and snowmen.

On visiting the schools to announce the winner, the children were told that a special guest would pop into class.

They were so disappointed when it was me not Santa…