Chris Green MP:​ General election now on the horizon

Well, I will be anticipating it and, I am sure, most will not welcome another bout of politics and everything that goes with it. Much as a healthy democracy is necessary for a healthy society, it can be like a foul-tasting medicine sometimes – you know you have to take it no matter how unpleasant.

I do not think the democratic process is quite that bad and it is generally fought within reasonable and civilised bounds right across the Wigan borough.

Who would have thought, at the 2019 General Election, that the greatest events of this Parliament would have been shocks to our system from overseas.

Covid-19 emerged from Wuhan, an otherwise unknown part of China, which was followed by a global societal and economic lockdown; and Russia, to the shock and surprise of most experts who follow its internal politics, invaded Ukraine.

Even our language has changed as we are no longer supposed to eat chicken Kiev or refer to the country as ‘the Ukraine’. These changes are nothing as to the impact this unprovoked invasion has had across Europe and the rest of the world.

Europe’s biggest energy producer invaded Europe’s biggest food producer, triggered the highest level of inflation in decades, massively contributed to our cost of living and caused global disruption that we are only just beginning to recover from.

War in Europe is a terrible thing but it followed on from the global restrictions that were a reaction to Covid-19 so it magnified the challenges that our Government faces.

I would not like to compare these two disasters to the Great Recession of 2007-8 but the Prime Minister and Government can honestly say that neither were our fault though we still have a duty to guide the country through these difficult times to the best of our ability.

There was a huge level of agreement amongst the political parties that the Government took the right action but that does not, and should not, prevent normal political debate.

It has been tough and it is still tough for many of my constituents but we have avoided recession and the economy is stabilising and growing again despite the prediction of the economists who did not notice the Great Recession looming.

Respecting the decision to leave the EU was about respecting you and your decision as well as creating a healthier British democracy.

It is a work in progress but it is happening even if the EU can be rather difficult to work with.

This was one of the reasons for leaving in the first place after all.

I am not sure that Labour’s idea of giving all 3.4 million EU citizens a vote in General Elections is in keeping with British sovereignty but I will leave that to them to explain to voters.

We have an exciting political year ahead.