The problem with holding a ‘surgery’ to which constituents can come and share their opinions and problems, is that the very word implies skills and knowledge that I do not possess.
Last week, a Lady came and told me that she couldn’t sleep at night.
I told her she had come to the wrong surgery.
She then elaborated by saying that her sleeplessness was because of worry about BREXIT.
I told her I still couldn’t provide a cure, but that I can’t sleep either, so at least we were able to commiserate with one another
Well, we could try counting elephants, because there is one thing that Parliament has got right this month: Passing the Ivory Bill.
The decline in the elephant population, fuelled by poaching for ivory, shames our generation. The need for radical, robust action to protect one of the world’s most iconic and treasured species is beyond dispute. Ivory should no longer be a commodity for financial gain or a status symbol.
The legislation we have passed implements a ban on ivory sales which builds on work at home and overseas to tackle poaching and the illegal ivory trade. Our soldiers are training African park rangers in proven poacher interception techniques in key African countries, and our Border Force officers share their expertise in identifying smuggled ivory with counterparts worldwide to stop wildlife trafficking.
What we have been doing goes much further than the EU, which is a shame, because they have a president called ‘Tusk’ !