An extended Indian summer turned to Autumn with a vengeance on Sunday as our towns & villages commemorated our war dead at services across the county. I was honoured to be laying wreaths in Berwick and Alnwick to remember all those from North Northumberland who have given their lives to ensure our freedom: so that we can sleep peacefully & securely in our beds at night.
I have always felt strongly about Remembrance, and as a new MP I am also acutely conscious of my responsibility in deciding whether to vote to send troops to war. What has struck me this year, as I meet many armed forces personnel, is that they are not too bothered by who their changing political masters are, because they fight for Queen & Country.
One former soldier said to me this weekend that, during his tours in Iraq & Afghanistan, he knew he was there for good reasons; not necessarily those given by the then Prime Minister Mr Blair, but because he was putting his life at risk for his Queen, as he knew she would do for him.
And as we sang the second verse of the National Anthem at the Alnwick Memorial yesterday, those words reinforced that wise & reflective soldier's view:
May She defend our laws,
And ever give us cause,
To sing with heart & voice,
God save the Queen.
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Much of the rest of my week has been spent getting to grips with the threat to our Jus-Rol factory's future in Berwick, as their US owners consider whether to shut it. I battled with closed doors until eventually we got the head of General Mills UK's attention and he was gracious enough to come and meet with me at the House of Commons. We now have communications, and the Business Minister has been hugely helpful in getting her regional team into action quickly so that we can assess what options are available for the site & workforce.
I met with some of the employees on Friday and we will be hosting another employee meeting next Sunday afternoon at the Guildhall.
This is going to be a tough fight, but I will leave no stone unturned to try to find a going concern solution.
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I was so pleased that, following a call for help from my constituent Sarah Pape, one of the UK's leading burns specialists, to get UK help to burns victims of the Romanian nightclub fire in Bucharest, I was able to ask a PMQ on Wednesday to that effect. (http://www.teamtrevelyan.co.uk/news/berwick-mp-has-pmq)
I can report that last night a NATO flight landed with 9 patients who will receive world-leading treatment in several of our UK burns units. So proud of our humanitarian support which can be put into action so effectively in times of crisis like this. But even prouder of our very own Sarah who led by example and went to the disaster itself to offer her skills.
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