BM
21 Mar 2025
MP Newsletter #2: Flooding, Assisted Dying, Family Farm Tax, West Bank
BM
by Brian Mathew
29 Nov 2024
Dear reader,
A very warm welcome to the second edition of this newsletter, I hope you’re finding it a useful update. You can revisit the first one here.
The last few days have, of course, been dominated by the flooding we’ve seen across the constituency. Bradford on Avon and Melksham have been particularly brutally hit with record flooding seen in both towns. I know that many other areas have also seen localised flooding and had their own battles with the elements.
I want to pass on my sympathies and best wishes to all those who have been hit by these devastating floods and please do get in touch with me and my team via email on brian.mathew.mp@parliament.uk if you need assistance. I’ll outline below some of the efforts I’ve been making to make sure we have the best response to this crisis and to also safeguard ourselves from future instances.
Before the floods hit, I spent time with our local farmers in Westminster and visited the West Bank. More details on both are also below.
Please do consider forwarding the contents of this newsletter onto interested family and friends, and if they’d like to sign up they can do so here.
You can also follow me on Facebook and X (Twitter).
Flooding Update
Seeing the devastation across the constituency on Monday and into Tuesday this week was truly heart-breaking. I spent much of that time liaising with local authorities and businesses to help where I can.
I wrote to the Flooding Minister Emma Hardy asking her to visit our area to see the damage first hand and to ask that Melksham and Bradford on Avon are included when areas are considered for financial assistance to help recover from these floods.
Bradford on Avon saw flood waters reach a record high and I wrote directly to the Environment Agency this week and secured a meeting alongside Bradford on Avon Town Council, to be held next week, to discuss the Flood Management Plan for the area.
This must be delayed no longer.
I understand that in both Melksham and Bradford on Avon, residents feel let down by the Environment Agency and national government over the lack of preparedness and I will work collaboratively with all authorities to help improve the situation.
I want to also give a huge thanks to the volunteers in both towns and right across our constituency who helped out their community when the waters rose, it was so uplifting to witness.
This is an issue and campaign that I will continue to raise in Westminster at every turn and I will keep you updated
Assisted Dying Vote
Today I voted for the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) bill. The debate in the chamber was a credit to all members, and I have received more correspondence on this issue than any other since my election in July. It is not a decision I take lightly, having read hundreds of heartfelt letters and emails from constituents on both sides of the debate. I share the concerns of many about what this bill may do to our health service and end of life care, which is already underfunded. I would also like to see a social worker involved to assess for coercion.
I have, however, voted for this bill in its second reading so that these doubts and concerns can be addressed in the committee stage and we can end up with a bill that is compassionate and safe. I understand that my decision will disappoint and upset some, while coming as good news to others. I trust you know that I have taken this very hard decision carefully and reflectively having engaged and listened to both sides of the debate at length.
I will be writing to all those who have contacted me on this issue over the next week with my extended thoughts.
Local farmers visit Westminster
Last week I met local farmers from the constituency in Westminster to hear and discuss their concerns about the Family Farm Tax.
I met with farmers from Winsley and from Heddington, and along with my Lib Dem colleague Roz Savage MP, met with farmers from across Wiltshire. I was particularly moved when listening to Lucy Tyler’s story and how these changes will affect the plans of her 14-year-old son to be able to take on the family farm when he is old enough. You can watch Lucy talk to me in Westminster here.
It was real show of solidarity from our rural communities in Westminster last week, with so many farmers visiting from across the country, and the Lib Dems will continue to speak out against this Family Farm Tax. Our local family farms provide food on our tables, good local jobs and protect our rural environment, they are in many ways the backbone of our rural community.
A visit to the West Bank
Before the floods hit, I was with a delegation from the International Development Select Committee visiting the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Jordan. We saw some desperate sights including an UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) run school in a refugee camp just outside Ramallah which had been hit by Israeli tear gas shells the day before. One had melted its way into the bitumen on the roof right next to a massive UN sign, that was supposed to help keep the place safe. Girls at the school told us how they had seen their classmates vomiting from the gas, and that this was now sadly a common occurrence.
More poignantly still was our visit to the headquarters of the Palestinian Red Crescent where we saw not only piles of boxes full of Aid waiting to be sent to Gaza and currently blocked, but also photos of their brave staff (mostly ambulance drivers and paramedics) who have been shot and killed in the recent bombardments. While we were there a radio call came through about staff being used as human shields by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) when they were raiding a building in search of militants. This treatment of Aid workers in Gaza and the West Bank is completely unforgivable as well as counterproductive.
The next danger is to UNRWA itself which the Israeli Government are intent on banning. This is a real worry that the annexation of the West Bank will follow, which could see not only the end of the ‘Two State Solution’ but a new war as Palestinian families are forced out of their homes and out of their land.
As Liberal Democrats we are pressing for the UK government to recognise the State of Palestine and if we can persuade the French Government to do this at the same time this will be even more impactful. While the words of the Balfour Declaration penned 107 years ago spoke of "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people" it said also stated that nothing should "prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities". Achieving peace in this special part of the world is arguably the best way to achieve peace everywhere, let’s think about this as we approach Christmas.
Best wishes,
Brian Mathew MP
Your Lib Dem Member of Parliament for Melksham and Devizes