My letter to the Times and Star for the 13th February edition, which inexplicably went unprinted.
Dear Sir,
I was delighted to read that our plans for the Port of Workington are progressing, despite the slowdown under Cumberland Council. I remember the fight we had, as a Conservative Allerdale council, to get the Labour county council to recognise the site’s importance to the local economy. That’s why I made it a key 2019 election pledge, and why I ensured that my government under Boris Johnson provided the funding that is delivering the transformation we’re about to see. It’s also why I ensured that other projects, such as the Workington Gateway, didn’t just deal with the immediate problem but complemented the other schemes that were in train.
But as with so many good news stories across the county that our MPs are keen to use to promote themselves, they are the legacy of Conservative MPs, a Conservative government and Conservative-led councils, all working hand in glove. A situation we don’t see today when our Labour council’s funding is being cut by a Labour government; they’re raising council tax on working people by eye-watering amounts again; and the Labour Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner is planning £11 million cuts to policing, despite also raising council tax by £16 million more than his Conservative predecessor projected.
It did make me think of a quote from ‘Dilbert's Guide to the Rest of Your Life’ - “Hard work is rewarding. Taking credit for other people's hard work is rewarding and faster”.
But reading these weekly columns from those who now hold the power to change things and leave their own legacy, we could also choose a couple more from the same book: “Always remember that as long as other people are gullible, there's no limit to what you can achieve” and “The job isn't done until you've blamed someone for the parts that went wrong”.
Mark Jenkinson
Former Member of Parliament for Workington
