I spent last Saturday visiting small businesses in the constituency as part of Small Business Saturday. They really are the lifeblood of the economy, not only providing essential local goods and services, but also employment. It was a useful opportunity to talk to business owners about the recent budget measures, how they might impact them and to hear their concerns going forward.
A number of hospitality businesses have been in touch expressing their concerns about business rates and the sharp increase many of them will see from April. So it was useful to catch up with UK Hospitality in Westminster this week, who as ever are leading the way in campaigning for better Government understanding of this crucial sector. Many of us will have had our first jobs in hospitality, and it is a sector that is really struggling, even in this Christmas period which is traditionally the busiest of the year.
There was excitement in the chamber on Tuesday when I had to use my casting vote in a tied division. Although there is no chance whatsoever of Al Pinkerton’s Ten Minute Rule Bill becoming law, it was the first time since 2019 that a Speaker or Deputy had been confronted with a tied vote. Precedent dictated that I had to vote for the debate to be continued, and notionally the Bill (which inevitably was on our relationship with the EU) will have a Second Reading on the 16th January. However, even if that is allocated as a Sitting Friday, it isn’t currently, and there are more than 50 Bills ahead of it on the Order Paper. Suffice to say we are not going to be headed into a Customs Union on the back of my procedural diligence.
It is worth noting that the previous two votes that were tied in this way were also both on the subject of Europe. John Bercow had the casting vote on a debate on indicative votes in 2019 and prior to that the great Betty Boothroyd had a casting vote when Parliament was debating the Maastricht Treaty. Plus ca change!