I know this week has been a difficult one for many of my Southampton constituents, and the horrific murder of Henry Nowak has left many questions to be answered by Hampshire Police. Of course the IOPC must be trusted to do its job, and I was reassured by the Home Secretary on Tuesday that the process will be as swift as possible. My thoughts are with the Nowak family, who have been incredibly dignified, and urged everyone not to use their son’s tragic death as an excuse to sow division and unrest.
This week in Parliament I have had a real focus on transport issues. It was very useful to catch up with SWR on Wednesday to talk about timetable improvements, parking issues at their stations, overcrowding on services and reliability. There may well be good news coming for some passengers on timetabling, but I was very clear, many of my constituents would prefer existing services to be more reliable and have more carriages as the first priority.
I also had some useful discussions about electric vehicles and access to affordable charging this week. The Electric Vehicle Association were very candid about the improvements needed in the realm of public charging. There was a very insightful Q&A session which I think all MPs present found both helpful and enjoyable.
The British Ports Association were also in Parliament this week and it was good to catch up with DP World who are a significant employer in the region. They were keen to tell me about the new cranes arriving in the Port of Southampton and the significant investment that represents. We also talked about electric charging for cruise ships, and I am very much looking forward to a visit to the docks during the Summer recess. I know the Port of Southampton has worked hard to reduce carbon emissions over the last decade or so, but there is still work to do which they are firmly committed to. However one of the challenges is grid capacity, and there remain real worries about the Emissions Trading Scheme which my colleague Joe Robertson from the Isle of Wight highlighted in the Chamber just before half term.
This weekend I am looking forward to the Burdock Valley Players youth performance of the Addams Family Musical, which I am sure will provide a fabulous evening’s entertainment.