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MPs watch 2020: the year of coronavirus, Brexit and free school meals

Each month the Stray Ferret tracks what the three MPs in the Harrogate district have been up to in Parliament and their constituencies.

As this is the last month of the year, this time we have provided a round-up of the activities of Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones, Skipton and Ripon MP Julian Smith, and Selby and Ainsty MP Nigel Adams throughout 2020.

The district’s three elected Conservative representatives in the House of Commons have a combined 30 years’ experience as MPs but nothing could have prepared them for 2020 and the arrival of coronavirus.

As always, we asked all three if they would like to highlight anything in particular. Once again, we did not receive a response from any of them.

Andrew Jones, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP.

In Harrogate and Knaresborough, here are some of the key moments from Mr Jones’s year:

Fresh from a fourth straight general election victory, Mr Jones began the year by speaking out on his website against what he described as the toxic nature of modern political campaigning. He wrote: “Politics needs to grow up and step away from this old-fashioned and frankly US-style attack ad approach. I hope over the next few years – at least locally – there will be agreement to adopt a more positive approach.”
In April, at the height of the first lockdown, Mr Jones warned constituents about the dangers of covid: “This virus doesn’t discriminate between rich and poor, by race, by religion, by nationality, by gender or sexuality or by political allegiances.”
One of Mr Jones’s nine tweets in June was that he found some car keys near to Tewit Well in Harrogate.
On his website in June, Mr Jones wrote to the head of Bauer Media to “seek assurances” about the future of Stray FM. The radio station rebranded as Greatest Hits Radio in September.
On August 2, Mr Jones hailed Harrogate Town’s win at Wembley as “the best news in ages”. He also tweeted about Notts County’s non-existent equaliser, which was quickly deleted. This led to the Stray Ferret’s Paul Baverstock suggesting that Mr Jones might not have been actually watching the game.
Mr Jones released a statement apologising for the government’s u-turn over A-Level results. He said: “I am sorry for the distress and uncertainty this has caused pupils. In all about 20 students contacted me personally and I am writing to each of them”.
Mr Jones refused to comment on a Stray Ferret story involving a police investigation into allegations of missing Porsche sports cars from GMUND in Knaresborough. The company was run by Andrew Mearns, while his wife Cllr Samantha Mearns was a company secretary until late 2018 and is now a caseworker in Mr Jones’s office.
At Prime Minister’s Questions in October, the MP urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to commit to a support package for the conference and exhibition industry.
In October, Mr Jones voted against an opposition motion to extend the provision of £15-a-week school meal vouchers throughout the October half term through to the Easter 2021 holidays. Following a backlash, Mr Jones responded in the local press and in a local Conservative news bulletin email. The email said: “I know that many of you will have seen the coverage about free school meals during the holidays in the news lately. I hope that people who know me, or who have been helped by me, would realise that I would not vote to increase child hunger or ensure children starve.”
Mr Jones said on October 20 “a blanket national lockdown is wrong and local interventions are what we need now to tackle this crisis”. On November 2 he voted in favour of a new national lockdown.

Julian Smith, MP for Skipton and Ripon.

In Ripon, here are some of the key moments from Mr Smith’s year:

In February, Mr Smith was sacked as Northern Ireland secretary. Despite lasting just 204 days in the role, he was widely praised for his work, including brokering talks between rival political parties to restore a power-sharing government at Stormont.
In May, the MP contacted the Bishop of Ripon, the Rt Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, offering support after she received death threats for speaking out over Dominic Cummings’ decision to travel with symptoms of covid-19, against government advice.
In July, Mr Smith voted against protecting the NHS in a future trade deal with the US. Unlike Mr Jones, he wrote to the Stray Ferret to explain why he voted this way. He said: “No future trade agreement will be allowed to undermine the guiding principle of the NHS.”
Throughout the year, Mr Smith has raised residents’ concerns about the 1,300-home Ripon barracks development to local health leaders and Harrogate Borough Council officials, including chief executive Wallace Sampson.
The Stray Ferret revealed in August that Mr Smith has been appointed as an external advisor to a hydrogen company at a rate of £3,000 per hour.
In September, he abstained on both Internal Markets Bill votes, which related to Brexit. Opponents of the bill said it could lead to a trade border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
That month, the MP visited Ripon Cathedral to view its new £6m design plans, which include new toilets, a cafe and the creation of rehearsal space for Ripon Cathedral Choir.

Nigel Adams, MP for Selby and Ainsty which includes rural parts of the Harrogate district.

In rural south Harrogate, here are some of the key moments from Mr Adams’s year:

The arch Brexiteer celebrated January 31 when the UK left the European Union. He wrote on Facebook: “Today is a historic day but tomorrow, the work to take our country forward continues with renewed enthusiasm.”
In April, the MP offered his “thoughts and prayers” to prime minister Boris Johnson, who was in hospital with coronavirus. He wrote: “The Boris I know is a fighter and will defeat this.”
In July, Mr Adams hit out at Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer saying he had an “obsession” with undermining the Brexit vote.
In September, he criticised environmental group Extinction Rebellion after it blocked vehicles from leaving a printing press in London, causing disruption to several national newspapers. He called the group “socialist anarchists masquerading as well-meaning hippies”.
In October, Mr Adams voted against the amendment to the Agriculture Bill. In a post on his website, he defended his decision. He said: “Several people have been in touch who appear to have been misled into thinking that Tuesday’s vote on the Agriculture Bill was somehow a vote against our high food standards. This is not the case. In fact, the amendment to the bill which was defeated was well meaning but I believe unnecessary as well as having some negative unintended consequences.”
Ahead of a planning committee hearing into 72 homes in Spofforth in November, Mr Adams’s office confirmed to the Stray Ferret that he had made representations to councillors ahead of their decision, which was ultimately to refuse the plans in their current form.

‘Show patience’ on covid turnaround, says Andrew Jones MP

Andrew Jones, the MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, has said people must “show patience” before the UK turns the corner on coronavirus.

Reflecting on the year on his website, Mr Jones said many people would be glad to see the back of 2020.

But he added we “can be certain life will slowly return to normal” due to vaccinations and improved care for severe cases of covid although it will take “some time.”

Mr Jones wrote:

“As we quietly move into the new year we must show patience and further restraint as that process takes place.”

Coronavirus vaccines began at Harrogate’s Great Yorkshire Showground on Tuesday. People aged over 80, care home residents and care home staff were first in line.

It is believed about 900 vaccines a day are being given although the NHS has yet to reveal figures.

In further reflections on 2020, the Conservative MP praised the public, private and voluntary sectors for rallying together during a year like no other.

He wrote:

“We didn’t need a pandemic to know how brilliant our public services are but it was a very powerful reminder.

“We have though learnt some things about ourselves and one another which I hope we can carry through into 2021 and beyond. And we have also learnt lessons that reinforce that which we already know but perhaps didn’t recognise enough.

“Community matters. We looked out for our neighbours who were elderly or less well than us. We got in touch with support organisations to volunteer our services. Street-based groups sprang up to help those around them.”

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