I was pleased to be called in Prime Minister’s Questions – Rishi Sunak’s second time at the Dispatch Box as our Prime Minister – to raise the important issues of the recruitment and retention of GPs and dentists in rural areas.
I know from my inbox how important these services are to us across North Dorset and the concern that many have in accessing, in a timely fashion, the help people needed.
It is a concern not reserved to users of those important services, I know from my conversations with local providers that they too are concerned about recruitment and retention and getting more people into training.
The PM, like me, represents a rural constituency. The issues I am concerned with are not unique to North Dorset. They manifest themselves across the country. I was pleased to hear that the Government is alert to the issues I raised and has emerging plans to seek to address them.
Quite a lot of people have asked me two things in recent weeks: why did I back Rishi Sunak to be PM and what to expect from a Sunak Premiership.
Turning to the last point first, I think many of us were somewhat relieved when we heard Michael Gove say that the Government was going to be boring. I must admit to letting out a small cheer when I heard this. The country has been through a lot in recent years – big upheavals and politics not functioning in the way we have come to expect. A bit of a white-knuckle ride, where we have been barely able to catch our breaths and have hardly known up from down.
We have entered a calmer period. I expect the Government will seek to do fewer things and do them better. I believe our political atmosphere will be more sedate with Ministers seeking to deliver policies that can unite rather than divide. We have an end of populism and a more traditional approach to what it means to govern the UK.
My words above I hope indicate why I wanted to seek Rishi as our PM. In an image-driven age, he certainly looks and sounds like a Prime Minister. I hope we can all have confidence in him as he wrestles with the challenges at home and abroad. No one need doubt his instincts or his character. I have had the privilege of calling him a friend since 2015.
Rishi is a sincere and honest man, totally committed to serving our country. He is respectful of our institutions. He is fact and data driven. He is a team builder. He wants to unite rather than divide our country. He is a quiet, no nonsense, traditional Conservative – pragmatic and sensible in how he approaches issues. He is my kind of Conservative. I know the country will grow to trust and admire him as I do.