Have you ever driven a car or been driven? You know your starting point. You know your destination point. Advice is offered as to the best route to use. You ignore it. The option of atlas, SatNav, Google Maps, signposts are there but you decide to ‘fly solo’. At some point in the journey you feel something isn’t quite right. The village you thought you’d have driven through by now hasn’t materialised. The sun is somehow rising in the West. You have two options. First, carry on and, Micawber-like, hope something turns up, only to find yourself driving round in circles, your blood pressure rising, time being wasted and your passengers losing patience. Or, second, you can pull over. Pause. Consult your passengers for their guidance, reference a map or ask for directions.

When time allows, I take my two older daughters to their High School in Gillingham. En route we pass Witch Lane. I ask them ‘excuse me, I’m looking for Witch Lane’. They answer ‘which lane?’. I reply ‘yes’. They then ask where it’s near, I reply ‘Witch Fields’. Their reply is ‘which fields?’. They reply ‘which lane, which fields?’ And so on until they beg me to stop.

The driving around without a map, certain of the destination but unsure of the route, trying to find which lane has felt a little like being an MP these last few weeks. The ship has felt rudderless, the crew mutinous and the seas rough. The Government has been tossed around by chill external winds and tides – over which they have no direct control, we must note that international rates of inflation and interest are rising – but Government decisions, affecting a large swathe of North Dorset, have not been helpful. While not part of the decision-making process, and indeed making known my opposition to much of the mini-Budget, I want to apologise to you. I know from my inbox that many people are worried. Many have felt perturbed and believed that the Westminster ‘bubble’ simply doesn’t get it. I want to assure you that I do, and our new Government does.

While conscious I mixed my transport metaphors, I do feel that with a new captain at the helm/driver at the wheel we have a better, though not guaranteed, chance of finding the route to our destination and arriving there in one piece. There is no doubt that difficult decisions are going to have to be taken. The job of government, always hard, is now harder. Annoyance/disappointment with the Government is high and patience has been worn thin. Through this article I want to assure you of one thing – the Parliamentary Tory Party has applied a cold flannel to its head. It’s put the shovel down. It’s stopped digging. A sense of relief has spread through the Party allowing us to re-focus on delivering for the United Kingdom and discharging the duties of governing placed upon us. Perhaps the words of public service announcements might suffice: “We apologise for the disruption caused. Normal service has now resumed.”