Long-serving former North West Norfolk MP Sir Henry Bellingham argues why having Liz Truss as the next prime minister would be good news for the county.
Just over 300 years ago in 1721, a prominent Norfolk MP, Sir Robert Walpole, became Britain’s very first Prime Minister.
It has been a long wait, but it now looks most likely that after all these years, we could be about to see Liz Truss become our second PM.
Incidentally, the only other Norfolk MP who came close to securing the Premiership was one of Liz’s predecessors, the inimitable Baroness Shephard. Indeed, after the Blair landslide in 1997, many of us thought that she was the ideal person to steady the ship, and then possibly to go on to become a great PM. Alas, it was not to be.
Over the past few weeks I have seen some comments in our local media casting doubt on whether it really would be good news for Norfolk if Ms Truss wins on September 5th. Someone even said that, were she to be successful, she would hardly ever be seen in SW Norfolk.
I can firmly say straight away that if Ms Truss is fortunate enough to make it to No 10, she will keep her home in the constituency, and follow the tradition of recent PM’s by continuing to work hard for all of her constituents.
On the point about whether having a local MP in No. 10 would be good for Norfolk and the wider region, I believe that there is only one answer here, and that is 100% in the affirmative.
Are some people really trying to suggest that when the ‘Norfolk 9 MP’s go into lobby ministers on the A47 dualling campaign, or for enhanced police and local council funding, it is not going to be a big plus to have in their number the current PM?
Of course, her current opponent Rishi Sunak would also undoubtedly do his level best for the whole country, including Norfolk. At the same time, I have not heard anyone doubt the fact that Sir Kier Starmer is a dedicated and balanced politician who would give Norfolk a fair hearing. However, nothing can surely match Ms Truss' huge advantage in actually representing a Norfolk seat?
Exactly the same applies to the campaign to secure a new hospital for King’s Lynn. Whilst both Ms Truss and the new health secretary, Stephen Barclay, whose NE Cambridgeshire constituency is also covered by the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, will always listen to professional Civil Service advice, their instincts will be to push a compelling case even more strongly.
As Ms Truss said the other day, ‘….I hope that in my future role, I’ll be able to make sure that project and others happen across the country.’ If any of your readers still need further convincing that having her in No 10 would be great for Norfolk, then my advice is to look no further than the constituencies and counties represented by the last six PM’s.
Starting with John Major who represented Huntingdon, we then had Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson, who in turn were elected in Sedgefield, Kirkcaldy, Witney, Maidenhead and Uxbridge. All of these constituencies, and indeed local counties, enjoyed very significant extra profile and prestige.
Many of us would now love to see the same for Norfolk. So what about Liz Truss, and why am I convinced that she is right person for our country? Almost exactly thirteen years ago, immediately after she had been selected to contest SW Norfolk, I received a call from her seeking my advice. As part of the latest Boundary Commission changes, quite a substantial part of the South Marshland area of my NW Norfolk constituency was in the process of being transferred across to her new constituency. She was keen for me to show her around these wards, and meet as many people as possible.
As well as embarking on a major pub crawl, we also spent time with local farmers, small business owners, borough and parish Councillors, parish clerks etc. My immediate impression was that here was a very special person with real presence who could light up a room, but also someone who was really keen to listen and learn.
What everyone particularly liked about her was that she was really rather humble as she strove to understand what it is that makes the Fens such a distinct community. Equally important in this part of Norfolk, she had huge enthusiasm and a delightful sense of humour.
A few months later we were both successful in the 2010 General Election, and from that day onwards worked very closely on numerous local issues and campaigns. Both the constituencies are served by the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, the QEH hospital and the same rail service. This meant that we shared many meetings with the relevant officials and quite often we would lead joint delegations to lobby ministers in Whitehall.
At the same time we were regularly part of wider Norfolk and regional briefings and conferences. One of my most abiding memories of these many meetings is that Ms Truss was always exceptionally well briefed. Indeed she was often not just on top of the brief we had been given, but had also researched substantial key additional information.
I found out very quickly that among her formidable set of skills, is that rare ability to home in on a problem with laser-like efficiency, analyse and assess the options, and then come up with the answers. I was the enthusiastic amateur with long-standing local knowledge alongside a class act. In other words a bit like an average club cricketer going out to open the batting with a young Test star!
Soon after the 2010 election we were confronted with the infamous Saddlebow incinerator saga, which quickly emerged as one of Norfolk’s biggest ever campaigns. At the beginning it certainly seemed that the sponsoring authority, Norfolk County Council, with the support of at least three Government departments, had the upper hand.
The EDP would often describe it as very much a ‘David versus Goliath’ contest. However, although the then leader of the Borough Council, my good friend Nick Daubney and myself were the main campaign figureheads, and whilst we had superb input from the indefatigable KLWIN and the local press, Liz Truss was brilliant at every turn.
Many local activists can rightly claim a great deal of credit for our eventual success, but part of the key to this was winning over and changing the minds of various ministers. It was Ms Truss' relentless optimism, shrewd tactics and sound judgement that really were the ‘game changers’ within Whitehall.
In conclusion, I am convinced Ms Truss has exactly what it needs to become our next PM. I have already explained why I know she has the ability and strength of character to take on the top job. Of course, many of these qualities have already been much to the fore during her time as International Trade Secretary, and now as Foreign Secretary standing up to President Putin.
Is she perfect in every respect? Does she have Rishi Sunak’s great charisma and amazing back story as an Anglo-Indian? Can she match his mastery of the big platform speech? The answer is no to all three, but no one can doubt the fact that she has grown in confidence and stature as the campaign has progressed. However, she also has something else as well that is of huge importance, namely integrity. Indeed, the reason we are having this leadership selection is because the current PM ran out of integrity, and lost the trust of the public. She is by far the best person to restore the situation.
For all these reasons she has my 100pc support.
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