CHRISTMAS COLUMN: Merry Christmas to one and all

Parliament sits late this year, and increasingly most nights, finally rising for recess on the Thursday before Christmas.
Boston and Skegness MP Matt Warman ANL-171117-072818001Boston and Skegness MP Matt Warman ANL-171117-072818001
Boston and Skegness MP Matt Warman ANL-171117-072818001

With Brexit legislation, the Finance Bill and a host of important issues to get through, it’s a sign that the Government is as committed to getting the best deal out of leaving the EU as it is to the vital job of continuing to address the challenges of housing, the NHS and for instance police funding.

That means, alongside the usual conversation in the cafes and the tea room about amendments and committees, talk is even more likely to be about whether Christmas presents have been bought and turkeys ordered. Not everyone, as in any other walk of life, plans very far ahead.

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Personally, this year I’ve continued my turkey tour of the constituency’s many excellent butchers, but the calendar means it’s not been possible to visit the sorting offices or go out harvesting sprouts.

Much as I’ve previously enjoyed thanking all those for whom Christmas is particularly hectic, from farm workers to post men and women, it’s also a timely reminder that, while it is of course a privilege to work in it, Westminster sometimes operates on its own strange timetable, accentuating the so-called ‘bubble’.

Getting out of it, even to do Christmas shopping, is a welcome release.

So coming home to Lincolnshire will be a huge relief: the end of the year that has seen an election also sees the end of this phase of Brexit legislation as we look optimistically to the next one.

Yet another reason to wish one and all a Merry Christmas!

Matt Warman is MP for Boston and Skegness