The illegal Russian war against Ukraine will have global consequences for some time to come, when the world is still out of kilter following the Covid-19 pandemic. However, our resolve must never waiver with ongoing sanctions against Putin’s vile Russian regime that is committing the most sickening of war crimes, but we should recognise that economic sanctions will also contribute to some economic pain here at home.
Last week’s UK inflation figure of 7% was bad news, but don’t let those trying to make political capital out of the cost of living for local political gain, mislead you into believing that inflation is only a UK problem somehow caused by the Conservative government, when it isn’t. This is a shared problem for us all regardless of what politicians are in power, with the Eurozone area having inflation at 7.5% and the United States at 8.5%. Our government has made a good start to help limit the impact of rising inflation on households, but there will be more to do over the coming months.
The West is in a new Cold War with Russia until Putin is removed from power. With genocide and war crimes committed by Russia, I’m proud of our nation’s response and unflinching support for Ukraine, including being Europe’s largest supplier of defensive weapons. We must never show weakness and the mistakes made by some in the last Cold War must not be repeated. Older residents will remember Crawley’s Labour Council declaring Crawley a ‘nuclear free zone’ in the 1980s and other associated weakness and pandering at the time of the Soviet Union.
Even today, we have misguided virtue signalling from a new generation of left-wing Labour Councillors here in Crawley. Currently, Crawley Borough Council’s Treasury Management Policy has a so-called ‘Ethical Investment Policy’ that means the Council must boycott any company (including a major local employer in Manor Royal) that manufactures weapons, whether they be for our own Armed Forces or for our allies like Ukraine. The next Conservative Administration at Crawley Borough Council will stop this nonsense by removing Labour’s boycott at the first opportunity.
Councillor Duncan Crow, Leader of Crawley Borough Council Conservative Group
20th April 2022
