Karl McCartney: A bright and free future for Lincolnshire
This year has been a momentous political year, one that will not be surpassed for decades to come. We have a new Prime Minister, a continually divided opposition and a brighter future as a country in my mind than the one we had at the start. The tremendous result of June 23 has freed us…
This year has been a momentous political year, one that will not be surpassed for decades to come. We have a new Prime Minister, a continually divided opposition and a brighter future as a country in my mind than the one we had at the start.
The tremendous result of June 23 has freed us from the shackles of the bureaucratic backward looking European Union to a future where we have the opportunity to set our own laws, trading agreements and immigration controls.
It was also a result that was thoroughly supported across this great county of ours, so much so, we recorded the highest percentage of Leavers than anywhere else in the country.
A proud record to add to the pantheon of our county’s many achievements. Whereas 59% of the Lincoln’s voters were Leavers, Boston was the highest in the land on 76%!
But that is of the past, it is what happens now and in the future that matters.
The new government is getting things right, in the right order and with the right message. One of the things I learnt from two decades working in business is there can always be a tension between having constant certainty versus the need to have time to think, plan and consider.
In business, the clamour for certainty comes from employees, shareholders and suppliers. In politics, it comes from voters, trading partners and the media. Plus the opposition and others who still cannot accept the result (even some still in the Conservative Party!).
Taking the time to think, plan and consider is always the best option. It is wise not to act in haste and repent at your leisure.
It is why I have not supported those clamouring for us to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty immediately.
The government is clear “Brexit means Brexit”. Having looked at matters over the summer it is also clear on a broad timetable and a process. The plan that we should adopt current European Union laws and then repeal what we do not like gives certainty to business and voters.
Protecting core budgets on agriculture and science helps (it is our money anyway) is vital and I hope the government can give more clarity on fisheries soon as well. These are key issues for our county and I and my fellow colleagues in parliament across Greater Lincolnshire are well aware of their importance.
Making clear that we will set our own rules on immigration is also an important marker.
The sabre rattling from the elites over the Channel is both to be expected and is also out of kilter with what I expect their own people want. Why place unnecessary trade barriers on the UK and when our neighbours export more to us than we do to them?
With two universities and a thriving multinational manufacturing base in Lincoln, I want free trade with our own European partners, and also free trade with the rest of the world. We can now do it, on our terms, without having Brussels overrule us.
I know from many meetings in parliament, some of which I have instigated and chaired so far, including with key Secretaries of State, that it is full steam ahead on Brexit.
They, and our dedicated civil service, are working as a team to finalise to agree our full terms of departure. It is vital we take time to ensure our negotiating hand is right.
We now have both the timetable and the clarity on the approach – and we know we need more detail. But patience, my friends, patience. It will be a positive future for us all, not least as once Article 50 is invoked, as we now know by March 2017 at the latest, there is then a maximum of two years – but it could be less, before we leave the EU.
Karl McCartney is the Conservative MP for Lincoln.
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The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
Cross Keys Bridge in Sutton Bridge, a key connection between Lincolnshire and Norfolk, will close overnight this week for emergency repair works.
The bridge, which carries the A17 road between Lincolnshire and Norfolk, will close from 7pm on Thursday, April 22 to 6am the following day.
This is so that one of the bridge’s hydraulic jacks, which allow it to open and close, can be repaired, and it will have to swing open to allow engineers to access it.
There will be very limited temporary pedestrian access across the bridge while shift changeover takes place from 9.45pm to 10.15pm on the Thursday of the closure.
This is so that workers can park on the opposite bank and walk over to or from work, as there will be no vehicle or pedestrian access over the bridge during the night.
The diversion route overnight will be via the A1101 to Wisbech, then back along the A47 to rejoin the A17, and vice versa.
Karen Cassar, assistant director for highways at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “After noting the fault with the bridge mechanism, it’s really important that we get it repaired as soon as possible to maintain both the A17, and shipping access on the river.
“We’ve tried to minimise disruption by carrying out the works overnight and allowing pedestrian access for those workers finishing their shifts or heading into work around 10pm. However, I appreciate this will still cause delays for some drivers so thank you for bearing with us.”
A man on trial accused of murdering two female sex workers 21 years apart told an undercover officer he had killed a woman.
Gary Allen, 47, is currently on trial at Sheffield Crown Court and is accused of strangling Samantha Class, 29, whose beaten body was found by three schoolchildren on the banks of the Humber at North Ferriby in October 1997.
However, Allen, who previously lived in Grimsby, has denied killing Ms Class and the murder of 38-year-old Slovakian woman Alena Grlakova in 2018.
Grlakova’s naked body was found in a stream in Rotherham in April 2019 after she was last seen on Boxing Day the year before, which she spent with Allen. They had been “casual acquaintances” with Allen paying her for sex.
She was strangled “either by direct pressure or the use of a ligature” and her “body was weighed down in order to impede detection”. A murder inquiry was later launched by South Yorkshire Police in relation to Alena’s death.
Jurors heard how Mr Allen had a “strong dislike of sex workers”. Both women had worked in the sex industry at the time of their deaths.
Mr Allen was first arrested in July 1998 after he was stopped on suspicion of drink driving. During police interviews he told officers he drove to the red light area of Hull on October 25, 1997, according to BBC.
He paid Ms Class £30 for sex, but also told police she “got angry” and he last saw her walking away from his car some time between 12.30am and 1am.
Allen was eventually charged with murder, but found not guilty by a jury in 2000. The court was told he was previously acquitted of Ms Class’ murder in February of that year, but “significantly more evidence” had since come to light.
The court heard that months after his acquittal, the defendant had attacked two sex workers in Plymouth, for which he was convicted.
Two years later, he reportedly told probation officers of his fantasies about hurting sex workers, desiring them as “scum” and the “the lowest of the low”, according to Prosecutor Alistair MacDonald QC.
He also said that a pathologist found Ms Class had been stamped on, strangled with a ligature and run over with a car before her body went int the water. He added that semen found inside her body matched Mr Allen’s DNA.
Humberside Police launched an undercover operation in 2010 and an officer referred to as “Ian” befriended Mr Allen. During their conversations, he told him that he had strangled a sex worker who got angry with him and “dumped her in the Humber”.
Allen also previously admitted to liking blood and enjoying causing pain to his victims, the court heard on Monday, April 19.
Mr Allen, of no fixed address, denies two counts of murder and the trial is expected to last for around eight weeks.
Fantasy Island Skegness has crawled into the ongoing caterpillar cat fight between Marks & Spencer and Aldi by ‘cocooning’ the Crazy Caterpillar ride in solidarity with Aldi.
Supermarket chains M&S and Aldi are currently involved in a legal battle after M&S claimed that Aldi’s ‘Cuthbert the Caterpillar’ cake infringes the trademarks of its own ‘Colin the Caterpillar’.
M&S filed a claim against Aldi in the High Court on April 14, and is suing the budget supermarket as well as demanding that Cuthbert is removed from Aldi shelves.
The company claim Cuthbert shares “substantial similarity” with Colin, and they are pledging to “protect” their Caterpillar cake from plagiarism.
Aldi, which introduced their caterpillar confectionary almost thirty years after M&S did theirs, has been posting a series of memes in response to the lawsuit, demanding that we #FreeCuthbert.
Fantasy Island, the theme park in Ingoldmells, joined in the debate with a tongue-in-cheek move, saying they will close the Crazy Caterpillar ride in solidarity with Aldi and to not offend Marks & Spencer.
The resort created a cheeky post on Facebook with #FreeCuthbert on it, truly showing which side of history it wants to be on.
It’s proved a valuable publicity move for the attraction’s social media page, with more than 4,000 ‘reactions’ to the post.
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