Author Archives: Harry Richer

The Government’s Pragmatic and Proportionate Approach to Net Zero


Last month, I wrote a blog post detailing the Government’s pragmatic approach to address climate change, considering what people can reasonably afford. I wrote: “We must recognise that we have a choice. We can either reduce our emissions and tackle climate change in a pragmatic and proportionate way, or we can follow Labour and give in to climate extremists who wish to reduce our living standards, overthrow capitalism, and who ignore the very climate science they claim to represent.” You […]

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Government Ban on Nitrous Oxide Update


I know that the recreational use of nitrous oxide is of growing concern to many in Wycombe. Over the past few years, I have seen many photographs from concerned constituents of large piles of discarded canisters which have been found around parks, left in roadside verges, and collected during litter picks. Understanding the breadth of concern, I have long campaigned on this issue. In 2020, I was pleased to intervene in an Adjournment debate on the Misuse of Nitrous Oxide […]

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The Government is Working Hard to Cut Crime


Under this Conservative Government, overall crime in the UK excluding fraud has been falling for some time. However, and understandably so, many in Wycombe and across the UK continue to have concerns about crime and anti-social behaviour. I was pleased to see that the Thames Valley Police has recruited an additional 784 officers against a total three-year allocation of 609, and an additional £1.7 million has been provided to Thames Valley Police as a part of the Safer Street Fund, […]

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Progress on Repairing Roads across Wycombe and Bucks


As an avid motorcyclist, I understand the concerns many of my constituents have raised with me about potholes and other damage to our roads. The cold spell earlier this year took a significant toll on our road network in Wycombe. However, recent dry conditions have allowed Bucks Council to make sterling progress in repairing our local roads. The Council announced earlier this year it would release £5 million for its general fund reserves for the purposes of road maintenance, in […]

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The UK Economy is Getting Back on the Right Track


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When this Government was formed in October, inflation was at 11.1%, its highest level since 1981. Since then, and in the midst of a tough global economic climate, the inflation rate fell to 6.8% in July (source), and is forecast to fall below 3% by the end of the year (source).  When he took office, the Prime Minister made a pledge that this Government would halve inflation. The above data suggests that this goal may be achieved by the end […]

The Government is Increasing Hospital Capacity across Bucks


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I was pleased to receive the news this week that Stoke Mandeville Hospital would receive £10.58 million in extra funding to increase capacity as part of the Urgent and Emergency Care Recovery Plan. This investment is part of the £250 million recently allocated by the Government to increase capacity at NHS hospitals and it will help Wycombe residents. This investment will enable the Trust to build a new unit at Stoke Mandeville which will provide space for up to an […]

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A Pragmatic and Proportionate Approach to Tackling Climate Change


The new head of the UN’s IPCC climate panel, Jim Skea, has recently said that increases of 1.5 degrees do not pose the existential threat many politically motivated activists often claim, explaining that “the world won’t end if it warms by more than 1.5 degrees”. I have long argued that the science should be presented accurately, and now implausibly high emissions scenarios should be treated as such. I was therefore pleased to see that the Scientific Steering Committee had taken […]

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My statement on the ULEZ expansion and the abolition of London Day Travelcards


I was recently asked by Bucks Free Press to comment on Sadiq Khan’s latest proposal to begin phasing out London Day Travelcards and explain how that decision may affect my Wycombe constituents. I believe that the Labour Mayor’s proposal is just another instance which, combined with his ongoing ULEZ expansions, will result in significant costs for my constituents, many of whom will need to travel to London at extortionate prices just to get to work. I am disappointed that Labour […]

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My Thoughts on Tolerance


Earlier this week, I put out on my social media a short tweet in support of the LGBT+ community. My office and I viewed it as a simple and benign tweet in support of a campaign run by LGBT+ Conservatives. It was an elected member of Parliament expressing the view that a community should be able to live their lives free from hate. In 2023, this should be uncontroversial. My staff and I viewed it as so. We were extraordinarily […]

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Why I am Removing Trolls from my Social Media


As an MP since 2010, I am used to having abuse hurled at me. Every Member of Parliament gets used to it, often from our time as candidates. To an extent, facing anger is part of being what one pillar of our community described as being the safety valve on the pressure cooker that is society. But things daily go too far. Apart from several threats of death and grievous assault, vicious abuse under my posts on social media has […]