Last week saw Her Majesty the Queen mark her Platinum Jubilee, celebrating 70 years of service as sovereign of the United Kingdom and Head of the Commonwealth.
I was honoured to attend Trooping the Colour last week before returning home to the constituency later that day for the lighting of the beacon in my hometown of Turriff.
The week before the Jubilee, I was delighted to take part in a ceremony on the banks of the River Deveron, commemorating the planting of almost 2,000 trees as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy.
It was my genuine pleasure to help plant some of those trees back in March and it was great to return to the site last weekend, see the trees thriving and to say a few words introducing Lord Lieutenant for Banffshire, Andrew Simpson, who read out a message from The Queen.
I quoted what I believe is an ancient Greek proverb: “A society grows great when old men plant trees under who’s shade they will never sit.”
I was therefore glad my young children were with me to enjoy the event and will be able to return for many years in the future to enjoy the feature.
On the Jubilee weekend itself, my family and I joined celebrations across the whole of Banff and Buchan – including Peterhead, Fraserburgh and Central Buchan areas.
Last week also saw another ‘royal’ celebration – the crowning of the Buchan Queen and Princesses.
Congratulations to Erika Paterson and her princesses, Alana Henderson and Melissa Watson.
Erika will be the 60th Buchan Queen to wear the crown, the first being Madeline Kelmanway back in 1962.
Amongst all these celebrations of course, the cost of living continues to rise, and families are feeling the squeeze of global inflation – particularly on energy costs.
So, I welcomed Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s recent announcement of a further £15 billion of UK Government support to help people with these costs.
The promised £200 energy bill discount in October has been doubled to £400 and will now be paid as a grant and not added to future bills over the next 5 years, as was originally planned.
The lowest-income households – roughly a third – will receive a £650 one-off payment and £150 from the council tax rebate, on top of the £400 energy grant – totalling £1,200.
Much has been said about the introduction of a temporary levy on excess energy profits.
This is a far more sensible approach than the so-called ‘windfall tax’ proposed by Labour and supported by the SNP.
That would have been too blunt an instrument and was aimed at merely ‘punishing’ the oil and gas sector.
The UK Government’s approach raises more funds and pays out more than any of the opposition’s proposed ‘smash and grab’ measures, while attracting new investment in the North Sea, with a 91% tax relief.
This measure ensures that oil and gas companies remain at the forefront of the energy transition to net zero, as well as continuing to support North Sea jobs and the North EastScotland economy.
