My latest column for the Leigh Observer:
Next week, very important local elections take place across the Wigan Borough.
This is the chance for you to have your say on who represents you on Wigan MBC. It’s a chance for you to choose who will fight for Atherton’s corner – who will campaign for more money to fix our roads and our fair share of investment; who will help us to have a bigger say on the things that happen in our town, like planning and house-building.
Residents tell me time and time again that they are fed up of decisions about Atherton being made at Wigan town hall without their say – whether it’s selling off Formby Hall, the ridiculous one-way system through the town centre or giving the green light for a scrap metal firm to move next door to houses with all the pollution that will bring. This is your chance to ensure that Atherton’s voice is heard in Wigan rather than Wigan’s actions being felt in Atherton.
Athertonians are independent-minded people and I know from my conversations on the doorstep over the years that they don’t just vote for anyone, least not someone just because they are wearing a particular coloured rosette. I know they’ll pick the candidate who cares most about Atherton.
It will be an interesting set of elections and I’m looking forward to working with whomever is elected.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve had quite a few emails, letters and phone calls about Syria following the horrific chemical weapons attack inflicted by President Assad on innocent people in the country. We have all seen the abhorrent images of children subjected to this chemical weapons attack. We cannot allow the use of these weapons to go unpunished.
I have said numerous times that I am wary of any British involvement in the Syrian conflict and any intervention must only be taken with the utmost caution, as well as clarity on what will be achieved.
War or military action is the most difficult and most important decision any Prime Minister can make. The ongoing conflict in Syria is complex with many different players involved in the region – Islamic State and Al Qaeda, as well as Russian, Iranian and Saudi involvement. Any involvement has to take this wider geo-political conflict into account.
In the build-up to joint British, American and French airstrikes, people were worried that we would be embroiled in ‘another Iraq’. However, the Prime Minister has been very careful to prevent that from happening.
The Prime Minister, working with our allies in France and the Unites States, sanctioned airstrikes that were a one-time event, targeted at specific Syrian government sites involved in the making of chemical weapons. There were no boots on the ground.
Whilst diplomacy must always be the preferred option, in this case it was impossible. Independent chemical weapons experts were blocked from entering the site where the attack took place – in fact they have only just now been able to access it some weeks after the attack, making it less likely for any evidence to have survived.
The Syrian people need a speedy end to the war which has now lasted seven years. With players such as Islamic State involved in the conflict, stability in Syria is in our country’s national interest and I supported the Prime Minister’s action.
I was delighted to complete the London Marathon this weekend. It was my second London Marathon, and my fourth marathon overall – but it was by far my most difficult.
The heat made conditions tough and I was glad to make it over the finishing line. It was all for a good cause, however – Fortalice, my nominated charity, provide excellent support for women, children and families subjected to domestic abuse.
There is still time to donate and you can do so at my fundraising page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/chrisgreenmp2018