Where do we begin?

Over the summer I visited two very different places within a couple of days of each other. Both are close to but not within my constituency. The first, Exeter School, an independent near Heavitree. The second, HMP Channings Wood, a closed prison near Newton Abbot. At the school I took questions from the 6^th form Politics Society. I was struck by these students’ keen knowledge and interest in national affairs. In a world in which disengagement with politics seems to march ever on in one direction alone, it was refreshing to meet such switched-on young people. In that classroom I was looking at a small but important part of our future. My experience at the prison was equally rewarding but in every sense set within entirely different bounds. I had never been inside a prison before. I knew, from what I had read, about their function, the debates around whether they are too easy and the arguments about prisoner rehab and re-integration. I had spent time in criminal justice debates in the Commons and contributed to Parliamentary Questions with the Home Secretary. And yet there is nothing like being inside if you want to gain a truer perspective. Getting in took time, phones were handed over, their signals blocked electronically. Within the walls, corridors and enclosures the sense of captivity is palpable. Heavy steel doors set one monochromatic zone apart from the next. The high walls, the wire, the cells, the near uniformity of dress. Whether there is a television and gaming console in the cells or not – this is not a place you would ever wish to be locked up in. I joined a session called ‘Belief in Change’ in which prisoners who are within 2 years of release live within the prison with others who wish to turn their lives around. I learned pretty quickly through spending time with the group that this is not an easy ride. Some here have done terrible things, have damaged others - yet in turn most have been damaged themselves somewhere along the way – typically as they were growing up. Examining their vulnerabilities is for these prisoners far braver than falling back on the lazy angry machismo that is the default for some inside. I left and drew down some free fresh air. I thought back to the school visit and those young people just starting out. Then I thought of one of the prisoners who was embracing ‘Belief in Change’ to the extent that he was actually helping to run it. He told me that he had been in and out of jail more times than he had fingers to count on. ‘When did you first go inside?’ I asked. ‘Sixteen,’ he said. ‘I’m forty one now.’ I will revisit the prison and do what I can to assist with offender rehabilitation in Westminster. Whether grappling with the political issues of the day at a truly fine school or contorting with your demons within the great grey confines of Channings Wood – we all deserve a chance.

Your mission& 

I served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to John Hayes when he was Minister for Skills but it was all change in the September reshuffle when John became the Minister of State at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (or DECC). He phoned me shortly after meeting the PM at Number 10 and asked if I would move with him and remain his PPS - I was delighted to do so. He’s fun and I have learned a lot from him. “So why are they moving you to DECC?” I asked. “Mel, we’ve got to stop the lights going out,” he replied. It felt a bit like a slightly quirky scene from Mission Impossible – ‘you’re mission Mel, should you decide to accept it is & to keep the lights on.’ But mission it is. By 2030 our demand for electricity will have expanded by 15%. This growth driven by increased economic activity, the greater use of electricity in the home, in commerce and in the transport sector - where electric vehicle use will expand. This demand growth coincides with a contraction in existing generating capacity with 20% of our existing plant (fossil and nuclear) due to be decommissioned within a decade. £110 billion in largely private investment in our network and generating capacity is needed over the next decade. There are also the challenges of energy security, meeting our carbon targets and electricity affordability. Not easy targets to reconcile. 

The government has already produced a draft energy bill. It is one of the largest and most important bills that remain to go through Parliament prior to the next General Election. I am pleased to have an opportunity to play a part in this great endeavour but fully aware of the importance, magnitude and difficulty of the task ahead.

Other columns by Mel Stride