Toby on Tuesday

 ‘grace under pressure’

The definition of courage is said to be “grace under pressure.”   If this is true, then Anne McIntosh has behaved with exemplary courage.   A few days ago, she announced that she would not be contesting Thirsk and Malton as an Independent in May, nor would she be campaigning at all in the constituency, but would instead campaign on behalf of Conservative candidates in marginal seats elsewhere.   I have often differed from Anne over the EU, the Climate Change Act and Overseas Aid, but she has been an outstanding Chair of the Rural Affairs Select Committee.   Her work on flood defences and the threat of food shortages has been faultless and I am happy to pay tribute to her record in Parliament.   Anne has endured much but she has never allowed her many difficulties to dishearten her – perfect courage!

Courage is an old-fashioned quality.   But old-fashioned qualities have a habit of enduring, rather like the countless old buildings in our constituency, many of them listed, which are among the glories of North Yorkshire.   I was reminded of this when reading about the regeneration of Margate in Kent and the recent visit there by our much-loved Kate, Duchess of Cambridge.   There are lessons to be learned there for Filey and many other of our old towns where the arts, heritage, hospitality and tourism could combine to bring new prosperity to historic places.   Margate has used its links to the painter J.M.W. Turner, recently and brilliantly portrayed by Timothy Spall in Mike Leigh’s wonderful film “Mr. Turner”, to create a Turner Contemporary Art Gallery.   Round this have clustered hotels, cafes and gastropubs, so that tourism and the arts have supported each other in a restored and thriving town.   If we can do something similar in Filey, alongside the reclamation of our fishing grounds, then something extraordinary would have been achieved.

Filey certainly needs its all-weather visitor centre, an art gallery or museum, as do so many of our historic towns.  Malton’s Food Lovers Festival is doing exactly the right thing and deserves every encouragement.   To support all these projects, UKIP now has a fine Heritage Spokesperson in the very gifted William Cash, son of the veteran Eurosceptic Conservative MP, Bill Cash.   And William, who like so many has simply given up on David Cameron’s Conservative Party, plans to “weaponise heritage”, in his words, by creating a new Ministry of Heritage and Tourism to champion tourism and bring heritage to the forefront of national policy.   UKIP plans to tighten and enforce existing statutory heritage and landscape planning protections, as well as introduce “Rural Conservation Areas” to prevent excessive development.   To protect our green spaces, new development would be concentrated on infill and brownfield sites.

UKIP would reverse the long-term decline of our seaside towns.   The Coastal Communities Fund would be expanded to support the economic development of towns like Filey.   The red tape that is harming our heritage tourism and hospitality industries would be reduced.  And the punitive 20% VAT rate on repairs and maintenance of listed buildings would be scrapped and replaced by a simple 5% rate.    Subsidies for windfarms and solar parks would end, as would the plans for the ludicrous HS2 project.   Developments that threaten heritage sites of national importance would not proceed and brown signs for unique heritage attractions to support local tourism would be ensured.    All of these policies would serve Thirsk, Malton and Filey superbly.   They recognise the lasting qualities of our heritage and its ability to adapt and survive.   This historic constituency has learned to endure, it has always shown “grace under pressure” and has the true Yorkshire qualities of courage and grit, the supreme qualities that will ensure all our futures!

Until next Tuesday!

Toby