However, in the short term, the amount of people crossing the English channel on a daily basis has become intolerable and as I’ve said before, all options should be on the table. Personally, I would like to see the Royal Navy intercept the small boats in question and simply take them back to France. I wonder how the French would react to such a move?

I don’t know why anyone ever expected the French to help us out on this. Perhaps time for a new approach over the summer months until the Nationality and Borders Bill passes its third reading and secures Royal accent in the autumn.

The reality is that the vaccines have been the game changer many of us hoped they would be. The link between cases, hospitalisations and deaths has been severely weakened. The last time COVID cases were at the level they’ve been for the past month or so our hospitals were under unprecedented strain and huge numbers of people were losing their lives. This time around the pressure on hospitals has been manageable and the number of people losing their lives because of COVID has been mercifully low.

None of us can predict with any kind of certainty what will happen over the next few months and the virus remains a threat but as it stands it certainly seems like the Prime Minister made the correct decision to proceed with the 19th July unlocking. On this occasion, without the benefit of hindsight, Captain Hindsight Starmer seems to have made an error when he claimed it was inevitable that the number of COVID cases would within weeks rise to over 100,000 per day. The number of COVID cases have been declining for the past few weeks despite the unlocking and pressure on hospitals is easing. There certainly are signs that the third wave has been navigated and this time without us having to resort to the sledgehammer that is the national lockdown with all its associated costs.

I have had both doses of the Pfizer vaccine now and I would encourage everyone who has been offered the vaccine to have it. I was very pleased to learn today that over 75% of all adults in Suffolk have now received both doses of the vaccine. Unless you have a particular medical reason for not having the vaccine I can’t really see any logical reason why you wouldn’t have it. It’s safe and effective and our way back to normality.

What’s interesting is that many of those who tend to be most anti vaccine are the same people who were very much opposed to lockdown restrictions. I honestly feel that if it wasn’t for the vaccine there is a high likelihood that we would have been living with significant restrictions over the past few weeks. The majority of those being treated for COVID in hospitals at the moment are individuals who have been offered the vaccine but turned it down. Sadly this is placing unnecessary and significant pressure on the NHS at a time when its got its hand full with huge waiting lists. My fear is that many of my constituents waiting for much needed operations might have to wait longer in pain because of pressure being put on the NHS unnecessarily by those who are being treated for COVID having turned down the vaccine.

Yes, it is your personal decision whether you have the vaccine or not and I don’t believe in compulsory vaccinations. However, those who turn down the vaccine need to be prepared to accept that many others will disagree with their decision profoundly and are likely to express this. It’s your decision but on this matter our decision is likely to have implications for others and society in more ways than one.

When it comes to this pandemic. We’re in it together and ultimately, we will get through it together.

There are so many examples of these sorts of issues across our very large Town and the actual concrete powers I have in my hands as the MP to resolve the issues is limited. However I am determined to highlight with the appropriate local authority whether that be Ipswich Borough Council, Suffolk County Council or Suffolk Police.

Many of you will have received letters from me over the past year or so. Sometimes progress can be slow but I have a large spreadsheet which is helping me keep track of all the different issues. I go on walkabouts regularly but to an extent I’m reliant on constituents raising the issues with me directly.

Ultimately these issues are largely the responsibility of local councillors and on many of these matters I’m working closely with councillor colleagues to resolve the matters. Sadly Labour councillors don’t seem to be all that keen to work with me on these issues. They seem to be more than content to just sit there and let the problems pile up and then blame someone else.

I can’t promise I will sort all of these issues out in a speedy way but I can at least try my best. These issues really matter. They impact pride in our communities, faith in Government, and it also seems to be the case that when areas fall into a state of disrepair problems can be compounded and anti-social behaviour and criminal activity often follows. If we’re all going to feel pride in our Town its important we feel pride in our local neighbourhood also.

The handling of this issue, which I have been following closely, remains an absolute disgrace. I was invited by residents to visit the block and see for myself the conditions that they are being forced to live in. The lack of natural light and the limited ventilation they have, during a pandemic and with temperatures like this, must be unbearable.

I have to say in all my time being a Member of Parliament, this is the most shocking thing I have come across. I wanted to raise this issue, to give my constituents basic dignities in living conditions. As despite repeated interventions by myself to try and resolve it, I have still not had a response from them to any of my recent letters.

I understand this cladding needs to be removed, but this must be done in a sensitive way that keeps in mind the living conditions and mental health of the residents of St. Francis Tower. I wanted to raise this with the Government today to see how we can hold Block Management to account and to support my constituents at this time of great distress. I will stand by my constituents on this issue, and I will raise the matter of Block Management’s disregard of my constituent’s well-being as many times as I need to, in order to see them meet with the residents to resolve this.

We also discussed prison education and the worrying fact that such a large proportion of those in prison have learning disabilities. I am pushing hard to try and make sure that everyone entering the prison system meets a education psychologist so that they can be properly assessed. We need to know the true scale of the problem.

As I’ve said before. The stakes are very high when it comes to getting SEND provision right. Get it right and we can empower some of our most creative unconventional thinkers to make a huge contribution to society. Get it wrong and sadly, too often, we are seeing with people whose needs aren’t being met in the criminal justice system.

I was very pleased to hear that the PM shares passion. I will promised that there are likely to be some significant anouncements over the coming months.