Looking To The Future…
They say ‘home is where the heart is’ and that is certainly true for Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans, writes Robert Kelly
As the sun splits through the sky, you can really appreciate Nigel Evans’ love for the Ribble Valley. At his charming cottage in the pretty village of Pendleton, sitting on a comfortable leather chair, the 66-year-old smiles as he takes me on a trip down memory lane, chatting about life as an MP.
Nigel was elected to the Ribble Valley in 1992 but 32-years later, he is still just as passionate about meeting constituents: “Thirty-two years has gone in a flash. The luckiest thing for me was to be selected for a seat in an area where I had no roots. I always joked that I will never forgive my mother for not getting on a train and coming to Clitheroe straight away when she was expecting me!
“When I talk about home, it has to be the Ribble Valley. Coming back from London my heart sort of cheers up when I see Pendle Hill and I can get out into the countryside. I have just been to the Swan with Two Necks and we were reminiscing about various things from the past.
“But the thing that makes the Ribble Valley special is the people who live here as they have taken me to their hearts. I bump into people I know all the time – the sense of community is lovely.”
Nigel has always taken pride in flying the flag for Lancashire. From litter-picking in the countryside to welcoming Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles to the Ribble Valley, he has always enjoyed a busy schedule when in his constituency. One of the highlights was welcoming the organiser of the Qatar World Cup, Hassan Al-Thawadi, who visited Clitheroe to look at grassroots football.
Among Nigel’s notable campaigning successes, he has been instrumental in bringing the cyber security force to the North of England: “We are now going to have 3,500 incredibly well-paid jobs on the same campus as BAE Systems and that is going to be one of my enduring achievements.
“I am also absolutely delighted that Girlguiding UK reversed their decision to end Girlguiding in the British Overseas Territories. They made two announcements about a year ago – one was pulling out of the Overseas Territories and the other one was to close a number of their outdoor activity centres. There are five of them – one is in the Ribble Valley at Waddow Hall.
“The reversal of their overseas decision was a great victory for common sense. Now we are asking them to think again about the outdoor activity centres, where young girls from all over the UK, many from urban areas, come to the countryside and learn new skills.”
For the past year Nigel has also been working on a special project which will see restoration work carried out on the Parliament building, as he explains: “It is an iconic UNESCO heritage site and we want to ensure that it stays at the centre of democracy – we want it to be there for centuries to come.”
With a General Election on the cards, Nigel will be bidding to return to Westminster for the ninth time and as Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, he has enjoyed the role of facilitating MPs to have their say: “It doesn’t matter which party they are affiliated to or where they come from, but they all want to do the best for their country.”
He believes politically this is an ‘incredibly uncertain’ time: “Anything could happen. This is what I love about democracy.”
With two-thirds of the world having elections this year, he adds: “When you look at Russia, it is on its knees and there are African states where democracy is struggling.
“You have to fight for democracy you cannot just lay back and do nothing as what you take for granted could disappear. You must cherish democracy, and I know that the British public do.
“With a new Parliament you must weigh everything up, most of it is ‘the economy-stupid’ as Ronald Reagan once said. But there are many other aspects such as what is right for the individual. People need to think about what is right for the future and what is right for the stability of the country.”
Aside from politics, Nigel has many hobbies and interests including cooking, space travel and music: “I do a great Hungarian goulash! And yes, space travel is of incredible interest to me – especially the moon landings and using the moon as a base for the discovery of Mars. There is no final frontier, everything is possible.
“I also love music – a bit of jazz is fantastic. I recently went to the Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall, and I saw Roger Daltrey, Robert Plant and Paul Weller but the icing on the cake was being invited on stage to meet Hans Zimmer. He, along with John Williams are some of the most amazing composers and musicians so, it was incredible to meet Hans. I find when you have stressful job, music is a great way to relax.”
