Me and My Priorities
This Substack will be where I set out ideas for national policy.
I entered politics because I am hopeful and determined. Hopeful that we can build a future where everyone can thrive. Determined to do everything I can to help deliver it.
Politics should be about building a better future. If you want to build a better future, where every person can thrive, then you must know how to build it. That is why I became an Economist, learnt my trade in the Treasury, and gained a PhD. So, I would know how to build that future.
Knowing and then doing is also why I became a politician, and that is what this Substack is about – thinking through what needs to be done. And then doing it in Parliament.
My national policy priorities in parliament are focused on where I can have the largest impact. My priorities are:
1. Transforming the UK Economy – Solving Our Trilemma
As a nation, we face our greatest crisis since the Second World War. We face a trilemma. We must raise living standards, transition to Net Zero, and defend our nation at the same time. Solving this trilemma is possible but it means transforming the UK economy. This will be my key focus in this Parliament.
We are internally divided and externally threatened. We must address both to endure.
We are internally divided because our economy does not guarantee a good life for all. Working hard does not mean earning enough to live on. The dissatisfaction of the early 2010’s has turned to anger and despair. Young men, in particular, are turning toward populism.
We are externally threatened. The post-war peace that was founded upon sacrosanct borders, military strength, and democratic strength is at risk. A Great Power War that will make today’s conflicts look like drops compared to oceans of blood is before us.
2. Ending Extreme Poverty
Extreme poverty means scratching in the dirt, desperately hoping something will grow so they can feed their children.
Ending extreme poverty is, for the first time in human history, within our grasp. When my father was born in rural Punjab, his chances of dying before his five was one in four and 70% of the world’s population lived in poverty. Today, less than one in ten of the world’s poor live in poverty.
Knowing how to build a future without extreme poverty and then doing it is why I went to work in Somaliland, one of the poorest nations in the world, where I helped write their budgets, economic policy, and national development plan.
We, in the UK, can help to end extreme poverty at the stroke of the (legislative) pen. Low-income nations face a debt crisis because they cannot renegotiate debt contracts that are written under English law because private creditors have no incentive to take part in these negotiations.
3. Choice at the End of Life
The sanctity of life is found in both the quality and quantity of life’s moments. But today alone, around 20 terminally ill people will die in unrelievable agony. Agony that cannot be alleviated by best palliative care.
Giving people a choice at the end of life means we can reduce that suffering. That is why I co-sponsored Kim’s Bill to give the terminally ill choice at the end of life, and why I’ve worked so hard to get it passed. We have seen similar Bills work well in Oregon and New Zealand, and that is why we are confident it can work here.
4. UK-India Relations
Strengthening the UK-India relationship will help make both our nations more secure. As a co-chair of the India APPG, our priorities are on strengthening economic ties (through a possible UK-India trade deal), deepening our strategic & security relationship in an increasingly uncertain world, and continuing our cultural ties.
Transforming the UK economy, ending extreme poverty, improving UK-India relations, and giving people choice at the end of life are my priorities in parliament. That is mostly what I will be writing about on this Substack.
I hope you enjoy it,
Dr. Jeevun Sandher MP
