For the third time in this Parliament a military crisis overseas has moved to dominate our domestic agenda and as I write we are preparing to hear a statement from the Foreign Secretary on the situation in Ukraine. There is no military mission proposed, nor any appetite for military action, but what matters now is that a very clear message is sent from across the world to the people of the Ukraine that we want to allow them to choose their own future. An equally clear message also needs to be sent to the Russian government to say that continuing down this path of violation of the sovereignty of another country will have costs and consequences. The whole world needs to come together to deliver that message and for me it is important the United Nations is at the forefront of that but Britain can play a role in bringing to bear diplomatic, political, economic and other pressures in order to support our position.

As was the case with the Libyan and Syrian situations, at times like this cross-party divisions are rightly suspended while we debate Britain’s role and response but once again I am struck by how much international foreign policy consists of upholding a series of temporary truces, formed at a time when political and economic pressures were different and therefore subject to change as the facts change on the ground. You don’t need to be a geo-political expert to see that the appetite of the US for military intervention in the Middle East will wane as the country’s energy independence increases due to the boom in domestic fracking or that Australia’s number one foreign policy concern, as I heard last year during a visit to their defence establishments, is the risk of an ever-growing and sometimes militant Indonesia. We live in uncertain times, when the only certainty is change and I am personally thankful that this tricky agenda is in the hands of experienced, calm and sensible foreign and defence secretaries.

One local thing that has changed is the weather as the jet stream has shifted and we are no longer in the firing line of south westerly gales.

As we dry out, I have seen more details about the various government schemes on offer to provide cash help for householders to improve flood resilience and obtain council tax relief or to support famers who are restoring flooded land. More details are on my website, www.claireperry.org.uk and if I can help you in your application then let me know.