WELCOME TO MY WEEKLY UPDATE NO.256
This week I have had my head down preparing for the budget. My brilliant Treasury officials have been presenting me with huge spreadsheets over the past few months (the numbers are all billions) which tally up all our measures and show what we can and can’t do. Then I have to plan the speech itself and a full day of media interviews following it. Locally, I have been knocking on doors in Ash, following up next steps on the infamous Bramley fuel leak and continuing to support many constituents with their individual cases.
WHAT’S GOING ON IN WESTMINSTER
UKRAINE Last weekend marked the grim two year anniversary of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. With Sweden joining NATO this week, It hasn’t quite turned out how he thought it would, to put it mildly. I wrote in this week’s Herald about what we are doing to support Ukraine – more military support than anywhere in Europe with total assistance now almost £12 billion. The principled reason to do this is to protect our ideals of freedom and democracy. The self-interested one is that if Putin succeeds, somewhere else in Europe will be next, as David Cameron has been explaining to members of Congress. What inspires me is the way this evil war has brought out the best of humanity: look at Cherry Gay in Godalming, who with her fantastic team of volunteers has provided English lessons and other support for Ukrainian refugees.
TECH SUCCESS It was great to host a breakfast on Tuesday with leaders in the life sciences and tech sectors. That day, a new report showed that the UK had a record-breaking jump in new tech start-ups, with almost 10,000 registered last year and more AI start ups than anywhere in the world. As regular readers may know, I have long thought the big opportunity for the UK is to become the world’s next Silicon Valley, something you may hear more about in the Budget speech (damn- I mustn’t give anything away).
BUDGET PREP There is now only a few days to go before the Budget and we are putting in the finishing touches. I have started writing my speech but still short on jokes which are a kind of compulsory feature, given MPs will have to listen for about an hour. What can I say about the contents? Firstly there is less room to spend money or cut taxes even than I was left with at the end of the Autumn. Secondly that my priority will be economic growth which will be the most important part of the speech but also the most difficult to make interesting. Look out for my media interviews this Sunday ahead of the Budget (particularly Laura Kuennsberg at about 0910) and do follow me on Facebook, X (Twitter), WhatsApp or Instagram for updates throughout the week.
WHAT’S GOING ON LOCALLY
BRAMLEY FUEL On Tuesday I was on BBC Radio Surrey speaking about the serious fuel leak and odour which has gone on for a ridiculously long time. You can watch a clip here or for the full interviews with Councillor Jane Austin (Bramley’s answer to Sherlock Holmes), Chris and Steve Hardstone from the Jolly Farmer pub, and Phil from the Bramley’s Apple greengrocer - click here (scroll to 3 hrs 13 mins). We had it confirmed that the leak has been ongoing since autumn in 2021– outrageously more than two years ago – in which time a shocking 2,000 litres of fuel has potentially leaked into the ground. The Jolly Farmer has had massive damage to their trade (Chris and Steve from the pub also spoke on the programme) and some residents haven’t been able to get fresh water to their homes for months. I organised a public meeting earlier this month and there seems to be some progress on the issue - pumping starts next month to start getting the fuel out from the sand under the petrol station forecourt. There is no quick fix but if the pumping goes well, it may be possible to remove enough to eliminate the worst of the pollution and smell before the autumn - when rain generally makes it worse. In the meantime I am asking about compensation for long-suffering residents…
20MPH ZONES - WHAT DO YOU THINK? Churt Parish Council have run a survey of residents to find out if they would support a 20mph zone or area, and found that 79% supported a 20mph signed area. I know others have strong views against - but before I weigh in I would like to hear as many views as possible so please do fill out my questionnaire here.
ELSTEAD AND CRANLEIGH NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANS Very frustratingly both these neighbourhood plan referendums have had to be postponed when ballots had already been sent out— meaning there are now additional costs involved in re-running the referendum. I hope that a new date will be set soon as neighbourhood plans are the best way to protect villages from over-development.
OUTSTANDING RATING FOR ROYAL SURREY Excellent news for the Royal Surrey as the CQC has moved the hospital’s rating from good to outstanding. I have a particular interest in this not just because it is our local hospital, but because I set up the ratings system when I was Health Secretary in order to raise standards across the NHS. The CQC has recognised that this change should have actually taken place in 2020 when they came to inspect other services and found the medical care (including older people’s care) and end-of-life care services to be outstanding. In addition, the hospital’s maternity team has retained a rating of outstanding, which is a fantastic achievement and testament to the dedication and passion of the Royal Surrey’s maternity colleagues. Congratulations to Chief Executive, Louise Stead and all the amazing, hard-working staff at the hospital – we are very fortunate to have such a brilliant facility and team of professionals in our patch. And with the new Cancer Centre it will be even better!
TOBY’S ON HIS WAY TO PARIS! I have been a huge supporter of the excellent Sport Godalming team for several years and they in turn have been a great help with my own Surrey ParaGames events, so I was delighted to learn that one of their rising stars has qualified for the Paris Olympics. Toby Roberts, 18, from Elstead is a climber and qualified by winning the European Olympic Qualifier in Laval, France in October 2023. He became the first male British climber to earn a place in the Olympics for climbing– a huge achievement. Sport Godalming has supported Toby by way of its Go for Gold Fund, which meant Toby could build a home climbing wall during lockdown. Check out this video or visit https://sportgodalming.org.uk/. We will be rooting for you Toby!
SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL You may remember at the Autumn Statement I teased Keir Starmer about being a ‘Surrey boy.’ The reason was I was discussing Surrey’s devolution deal which appears to be moving closer. It means that the county council will be given more decision-making powers over transport, adult education, and support for businesses – something I strongly support as more local decision making generally means better decisions.
NOISY ROADWORKS Check out this Facebook video of some very noisy roadworks in Milford. It is great that Surrey Highways are getting on with much-needed improvements and repairs but some of this has been in the middle of the night which is obviously not great for local residents who need some sleep! I will get in touch with Surrey Highways if they are not completed quickly. I am also in touch with them to ensure repair to the community garden space damaged by contractors who are replacing the traffic lights at the junction near Godalming Homebase.
GODALMING ROTARY GOLF DAY The Godalming Rotary Club will host their Golf Day on 2nd May this year at the West Surrey Golf Club, raising funds for Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care, the Royal Surrey Cancer Centre and other Rotary causes. Ladies and mixed teams are particularly welcome. Click here for more information and for the entry form.
SOCIAL MEDIA If you would like more regular updates of my work locally and nationally, do follow me on Facebook, X (Twitter), WhatsApp or Instagram.
JOIN ME Want to get more involved locally? Email me at [email protected] to join my growing team supporting our work in our community. We have had lots of great sessions over the past week so do get involved. I am looking forward to joining some sessions next week and hearing what you thought about the Budget…
AND FINALLY… Some amazing photographs captured here, but it looks like the monkey in slide four needs to sign up to my Plastic Free Pledge! If you would like to sign up, you can sign up here.
