WELCOME TO MY WEEKLY UPDATE no.284. It's been an interesting week at a very rainy but surprisingly positive Conservative Conference which started on Sunday and has just finished. All the leadership contenders strutted their stuff (of which more below) and back at home I was delighted when Daniel Husseini won the hotly contested Godalming Binscombe and Charterhouse by-election.
WHAT’S GOING ON IN WESTMINSTER
CONFERENCE MANIA Conservative Party Conference 2024 was held in Birmingham this week. What many people thought would be a downbeat conference following our election defeat was actually rather uplifting (and according to many journalists much more so than Labour the previous week).
On Monday I spoke on the main stage with Daniel Finkelstein about the great lie of the £22bn black hole. You don’t have to take my word for it on this one - just read this week's Economist where there's an article saying that Rachel Reeves might actually have a surplus of £39 bn to deal with rather than her fictional black hole. But the big issue is whether we are just going to have the normal budget obsession with tax and spend measures or actually do something to boost economic growth which Labour said they would prioritise. Productivity is the big issue we have to crack if we are to raise living standards - so will Labour take on the unions to boost productivity in the 20% of the economy they control through the state? That would be a real ‘difficult decision’ for Keir Starmer to take. Likewise the economy needs workers - so will we see reforms to the welfare system to get people back into work? I really hope so.
I also had a difficult message for my own tribe. I said it would be wrong to assume voters will automatically return to the Conservatives when they fall out of love with Labour. We have to win back trust which - frankly - we lost. My biggest worry is that the average age at which someone is more likely to vote Conservative is now over 60. If we are indeed the party of aspiration, we must have a message that appeals to people in their 20s, 30s and 40s, particularly those who are starting out in their life, working hard and have Conservative values. Attracting them back will be, for me, the litmus test of whether we are making progress under our new leader.
WHAT’S GOING ON LOCALLY
BRAMLEY FUEL LEAK After another week of heavy rain I am afraid the fuel stench is back so Bramley Councillor Jane Austin and I met with Chris Selley CEO of Openreach and his team to get an update on phone and internet outages. Progress is being made - now two thirds of the 84 direct telecom outages have been fixed. There are however still hundreds with intermittent telecom supply. Frustratingly because of the slow progress removing petrol from the sand, Openreach still can’t access their ducts or tell us when they will be able to. But it's good to see Asda are now moving on to the next phase of the village wide clean-up as we are told most of the work to the petrol station site itself has been completed. Both companies have said they are stepping up communications directly with the village and we are also making some progress in the tricky issue of compensation.
STOVOLDS HILL Many of you have written to me very concerned about the clearance work done to the field at Stovolds Hill. Claire Upton-Brown Head of Planning at WBC has confirmed to me the land is the subject of an injunction which is good news. However she also says building the legal case on this will take time so I will keep you posted.
THURSLEY BOARDWALK - BRITAIN'S FAVOURITE PATH (ALMOST) It's official - our very own boardwalk at Thursley Common has made it onto the final 8 for Britain’s Favourite Path. Thanks to the brilliant work of Pat Murphy and the Parish Council it was repaired and improved following the devastating fire a few years ago and now takes its rightful place as one of the 8 finalists in the UK competition run by The Ramblers' Association. Click here to cast your vote. Go Elstead go!
GODALMING, BINSCOMBE AND CHARTERHOUSE BY-ELECTION Congratulations to Daniel Husseini who last Tuesday won the Binscombe and Charterhouse by-election with a massive swing towards the Conservatives of 19.7%. Daniel has worked really hard in the last couple of years and was key in saving Farncombe Boots last year so this is a really well deserved win. It means the Conservatives are now up to 11 Councillors at Waverley - still a minority but the first time for several years we have increased our representation.
CONGRATULATIONS RUTH SMITH Ruth recently celebrated her 90th Birthday and shortly afterwards took the train from her home in Exeter to Birmingham for the Conservative Party Conference. Ruth, whose son lives in Godalming, is going to get a special present from the party for her unwavering commitment over more than 60 years. Belated happy birthday and sorry when we haven’t made things easy for you…
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AND FINALLY… Brilliant to see even this Yorkshire Terrier, were getting into the swing of Guildford pride 2024 celebration last weekend.
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