WELCOME TO MY WEEKLY UPDATE no.279
It’s the last week of parliament sitting - and it has not been a quiet one! My children are now on holiday so I will be giving my loyal readers a break after today until we are all back in September. I hope you have a peaceful (and sunny!) summer.
WHAT’S GOING ON IN WESTMINSTER
SOUTHPORT STABBINGS First of all, none of us can begin to imagine what the families of those injured and killed in Southport are going through and they have all our thoughts and prayers. One local family who do know all about this are the brave parents of Charlie Cosser who have set up the brilliant charity Charlie’s Promise to highlight the dangers of knife crime. I think I saw Martin and Tara at nearly every fete I went to in the summer - totally remarkable what they are doing.
READ MY LIPS - TAXES ARE GOING UP On Tuesday Rachel Reeves went to parliament to lay the ground very deliberately and very politically for the tax rises she is planning for the autumn. I try to be considered in what I say but her suggestion that she inherited a £22 bn black hole was nonsense. Firstly because just four days earlier the most senior permanent secretaries had signed off estimates of their spending needs to parliament which made no mention of the fictitious black hole (see my letter to the Cabinet Secretary here). Secondly because if there had been a black hole, my Permanent Secretary at the Treasury would have required a ministerial direction ahead of the Budget. And finally - perhaps most obviously - if there really had been no money how come the Chancellor found £9 billion for public sector pay risesincluding a whopping 22% for junior doctors? Since coming to office Labour have also spent around £8bn on the National Wealth Fund and £7bn on GB Energy which makes the total just short of a billion a day. They have cancelled Rwanda (which will put up asylum costs), removed welfare reform from the King's Speech, and failed to ask the unions for a single productivity improvement in return for inflation-busting pay awards. To spend on that scale means you have to put up taxes - but given they knew they were going to do this before the election, why didn’t they tell us? I am afraid this is a ruthless attempt to ‘control the narrative’ on tax rises but I doubt anyone will be fooled.
AND THERE’S MORE Rachel Reeves also used the statement to announce other measures that are sure to get much attention. She has cancelled Winter Fuel Payments for all pensioners except those on pension credit, something strongly criticised by Age UK and money expert Martin Lewis. She announced that she will scrap the cap on care costs which I am very disappointed about having been responsible for passing it into law back in 2014. She has said VAT on private schools will also come in from January 2025. Of course it is legitimate to make these decisions after winning an election - but it says a lot about the character of the government that rather than putting it in their manifesto they have sprung it on us using a cock and bull story about a black hole. So much, sadly, for trust in politics.
MEDIA YESTERDAY I dealt with lots of these issues in my interviews with the media yesterday. Perhaps the best one to listen to is the Today Programme on Radio 4 (7:50am), but I also spoke to Sky News, BBC Breakfast, Good Morning Britain, Times Radio, and GB News.
WHAT’S GOING ON LOCALLY
GODALMING AND ASH OLYMPIANS Olympic fever has gripped the Hunt household where we all watched the amazing silver medal performance by Adam Peaty over the weekend alongside the rather watery opening ceremony. A special shout out and good luck must go to our two Godalming and Ash Olympians. Izzy Petter is a hockey player who scored an amazing goal to help Team GB qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, helped them to win a bronze medal at the games, and won gold with England at the Commonwealth Games. Toby Roberts is the first British male climber to qualify for the Olympics and in 2022 was the first British climber in 28 years to win a lead World Cup medal during the 2022 Ratho World Cup. Team GB hockey have already had their first match and Toby’s first climb will be next Monday 5th August. We are cheering for you both!
AONB EXPANSION MOVES FORWARD I have campaigned for years for the expansion of the marvellous Surrey Hills AONB and an important report on the next steps has just been published. Between 80 and 95% of respondents agree each of the additional areas should fall under the new, expanded protection boundaries which will include the more of the Hogsback, Dunsfold and Wonersh in our constituency. There are more phases of the consultation to come so it is a long process but great news that we are moving closer to a decision. If you want to look at any more information, take a look at the link here. Next stop is making the Surrey Hills into a National Park!
ASH BURNING SMELL I have had several people raise with me a burning smell in Ash over the past few nights. We aren’t sure what the source is but I have written to Guildford Borough Council to ask them to investigate.
BRAMLEY UPDATE We are making some progress on compensation and payouts to local businesses but less success in resolving phone and internet connection issues. This is a real worry - only this weekend a resident couldn't dial for an ambulance in an emergency. We now urgently need to understand what solutions Openreach have found to work around this problem. The seven communication companies which supply the services and sit beneath Openreach also need to ensure they are doing all they can to deliver a signal. I will stay on the case.
ROADWORKS EVERYWHERE… We all understand why councils and utility companies take advantage of the summer break for roadworks but they can be a pain if you are not expecting them. In Milford, there are works on Church Road, Upper Manor Road, and by Giganet on Wheeler Lane. The main A3100 Old Portsmouth Road between Guildford and Godalming at Peasmarsh has been closed all week too. For both of these, we should have a return to normal by the end of the week, but I will keep a close eye on them. In Cranleigh the closure and diversion from the works and bridge replacement in Knowle Lane means a diversion is in place until the end of October– a long time but worth it in the end. Last but not least, Ash Green Lane is closed until 17th August– another one I will keep a close eye on.
CALLING ALL CYCLISTS Before many of us head off for a summer break, I wanted to flag this brilliant event https://farnhamcharity-bikeride.co.uk. It takes place on Sunday 15th September and involves riding 16, 15, 50 or 75 miles across Surrey and Hampshire. We'll have a dynamic team riding again this year who will be raising funds for the Royal Surrey’s new Cancer & Surgical Innovation Centre....if you're interested in taking part, please contact Judith Storey on 07932 411108.
WONERSH UNITED REFORM CHURCH LISTED Thank you and well done to Jane Austin for achieving Grade II listed building status for the beautiful Wonersh URC!
FARNHAM AND BORDON For those in the areas of the old South West Surrey constituency that I no longer represent because they fall into Farnham and Bordon, your brilliant new MP Greg Stafford will be starting his own email updates. If you would like to receive them, do email [email protected].
SOCIAL MEDIA If you would like more regular updates of my work locally and nationally, do follow me on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Please don’t always assume I will see every comment on a post - email is a more reliable way to ensure a reply.
JOIN ME Want to get more involved with my brilliant election-winning team locally? Email me at [email protected] to help support our work in our community.
AND FINALLY… There have already been so many amazing Olympics moments and I am sure there are lots more Team GB medals to come! I am glued to this BBC page outlining highlights…
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