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WHAT’S GOING ON IN WESTMINSTER
LABOUR’S TAX RISES Forgive me for talking more explicitly about politics than normal but I do think we need to have a proper debate on economic policy ahead of the election - and so this morning I sought to dispel the myth that there is no big difference between Labour and the Conservatives. On jobs, tax and welfare reform the differences are profound. On jobs, governments over the past 14 years have ensured that we have one of the most flexible labour markets in Europe, with around 800 more jobs for every single day Conservative governments have been in office but Angela Rayner wants 70 new burdens on employers which would turn our jobs market into a French-style inflexible labour market. On welfare, Labour has said they are against sanctions which will push up welfare roles but Mel Stride and I have set out reforms that will help one million people move off welfare and into work. The biggest difference, though, is on tax. I have never hid from the fact that I had to take difficult decisions to put up tax in the aftermath of the pandemic and Ukraine war. But we believe lower taxes mean faster economic growth and will do the hard work to bring taxes back down - as we have started to do with the National Insurance cuts. Why do we know Labour, by any honest reckoning, would have to raise taxes? Today we published 15 new official costings of announced Labour policies that show their commitments would cost £38 bn more than than the taxes they have already announced (such as VAT on private school fees). You can look through them all here - but it amounts to additional tax of £2100 for every family.
WORLD LEADING SECTORS The other myth I dispelled in my speech this morning is that our economy is doing worse than other similar countries. This week, I spoke to JP Morgan who has said that they will be investing £40 million to develop the next generation of talent from communities across the UK. We have the third-largest tech sector in the world - the reason I met Ruth Porat this week, CFO of Google (Alphabet), to speak about their $1 billion investment in a new data centre in Broxbourne. We also had the encouraging news this week that British personal computer maker Raspberry Pi is planning to list in London. I also met Workday’s Co-President Dough Robinson to hear about the company’s £550 million investment and their commitment to the UK. What does all of this mean? According to EY, foreign investment here is up 6% from a year ago and remains the third highest, for new greenfield projects, in the world. That feeds the GDP figures we heard last week that showed our economy growing faster even than the US at the start of this year. Looking forward, the IMF, who I don’t always agree with, say we will grow faster than any large European economy or Japan in the next six years. In short we have terrific prospects - don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!
WHAT’S GOING ON LOCALLY
SURREY DAY On Saturday it was Surrey Day so here is a photo from my favourite Surrey Hill, Hascombe Hill. Aren’t we lucky (says someone totally unbiased)?
GODALMING TRAIN STATION I’ve been contacted by a number of people this week about recent very frustrating changes to Godalming train station forecourt which you can see in this photo: the short term drop-off spaces have been removed and replaced with double yellow lines, so parking is exclusively now in the South Western railway-operated pay-and-display car park behind– now chargeable 24/7. The number of taxi spaces also appears to have reduced and taxis now have to do a full 360 in front of the station in order to get in and out. Very strong feelings about this one so I will get in touch with SW railway.
COMPTON ROAD SAFETY Many of us have driven through Compton so will understand the frustrations of residents about traffic and road safety. In fact there have been a number of serious incidents in recent years which I have discussed with local Surrey councillor Matt Furniss. Investment is earmarked for Compton for safety improvements but let me know what you think about this important issue by emailing [email protected]
CRANLEIGH HIGH STREET PROJECT UPDATE Letters have been landing on Cranleigh doorsteps this week explaining the next steps for the Cranleigh High Street project. Following campaigning from local residents and various meetings I have held with local stakeholders, I think we have made some progress. Surrey has now decided to amend the scope of the project by splitting it into two phases. The bus lay-bys will no longer be removed nor will there be vehicle restrictions around the post office nor the pedestrianisation of the area outside the post office. The first phase - which everyone supports - will improve Fountain Square and Obelisk junction. In terms of the next stage a new group representing Cranleigh residents and businesses will be set up to develop plans pragmatically looking at flooding issues along the High Street, wider pavements, speed tables and Knowle Lane junction improvements.
BRAMLEY FUEL LEAK UPDATE We’ve been attending meetings in Bramley this week with Asda, EPS and Thames Water and finally there is a proper update on the fuel leak and its cause. Asda would like to report back directly to you so for Cllr Jane Austin and I are arranging a community meeting for Bramley residents this coming Wednesday 22nd at 6pm. Please put this in the diary– we are currently finalising the location and will announce it shortly. Separately, Thames Water has placed a precautionary temporary stop notice on the drinking water at St Catherine’s School. The school is being supplied with bottled water and a tanker has been sent to site to ensure continuity of supply for pupils, so hopefully this will be resolved quickly.
NEW SPECIAL FREE SCHOOL In the Budget I allocated an initial £105 million to fund an additional wave of special free schools, building on the billions announced in 2021. I am therefore especially delighted that the Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has approved the Surrey bid to establish a new special free school. They have not yet announced who will run the school or the specific site but this is great news for our area.
WAVERLEY BOROUGH COUNCIL CONSERVATIVES A huge thank you to Cllr Peter Martin who stepped down this week as Conservative leader on Waverley to be succeeded by the brilliant Cllr Jane Austin. Peter has done a massive amount as a county, borough and town councillor and we are incredibly grateful for his service.
TOURS This week marked the last in the current series of House of Parliament tours arranged by my team for constituents to see Parliament, and as you can see here I enjoyed meeting them for a Q&A after the tour. It is always a great day out and we always get rave reviews about the quality of the tours– so a big thank you to the amazing guides too.
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