GOOD AFTERNOON & welcome to my weekly update no.294
 

Hoping you weren’t blown away after an extremely blustery weekend across the UK. Lots of power cuts locally including at my local church in Hambledon but some good progress on the Compton speed camera issue as we contemplate what the coup in Syria will mean for us in the UK.


WHAT’S GOING ON IN WESTMINSTER


SUNSHINE IN SYRIA Over the weekend, Bashar al-Assad’s nearly 25-year reign over Syria finally ended. Syrians around the world have taken to the streets to celebrate with extraordinarily moving scenes of political prisoners finally being released. I visited Damascus and met Assad in nearly two decades ago and remember challenging him about political prisoners in his luxurious presidential palace. As Foreign Secretary I remember how the Middle East has a habit of absorbing much of your time however determined you are to focus on America, Russia or China. The lesson from Libya and Iraq is surely that however much we rejoice at a dictator being toppled we still need stability and may need to work with people whose values we don’t share to achieve it. Putin has granted Assad asylum but this will surely send a chill down his spine: autocrats know their future is far from assured when they finally leave office. And who really thinks they are winning the battle of values this century however much of a low patch democracies are going through?


MEDIOCRE MILESTONES Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer last week did what all governments in difficulty do - a ‘relaunch.’ He did with a set of milestones that he promises to meet by the next election. But apart from missing any firm commitment to tackle illegal migration (and the 20,000 small boat crossings we have had since Labour came to office), what was disappointing was the general lack of ambition. It’s all very laudable to say the government will bring down waiting times but where is the vision for the NHS compared to, say, Nye Bevan in 1945? In my election night concession speech I congratulated Keir and Rachel for their victory but urged them to focus on proper reforms to the NHS, something Conservative governments always find very difficult. With Labour’s huge majority they can surely do more than what we heard last week.


REFLECTIONS ON MY TIME AS CHANCELLOR Last week I was honoured to be invited to speak to a group of graduate students at King’s College in a course designed in part to help current Treasury officials learn from economic and financial history. I was interviewed by Ed Balls of all people and we covered Labour’s pessimistic view of the British economy, Rachel Reeves’s fictional £22bn blackhole and the remarkable story of how I unexpectedly became Chancellor. John Rentoul has published a write-up in the Independent.


WHAT’S GOING ON LOCALLY 


THE GREAT COMPTON SPEED CAMERA DEBATE On Friday I met with Compton locals, Cllr Matt Furniss, Surrey roadsafe team and Surrey Police to find a way forward for Compton speeding issues. We reviewed the speed data; vehicles are going over the 30mph limit at the easterly end of the village but under 30mph at the westerly end (where interestingly there are more accidents). The volume of HGVs and lack of pedestrian crossing points are also issues. The council and police agreed to give the parish council two options to choose from - one involving an average speed check camera and the other a 20 mph limit and traffic calming measures. Good progress.

ALL CHRISTMASSY IN COMPTON Compton Phone Box never fails to bring a smile to our faces and their latest display is no exception. It's all in aid of Phyliss Tuckwell so please donate and show your support for the excellent work of Chris Sharples and his team of ‘phonebox dressers’.


CHARITY CHRISTMAS CARDS Surely this has to be the easiest way to support the Royal Surrey charity ... why not buy your Christmas cards from them? Your purchases will help many of the hospital's charities including the Cancer and Surgical Innovation Centre campaign Christmas cards 2024 | Royal Surrey Charity. In the meantime, another £200 added to the coffers from yesterday's Christmas Market in Bordon - big thanks to Chris and Judith Storey.


HAVE YOUR SAY ON POLICING Join Surrey PCC Lisa Townsend and Surrey Chief Constable Tim de Meyer on December 11th at 6.30pm. Book your place here.

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 ... Over the weekend we saw Storm Darragh cause havoc across Godalming and Ash, but further afield it was so windy this waterfall in Northern Ireland flowed upwards! And hats off to this Malaysia airlines pilot who deservedly won praise for this incredibly skillful landing at Heathrow in high winds. 

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