GOOD AFTERNOON & welcome to my weekly update no.301

One more week until half term and Westminster feels a little quiet (but it is Monday). But last week was far from quiet: Waverley and Guildford Borough Councils are to be abolished and replaced with 2-3 ‘unitary’ authorities across Surrey with a Surrey Mayor on top. Surrey elections will not now happen on 1st May but we will elect councillors for the new authorities in a year’s time…perhaps the first time for a while I have agreed with something the government has done although the devil will be in the detail as I explain below…

WHAT’S GOING ON IN WESTMINSTER

MORE RESEARCH, LESS CANCER Last week was World Cancer Day and I was pleased to announce that I have a new job - as an Ambassador for Cancer Research UK. They are the world’s largest independent, non-governmental cancer research charity and have been responsible for groundbreaking research into early diagnosis, immunotherapy and new medicines which have helped to double cancer life expectancy  since the 1970s. I accepted the role at a dinner in the House of Lords last week. Details here of the amazing use they will put the money to - hopefully some of it at the amazing new Cancer and Surgical Innovation Centre we are fundraising to build at the Royal Surrey.
 

FURIOUS FARMERS Today farmers from across the country gathered outside Westminster to demonstrate and show their support for the Westminster Hall debate on the really damaging family farm tax. See my equally furious exchange last week with Secretary of State Steve Reid asking him to justify it. I cannot believe it was thought through but doubt we will see any kind of u-turn - at least until the November budget when hopefully a reverse-ferret will be buried thick in the undergrowth.

DON’T RETALIATE Just in case you think I only talk to the right wing press, check out my interview last week on n the Guardian’s Politics Weekly podcast, where we covered a range of topics including last year’s Godalming and Ash election, winning back trust, and critically, Trump’s tariffs. My advice to the government, for what it’s worth, is not to retaliate if we are hit. Timely because today we have indeed been hit with 25% steel tariffs. We have always flourished as an open free-trading economy - indeed were the first country in the world to abolish tariffs unilaterally in 1846. If others stop listening to Adam Smith and David Ricardo there is no reason for us to!
 

WHAT’S GOING ON LOCALLY

SURREY ELECTIONS DELAYED Last Wednesday Angela Rayner confirmed Surrey will be included in the first wave of councils to undergo local government reorganisation and devolution. In order to do this the Government has confirmed Surrey elections are to be delayed to allow the 12 Surrey Councils to agree and put forward an outline business case for a unitary structure by mid March. It’s a very short timescale and we are likely to end up with 2-3 Surrey unitaries with Guildford and Waverley councils either joining up with Woking or a larger West Surrey unitary. I am in favour of unitary authorities and elected Mayors. But the big issue is what happens with Woking’s £2 bn debt which could overwhelm us. We should not and MUST NOT pick up the tab for another council’s irresponsibility…watch this space.

CIL LEVY LUNACY Last week I reported on Waverley residents erroneously being hit with huge CIL fines by Waverley Borough Council and the successful motion by Waverley councillors - brilliantly orchestrated by Cllr Jane Austin - to help them get the money refunded. Following up on this my fellow Farnham MP Greg Stafford and I escalated via parliament writing to the Housing Secretary to urge the Government to investigate. Good to see our campaign already garnering national attention because this has been hugely distressing for those impacted. CIL is really important mechanism for developers to contribute towards local infrastructure, but this legislation was never intended for householders to pay. Listen to Greg on BBC Radio Surrey this week representing residents.
 

CHESTER BRIDGE OPENS! Great news … but residents have faced a couple of chaotic days with traffic queues and complaints about poor signage leading to lots of vehicles u-turning at the former crossing. Come on Guildford Borough Council - sort this out please. Phase 5 of the bridge work is now underway so watch out for bus diversions. Residents are also wondering what is happening with the originally planned pedestrian crossing bridge. Cllr Matt Furniss has confirmed the plan is now for pedestrians to continue to cross via the level crossing. 
 

WAVERLY PLANNING FREE FOR ALL Last week Alfold residents faced the grim news of an application for 400 homes by developer Thakeham plus a consultation for a further 80 homes by Wates. Both have understandably caused widespread concern: sewage and other infrastructure in the greater Alfold area is already exceeding capacity. Waverley is now very exposed to speculative development. It is partly because Angela Rayner has doubled housing targets to 1,481 homes per year (which over 20 yrs would equate to a new Farnham plus a new Godalming) but it’s also because the current Waverley administration has consistently under-delivered housing with only 1.3 years housing supply instead of the 5 years it is supposed to have. For more on this take a look at my post. 

NO SWIMMING IN CRANLEIGH Cranleigh pool has been closed for one month and counting because the ceiling tiles became saturated with condensation and risked falling into the pool. We are now one month into the pool closure and frustrations are increasing, not least in Cranleigh Swim Club because they can’t train properly. The closure also means no children's swimming lessons or fitness classes. Waverley are telling us it will be 5-7 weeks until the pool can reopen, but I am also seeking reassurance the centre will be kept going until the new leisure centre opens scheduled for Autumn/winter 2026 (we hope). 
 

ST EDMUNDS, BUSBRIDGE VISIT What are your hobbies? Your daily routine? What would you like to do next? The best questions today from the brilliant school council. Thank you for a lovely visit and to Mrs Higgins for inviting me.

SURGERY Today’s first call was to an Ash Green resident about the increasing number of older people without children to rely on for their care, estimated at 1.2m people over the age of 65. Because of the lack of informal family care, they are 25% more likely to enter residential care and die two years sooner. She sensibly asked whether the Office for National Statistics were planning to collect accurate data on the number of people in this situation as recommended by the House of Lords Select Committee. I will find out. I then spoke to a couple whose son is at the Meath and has had his physio package withdrawn by the NHS after over 30 years. It really does sound like a crazy decision so I will raise it with Surrey Heartlands NHS.

BROOK - NETWORK RAIL WORK More long road diversions in place. But glad to see Network Rail are engaging and Cllr Bob Hughes is on the case.  

GODALMING CHAMBER OF COMMERCE does a superb job representing businesses who are finding things pretty tough at the moment - thank you for inviting me to your lunch and enduring my endless anecdotes about starting my own small business!

SHALFORD The brand new Mill Court Care Home in Shalford looks fantastically comfortable with very caring staff - congratulations to Maria on being employee of the month!

COMPTON MEETING Have your say on the planned traffic calming measures in Compton: my video below.

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. If you would like more regular updates of my work locally and nationally, do follow me on Facebook, X (Twitter), Bluesky 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.
 

AND FINALLY…. interesting to read about the new study from the University of Surrey about the impact of these ultra-processed foods (UPFs) on mental health, finding a surprising link to higher depression risk. But no judgement from me on plant burgers described in the article!
 

That’s it for this week. I will be back after the half term break