GOOD AFTERNOON & welcome to my weekly update no.316 just over six years and going strong! Another extremely busy week finished off in Godalming, Cranleigh and Elstead and my social media return to…wait for it…TikTok.
WESTMINSTER WHISPERS
NHS NEW START? This week sees the publication of the government’s much trailed ‘10-year plan’ for the NHS. In anticipation of this, I wrote an article for the Sunday Times which you can read here ([link removed]) if you are not a subscriber. I have tried to be balanced and genuinely wish Wes Streeting well. But if we are going to turn around the NHS, we need to learn from the transformation in state schools: fewer targets, more local autonomy and a relentless focus on quality of provision. Oh yes and don’t use up all that extra money on pay awards as I fear has been happening.
MIGRATION MADNESS I have always thought of myself as a ‘liberal’ on migration e.g. someone who recognises that the UK prospers by welcoming the brightest and best from around the world. But the social consensus for that will be ripped up unless we GRIP the issues around migration by a) stopping illegal migration and b) substantially reducing legal migration. The latter will only happen with substantial reform of the benefits system so those here re-enter the labour market, as I wrote for the Economist ([link removed]) . There is a good discussion on this in the latest Daily T podcast ([link removed]) where I discuss the issue with Camilla Tominey and an expert panel. My most controversial proposal: Sir Keir Starmer, as a seasoned human rights lawyer, should lead the charge to rewrite
international law (the ECHR and 1951 convention) that is one of the root causes of the problem.
TO TURN OR NOT TO TURN We now know the answer when it comes to welfare (and winter fuel payments and grooming gangs and island of strangers speeches) which is this government is for turning. I was hoping that Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves would stay the course as I said on Good Morning Britain ([link removed]) . My biggest worry is that tax rises are now all but inevitable - and that means we are more likely to get stuck in a doom loop of ever lower growth causing ever more pressure on public finances.
AND LOCALLY…
MOBILE PHONE MEETING WITH SHADOW MINISTER IN CRANLEIGH We need to fix the dire mobile phone reception in Cranleigh and surrounding villages so on Friday I met local leaders with Shadow Minister Alan Mak. Cranleigh Parish Council Chairman Marc Scully made a brilliant case for urgent intervention. He was backed up by Cranleigh BID manager Christine Martin and Martin Bamford of the Cranleigh Chamber of Commerce. Dr Mike Bundy explained that recently installed defibrillators are unable to be accessed because of the lack of reception to open them. Watch this video ([link removed]) of team Cranleigh in action!
[link removed]
Cranleigh Parish Council Chairman Marc Scully - click on the image to view the clip
THE BIG THAMES WATER MEETING - PART 2 Back to Nov 2023 18,000 homes were without water for nearly a week so one of the things I discussed with Thames Water CEO Chris Weston was action taken to address power fluctuations. All sites (including Shalford) now have back-up generators and UPS’s (uninterrupted power supply) and 'power conditioning' in place to avoid any further power 'brown-outs' (the horrible phrase). Maintenance compliance since the outage has gone up from 60% to 95% and TW are now operating with a 24/7 shift team. Compensation will also be easier in the future. So overall, amidst many other problems, some progress in this area. Full update here ([link removed]) .
ROYAL SURREY SNEEK PEEK A big highlight on Friday was to take a quick tour around the new Cancer and Innovation Centre. It is genuinely amazing how quickly the building is taking shape. Still more fundraising needed for the specialist equipment but at over £600k raised to date! When open next year the new centre will treat an additional 7,000 people each year. To make a contribution (however small) click here ([link removed]) and to view touring the site vid click here ([link removed]) . Separately a huge congratulations to CEO Louise Stead ([link removed]) and the team for achieving outstanding for leadership ([link removed]) by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
ELSTEAD BONFIRE FIELD Fabulous news in Elstead, where the Parish Council has just taken ownership of the hill that separates the two halves of the village so it will be safe for posterity. Thank you Pat Murphy for inviting me and Tim Watkins for your amazing generosity!
SCANDALOUS CIL Tomorrow night Waverley’s Executive will vote whether to progress a review of CIL victims cases. This sounds positive - but the review on the table has been resoundingly rejected by victims and by many Councillors - who all say it is too narrow in scope. Waverley is just not doing anything like enough. Long standing councillors describe their shame at Waverley’s lack of support for those traumatised by being hit by massive taxes and are calling for a broader review of CIL cases. And yet in the meantime Waverley is accruing literally millions CIL in interest alone and using it to keep the Council afloat. I wrote to Lib Dem leader Paul Follows ([link removed]) in support of those hit and I have a meeting next week with the housing minister to raise my concerns.
CALLING ALL GYM BUNNIES - Did you know there is a brilliant new gym that has just opened in Albury? [link removed] is housed in the most idyllic location on the Albury estate in a converted farm building. Launched by Surrey Hills resident, Mark Arnold, the intimate, friendly gym kindly invited me to take a look and meet the team last Friday….. so cue some embarrassing pics of me lifting weights!
SURGERY CALLS My first call was to a Shere resident about the way the right to buy scheme works for council tenants and her concern that her house has been overvalued by Guildford Borough Council. She is concerned this is happening all over the country partly because some councils are trying to put people off buying their houses so I will raise it with local government minister Matthew Pennycook. I then spoke to a Cranleigh resident about the way she was treated by the NHS and her professional regulator after a traumatic birth.
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 onFacebook ([link removed]) ,X (Twitter) ([link removed]) ,Bluesky ([link removed]) orInstagram ([link removed]) (although email me rather than comment for a guaranteed reply.)
AND FINALLY - I enjoy being pretty active on social media and so I am branching out - after a 4 year hiatus I am back on Tiktok! Take a look at this vid of my Friday in the constituency. Give me a grilling by Laura Kuennsberg any day instead of this…
[link removed]
Back onto to TIktok - take a look!
============================================================
This email and any attachments to it (the 'Email') are intended for a specific recipient(s) and its contents may be confidential, privileged and/or otherwise protected by law. If you are not the intended recipient or have received this Email in error, please notify the sender immediately by telephone or email, and delete it from your records. You must not disclose, distribute, copy or otherwise use this Email. Please note that email is not a secure form of communication and that the Conservative Party ('the Party') is not responsible for loss arising from viruses contained in this Email nor any loss arising from its receipt or use. Any opinion expressed in this Email is not necessarily that of the Party and may be personal to the sender.
Promoted by Sean Donovan-Smith on behalf of Jeremy Hunt and Godalming & Ash Conservatives, all at 2 Royal Parade, Tilford Road, Hindhead, Surrey GU26 6TD.
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Website ([link removed])
Copyright © 2025 Godalming and Ash Conservative Association, All rights reserved.
Membership
Our mailing address is:
Godalming and Ash Conservative Association
2 Royal Parade, Tilford Road
Hindhead
Surrey, GU26 6TD
United Kingdom
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.
Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp
[link removed]