GOOD AFTERNOON & welcome to my weekly update no.325

Conference season is in full swing and Kemi Badenoch is sensibly moving the Conservative Party on from being quiet to offering solutions to the two big issues of the day: illegal migration and the economy. It is not a silver bullet but in the end oppositions win elections because they offer a more credible plan than the government - as the Danish philosopher Kierkegaard said ‘life can only be understood looking backwards but must be lived looking forwards.’

WESTMINSTER WHISPERS
 

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride set out the Conservative plan to fix the UK’s public finances. He describes potential savings of £47bn a year, with two key pillars of his plan being welfare reform and a reduction of the size of the civil service – both extremely sensible. Most importantly they would mean no need for the tax rises we are going to see in November’s budget which many fear will further dampen growth. My own take on how Rachel Reeves could avoid tax rises is in this one minute video filmed outside the Withies Inn, Compton - it’s done well on social media so check it out if you haven’t seen it. The world seems to be revolving around short videos… 
 

PEACE AT LAST? Last week, President Trump released his 20-point peace plan to end the war in Gaza which has won plaudits from many who are not Trump fans and is supported by many Middle Eastern countries. As part of this plan, Gaza would be put under the temporary control of a transitional “Board of Peace,”  all remaining hostages would be released and Hamas would disarm and play no part in the governance of Gaza. As I said last week on Peston, we should welcome Sir Tony Blair’s involvement given his experience negotiating the Good Friday Agreement. Fingers crossed it works.
 

MANCHESTER ATTACK We were all completely shocked by the scenes at Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester following a sickening terrorist attack and we are thinking of the families who have lost loved ones. I was disappointed to see that pro-Palestinian marches went ahead anyway. What has happened to traditional British tolerance and decency. Matthew Syed wrote the best article I have read about how low things are sinking. 
 

SAVE OUR PUBS Did you know one pub is closing every day? I am by nature a free marketeer but I do think pubs are cultural institutions which we should do all we can to protect. As Chancellor I gave pubs and high street shops a 75% business rates discount which has sadly not been maintained. Sir Mel Stride would go further: he pledged today to scrap business rates altogether for the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors. Once again a nation of shopkeepers…my vid on pubs is below:

DIGITAL ID Last week, the government announced plans for a Digital ID card and lots of you have asked my position. The answer is that despite having strongly opposed Tony Blair’s plans, I am open-minded to the idea. One of the reasons that illegal migration into the UK is so high is that it is so much easier to work on the black market here. That partly explains why, according to the Economist, illegal crossings have increased in the UK despite falling 21% into Europe as a whole. We have to stop all illegal migration - and alongside the Rwanda scheme, which the government foolishly cancelled, I think this would help. Switzerland has just voted to introduce one for the same reason. But I want to see the detail before making a final decision as to how to vote.
 

TARGET CHASING No one’s talking about the NHS at the moment but there is a nagging worry that rather than the fundamental reforms the service needs, we are turning the clock back to the targets culture we had under Blair/Brown - which led to tragedies like Mid Staffs. Last week in the Health Service Journal, I explained why I think that the NHS should not turn the clock back in a way that turns patients into numbers. A few targets are ok in any organisation but not 18 (monthly) targets as NHS hospitals currently have. It has made the NHS the most micro-managed healthcare system in the world and means managers look over their shoulders to ministers instead of focusing on the patients in front of them.
 

BABY LOSS Sticking with the NHS, there is in my experience no tragedy as heart-rending as the loss of a baby or child. Baby deaths went down by 700 a year when I was health secretary - around 2 a day - but we can do even better. So to make the case I have secured a back bench debate in Parliament on 13 October to mark Baby Loss Awareness Week. I will include a link to the speech after giving it - but the nub of my argument is positive: if we get back to pre-pandemic trends we could have the safest maternity units in Europe within five years. 
 

LOCAL LIFE
 

CAN WE BE GREAT AGAIN? Yes! Come and hear me dispel the doom and gloom at Guildford Book festival on Thursday when I discuss my new book. Seats nearly sold out but details here. And if you can’t make that, come along to Godalming Borough Hall on Friday 31 October - free of charge tickets available here with all authors' royalties from book sales (locally or nationally) go to the new Cancer & Surgical Innovation Centre at the Royal Surrey.
 

UNSTEAD LANE ENFORCEMENT NOTICE Encouraging news… last week Guildford Borough Council responded to major pressure from me, local councillors and a petition signed by 1,050 locals by serving an enforcement notice to deal with the unauthorised development at Unstead Lane. GBC has also served a stop notice to prevent further development on the site and sought an urgent interim injunction to restrict further development on the Land - a final injunction once issued will restrict further development of the site and reverse work undertaken to date. The planning application remains invalid - thank you to all who have been in touch.
 

STILL CIL Steve Dally and the CIL injustice group are still fighting for Waverley to put in place a proper review of their cases. They have right on their side so please take a moment to sign the new e-petition calling on Waverley to improve support for local homeowners hit by their unfair Community Infrastructure Levy charges.
 

ASH NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING Ash Parish Council will be holding a meeting on the 7th October to discuss proposed changes to the Ash Neighbourhood Plan - worth having your say so click here for the meeting details.
 

SURGERY CALLS My first call was to an Albury resident about a worrying lack of knowledge of international tax affairs by the Ombudsman. I then spoke to a Godalming resident about appalling behaviour by Tommy Robinson fans on the train on the way back from the recent demonstration in London. It just adds to my worries that our failure to secure borders is risking a social contract that has welcomed controlled migration as a positive thing for many centuries. I also spoke to a Shamley Green resident about serious problems with an international GSCE programme - about which I will contact the Chief Executive as it sounds a very serious issue. 
 

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 (although email me rather than comment for a guaranteed reply.)
 

AND FINALLY Did you know Instagram is 15 years old this week? Where did the time go? Take a look here for a history of Instagram … and do check out my instagram account too!