HELLO & welcome to my weekly update no.331

It’s just 9 days before the Budget and as someone who wanted this government to succeed (whatever we may think of its policies) it gives me no pleasure to report Sir Keir Starmer’s most disastrous week to date. Only Shabana Mahmood’s announcement today on asylum laws has given some sense of direction. Locally the biggest concern is some huge new developments in Tongham.

WESTMINSTER WHISPERS

KEIR’S CRISIS A cack-handed attempt by No 10 to squash leadership plotting exploded last week. I have seen No 10 ‘in a bunker’ many times and the first reaction is always to blame everyone else, mostly (but not always) completely erroneously. That’s what happened this week when Wes Streeting was accused by No 10 spin doctors of being ‘on manoevres.’ The next thing is to say ‘if only we were better at getting our message across’ when the problem is always an issue of substance not communications. Instead of starting a circular firing squad, Sir Keir should look in the mirror: if he doesn’t know what he wants to do as Prime Minister (not platitudes like ‘grow the economy’ but how he plans to do these things), why should anyone else? However Shabana Mahmood does seem to know exactly how she wants to stop illegal migration - not surprisingly she is now being talked up as a successor.

TAX TURNAROUND I told Matt Chorley’s Urgent Questions that if you are going to put up taxes (which I would not), income tax is one of the least damaging ways to do it. But it appears that having led us up the hill, that is no longer on the cards. It should be good news… but I have two big concerns: firstly will the tax rises we do end up with (still potentially £20 billion odd) kill off growth (see my Times article today on our promising but vulnerable tech sector) and secondly the chaos in economic decision making is really not a good look internationally, as I told Cathy Newman on Times Radio on Friday.

SURGERY CALLS Today’s call was to a Chilworth resident about the waiting times at the level crossing in the village. He said that the queuing by as many as 35 cars meant many people couldn’t get out of their driveways and the pollution is horrific. Obviously the crossing has to be safe but I will get in touch with the MD of SWR to find out if there is any flexibility that could alleviate the issue.
 

UNAUTHORISED DEVELOPMENT I am receiving huge volumes of emails concerned about unauthorised developments across numerous sites. Thank you to the Pilgrims Way Residents Association for keeping me informed about the planning inquiry at Monkshatch which is at GBC Millmead office at 10 am on 25th November. The planning enforcement notice at Unstead Lane (ref 25/EC/00341/APL) has also been appealed and the inquiry date is set for the 20th /21st January. I appreciate residents' concerns across a number of sites including at Stovolds, and am requesting  a full meeting with the Head of Planning. In the meantime read this letter I co-signed with 30 MP’s to demand urgent action from the Home Secretary on this issue.