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Welcome to my weekly update no.340
With an embattled Prime Minister trying to be friends with America and Europe at the same time, the US poised to take military action in the Middle East and Peter Mandelson involved in another scandal…it feels like twenty years ago. Except Tony Blair was quite popular…and locally now we are talking about mobile phone signals rather than broadband back then.
WESTMINSTER WHISPERS
PM IN CHINA Last week the Prime Minister travelled to China. I was not one of the ones in my party saying he should not go: Xi Jinping is the world’s most powerful leader (as opposed to the leader of the most powerful country which is Trump) and a country like Britain has to talk to him. The government talked about boosts for the economy but it was fairly thin gruel. I told Anna Foster on the Today programme (0810 slot) that we should be wary as China’s main objective would be geostrategic not economic: to prize apart the relationship between America and its closest military ally. That’s a relationship that is already under stress because of Trump’s disdain for European allies. And there’s no two ways about it: if we don’t want to be pushed by Trump or manipulated by China we need to be able to defend ourselves.
CAN WE REALLY IMPROVE THE NHS? As many of you know, I was deeply troubled when I was Health Secretary about the level of avoidable harm and death in the NHS (including about 13,500 lives lost annually because of medical and treatment errors). After stepping down, I set up a charity called Patient Safety Watch to quantify the issue and last Thursday we had a conference in the House of Commons to launch a new report commissioned from Imperial College which ranks patient safety globally. If we were as safe as Switzerland, 60 fewer people would die every day. Nor is it principally a financial issue: Norway, which came top, spends a lower proportion of GDP than we do. The NHS workforce has also gone up 20% since the pandemic (with very little increase in activity) so it isn’t that either. I believe we need to look at structures such as the national targets which turn patients into numbers and not having our own GPs as we used to pre-2004. Wes Streeting and NHS CEO Jim Mackey both spoke at the event and understand the issues. If the NHS is to be true to its founding values – that every citizen matters, rich or poor – then we need a service in which every patient matters too. I had a good discussion about this with Nick Ferrari on LBC on Thursday (0920 slot) if you want more detail.
LOCAL LIFE
STILL NO CIL JUSTICE one year on…but drama in Waverley’s Council chamber last week which senior Cllrs John Ward and Cllr Michael Goodridge described as embarrassing. Waverley’s Leader refused to acknowledge a petition from CIL victims which led to a mass walk out from the public gallery. After a heated debate, councillors finally voted for Cllr Jane Austin’s call for an independent investigation. I spoke with the Housing Minister last week about the scandal and I am confident we will be seeing changes coming forward in Parliament soon - so Waverley needs to get on with compensation instead of sticking their heads in the sand.
HAVE YOUR SAY ON TONGHAM OVERDEVELOPMENT Please put this Friday 6th in your diary for 6pm. Tongham Parish Council and I are hosting an open meeting to hear directly from residents about the application for 420 new homes at Tongham Manor Farm which is worrying many of us. The council needs to hear the many concerns people have – and it is part of the planning process. Location is the Theatre at Ash Manor school (use the south entrance to the school).
GODALMING TAXI RANK SUCCESS I am really delighted to learn that the Godalming taxi situation appears to have been resolved. In recent weeks I received a huge amount of correspondence from residents, businesses and taxi drivers who were understandably anxious about independent taxis being banned by Clocktower. I have been in discussion with South Western Railway on this so it is genuinely good news to see that a sensible solution appears to have been reached to allow the independent drivers back. I and many others highlighted the issue on social media but credit also to Waverley Borough Council for the role they played.
INTRODUCING ALTITUDE ‘TALK TUESDAYS’ The brilliant Altitude coffee shop in Cranleigh is organising a Men's Morning Meetup Group. Meet at Altitude (50 High Street) at 8am grab a coffee, go for a morning walk and come back for breakfast. Then, at 1.00pm there’s 'Chatty Cafe' (men and women) where you can take your drink to an open table and enjoy a new conversation. Why not give it a go – and their flat whites are mean..
ELSTEAD PONIES: Thank you to everyone who has contacted me about the ponies in Elstead near the Mill. I have been liaising with the RSPCA who are regularly checking on the horses and assure me all is well. They have been communicating with the owners who are checking on their ponies everyday.
GODALMING GOOD NEWS…Good to learn Godalming BID is installing four public Wi-Fi hotspots in Godalming town centre. This is a good step for now…but we need better mobile reception as well and I am on the case!
…AND BAD…very sad news Natwest Godalming is set to close - a real loss to the High Street. A banking hub (like the one I organised in Haslemere) is proposed - this is now my top priority and I will keep you posted as plans develop. But if we want to keep the high street alive, why on earth is Waverley increasing car parking charges at Crown Court and elsewhere to £25 for more than 4 hours? We need people to be working in the shops and the bus service is not always what it should be (as discussed in other newsletters). Listen to local campaigners John Hemmings, Ed Holliday and Daniel Husseini in this vid..
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