Dominic Raab MP's Newsletter - May 2021 View this email in your browser ([link removed])
Dom Raab MP's Newsletter - May 2021
Hello there,

Welcome to my May 2021 newsletter.

Locally this month, it’s been great to get back to visiting local schools across Elmbridge. We’ve also had good news on Sandown Park, which has been protected from Green Belt development, and on the local vaccine rollout, reaching the milestone of 100,000 vaccinations.

In the local elections, we had a strong set of results for Conservative candidates across the borough, county and Police and Crime Commissioner elections. I’m looking forward to working with all the successful candidates to improve quality of life for local residents.

Finally, the rail reforms announced this month are good news for Elmbridge – particularly because new contracts will hold rail operators to demanding standards for punctuality, reliability, and capacity. There’s more on this, and what I’ve been up to as Foreign Secretary, below.

Best wishes,
Local Matters
Meeting pupils at Esher High.
With the Coronavirus restrictions easing, it’s been great to get back to visiting local schools this month. I’m grateful to the pupils at Chandlers Field, Parkside School, ([link removed]) and Esher High ([link removed]) for their enthusiasm and excellent questions about politics. The pandemic has been very tough for schools, so these visits were also good opportunities to thank the teachers for all the hard work they’ve been putting in.

Elsewhere this month:
* Sandown Park was protected from Green Belt development, after the Communities Secretary upheld ([link removed]) Elmbridge Borough Council’s decision to refuse planning permission for significant building work on the site.

* We passed a key milestone ([link removed]) in the local vaccination programme, passing 100,000 vaccinations administered to Elmbridge residents early in the month.

* I heard from ([link removed]) the brilliant team at Citizens Advice Esher & District about the pressing issues they’re seeing locally at the moment, and volunteered ([link removed]) with East Elmbridge Foodbank.

* I caught up ([link removed]) with Karen Sugarman from Shooting Star Children’s Hospices, discussing the challenges they’ve faced during the pandemic and how they’ve adapted.

Finally, at the beginning of this month we had a good set of results in the local elections. Conservative candidates won seven out of nine Elmbridge divisions in the Surrey County Council elections, while winning six seats and losing one on Elmbridge Borough Council (EBC). While the Conservatives are the largest party on EBC and won the largest vote share, the Residents Associations and Liberal Democrats have again formed a coalition to run the council.

In the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) election, I was delighted that Lisa Townsend was elected as Surrey’s new PCC. She will bring great energy, tenacity and integrity to the role, and I look forward to working with her to address local priorities like burglaries and anti-social behaviour in Elmbridge.

Congratulations to Lisa, and to all the successful candidates in the borough and county elections.
Elmbridge vaccination update:

83,757 residents have received 1 dose

50,295 residents have received 2 doses

(As of 26 May)
Westminster Watch
At the meeting of G7 Foreign and Development Ministers in London. (Photo credit - Number 10 Flickr account, under a Creative Commons license ([link removed]) )
In my role as Foreign Secretary this month, my major focus has been on the conflict in Israel and Gaza. Following the welcome ceasefire, I travelled to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories for talks with senior leaders.

It is crucial that all sides now focus on ensuring that the ceasefire can last. The events of the last month demonstrate the urgent need to make genuine progress towards a more positive future for both Israelis and Palestinians, and break the cycle of violence that has claimed so many lives. The UK supports a two-state solution as the best way to deliver a lasting peace.

Elsewhere this month:
* As part of the UK’s Presidency of the G7, I hosted a meeting of G7 Foreign and Development Ministers, as well as guests from the Indo-Pacific region and Africa. The G7 countries agreed ([link removed]) measures to tackle the biggest geopolitical threats, safeguard democracy, and support a sustainable recovery from the pandemic.

* I worked with ([link removed]) the Transport Secretary to issue a notice to advise all UK airlines to cease overflights of Belarusian airspace. Belavia, the Belarusian airline, has also had its operating permit to fly between the UK and Belarus suspended, and Belarusian airlines will be prevented from entering UK airspace unless specifically authorised. These measures are in response to the Belarusian authorities’ reckless actions in diverting a passenger flight in order to arrest an opposition journalist.

* It’s good news that the government has agreed ([link removed]) that Radovan Karadžić, responsible for the Srebrenica genocide, will be transferred to a UK prison to serve the rest of his sentence. This was done under a treaty I negotiated with the UN 17 years ago, and demonstrates what we mean by Global Britain as a force for good.

State of the Nation

With interim SWR Managing Director Mark Hopwood at Walton Station last year. The government's rail reforms announced this month are good news for Elmbridge.

Earlier this month the government announced 30 new pieces of legislation in the Queen’s Speech. While we remain focused on beating Coronavirus, the speech ([link removed]) also showed the government’s determination to look forward and get on with fulfilling the promises we have made to the British people – backing the NHS, making streets safer, supporting jobs and businesses, and working towards net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Another major announcement this month was the government’s rail reforms ([link removed]) . These have the potential to make real improvements to our local services in Elmbridge. A new body – Great British Railways – will have responsibility for fares, ticketing, timetables and infrastructure, providing a single point of accountability. New contracts will hold rail operators to demanding standards for punctuality, reliability, and capacity – issues which have caused so much frustration locally.

In other good news this month:
* International Trade Secretary Liz Truss kicked off ([link removed]) the formal process of securing new trade deals with Canada and Mexico, and launched ([link removed]) a public consultation on a trade agreement with India.

* In a vote of confidence in the UK economy, Amazon announced ([link removed]) plans to create 10,000 new, full-time jobs in the UK, while investing £10m to boost skills.

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