Parliament may be in recess, but that does not mean your MP is not working. I have used August to get about the constituency – to hear from residents, and gauge the impact of the government’s national reform agenda at the local level. 

So, it has been a varied month – from talking to ambulance paramedics, to prize-giving at the West End Flower and Dog Show. I hosted six open public meetings – in Esher, Walton, Claygate, Cobham, Thames Ditton and West Molesey. I met with police volunteers at Molesey station, and the Chairman of St Peters and Ashford Hospitals.

Visiting Molesey Hospital.

Above all, the last month has provided a valuable opportunity to ensure that my perspective in Westminster is properly informed by local opinion.

Best wishes,

MP for Esher and Walton

Local Matters

We have had two recent reports on Surrey policing. The force was commended by the Audit Commission and Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Constabulary for its efficiency, despite being choked of funding by the last government. This year’s crime statistics show a mixed picture – criminal damage is down 11% across the county, but violence against the person is up 8%. The force’s detection rate is also down, at 21%, below the regional and national averages. So, there is no cause for complacency. We face a tough policing review, but there are opportunities to cut Whitehall targets and red-tape – and deliver a more visible and responsive local service. I met with police volunteers at Molesey station and Elmbridge Inspector, Richard Haycock, to discuss the local options. I have also written to the Chair of Surrey Police Authority, making the case for a stronger policing presence in Elmbridge. You can read the local reporting here.

Levels of homelessness in the borough are often overlooked, given the overall levels of affluence in Elmbridge. This month, I met with staff at Surrey Community Development Trust and Rent Start – two local groups – and visited some of the temporary accommodation they provide to help get homeless people back on their feet and into work. These are the kind of local groups that we need to promote to deliver the Conservative vision of a ‘Big Society’. I also toured some of the local shared ownership and other affordable housing schemes with Scott Baxendale from Elmbridge Housing Trust. You can read my blog post on the visit here.

It is vital that the ‘Westminster village’ is not insulated from local opinion. So, for my part, I met with residents in six open town hall meetings across the constituency to hear people’s views, and explain the government’s reform agenda. I appreciated all those who turned up – we had some good, honest, debate about a whole range of local and national issues. I will certainly continue to host such meetings on a regular basis.

Westminster Watch

The government’s reform agenda is designed to strengthen local democracy over our public services. I see one of my major responsibilities being to serve as a bridge between our national reform plans – and their local delivery. So, this month, I visited local GPs (in Esher, Molesey and the Dittons), the Chairman of St Peters and Ashford Hospitals and the local ambulance depot serving the borough (in Chertsey). I heard about the stifling effect of targets – that measure ambulance arrival times, but not whether they save the patient. I questioned why NHS Surrey spent £2million on consultants last year – but continue to salami-slice our community hospitals (you can read the local reporting here). And, I met a local group of GPs – MEDICS Gateway – keen to pioneer the reform agenda, commissioning local services for their patients and working with Molesey community hospital to provide the widest range of local treatments. You can read my three recent blog posts on the local impact of NHS reforms here.

There are also major concerns about the closure of Kingston magistrates court. Local magistrates turned up to three of my local town hall meetings to express their concern. I am writing to the Justice Secretary to convey the strength of local opinion, and question the efficiency assumptions underlying the decision.

State of the Nation

There has been a lot of national reporting of the Coalition’s first 100 days. Overall, it has been positive – but we know difficult times lie ahead with the autumn spending review. The Financial Times also covered the first 100 days of the new MPs – I was flattered to be listed amongst their top six of the new intake. There was also media coverage of my criticism of lobby groups that bombard MPs with hundreds of identical ‘clone emails’ in an attempt to highlight particular issues. You can read my blog post on it here.

Finally, I have been working on a pamphlet on counter-terrorism– looking at the gaps in our prosecutorial strategy, and how we can use the British justice system to fight terror whilst defending our freedoms. I plan to publish it at the think tank, Big Brother Watch, in October.

For a full list of media comments, click here.
For blog posts on local issues and national debates, click here.

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