With the summer holidays approaching, I have joined constituents at a variety of excellent summer events - like the Claygate Flower and Village Show - and held my most recent pop-up surgery outdoors at Hersham Green shopping centre.
There's more on my latest constituency visits below.
Surrey Police have since charged a man with two counts of attempted murder. I was briefed by the police on Monday and I would like to thank the emergency services again for their handling of the incident and subsequent protests.
The local police, NHS, council and other stakeholders remain actively engaged with all those affected.
In Westminster, since my last update, I spoke in a debate on NATO's continued support for Ukraine, and wrote to the Department of Transport to ask them to deploy 'Pay as you Go' technology at railway stations across our constituency.
I also wrote two columns for The Daily Telegraph covering the successes of NATO's Vilnius Summit this week, and the need for a smarter China strategy to dissuade it from invading Taiwan. You can read those below.
As ever, if you are a constituent in need of my assistance, please get in touch using the contact details below.
Yours sincerely,
Dominic
In this newsletter:
Hearing from constituents at my latest pop-up surgery in Hersham.
Championing the environment with 3rd Esher (Sandown) Scouts.
Celebrating with the community at the Claygate Flower and Village Show.
Supporting constituency businesses with Rt Hon. Sir Simon Clarke.
Rolling out 'Pay as you Go' technology at railway stations across the South East of England.
Westminster Watch - A roundup of my recent contributions in the House of Commons.
State of the Nation - An overview of the national policy picture and recent government announcements.
Pop-up Surgery in Hersham
My latest pop-up surgery took me to Hersham alongside Councillors John Cope and Paul Wood.
It was useful to discuss the proposal from Quadrant to redevelop Hersham Green Shopping Centre with residents
There is one more public consultation on the development taking place this week:
Saturday 15 July at 10am – 2pm. Unit 11/12 of Hersham Green Shopping Centre (old Martin’s shop).
Local Conservation with 3rd Esher (Sandown) Scouts
It was great fun to visit the newest Scout Troop in the area – 3rd Esher (Sandown) Scouts at Lower Green Community Centre.
The Scout Group have been completing their Environmental Conservation Badge.
They chose to learn about threats to local wildlife around the River Mole and take steps to improve conservation.
Thank you to Andrew Burns, Group Scout Leader, and all the 3rd Esher (Sandown) Scouts for taking the time to showcase your great work.
'Westminster Wheels' Prize at Claygate Flower and Village Show
Thank you to Tim Lovett for inviting me down to this year’s Claygate Flower and Village Show to judge the ‘Westminster Wheels’ prize in the Classic Car Show.
There were some beautiful classic cars on display
This year’s ‘Westminster Wheels’ prize went to a fantastic Jaguar E-Type!
Connect breakfast with Rt Hon. Sir Simon Clarke
A vibrant discussion at the latest meeting of my local business network, Connect, this month.
The Rt Hon. Sir Simon Clarke MP spoke to businesses about the opportunities for the UK’s dynamic life science and tech sectors, supporting SME builders, and about how we are evolving regulation to unlock economic growth.
The UK is a global leader in tech, advanced manufacturing, and life sciences. The government recently announced a major agreement with BioNTech to develop cutting-edge cancer vaccines in Cambridgeshire.
Over June and July, several major global tech firms – including Palantir and OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT – chose the UK as the base for their European operations. Back in May, the owners of Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Group, announced plans to build a multi-billion pound gigafactory in Somerset.
Thank you to everyone who joined the discussion. A big thanks to Burhill Golf Club for their hospitality.
'Pay as you Go' rail fares
The government is rolling out ‘Pay as you Go’ at stations in the South East of England. I was disappointed to see that no stations in Esher and Walton constituency were included in the first round of 53 stations receiving a share of £20 million to install this technology.
I have asked the Department for Transport to commit to rolling out contactless capability at local stations, and to meet with me to discuss my wider campaign to improve local rail services.
In the House of Commons, this week I spoke in a debate on NATO's ongoing support for Ukraine, and the significance of Turkey's decision to support Sweden's path to NATO membership at the recent NATO Vilnius Summit.
NATO is backing Ukraine, reinforcing its European defences, and keeping a sharper strategic eye on China.
Since my last update, I have published two columns in The Daily Telegraph:
NATO has rediscovered its purpose in Vilnius (link).
The West needs a smarter China strategy to dissuade it from invading Taiwan (link).
State of the Nation
Boosting public sector pay: Yesterday, the government agreed a wide-reaching public sector pay deal and accepted the headline recommendations of the independent Pay Review Bodies. Teachers, NHS staff, police and prison officers, and armed forces personnel will see pay rises of between 5% and 7% - broadly in line with private sector pay growth.
Unlocking growth in the pension sector: In his annual Mansion House Speech, the Chancellor announced reforms to the pension market. The Mansion House Reforms will unlock £75 billion in investment opportunities for Britain's globally competitive pension funds. These reforms will increase retirement income for UK workers by £1,000 a year.
Key recent investments in the UK: In July, crime data and analytics firm Quantexa announced a £125 million investment over three years into Artificial Intelligence (AI) research, creating 170 high-skilled tech jobs in London. This follows the news in recent weeks that Anthropic, a Google-backed AI business, and ChatGPT creator, OpenAI, have opened London offices. US tech firm Palantir has also recently made the UK its European artificial intelligence hub.
