GOOD EVENING & welcome to my update no.269.

This week I have been burning through the shoe leather, knocking on doors in Chiddingfold, Ash, Wonersh, Cranleigh, Godalming, Chilworth, Dunsfold and Alfold. And I have met quite a few readers of this newsletter! Tonight I have the first of my Q & A sessions for undecided voters in Elstead so do come along. I will also be in Milford on Tuesday. More details on that below but in the meantime for those of you who did not see my campaign launch video last week, here it is:

WESTMINSTER ANNOUNCEMENTS

TRIPLE LOCK PLUS ON PENSIONS As a Conservative I think it is only right that people who have worked hard all their lives are given security when they retire. But many pensioners are worried about being caught in paying tax as the state pension rises. So we have announced the ‘triple lock plus’ which guarantees that the income tax-free amount will always be more than the state pension. This means thousands of pensioners will not have to worry about a tax assessment. We are the only party to make this guarantee and it is in many ways a natural extension of the triple lock. It will mean the average pensioner pays £100 less in tax next year and £1000 less over the next parliament - and it is funded by a crack down on tax evasion/avoidance which tax experts believe is credible and deliverable.

APPRENTICESHIPS I have always said that our education system is one of the best in the world for the 50% of school leavers who go to university but we should do better for those who don’t. The new apprenticeship programme has been a tremendous success (over 5 million starts since 2010) so we have announced we will fund an extra 100,000 apprenticeships a year by withdrawing funding from university degrees that do not actually lead to a graduate salary (about a fifth of graduates end up on £20,000 or less which frankly doesn’t do them any favours). 
 

MEDIA As you might expect and have seen, I am doing lots of national media at the moment. Perhaps the best was a  tough but fair interview by Nick Robinson on the Today programme (0810 slot). On Wednesday I spoke to Nic Cecil of the Evening Standard about the fight I have on my hands in Godalming and Ash. Yesterday you may have seen and heard me on BBC Breakfast, LBC, Sky News, and ITN, and I also wrote in The Telegraph. The focus of these interviews and article was very straightforward: we have clear plans to bring down the tax burden, but I am afraid Labour do not commit to lowering tax and are vague about how they would increase them. 
 

WHAT’S GOING ON LOCALLY

ELSTEAD UNDECIDED VOTERS MEETING Only four in ten voters have made up their mind according to a poll for the Daily Mail today so I will be doing a series of Q & A evenings for undecided voters starting in Elstead tonight (Village Hall at 7 pm). Do come along if you have a question to ask me - the meeting will only last an hour. I may also get asked about the repairs to the boardwalk on Thursley Common (see video above) where I worked closely with the Parish Council. The next Q & A for undecided voters will be on Tuesday at 19.00 at the Milford Village Hall.

BRAMLEY FUEL LEAK AND NOW DRINKING WATER Very disappointingly Thames Water have now told some 616 homes in Bramley that they should not drink tap water. I jumped on a call with UKHSA, DEFRA, Thames Water, and ASDA to request that bottled water stations be set up immediately. I will of course keep you updated via my social media as I get more news. Before that, here is a copy of the letter I wrote before Parliament had been dissolved to ASDA’s Managing Director about the lengthy roadworks that are ongoing and driving us all mad. I also wrote to the Head of Regulatory Services at Waverley Borough Council about the issues that BT Openreach are facing in their work. Cllr Jane Austin or I will keep you posted.

DUNSFOLD It was also great to visit Dunsfold this week – see the video here in which my brilliant team speak about the reaction they had on the doorstep.

A REQUEST FOR HELP Team Jeremy has lots of volunteers and we are having a lot of fun! Indoors, outdoors, whatever takes your fancy– if you would like to help our effort we would love to see you! Just email [email protected]. If you would like more regular updates of my work locally and nationally, do follow me on Facebook, X (Twitter), WhatsApp or Instagram. 

AND FINALLY… Like Rishi Sunak, I haven’t let the rain stop me campaigning this week as you can see here! Hoping for some sun over the weekend…

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