TREASURY BUSINESS - On Tuesday we had the regular treasury questions in the House of Commons. Interestingly it has emerged that we have actually grown faster than France or Germany since leaving the single market - something that gives a little perspective to the prevailing negative sentiment about the UK economy. Labour attacked me on windfall taxes even though our windfall taxes raise more than their proposals in the autumn. I’m afraid it would be very damaging to go further: we need investment in the North Sea to fund a lower carbon transition to net zero (locally produced gas is less carbon intensive than imported gas) and more punitive taxes will mean less investment and lower tax revenues (which matter - taxes from the sector are the equivalent of the entire police budget.) Tuesday’s reshuffle also saw the creation of four new departments to focus on energy, security and my objective for us to be the world’s next Silicon Valley.
THE WORLD’S BRAVEST LEADER Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy came to London and I was privileged to meet him. His extraordinary leadership in holding off a Russian invasion with immense personal courage has moved the arc of history to paraphrase Obama. We must give him all the support he needs.
WOKING WONDERS This week is national apprenticeship week, so I visited the headquarters of the F1 team McLaren in Woking to speak to some of their apprentices. There are almost 50,000 apprentices in engineering and manufacturing across the UK. It has been an unheralded revolution which is extremely popular with employers as a way to find motivated new employees. Apprentices themselves like it because they can get a degree without any tuition fee debt. I asked Sir Michael Barber to do a review of the progress we are making on skills and he briefed Cabinet about it on Tuesday.
EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE Spare a thought for the devastating impact of two earthquakes along the Turkey-Syria border this week, where thousands have already sadly died or been injured as a result. The Foreign Secretary has announced that the UK will send immediate support to Turkey, including a team of 76 search and rescue specialists, an emergency medical team, rescue dogs and further equipment (including seismic listening devices). In Syria, the British-funded White Helmets have also mobilised their resources to respond. If you are worried about relatives or friends affected by these earthquakes, you can telephone the FCDO directly on 02070 085000.
COVID UPDATE The total number of Covid cases in England has decreased yet again, with the ONS now reporting that 1 in 70 have the virus compared to 1 in 60 the previous week. Despite this, the government’s Coronavirus dashboard shows that cases are up 19.2%, hospitalisations up 17.7% although most importantly, deaths are down a little (by 1%.) Please note that after 12th February you will NOT be able to book an additional primary dose (3rd dose) of the COVID-19 vaccine online although you may still be able to get vaccinated at a walk-in COVID-19 vaccination site. Worth talking to your GP.
The key number remains 0300 200 1008 for anyone with pandemic related difficulties. Also please check out my full list of local groups working to support vulnerable residents.
WHAT’S GOING ON IN SOUTH WEST SURREY
SURGERY STORIES My first surgery call on Friday, was to a Farnham mother worried about girls safety at her daughters' school because of their policies around gender recognition. Her worry is about biological boys using girls facilities and also social transition (treating people by their preferred gender) which is not recommended by NHS England before puberty. I said I would raise her concerns with both Surrey County Council and the head of the school. I then spoke to a Churt resident who has been having big issues with HMRC -it took him 40-50 minutes to get through and he was cut off several times. The general attitude was 'we can't do anything to help you' even though he was desperate having just been made redundant.
I also spoke to a lady from Haslemere who lost her husband to the contaminated blood issue of the 1970s and 1980s. This is a deeply distressing issue I am very familiar with having been health secretary and secured the public inquiry into what was a terrible scandal (I gave evidence to the same inquiry last July). She brought home to me just how tough it has been in the years since she lost her husband and how unlistened to the haemophiliac community has felt over many years. We will now wait until the public inquiry reports later in the year. Finally I spoke to a lady from Milford about the roll out of voter ID at polling stations and heard her concerns that the fraud is mainly in the proxy and postal voting rather than in-person voting. I said I would raise the issue with Michael Gove.
BRAMLEY SPILL I heard from Sarah Bentley, CEO of Thames Water, yesterday morning that she is still trying to investigate the root cause of the spill near Gosden Common, and in particular if it is a pump or a network issue. She says they will get the initial analysis back in the next week so I will report back then.
CALLING ALL DAREDEVILS Are you an adrenaline junkie? Well, now you can indulge for a good cause, namely raising funds for the Royal Surrey and its new Cancer and Surgical Innovation Centre. The hospital charity’s fundraising team is organising a charity abseil and looking for daring folk to talk part. Now is your chance to climb Guildford Cathedral's tower’s spiral staircase of 249 steps to a height of 160 ft (49m), enjoy the wonderful panoramic views of Guildford enjoyed every day by its 15 ft (5m) tall Golden Angel, before you boldly climb over the top. For more details click here.
A POSITIVE NOTE Tickets are selling fast for this Haslemere fundraiser on Saturday 25th February so don’t miss out - book your seat now. The evening will be an uplifting event showcasing the musical talents of Rock Choir, The Royal Surrey Choir, Midhurst Community Choir and the Haslemere Players who will excite and entertain you with a range of modern and classic, upbeat and popular songs. All proceeds will go to the Cancer & Surgical Innovation Centre fundraising campaign. Concession available for NHS staff.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE AWARDS 2023 marks the 12th year of BBC Radio Surrey’s Make A Difference awards, and they need local people to nominate heroes in the community. The awards seek to recognise and celebrate the everyday acts of kindness, and there are eight award categories that cover the unsung heroes of our community; volunteer, community groups, fundraiser, carer, great neighbour, bravery, the green award, and the together award. Nominations close on 5th March at 11pm, and the winners will be announced at the Make A Difference awards ceremony in September.
JOIN ME Want to get more involved locally? Email me at [email protected] to join my growing team supporting our work in our community.
AND FINALLY…The Economist’s Bagehot column has discovered that you get Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden if you photo-montage mine and Rachel Reeve’s faces together - I’ll stick with Mr Bean if you don’t mind!
As always, if you know anyone (a friend or neighbour perhaps?) who might like to receive this email, please do forward it on. Anyone can sign up here to receive them and can unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the box below or emailing me.
This email and any attachments to it (the 'Email') are intended for a specific recipient(s) and its contents may be confidential, privileged and/or otherwise protected by law. If you are not the intended recipient or have received this Email in error, please notify the sender immediately by telephone or email, and delete it from your records. You must not disclose, distribute, copy or otherwise use this Email. Please note that email is not a secure form of communication and that the Conservative Party ('the Party') is not responsible for loss arising from viruses contained in this Email nor any loss arising from its receipt or use. Any opinion expressed in this Email is not necessarily that of the Party and may be personal to the sender.
Promoted by Sean Donovan-Smith on behalf of Jeremy Hunt MP and South West Surrey Conservatives, all at 2 Royal Parade, Tilford Road, Hindhead, Surrey GU26 6TD.