As an aside, another motivation for my getting into politics has been my parents. My father is a retired soldier and my mother is an HLTA at a Guildford School. Both have had cancer in the last 5 years and survived – largely due to fantastic NHS staff – and so access to these services and providing for health services locally is a big deal for me personally. Equally an affinity for the teaching and defence professions is something built into me.
As the Hustings in Farnham follow-on from Charterhouse – is the South West Surrey seat is beginning to look just a little shaky?
Unfortunately, the Waverley Web couldn’t attend the event at The Farnham Maltings, because football and football practice got in the way! Oh, well – boys will be boys.
However, suffice to say our inbox has been groaning under the weight of congratulatory messages from some of those who attended. It cannot have been attended by only members of The Green Party and the Liberal Democrats, can it? Surely not. We would love to hear from the local Tories to give their spin on all things General Election SWS 2019? Don’t be shy.
Claire Mathes wrote saying – Dear Waverley Web.
The warmth in the room towards Paul Follows was palpable. What helps though is that he has a recent proven track record at Waverley Borough and Godalming Town Council of doing what he says he’s going to do, obviously you’d think, but a thing that has been sorely lacking in previous administrations. He is well-informed at ground level and clearly cares deeply about the people who live and work in the area.
Jeremy, I’m afraid, just looked a little clueless.
Jeremy, I’m afraid, just looked a little clueless.
Teresa Burton-Brown
I went to my first election hustings yesterday, in Farnham. It was very well attended.
Our sitting MP (Jeremy Hunt) looked surprised and uncomfortable to be attacked on his record on the environment, the NHS, education and Brexit. He seemed completely out of touch. For example, when asked what he would do about the climate emergency in this constituency, he replied that he had just put in an order for his own electric car (!)
Paul David Follows as the Lib Dem/Remain Alliance candidate talked about food banks, affordable housing, proper pay for proper jobs, public transport and his efforts on the council to improve air quality.
He was very impressive and certainly has my vote.
I note from the postal ballot form that Jeremy Hunt’s home address is shown as: “An address in the City of London and Westminster Constituency”
So now that he is an “Entrepreneur” he no longer lives amongst the rest of us.
You may be right. Perhaps he cannot find a seat on the train like the rest of us? Or find a bus? Or, maybe too many cars shlepping across the country roads tring to dump their rubbish at Witley. Or, living among the rest of us is a bit boring.
Perhaps if he had found the time, or the inclination to meet the new administration at ‘Your Waverley’ he just might have found spending more time in the borough he represents quite illuminating?
Surely our MP’s don’t just switch off – just because another party/parties take over – do they?
If they do – then the only way is OUT!
In reply to Jane Heath’s post contained in the above piece. Yes the Hustings were probably full of LibDem supporters. The Libdems are easily the BEST campaigning party of them all. All their supporters are registered by email and are organised very effectively by Ward and all it takes is ONE email and they can flood a targeted venue.
Ah! So perhaps we are not balancing our posts. Please will someone speak up for Jeremy Hunt – anyone out there?
So I put a picture up on my Twitter of all the Lib Dems in the audience we were aware of ( about 15). Some greens too I recognised but others that’s that? It was a big hall.
So there we are then. The hall wasn’t packed with `Lib Dem supporters.
As a former member of the Executive at WBC I can fully defend what we as a council did during our term of office. Paul Follows to date is yet to walk on water, turn water into wine or to achieve anything substantial since the council elections in May. He talks a good job, it’s all very well cutting out the community fireworks event and not replacing council robes but what substantial strategic initiatives have been adopted for Waverley residents?
Has Clare Mathes ever been to a Waverley meeting or is she just listening to fake news, There are some of us that have done things in the community for many years and just look at Paul Follows interest’s when he first became a councillor, there ain’t much there!
I really do think you should have a go at defending that record in your term of office Jim, that would be quite informative for us all. I’ll await the blog.
The longer we are in place the more things we understand about the recent past (see the recent presentation by Cllr Merryweather for example). The financial position we have been left with does somewhat curtail some things we might have *wanted* to have done granted, but not everything.
And I’ll be honest, it was your councillors and their inaction, poor attendance, opacity and on many cases dubious decision making that got me into the local government sphere. Just like with John Ward I am ultimately a problem of your own making.
Oh and Claire Matthes is an excellent Green Councillor in Haslemere on the Town Council. Some people decided to massively cut the Children’s centre she worked at.
Sunny Jim have you lost it now you are no longer a Waverley Borough councillor?
Here at the Waverley Web we have a list so long of Cllr Follows achievements that they won’t fit into this comment box.
Suffice to say – the public can now ask questions and get Answers – now there’s a change!
We can not only hear the webcast properly, but we can also actually see it. We even know how councillors vote? How about that for a change for the better.
And you know what, councillors in the new administration have declared A Climate Emergency against some Tory opposition. They even stand up for overdevelopment in the villages and don’t just accept that when outline planning applications are approved, they will get what developers’ said on the tin and have to fight to get anything reasonable under Reserved Matters.
Perhaps we should also mention the completely different atmosphere at Waverley Towers. We know because some of our WWebbers work there.
He isn’t just interested in what goes on in Godalming either. He gets off his backside and visits the eastern villages which is drowning under concrete, meets people and doesn’t just rock up for council meetings. He actually reads the papers. And… guess what Jim, give the man a break – HE WORKS!
Have to stop here to write up the post on the JPC’s decision not to accept overdevelopment of two school sites by SCC in Cranleigh that would have brought traffic chaos to that village. Due in part to Cllr Follows & Co.