In the warm weather it has been great to be out and about meeting so many neighbours and friends.
I get the occasional day off to play golf and will shortly be playing in a charity golf day in aid of a local charity Sport in Mind.
I was in Parliament this week to collect some of the auction prizes. This is a bottle of House of Commons whisky signed by the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and others signed by the Speaker of the Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, Theresa May, and Sir Ed Davey.
Many people know me as a local Councillor and as the Leader of Wokingham Borough Council until I stepped down recently. I have recently been pleased to meet residents while out and about in the new constituency.
I have heard first hand from constituents who have shared with me about their serious concerns about the way the country is being led by the government. Of course, people have mentioned to me the dreadful state of our economy, the cost-of-living crisis, and the continuing crisis affecting the NHS and Social Care.
Everyone knows that our MP, Sir John Redwood, was unbelievably supportive of the economic policies of former Prime Minister Liz Truss and former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng. Sir John said that measures in their budget were “sensible”.
Cost of living Crisis
The extremely damaging consequences of these supposedly “sensible” measures are now being felt by everyone paying mortgages, hoping to be able to do so, or whose rents depend upon their property owners paying a mortgage on it. The Bank of England raised interest rates to 5% last week, and many people think that they will go to 6% over the next few months. This is all pushing prices up.
More and more people in Wokingham and surrounding areas are struggling to cope with rising food and energy costs. Far too many people are having to rely on food banks to help them feed their families.
They are struggling to pay energy bills which have more than doubled in the last year, to keep a roof over their heads and they are worried about how they will be able to afford essentials.
Royal Berkshire hospital and the NHS
Local people are also very disappointed that the plan to build a new Royal Berkshire Hospital has stalled. It is often hard to get a GP appointment and impossible to get one with an NHS dentist.
Our NHS staff are wonderful, but many of them are not well looked after, they do not have the resources needed to do their jobs properly and there are a very big staff shortages throughout the NHS.
It is way past the time to address the shortage of doctors and other health care professionals; the current government is failing to do this.
The efforts of people with caring responsibilities are often not recognised and professional carers are paid very poorly. There is still a crisis in social care despite recent Prime Ministers promising to fix the problems. This often leads to more people going into hospital and staying longer than is necessary because there is nowhere for them to go.
Make this John Redwood’s last election as our MP
Finally, I should say that many people ask me if I think that I can win here and replace John Redwood? Well, I have been saying that I wouldn’t be out calling on so many doors in this sunshine if I didn’t think that I could win.
But seriously, what is clear is that the choice here will be between me and John Redwood.
I led the Lib Dems to the control of Wokingham Borough Council in May 2022: we now have 26 Councillors compared to 22 for the Conservatives. There are only five Labour Councillors, no Greens, and most supporters of these two parties are promising to lend me their support when the General Election comes along.
So, thank you for reading this. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me and any of the team of local Lib Dem Councillors.
We work for every local community from Remenham and Wargrave, Hurst, Charvil and Twyford, to Winnersh, Embrook and Evendons and Wescott and to Finchampstead, Wokingham Without, Arborfield and Swallowfield and everyone who lives here in our borough.
Cllr Clive Jones is the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate for Wokingham and former Leader of Wokingham Borough Council, Clive.jones@wokinghamlibdems.org.uk
