As we look forward to 2025, I’d like to wish everyone a Happy New Year. I hope the new year brings us prosperity, health and happiness. And that after some turbulent years, there will be a return to a more peaceful world soon.
Since I became the first ever Liberal Democrat MP for Wokingham on July 4th I have been busy talking about and working on issues that affect constituents in Wokingham. I will continue to do so in 2025 and throughout this parliament
As a candidate, and now and MP, I have made the case for proper funding and rebuilding of the Royal Berkshire hospital. It became clear a few years ago that the Conservatives promise to do so lacked even a costed plan let alone the money behind their promise to do so by 2030. I have campaigned for this continually and hope to hear from the new government early in 2025 that the rebuild project will begin, with an early start date. Patients and NHS staff across our area need this to happen.
The Cost of Living crisis continues to bite, with the price rises from out of control inflation and mortgage interest rates of recent years still hitting peoples pockets. I voted against the government scrapping of the Winter fuel allowance for older people and my Liberal Democrat colleagues and I will continue to campaign in 2025 for it to be reinstated – we are the only party to have consistently backed this important measure to help vulnerable people with the cost of winter heating, and we have demonstrated where the money can be found to enable the government to continue paying it. The tax on excess bank profits scrapped by the Conservatives could be restored. There could be extra taxes on gambling companies, and proper windfall taxes on oil and gas companies. There could also be fairer taxes payable in the UK by social media companies such as X. All of these were and continue to be opposed by the Conservatives and are not being taken up by the new Labour government.
I hope 2025 will be the year in which the government finally gets serious about making water companies clean up their act and stop the dumping of untreated sewage into our waterways. From my own discussions with Thames Water it is clear that the fines and regulatory steps fall far short of what is needed and will not materially improve the situation. Years of taking money out of the business for shareholders and directors bonuses at the expense of investment and debt, rather than investing in maintenance and capacity building have led to a situation where, under the current privatised and debt burdened structure, Thames Water simply cannot deal with this. Thames Water customers in Wokingham should not be facing huge increases in their water bills to support a failing company.
2025 could also be the year in which two other health projects on which I have been working come to fruition, or at least make big steps forward. In Parliament, I have introduced a bill to produce a National Cancer Strategy that will target the targeting of Cancer treatment and ensure that proper resources are found for the treatment of rare cancers, particularly those found in children and young people. I am very pleased that I currently have government support for this. I will be working on this with many leading cancer charities in the new year and making sure the government delivers on the promise they made to me to do this. I also raised with Ministers the critical lack of GP capacity in our area which causes so many issues for so many people every day. I have specifically asked for a new Doctors surgery in Arborfield Green and from working with the local NHS, the developer and the council there are promising signs that this can be delivered.
There are so many issues, legacies of years of poor government and decline, which I have been working on and on which I hope for progress in 2025. Leasehold reform for new home owners – promised for years but still to be delivered. A banking hub for Wokingham, on which former Mayor Lynn Forbes has led the charge. Progress with our two new Special educational Needs Schools, inexplicably paused by the Department for Education. Proper funding for wider SEND services, on which Wokingham is uniquely challenged as the lowest recipient of overall government funding on the basis of average deprivation, a measure which bears no relation to demand for SEND services.
Like you I hope that our world will become a safer place in 2025 and that our country and economy will turn the corner after years of decline and neglect.
I and my staff will continue to be very happy to help and support residents of the Wokingham Parliamentary constituency. If you need our help please email clive.jones.mp@parliament.uk
I wish you all and your families and friends a very happy new year.
Clive Jones is the Liberal Democrat MP for Wokingham
