I hope you all enjoyed the Coronation weekend. I made it to as many events as I could and whether I was in Wantage, Didcot, Grove or Wallingford, the mood was upbeat, people were having a good time and there was plenty of food, music and activities. The Coronation itself passed off perfectly, despite the weather – and the concert was great too. It was another reminder of how this country can do events like this better than anywhere else.
While we’re still crunching the data (we will release it in full once we’re finished) I wanted to thank everyone who completed my health services survey for doing so. I’ve had responses from nearly 3,000 people, which is a really great number to give a picture of what people are feeling across the constituency.
It’s clear that, as I expected and as my inbox reflects, many people feel we do not have the health services we need. Nor do I. People particularly struggle to get an appointment with a doctor or with a dentist, but this is not the only thing that people would like to see more of when it comes to health.
Lots of people complain that we have had too many houses built without the infrastructure to support it. This is the number one thing I have talked about and campaigned on in parliament. Much of what I’ve talked about is health services, although it also relates to my campaigns to reopen Grove Station, improve our roads (including the A420 and A34) and improve broadband in some areas.
As I have said before, these are all things the local council would like to blame on central government. The Government is making a number of changes to improve the planning system and give local communities more say over how many houses are built. But, ultimately, the Liberal Democrat-run councils are the planning authority. And as I’ve pointed out before, the number of new houses registered in this constituency in 2022 was 67% higher than the number registered when the Liberal Democrats took charge in 2019.
There have been no improvements to our health services in that time – indeed, Great Western Park is now 8 years without the promised GP surgery. Unfortunately, last week’s local election results mean there is now no Conservative opposition to the Liberal Democrats on the Vale Council, so it will be very difficult to hold them to account – and not much easier on South Oxfordshire Council, where there is only 1 Conservative Councillor.
However, I will continue to campaign on these issues and to push the councils and the local health leaders (as well as my government colleagues), to deliver the infrastructure our population needs.
