Category Archives: Election

Vote Conservative on December 12, Move Britain Forward

My nomination papers to be the Conservative candidate in Esher and Walton are in, and the election campaign is now in full swing. The Conservatives are offering a positive vision to get Brexit done, and unleash our full potential as a country. I hope you will vote Conservative on 12 December for three reasons:

1. We have a great Brexit deal agreed with the EU. We need the MPs elected to drive it through Parliament, so the UK can move on. This is the common sense and moderate way to deal with Brexit – giving effect to the referendum as a matter of democratic principle, and doing it with a deal so we continue our trade and cooperation with our EU partners.

2. We have a positive agenda to take the country forward: expanding infrastructure to create the jobs of the future and raise wages, tackling climate change at home and abroad, keeping taxes low and easing the cost of living, and using the tax revenue from a thriving free enterprise economy to put more police on the streets, invest in our precious NHS and level up schools funding.

3. I have championed Esher and Walton constituency and I am committed to making it an even better place to live – increasing school places and funding, getting NHS investment to our GP practices, getting more police on the streets of Elmbridge, safeguarding the Greenbelt, and supporting local groups helping the most disadvantaged in our communities.

You can follow my campaign on Twitter and Facebook, or feel free to drop me a line at dominic.raab@esherwalton.com.

Home Secretary Visits Elmbridge Ahead of Local Elections

Last week, I welcomed Home Secretary Amber Rudd and Surrey Police Commissioner David Munro to Elmbridge so that I could raise residents’ concerns, in particular regarding some localised increases in burglaries and anti-social behaviour. The Home Secretary also met with candidates for the local Council elections in May, Steve Bax, Ruth Mitchell and Simon Waugh giving them the opportunity to discuss important police and crime issues in their specific Wards.

Crime in Elmbridge is low compared to the national average, but it is still important to be vigilant. We are a target for criminals from outside the borough because of our location close to Heathrow, London and the M25. I know there have been issues with a spate of local burglaries (especially in Walton) and low-level anti-social behaviour (including in Molesey), and I raised these issues with the Commissioner and the Home Secretary.

The government is supporting Surrey police in dealing with these problems. We have committed to protecting the national policing budget in real terms until 2020, which means a £900 million cash increase by the end of the decade. We will also spend an extra £180 million on priority issues such as counter-terrorism and digital crime next year. There is also £200 million capital investment going into the National Crime Agency (NCA), to bolster its ability to tackle cyber-crime.

Re-Election as MP for Esher & Walton

I am delighted, honoured and humbled to have been re-elected in the early hours of this morning as the MP for Esher and Walton constituency (pictured below with my fellow candidates and Elmbridge Mayor, Rachael Lake). I gained almost the same number of votes as in 2015, and was returned with a majority of over 23,000. I look forward to taking forward the plans I set our during the campaign for extra school places, better local rail services and more NHS services in the community.

Overall, it was a disappointing night for the Conservatives. Nevertheless, it needs to be placed in some historic perspective. We won more votes than Tony Blair and Labour did in 1997. The Conservatives won the largest vote share on the night, and we won by far the largest number of seats in the House of Commons. On that basis, I expect Theresa May to form a government with support from the DUP, so we can provide some certainty and take the country forward in the Brexit negotiations, maintain a strong economy, and protect our national security in light of the recent terrorist attacks.

Vote Conservative on Thursday

On Thursday, voters in Esher and Walton constituency will decide who they want as their next MP, and who will lead the government. Please vote for me as your local MP, and a Conservative government under Theresa May, for three reasons.

First, as your local MP, I have fought your corner with my heart and soul – to cut income tax so the vast majority of our constituents take home £1,000 more each year (compared to 2010), deliver two new state secondary schools by 2020, add extra carriages on our local trains to ease overcrowding, and secure extra health services including £1million towards a new air ambulance for the area. On Brexit, I have consistently argued that we should strive for a ‘win-win’ deal with our EU friends on trade, security and wider cooperation.

Second, only the Conservatives under Theresa May as our Prime Minister can provide the strength of leadership Britain needs, to keep the economy firing on all cylinders, generate the tax revenue to invest in our precious public services, protect our national security, deliver controlled immigration and – above all else – deliver a successful Brexit, whichever way you voted in the referendum last year.

Third, the last thing the country needs right now is a chaotic coalition of bickering smaller parties (including the Lib Dems, Greens and SNP) propping up a split Labour government, led by a weak and floundering leader in Jeremy Corbyn. That would be an economic disaster, weaken our security, and increase the risk of failure in these vital Brexit negotiations.

Local Campaigning – the Final Stretch!

We are now into the last few days of campaigning for the General Election, and I’m not taking anything for granted.

I was at St Christopher’s Church in Hinchley Wood last night for a rambunctious  local hustings (pictured, immediately below, with my fellow candidates). Thanks to everyone who came along, and to the Church for hosting and organising it.

I was back out at 6.45am this morning in the rain at Thames Ditton station – with the ever stoic Terence Alexander (pictured below) – making the case for residents to vote Conservative, come rain or shine!

 

 

 

 

Cobham Farmer’s Market

This morning, I was down with our brilliant local Conservative team, on the high street in Oxshott (pictured immediately below with Sue and her rather large, but very friendly, dog Zoe), along the parade at Stoke d’Abernon, and finishing up at Cobham Farmer’s market.

There was a great footfall through Cobham Farmer’s market, a perfect opportunity to shoot the breeze with local residents – and make the case for a strong, ambitious and optimistic Conservative government under Theresa May.

 

Out on the Doorstep

After the horrific events in Manchester, election campaigning has resumed. That is as it should be. We cannot allow the terrorists to win by disrupting our election. Still, it has been a painful week for the country, and a sobering one for politicians. While the election campaigning and debate played out in the national media will resume its noisey and rambunctious nature, I am struck by how measured people are out on the door-step.

This week, I have been relentlessly knocking on doors and delivering leaflets in West Molesey, Walton on Thames – and I was out doing a ‘dawn raid’ greeting commuters at Walton Train Station from 6.30am this morning. Tomorrow, I will be out and about in Oxshott, before moving on to Cobham Farmers’ market. I am trying to cover as much ground as possible, and have as many direct personal conversations as I can. It takes up a lot of time to do this properly – and we’re less than two weeks away from polling day – but I find it the most effective way to explain my local record and the Conservative vision for the future.

I’m also doing a Radio 5 Live debate from 6pm on Sunday (28th May), and the BBC Radio Surrey debate on 30 May, advertised here, and a local hustings at St Christophers Church in Hinchley Wood on Monday 5 June. It’s difficult to cram it all in, because there has been less time to plan for this election than normal – but that makes the local campaigning all the more important.

 

Terrorist Attack in Manchester

All are hearts and thoughts are with those murdered or injured in the appalling terrorist attack in Manchester, as well as their families.

We have suspended political campaigning today, so we can pay our respects and come together as one country in the face of this barbaric attack.