Nothing. I mean nothing was more heart breaking than having to tell our 8 year old and then our 6 year old they couldnโt have their birthday party in 2020. Johnson was 55 that year but apparently not mature enough to cancel his own birthday partyโฆ
The 76 Conservative MPs who abstained on the NI bill yesterday. If you had voted against it Britain wouldnโt break international law, wouldnโt have new troubles in Northern Ireland and wouldnโt have a trade war with Europe. The 283 who voted for it, how dare you! Not in my name.
I spent a career building massive tech companies, hiring the brightest developers from Europe to London (high salaries low use of state services), I can emphatically tell you Brexit has closed the door to the worldโs top graduates. Hiring from abroad now incredibly difficult.๐งต
A quarter of Johnson & Raabโs Cabinet have received Russian linked donations (over ยฃ2m) in the last 2 years. I think we need an investigation into what influence this has on our foreign policy with Russia. Is Russia about to attack Ukraine?? Very scary looking situation.
So what you are saying is you want a tariff free zone with the biggest economies where everyone has to follow the same rules? The fact the architects of the Brexit disaster had no idea what they campaigned for baffles me.
If anyone used the Conservative partyโs โfree postal returnโ that they delivered to residents to apply for a postal vote and didnโt today receive their postal vote, please privately contact me. Your application was re-directed to Conservative Party head-office not to Elmbridge.
In Dominic Raabโs Elmbridge (Esher and Walton for the GE)- the Conservatives were defending 10 council seats. They lost 4 to LDs and 2 to RAs. LDโs also held 3 seats. A really amazing result.
Over 100 (a quarter) of the homes in St Georgeโs hill in Weybridge are owned by Russians. We have some questions to ask about the local links to the Russian Oligarchs. What is Dominic Raabโs involvement in the massive Russian donations to the Tory party?
Just a reminder that not one Brexit promise by this government was keptโฆnot 1! Instead we have trade barriers, high tax, high cost of living. There has been not one single benefitโฆ
I lost my freedom of movement, complains man who voted to give away his freedom of movement.
And they get cross when we call their intelligence into question. ๐
@thatginamiller
I generally have been extremely supportive of your actions in the past but all you are doing by standing is letting the Conservatives back in by splitting the vote. FPTP means you have to be tacticalโฆand standing as an independent here is splitting the pro EU anti-Tory vote.
Great to spend the day with
@helenhalcrow
we were delivering leaflets and had people walking up to ask us how they could help. We even signed a new member today! Something is happening in North Shropshireโฆ
We simply donโt produce enough developers here, and london was the tech capital of Europe so a very attractive place to come to (like Silicon Valley attracts talent in US). Our young British developers were exposed to brilliant international devs thereby improving their skills.
With Wragg itโs now 21 Tory MPs either fired or forced to resign for sleaze, corruption or other forms of depravity. Around 4% of Tory MPs. The John Major sleaze scandals seem so tame compared to the rot in the modern Conservative Party. We need a General Election - sick of them
I have also hired from non EU countries, especially India which produces top notch developers. Itโs incredibly difficult, tons of paperwork and very high risk with the time. We eventually stopped - hiring the best is a speed sportโฆ
Spent this morning with
@bbcnews
as
@monicabeharding
and I took a camera crew round Cobham canvassing. This is supposed to be the safest of Conservative areas but instead all we found were
@LibDems
I mean if I had been in power for 13 years, I wouldnโt necessarily be drawing attention to the fact that infrastructure has collapsed so much that basics like water and electricity are in short supply. Are you suggesting we need a new government to fix it? I agreeโฆ
I really worry about what the government is signaling to certain segments of the population. The โkeep them outโ rhetoric soon becomes โkick them outโ and frankly I worry where this spirals / ends up.
Quite incredible that in Surrey - once the bluest safest of Tory areas. They have now lost the last council. At one stage before Brexit all 14 surrey district and borough councils were Conservative run and most have always been Tory.
In all the noise about Rwanda and the cost (so far) of ยฃ240 million I think people have missed that itโs only for 100 people. Or to put it another way ยฃ2.4 million per migrant we send there. Our schools are crumbling, shouldnโt we spend the money on that instead?
Reminder when the conservatives say that local isnโt the same as national. The guy laying on the floor is standing as a Conservative councillor in Kingston. The โlocalโ conservatives are the same party.
If Helen Morgan is elected in Shropshire, the LibDem MPs will be 70% female. Traditionally the HOC is a (very) boys club. I want to tell my daughter that there is no place in society she canโt succeed. Being part of a party where there are incredible successful women is special
Astra Zeneca literally said it was because Ireland is in the single market and โchecks notesโ โฆ the Conservatives have been in power for 13 yearsโฆ so you get to set the tax rate. Which ever you choose to believe itโs evidentially your fault.
In 2019 Jonson and Raabโs manifesto promised us lower energy bills. 3 years into their government we have the worst cost of living crisis in history and the highest energy bills anyone has ever seen.
Is this same Grant Shapps as Transport Minister who wrote to Sadiq Khan insisting that ULEZ had to expand in order to get their Covid funding (May 14 2020). Or was he pretending to be Michael Green, Corinne Stockheath or Sebastian Fox that day?
Last year Cobham Bridge sewer storm overflow spilled 35 times for a total of 335 hours into the River Mole.
@DominicRaab
why didnโt you vote to stop this?
Ed Davey has been on the River Mole this weekend testing the water. Over 3,000 hours of sewage have spilled into the River Mole according to the latest data from the Environment Agency.
In Elmbridge we have a radical plan to clean up the Mole.
@ElmbridgeLibDem
@monicabeharding
@simonharris_mbd
When you sell your car please hide the copy for an unsuspecting person to find in hole where spare tires used to be stored. Itโs a slow burn gag that might not be discovered for years.
How much Russian money have the Conservatives accepted? How much did Russia influence the Brexit vote? How many Russian government assets have your government put in the House of Lords? How many British Newspapers have you allowed to be sold to Russian government assets ?
Any nation falling under Putinโs grip will add more names to this list. Heroes will stand up and often be murdered. Cowards will bow down or, worse, praise him.
Standing with Ukraine is the best way to honour Navalny - itโs a whole nation that refuses to bow to down.
Both London and Elmbridge voted as enthusiastically to remain as Northern Ireland and we have a much much bigger population. Why canโt we have the same special deal? If itโs so fantastic why canโt the whole country have unrestricted movement of goods between the UK & Europe?
Cobham is looking a bit Orange isnโt it? Every time I go out canvassing more households ask for a stake-board poster. Never seen anything like it in Cobham. I am really incredibly grateful for all of the support from the community.
Both my father and I were elected for the
@LibDems
today. Accidentally we stood exactly the same way and in the same place (52 miles apart) awaiting the result by our respective returning officers.
@LutonLibDems
@ElmbridgeLibDem
Raab created the housing target as housing minister. The inspectors who overturned the councillors decision, work for the government. Literally all of this only lands in one place.
#RaabsGreatestHits
The reckless incompetence of Lib Dem run Elmbridge council, in failing to put a Local Plan in place, has allowed the development on the historic site at Hampton Court - which our local community in Molesey has so bitterly opposed. Unforgivable.
@LizWebsterSBF
Didnโt about 60% of them vote in favour? I remember visiting the Eden project just before the vote in Cornwall (funded by the EU) thinking they arenโt getting stuff like this if they vote to leaveโฆ. They did, they donโt anymoreโฆ
Cost of living crisis, highest taxes in living memory, people choose eating or heating. Rishi Sunak (the chancellorโs) wife is a Non-Dom and therefore pays no tax on her global assets.
#OneRuleForThem
Great to spend some time with
@EdwardJDavey
today, we discussed the state of the River Mole and the state of the roads in Surrey - both of which are key concerns of residents in Cobham and Downside.
LibDem policy is to restore Freedom of Movement and rejoin single market (you know like the Brexit campaign promised)โฆ a vote for Labour or the Tories is a vote for Farrageโฆ
Conservative MPs are being whipped to vote with the government today on Fracking. This means 11 Surrey MPs including Dominic Raab, Michael Gove, Jeremy Hunt and Kwasi Kwarteng will be voting to frack in the Surrey Hills & across the UK
#ElmbridgeLibDems
#LibDems
#ELDNoFracking
Two things 1) is Gary Lineker a libdem? 2) I notice Dominic Raab voted for this. As a reminder the River Mole has the worst effluent outflow on any river in Britain (at 1 site untreated sewage was discharged into the River Mole on 223 days) thatโs the river in Esher / Cobham etc
I have an idea, letโs club together with some other nations that have the same food standards as us and make it really easy to import without regulatory checks at the border. We could avoid issues with weather affecting a crop in one region. We could call it a single market?
I did a canvassing session in Cobham, I spoke to a number of people who I know from previous canvassing are normally Conservative voters. They said things like โI have always voted Tory I wonโt nowโ, โThe Conservatives have lost my vote for now, possibly foreverโ.
@PushTheSutton
It says this on the Central Park Website โOlmstedโs vision for Central Park was inspired by Birkenhead Park, widely acknowledged as the first publicly funded park in England.โ
Elmbridge Borough Council has committed to help Afghans who helped our armed forces by housing 3 families here. We desperately need to find landlords in Elmbridge who are willing to help with an available property to rent in the next month or so:
Interesting to see the outcome of focus group by Politico. Half of those interviewed plan to vote LibDems when they voted Conservative last time in Esher and Walton.
@monicabeharding
matches what I find when knocking on doors.
@ElmbridgeLibDem
@LibDems
Very excited to announce this evening that I have joined Elmbridge borough councilโs cabinet. Iโm portfolio holder for Enterprise and Local Economy. An area Iโm deeply passionate about, I hope to bring lots of energy and ideas to the role.
Lee Anderson who was recently accused of bullying staff has been named deputy Chair of the Conservative Party. You canโt make it up! Instead of fixing the bullying problem they have promoted another oneโฆ shows how weak Sunak is I guess.
Unbelievable canvassing session in Downside today. Traditional conservative voters furious that PCSOโs cut by 50% since 2021 & sick of the Tory sleaze. Election prospects looking great for General Election, Police and Crime Commissioner and Council.
@PaulKenLD
@EllzSummary
Good luck
@SpelthorneLibDe
with John Thesigerโs by-election today. I enjoyed delivering the beautiful village of Laleham first thing this morning.
@ElmbridgeLibDem
"The latest number of coronavirus cases are rising once more".
Health Secretary Matt Hancock says there has been a 14% increase in
#coronavirus
cases in the last week.
420 daily deaths have been reported on average.
Live
#COVID19
updates ๐
Rishi Sunak was supposed to be the grown up after the chaos of Johnson and Trussโฆ then he picks Lee Anderson as deputy chair. A reminder he was a Labour Councillor who worked for the Labour MP before switchingโฆ
Congratulations to my father Steve Stephens and his new husband Niall Gregory, took you 28 years to tie the knot!! May you have much love and happiness as a married couple.
Iโm concerned that this is what Dominic Raab said and thinks:
"Do we know if the crowd has thinned out yet because of the terrorist attack? Thought it was extraordinary they all stayedโฆ"
Johnson: Are you the guys inundated with all the emails from everywhere in the world saying, please help my son, mother in Afghanistan? I've had a few of those
Raab: It was extraordinary that they all stayed after the
#KabulAiport
attack
Johnson: Amazing, amazing
#Newsnight
You promised us only upsides from Brexit. You didnโt think the country would notice there are no Brexit dividends? Just harrowing costs and a loss of benefits enjoyed by us all? Just say sorry.
LibDems have been campaigning for some time to get all of Elmbridge railway stations in zone 6 (see this from back in April) Iโm pleased to see Dominic Raab has now joined our campaign. If only he had done it while a minister and could make the changeโฆ
Er, the draft Local Plan was published last week. Reminder that YOU made the housing target when you were housing minister, we have been literally fighting to find a way to reduce YOUR housing goal so we donโt have to build on the Greenbelt. But you crack on with your gaslighting
2022 sewage discharges into the river Mole were bad at 360 but 2023 was horrendous at 662. Complete failure of the Conservative government and a reminder the EA downgraded water treatment rules after Brexit.
So Johnson was the first sitting PM to break the law with a FPN. But Sunak is the first to have broken the law with a FPN as both PM and Chancellor? Did I get it right? We havenโt had a new PM for a few weeks so I guess the merry-go-round is about to start again?
LibDem colleagues & The National Trust are working on plans to clean up the Stepping Stones (on the river Mole) and getting it Designated as a Bathing Area (paddling) - a Defra classification. I would hope we can achieve the same for the Mole in Cobham.
Is it me or is the supermarket getting crazily expensive. Did a relatively normal weekly shop yesterday, feels like itโs about double what I was paying a year ago for the same amount of food.
With Mark Menzies itโs now 22 MPs. Approaching 5% of the Conservative parliamentary party is corrupt or sleazyโฆ and again the whips covered it up! Please for the love of all decency call a general electionโฆ
With Wragg itโs now 21 Tory MPs either fired or forced to resign for sleaze, corruption or other forms of depravity. Around 4% of Tory MPs. The John Major sleaze scandals seem so tame compared to the rot in the modern Conservative Party. We need a General Election - sick of them
Lowlight of knocking on doorsโฆ when I rang a doorbell and as the resident opened the door a peel of thunder and lightning greeted herโฆ I am now very very hailed uponโฆ
Pleased to see Surrey LibDems successfully put forward a joint motion on expanding Free School meals at Surrey County Council today : the motion calls to do more to help children in need, including lobbying the government on extending the provision of free school meals.
Have to have a visa to go on holiday anywhere in Europe from May next year. The people promoting Brexit lied to us. No new money for the NHS, crashed economy and now this. ๐๐๐
The river Mole is a chalk stream up-stream. Chalk Streams are referred to as Englands rainforests as they are so important to our ecology. Stop pumping effluent into them - simple as that.
@LibDems
@ElmbridgeLibDem
drove from Esher and Walton to support
@helenhalcrow
win in North Shropshire. As we leafleted this morning numerous people walking up to tell us they will vote LD for the first time.
So itโs about ยฃ100m per Home Secretary visit. ยฃ300m would pay for 4989 senior nurses salaries for a year. I donโt know a single British person who wouldnโt prefer the money went to the NHS instead of a fake Rwanda scheme.
NEW: The cost of the govtโs Rwanda scheme has *doubled* before a single migrant has been sent there. Home Office admits tonight it has handed over another ยฃ100m this year, on top of the original ยฃ140m cost - with a further ยฃ50m to follow next year
This evening at Cabinet we agreed the Water Drowning Prevention Plan which includes free swimming lessons for 11-18 year olds, life guarding/saving lessons and additional throw lines along the Thames.
@ElmbridgeLibDem
#eld
@ElmbridgeBC
Weโre in the
@guardian
again
@monicabeharding
@LibDems
โWhen our correspondent canvassed with Lib Dems in the leafy Surrey marginal seat of the deputy prime minister, Dominic Raab, not a single voter professed loyalty to the Tory MP.โ
I was very pleased to open the first Esher market today with our mayor and other local councillors and politicians. With thanks to the Esher chamber of commerce who have done a fabulous job.