Campaign, now 3 hospitals, returns to County Hall next Wednesday
Seaton and Teignmouth Hospital campaigners will be joined at Devon Health Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday by supporters of Okehampton Hospital, where the ICB are also trying to hand back a ward to Property Services. Please join us if you can!
A three-community protest, Save Devon’s Community Hospitals, will meet outside County Hall at 1.30. The Committee is at 2.15 and Jack Rowland and I will again be speaking, along with Teignmouth and Okehampton colleagues. We are talking to supportive members of the Committee about what it can best do.
Richard Foord MP had intended to be present, but now needs to speak in a debate on international affairs in Parliament, and is sending a letter of support to the Scrutiny Committee. He presented the Seaton Hospital petition in Parliament two days ago.
Planned discussions with the ICB and Property Services have been postponed, but we are now hoping to meet them on 1 February at the Hospital. In the meanwhile, our Steering Committee is also meeting next week to discuss progress on our own plans for using the empty space.
The Carpetbagger’s Tale
I don’t want this blog to be consumed with Simon Jupp, the new Conservative candidate for our area who has jumped ship from his present constituency centred on Exmouth. But as well as misrepresenting Devon’s NHS crisis, he is making a lot of the fact that he is now standing where he lives, in Sidmouth, and making out that because Richard Foord lives in Uffcolme, a few hundred yards outside the new Honiton & Sidmouth constituency (which includes neighbouring Cullompton), Richard is somehow an outsider.
The truth is that Simon is a serial carpetbagger. He moved to Exmouth in 2019 so that he could take over from Hugo Swire in the old East Devon constituency, having been a special advisor to Dominic Raab in London.
And now Simon has moved to Sidmouth. I strongly suspect that he moved there because it’s in the new Honiton & Sidmouth constituency, which he decided was a better bet than the new Exmouth & East Exeter seat where most of his present constituents live. The voters will shortly have a chance to prove him wrong about that, and then he’ll be on the move again.
So isn’t Simon just the model of a local boy made good!
Tory MP Simon Jupp lies about NHS problems in Devon
Jupp said on Spotlight just now that NHS Devon’s financial crisis is ‘of its own making’. This makes me so angry – it’s not only because HIS Tory government has given Devon a smaller share of NHS spending than it should get, it’s also – and mainly – because they same government underfunded the whole NHS for nearly fourteen years.
Yet Mr Jupp can stand there and smugly blame the managers. How can they provide proper services if they’re starved of the funds they need to do it?
Richard Foord MP presents Seaton Hospital petitions to Parliament
Yesterday Richard presented our petitions, already submitted to NHS Devon, to Parliament, to remind the government of the importance of finding an acceptable solution to this issue. He said:
‘I rise to present a petition on behalf of the residents of the Axe valley, and the towns of Seaton, Beer, Colyford and the surrounding area, who are objecting in the strongest possible terms to the disposal of an entire wing of Seaton Community Hospital. The petition has been signed by over 9,000 of my constituents, because they object to the fact that the hospital, which was funded by generous local donations, is being ripped away from them, and in part potentially sold off by NHS Property Services, and disposed of for potential sale for housing.
‘The petition states:
‘The petition of residents of Axe Valley in the Tiverton and Honiton constituency,
‘Declares that community hospitals play a vital role supporting health and wellbeing in rural communities;
further that the hospital in Seaton was built with active support and fundraising efforts by residents across the Axe Valley;
and further that plans to turn the wing of the hospital building over to NHS Property Services puts the future viability of the hospital at risk.
‘The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to take into account the concerns of petitioners and take action to return the facility to the local community, so it can be repurposed to provide better care for those living in the area.’
Richard Foord puts the Prime Minister on the spot over air strikes
He asks a very reasonable question but gets an evasive reply. Richard Foord Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Defence) There are times when a Government need to take military action without the approval of Parliament, including for operational security or the element of surprise. However, last week’s strikes were signalled very plainly in the media. The strikes…
— Read on eastdevonwatch.org/2024/01/17/richard-foord-puts-the-prime-minister-on-the-spot/
New poll shows tactical voting only way to keep Tories from returning in our area
A YouGov survey, the most detailed in five years, predicts that Conservatives will retain just 169 seats as Labour sweeps to power with 385. However our new constituency, Honiton & Sidmouth, is slated to be captured by the Tories, who would oust Richard Foord, our excellent new MP.
In my opinion the poll doesn’t take proper account of local conditions, since Labour and Reform are allocated more votes – based on national trends – then is likely to happen.
But it shows that there should be no complacency: if we want our area to be part of the big change which is coming when the Tories are ousted. we need to rally behind Richard. Every Labour or Green vote will risk Simon Jupp taking over.
— Read on www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/01/14/general-election-poll-tories-worst-defeat-1997-labour/
Richard Foord’s campaign launched this morning
Richard with Claire Wright and me before the start of the today’s event in Ottery St Mary. Getting on for a hundred people were there. More to follow.
Check out our constituency in Labour’s list of ‘non-battleground seats’
You can check the list HERE. This is Labour’s official list of where it isn’t aiming to win. Effectively, it’s a guide to where to vote LIB DEM in this year’s General Election, including our constituency (Honiton & Sidmouth, which includes Seaton and Axminster), where the progressive choice will be our current MP, RICHARD FOORD.
Seaton & Colyton MATTERS 