‘Under no circumstances can we let the Tories win here’, says Labour candidate, in big boost to Richard Foord’s Lib Dem campaign
Readers will remember that Labour decided some time back not to fight for our new Honiton & Sidmouth constituency in the General Election. Because of this, Labour will be only be standing a ‘paper’ candidate, who has now been selected by the national party (because the party is not seriously contesting the seat, local members did not make the choice). Labour has announced that the candidate is Jake Bonetta (above), a former councillor, and in a big boost to Richard Foord’s Lib Dem campaign, he has written to all local Labour members to tell them that ‘Under no circumstances can we let the Tories win the seat, bringing them one MP closer to forming the next Government.’
Jake says that (rather than campaigning here) Labour members should join the campaign to win a seat in Plymouth: ‘our top priority must always be on our nearest “battleground seat”, Plymouth Moor View … we will be travelling [there] at least once a fortnight during the long campaign. .., it’s a great opportunity to continue supporting our Party in the seat that matters most, nearest to us. For those of you who can’t make canvassing in Plymouth Moor View, there will be plenty of opportunities to get involved in their campaign from home.’
Jake’s message is very responsible and should be welcomed by everyone who wants Richard Foord to be returned. Labour activists helped Richard win in the 2022 by-election, as he acknowledged, and could play a significant part in helping ensure that he, rather than the Tory carpetbagger, wins in the General Election.
Bunts Lane felling is due to ash dieback; replanting will follow
John Wilding of Clinton Devon Estates has written to a local resident: ‘I confirm that the recent felling at Bunts Lane is ash dieback related.
The plan details the areas where we have had to fell diseased ash close to Bunts Lane and Couchill. Most of the work was undertaken two years ago, and has been replanted.
Bunts lane had a stay of execution as the dieback was slower to progress here; we took some badly infected trees out of the New Beer Road / Bunts lane junctions three years ago, which helped, however the disease situation change last year and the time to intervein, before the trees became lethal to both road users and the felling team who undertake the work arrived this winter.
I appreciate it is a change but can assure you the site will quickly heal as full light reinvigorates the ground flora, at least for a few years before trees once again close in. As the area becomes a thicket a whole range of different wildlife will benefit compared to the ash and sycamore pole stage stand that has been worked.
We do plan to replant but it is unlikely to be this spring as I am unable to source plants this late in the season – we have been seriously delayed due to the need for and delay in getting the road closure. Replanting will now be undertaken next winter when a mixture of cherry, sycamore and oak. The sycamore and oak are unlikely to grow to maturity, due to the ravages of Grey squirrel and long term the woodland is likely to become a cherry wood, fortunately cherry is largely left alone by Grey squirrel!
Thank you for your interest and I understand your reaction to this change. I have no doubt that local wildlife will seize the opportunity and the increased diversity will quickly be a net gain for Bunts lane.’
Richard Foord pursues Hospital funding issue in Commons question
The Seaton Hospital Steering Committee, elected at the public meeting in November, is aiming to apply to the Community Ownership Fund to support our bid to utilise the vacant wing of the Hospital. Richard Foord MP has asked a helpful question in the Commons:
Richard Foord (Tiverton and Honiton) (LD)
On the community ownership fund, it is welcome that the match funding requirements for local organisations have been reduced to 20%. In future rounds, could the criterion around match funding take account of prior investment by the community, such as the very many small donations that people in the Axe valley area gave to build Seaton community hospital?
Michael Gove
That is an interesting idea. I am very fond of the Axe valley, so I will look at it.
A Seaton view of Richard Foord MP: ‘He spoke as if he was one of us, not someone in high places’
After yesterday’s Seaton Hospital meeting I got a message from one of the people who was there thanking me for getting Richard to come along: ‘Richard Foord being there meant a great deal to a lot of people. He spoke as if he was one of us and not someone in high places. That matters.’
‘We’ve seen off the immediate threat but there’s a lot more to do to save the Hospital’
This was the message at this afternoon’s meeting in the Old Picture House, Seaton. Members of the Hospital Steering Committee, from left to right Jack Rowland (Chair), Martin Shaw (Secretary), Cllr John Heath and Richard Foord MP, gave a full update to fifty or so supporters of the Hospital campaign. The Committee is working hard to develop a plan to use a wing of the hospital for services including dementia care and mental health, and hopes to have a plan agreed with the NHS and NHS Property Services by the summer.
Richard Foord gets government minister to disown plans to demolish Seaton Hospital
In his campaign to support Seaton Hospital in Parliament, Richard Foord, our MP, secured a second adjournment debate on Friday, on the accountability of NHS Property Services which owns the Hospital.
In an eloquent contribution (read it in full, it’s well worth it), Richard pointed out that since the Hospital is owned by NHS Property Services and that company is wholly owned by the government, the government could and should change Property Services’ policy of charging clinical ‘market rents’ for any use of hospital space, in cases like Seaton where the local community has paid for the hospital.
The minister replying said the government couldn’t intervene to change the policy for a particular case, thereby ducking Richard’s request that the government change the policy in relation to community hospitals in general. Nevertheless, he did say that there are no plans to demolish a wing of Seaton Hospital, which would ‘very much be a last resort in any event’ – although of course we know that the Devon NHS sourced government funding to do precisely that.
The minister also referred to the fact that the site has now been listed as an asset of community value, ‘which means that such a drastic step is exceedingly unlikely to be supported by the local planning authority or other local stakeholders’. We have East Devon District Council, led by Colyton Liberal Democrat councillor Paul Arnott, to thank for that.
Will Simon Jupp repudiate Mad Liz Truss’s new extremism?
The Conservative Party is embroiled in a new wave of far-right extremism, with Suella Braverman as well as Lee Anderson inciting hostility to Muslims and Liz Truss, appearing with the notorious US far-rightist Steve Bannon, accepting his praise of the extreme-right agitator Tommy Robinson as well as herself endorsing Donald Trump and his threat to democracy in all but name.
Simon Jupp MP, who is now the Conservative candidate for our constituency, welcomed Mad Liz Truss when she became prime minister 18 months ago and supported her catastrophic mini-budget (see the photo above, which he posted on his Twitter feed). Will he now condemn her new extremism and back calls for her to lose the Tory whip?
Claire Wright’s fulsome endorsement of Paul Arnott
Claire writes (from Facebook): I am really happy to announce that I am backing Paul Arnott to take Exmouth and Exeter East in the general election! For those of you not familiar with Paul, he is the Liberal Democrat leader of East Devon District Council, presiding over a rainbow coalition of LibDem, Independent and Green…
— Read on eastdevonwatch.org/2024/02/13/breaking-claire-wrights-fulsome-endorsement-of-paul-arnott/
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Seaton & Colyton MATTERS 