December Newsletter: A Look Back at 2025
I hope you and your family and friends are all looking forward to a wonderful Christmas and a very happy 2026.
Thank you so much for all the help, kindness and resourcefulness you have given our community - and me - over the last year. I have really appreciated all the help, time and advice you have given me. I’ve learned an enormous amount and I very much look forward to doing lots more with you all in 2026 and delivering more positive change for our community.
As it is Christmas, I hope you don't mind me taking a break from the usual monthly update and instead taking a look back at 2025. What a year it has been!
Fighting to Improve Our Water Sector
2025 started fast. I spent much of my 2024 Christmas break writing amendments to the Government’s Water (Special Measures) Bill, which was supposed to signal the start of a crackdown on polluting water companies.
I worked with Tim Farron, the Lib Dems’ Environment Spokesperson, to table 44 amendments to toughen up the proposals in this Bill, improve regulation of the water sector and better protect our natural environment. These included mandating more prudent finances for the water companies, fixing targets to reduce pollution levels and make water and sewage companies publish data in real-time, on the volume, length and number of sewage spills.
Disappointingly, Labour and Conservative MPs rejected all of these amendments and regrettably the legislation ended up being far weaker than Tim and I would have liked.
Looking ahead to 2026, the Government are now due to introduce a follow-up Water Bill and I will be working as hard, along with local environmental campaigners and colleagues in Parliament, to get much stronger protections for our lakes and rivers this time around.
If you've been following my updates all year, then you may remember that in February I was involved in a Thames Water High Court hearing, where the question of whether Thames Water should be able to take on another £3bn of debt was being considered. I argued that this should be refused in the public interest, as I do not think that we should all have to keep having to pay for Thames Water’s financial mess through our water bills.
I have kept making the case to Ministers that it is not good enough to keep letting Thames rack up more debt at the expense of bill payers. The Government and the regulator, Ofwat, need to get a grip on this situation and finally put Thames Water into Special Administration. If you agree, please do add your name to my petition here: Put Thames Water into Special Administration.
Ideally I'd like to see the company come out of that process as a business mutually owned by us, it’s 16 million customers with it run in the best interest of customers and the environment, rather than its creditors.
Campaigning for New Rail Links in West Oxfordshire
Throughout the year, I’ve continued to work hard on building the case for a new railway line for West Oxfordshire. I believe the only way to alleviate dire congestion on our stretch of the A40 is to rebuild the railway which previously linked Witney, Carterton and Oxford.
With the Labour Government requiring West Oxfordshire to build 18,000 more homes by 2043, the need for better public transport is even more desperate. The railway would connect Carterton and Witney with Oxford in just 22 and 16 minutes respectively and would encourage businesses to invest locally bringing high skilled, high paying jobs to our area.
Thank you to all of the many hundreds of you who have helped with this campaign by voicing your support, particularly in the recent OxRail 2040 Consultation run by Oxfordshire County Council. “Strong support for improving links across West Oxfordshire, particularly the Carterton-Witney-Oxford corridor link” was highlighted as one of the most frequently raised issues in the outcome of the consultation.
I’m continuing to have productive conversations on this – including a meeting lined up with the Rail Minister in the first week of the new year – so I hope to have more positive progress to report soon. Watch this space!
My Work in Westminster
Over in Westminster, I’ve been working very hard on fighting for less-survivable cancers and brain tumours to get more attention and funding for research, including sitting on the All-Party Parliamentary Groups for Less Survivable Cancers and Brain Tumours.
Investment in brain cancer research falls far short of what is needed. It kills more children and adults under 40 than any other cancer. I’ve been part of some powerful campaigning this year, alongside an incredible group of activists including my sister Georgie, many of whom are living with rare or less survivable cancers themselves. Here we are delivering a petition with 40,000 signatures to 10 Downing Street.
Looking ahead to 2026, a Rare Cancers Bill has been tabled by Scott Arthur MP which aims to incentivise research and investment into the treatment of rare types of cancer. I will be working hard alongside Scott and other MPs from all parties to progress this Bill through Parliament.
My membership of the Business and Trade Select Committee has given me the opportunity to have some extremely interesting meetings across the year – including getting to question ministers and leading economists about how we can increase our woeful rate of economic growth.
This is absolutely critical, yet sadly the government continues to duck some basic decisions such as joining a customs union with the European Union, which is by far our largest trading partner. This would help cut red tape, boost trade and bring in £90 billion a year in taxes lost since Brexit, giving families and businesses the stability and growth they urgently need.
If you would also like to see the UK join a new, bespoke customs union, you can sign my petition here: Join a New Customs Union.
Given the awful events in Gaza and Sudan this year, I have also focussed on challenging the Government to take more action where it can.
I’ve used my voice in Westminster to push the Government to act more decisively to end the exports of all weapons where there is good reason to believe they are then being used to carry out serious violations of international humanitarian law - this includes parts for F35 jets.
We as a country are not taking a tough enough stance, either on this or on countries which are providing weapons to warring armies in Sudan.
These are issues I will continue working hard on in 2026 – especially while the ceasefire in Gaza still looks worryingly fragile and we are seeing such terrible events unfolding in Sudan.
This autumn it was a real honour to be asked to take on the role as Liberal Democrat Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury. This long title essentially just means that I am on the economic policy team, at the right hand of Daisy Cooper MP.
I’ve really enjoyed getting stuck into this role and have had a whole range of fascinating meetings, as well as getting to take a leading role in scrutinising the Government’s recent budget.
In the new year, I’m looking forward to continuing work on developing innovative policy ideas for how we can unlock economic growth and alleviate the cost-of-living crisis.
Out and About in Witney & the Western Vale
Supported by my fantastic team, I’m very pleased to say that this year we’ve completed 7,600 pieces of casework (where people write in to me asking for my help with something they are going through, or for my support for an issue/campaign).
Being able to help people facing challenges – whether that is with their housing, health services, education or anything else – is a hugely rewarding part of this job. Please do reach out if there is ever anything me and my team can help with: charlie.maynard.mp@parliament.uk.
I’ve also visited more than 150 local businesses, charities, community groups, service providers, schools and more; and attended dozens of wonderful local events. Some highlights included a roundtable discussion on the challenges facing local family farms, a Question Time style panel where I was quizzed by students at Wood Green School, and a morning with the Carers Community in Vale of White Horse, a group of local unpaid carers who do inspirational work, coming together to support each other, share information and try to combat the isolation which many carers can feel. And I can't forget the time I invited Ed Davey to Carterton to play Walking Netball with the Carterton Wigglers!
Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to meet with me. I am so grateful to everyone who works so hard for our community.
There are some long running challenges I’m going to continue grappling with in 2026 – not least flooding, which devastates so many parts of this constituency. Here, you can see me at Buttercross Lane in Witney during Storm Claudia, when floods hit the area yet again.
With the Government asking Oxfordshire to build a huge number of new homes in the next decade, I am worried this could exacerbate these problems and I’m going to be working closely with local councils, as well as Thames Water and the Environment Agency, to try and get a grip on this.
I’m also going to be working to improve the situation with parking at Hanborough station. The car park is often full, leaving people looking to travel stuck with nowhere to park.
I’ve recently written to West Oxfordshire District Council, Oxfordshire County Council and Great Western Rail asking for a meeting where we can come together and find a solution – I will keep you posted on progress in the new year. You can read the letter below.
Earlier in the year, I did a survey to gather opinions on local GP and dentistry services and I plan on doing another survey one year on to see what has improved and what hasn’t.
West Oxfordshire District Council are consulting on their local plan at the moment, and I’ve expressed strong support for redeveloping the Welch Way site in Witney, including redeveloping Witney Community Hospital, ensuring we have a modern healthcare facility in the town which is fit for the next 50 years, and to bring more non-acute services, like routine tests and scans, closer to home, reducing the need for long trips into Oxford.
All of this and much more has kept me very busy this year, and I’m so grateful to you all for your support.
Thank you again and here’s to a wonderful 2026 – and beyond!
Best wishes,
Charlie Maynard MP