I hope you and your families are keeping safe and well, especially as we have seen a real drop in temperatures in November, as well as some flooding this month during storm Claudia.
Thank you, as always, for taking the time to read about what I’ve been up to, and to everyone who has been in touch or met with me this month.
Around the Constituency
At the start of the month, I met representatives from RAF Brize Norton and the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) to discuss the provision and upkeep of homes for military families. This impacts around 1,000 homes in the Carterton and Brize Norton area.
The meeting was very helpful in understanding where the MoD’s thoughts are regarding the timing and scale of redevelopment over the next few years. I also spoke with them about Afghan families who have relocated here after having worked with the UK Armed Forces in Afghanistan where it appears families are being charged double the social rent rates for MoD housing.
Finally, we discussed my ongoing work to get the Carterton-Witney-Oxford railway rebuilt and how this would benefit RAF Brize Norton, which currently isn’t served by any rail link despite being the largest base the RAF has anywhere in the world.
I was honoured to attend the Remembrance Sunday parade and ceremonial activities in Witney, where I laid a wreath in memory of those who fought and gave their lives for our country.
Witney puts on an excellent parade and there is a real sense of how much people hold dear the human cost of these wars.
I would also like to thank those who laid wreathes on my behalf across the constituency on Remembrance Sunday.
I also placed a cross in the Garden of Remembrance on behalf of constituents throughout Witney, to honour and remember all those who laid down their lives and to commemorate those who currently serve.
This month saw the annual UK Parliament Week, where MPs are visit schools and other organisations in their constituencies especially to spread the word about what Parliament does and how future, budding politicians can get involved.
I was delighted to meet students at both The Kings School in Witney and at Burford School, and answer lots of questions from the students. I really enjoyed meeting everyone at both events and loved all the questions.
Thank you to Mrs. Gray & Mr. Beck at Kings, and Mr. Millard at Burford for hosting me and for arranging such great sessions. I have a few more similar events planned for the start of next month which I’m really looking forward to.
The public response to the OxRail 2040 consultation was absolutely fantastic - I've been told that more emails were written in support of the Carterton-Witney-Oxford railway than on any other part of the consultation, which was Oxfordshire-wide!
The OxRail 2040 report references the project and allows for it be built within that time frame. The County Council is now working on a project to compare rail vs. other transport options, a key next step.
Hopefully this means we're on track for a future that sees more than just this old steamer in Witney!
I held my latest constituency advice surgery in Shrivenham Memorial Hall earlier this month. It was packed out!
Thank you to everyone who came along – my team and I are now working hard on the issues you raised.
I will be hosting more advice surgeries over the coming months around the constituency, so please keep an eye on my social media channels for details.
A huge thank you to Liza and her team at Shrivenham Parish Council for allowing me to use the hall.
On Friday 14 November, Storm Claudia hit our area bringing significant rainfall. This saw river levels rise and some areas of the constituency badly impacted by flooding.
For areas such as Buttercross Lane in Witney, this was severe and I headed down there to speak to residents as well as representatives from West Oxfordshire District Council, the Environment Agency and Ubico about how we are going to address the long running issues, which contribute to flooding in this area in particular.
Extraordinarily, the residents are having to manage their own
sewage pumping station as it still hasn’t been adopted by Thames Water. I’m actively discussing this with them and seeking answers on how to fix this.
Thanks to all the organisers of the Waterways Fair at Witney Corn Exchange which brought together so many committed stakeholders working on flooding, water pollution and other water-based issues locally.
I had great conversations on the day on topics from how to reduce flooding on the Windrush and the Evenlode, to problems with flood insurance, and the planned expansion of Witney’s Sewage Treatment Works which is a welcome step forward.
Now we just want to see similar infrastructure in Carterton, Faringdon, Shrivenham and the rest of the constituency!
As you will probably be aware, the Government will be considering three future models for local Government in our area, as part of the country-wide Local Government Reorganisation.
This is something I have been following closely and, having considered the different options on the table, my view is that the best solution for our area is to move to a single unitary authority for Oxfordshire, along the existing county boundaries.
I’m worried that the other scenarios will see services that are currently run across the county being broken up and restructured, which would cost a huge amount of money and be an unhelpful distraction when they are already stretched thin.
Along with other Lib Dem MPs in Oxfordshire, I have written to the Secretary of State to set out our view on the best way forward for the area.
I was so excited to be able to end this month in the constituency at one of my favourite events of the year: the Christmas Lights Switch On in Witney!
It wasn’t too cold this year, and it was as happy and festive an event as ever. It's certainly got me feeling the Christmas spirit - as you can probably see in the photo below…
Well done and huge thanks to the Rotary Club, Witney Town Council and everyone else who put on such a great show!
In Westminster
Over in Westminster it was all eyes on the Chancellor this month, as she finally made her long awaited Autumn Budget announcement, following months of speculation in the press.
I think the budget is a huge lost opportunity for this government.
It hasn’t gotten serious about our enormous debt (with questions now arising about how much there really is), hasn’t offered any serious plan for growth while dodging getting serious about key issues such as social care and SEND.
While I am pleased that the two-child benefit cap has finally been lifted and that there are higher taxes on gambling, these are all dwarfed by the biggest lost opportunity of all...
Brexit is now estimated to be costing the country £90 billion annually in foregone taxes, and the Labour Government now increasingly accepts that Brexit isn’t working, but is taking only the smallest steps to do anything about it. Not good enough!
That is why I am calling on the Government to repair our broken relationship with Europe and enter a new, bespoke customs union, to give our economy a boost by getting back that £90 billion of lost tax revenue.
Please sign my petition to show your support for a new customs union.
While the Minimum Wage has increased, the Budget saw tax thresholds frozen, pushing more working households into higher tax brackets while real incomes fall.
Taxes on savings, pensions, dividends and investments are also set to rise, squeezing people trying to plan for the future. Low-income and vulnerable households will be hit particularly hard, with minimal support to offset rising living costs.
Local businesses face a similar squeeze. As household budgets tighten, small shops, cafés, tradespeople and self-employed workers risk falling demand. This is all on top of the extra burden that businesses face with a hike in employer's payroll costs increasing the challenge to stay afloat for many of our locally run small business'.
Our farmers were given a tough blow in the Autumn Budget, as the Family Farm Tax was confirmed. This is despite warnings that it will decimate family farms, and force many to sell out to big corporations.
Join me in calling on the government to reverse the Family Farm Tax by signing my petition:
Ahead of the Budget itself, I took part in the pre-budget edition of ITV’s ‘The Last Word’, where I had a lively debate alongside Jim Dickson MP from Labour and Mims Davies MP from the conservatives.
My overriding message to the Chancellor was simple: don’t make promises you can’t keep.
I also spoke in the Chamber about my plans for a fairer tax system, which you can watch below:
I also joined Lib Dem colleagues from the region for a visit to Oxford’s Covered Market, to talk about what the Lib Dems were hoping to see in the Autumn Budget.
In particular, our call for a VAT cut for hospitality businesses, which could boost trade to local pubs, cafes and restaurants, protect jobs in these businesses and bring down prices for customers.
Thanks very much to Tap Social for having us!
Away from the budget, I had some other very interesting debates this month, on topics as varied as clamping down on offshore tax havens and the current madness of how the alcohol duty on wine is calculated.
As we look ahead to the winter months, many local people will be worrying about the risk of flooding in their homes and businesses.
I met with Flooded People this month, an organisation helping people in communities impacted by flooding to protect their homes and communities and discussed issues including how we can make sure flood insurance works properly – which I have followed up on with some questions to Ministers.
We also talked about the importance of developing natural flood management strategies in our area, to reduce these instances which are so devastating for everyone impacted.
I also attended a roundtable organised by Which? to hear more about a ‘Super Complaint’ they have submitted to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), on home and travel insurance markets, and how customers are missing out because of the low claim acceptance rates.
Outside of the Chamber, I was delighted to take part in the Poppy Ride - a static bike race of sorts - ahead of Remembrance Day, to raise money for the Royal British Legion, who provide such important support for our armed forces community.
This month saw another development in my ongoing battle to see Thames Water properly held to account.
You might remember that earlier in the year, I was given permission to intervene in the court proceedings where it was being decided if Thames should be allowed to take on another £3 billion of debt. I argued against this, as I didn’t think it was in the interest of their customers – who will ultimately pay the price for this through our bills.
Thames Water recently confirmed that they were going to try and force me to reimburse them for some of their legal costs to "deter" similar actions against them in the future.
Thankfully the Supreme Court confirmed that I would not be personally liable for Thames Water’s costs - but what on earth is going on when the largest water utility company seeks to run an MP off the road for standing up for the public interest?! And why is the Labour Government not putting the company into Special Administration so we can actually start fixing the problem?!
The Guardian covered this in a recent article titled “Thames Water tried to make MP pay its legal fees of up to £1,400 an hour”.
As always, I’ve had some interesting meetings of the Business and Trade Select Committee this month, including having the chance to question the Business Secretary on whether we should be continuing our trade in arms to the UAE, given their widely reported role in arming the RSF who have been committing appalling atrocities in Sudan.
I then went one further and doorstepped the UAE ambassador at a parliament event to ask him directly. He denied all knowledge, despite it being widely reported in the international press.
It was great to also attend the Advanced Oxford/Oxfordshire County Council Innovation Showcase in Westminster.
I enjoyed hearing from the speakers about some of the exciting opportunities for innovation in advanced manufacturing, which are being developed linked to the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor.
I am very keen to have employers locate in our constituency, bringing high paying jobs with them.
Among the (many) other interesting meetings I’ve had this month was a conversation with Pedro Serrano, EU Ambassador to the UK, where we discussed progress on the so-called ‘EU-UK reset’ and rebuilding trade between the UK and EU in the wake of the Conservatives’ disastrous Brexit deal.
The Committee also held some regional roundtables across the country, starting in Cambridge and Derby. We met local stakeholders and discussed identifying priorities for driving economic growth.
In Cambridge, we discussed topics including the potential offered by the Government’s planned Oxford to Cambridge Corridor, which is a key focus for strengthening the UK’s global position as a leader in science and technology – and of course has the potential to significantly benefit our area too.
Phew – that brings me to the end of what I think might be one of my longest updates yet – and this is just a selection of what I've been up to. It has certainly been a busy month!
As ever, please do get in touch if there is ever anything I can help you with on charlie.maynard.mp@parliament.uk. My team and I are always here to help.
Best wishes,
Charlie Maynard MP