Runnymede & Weybridge MP Dr Ben Spencer shares his thoughts on the year just gone and optimism for the year ahead.
"The start of a New Year is often used as a time of renewal and reflection: Our country is in a difficult point in our history, with many serious challenges both nationally and globally. While I’ve often said that people shouldn’t have to have too much politics in their lives, strong leadership at all levels has never been more important to help navigate us through where we are today. So to begin I’d like to thank all our Borough and County Councillors, and our Police and Crime Commissioner Lisa Townsend for all their work this year. Along with all our Association Officers and Executive Team who support us all and work to keep the Association going and get Conservative Candidates elected.
Sadly this year we lost two much loved members of our Conservative family, with the deaths of Cllr Charu Sood and Cllr Jonathan Wilson. They both made a huge impact locally and are very deeply missed. Amongst the loss we feel, as our Chairman Colin McFarlane rightly said in his Christmas message, it was a comfort to have successfully defended their seats in order to continue their legacies.
I am proud, and still very relieved, to have been re-elected in the 2024 General Election (and newly elected for those in Cobham, Downside, Oxshott, and Stoke D’Abernon). We ran a tight and effective campaign to ‘keep Runnymede and Weybridge Moving’, and I’d like to thank again everyone who helped in what was a very tough election campaign. We won by a majority of 7,627, which now makes Runnymede and Weybridge the 13th safest Conservative seat in the UK. With the strong support across the constituency, we are set up in a strong position for this year’s critical county council elections.
Following the election we had an extended leadership contest, and early on I raised to colleagues in Parliament the importance of ‘going long’ to ensure that all our members got the chance to really engage with the contest as we chose our next leader. I believe we had a good contest, and it made such a difference at Party Conference to have it focussed on it.
While I supported Kemi Badenoch from the start, we had a great set of candidates and I know everyone would agree regardless of one’s preferred candidate, the importance of uniting around our new leader and taking the fight to Labour, the Liberals, and Reform. We are already starting to see the movement in the Polls in the right direction, but there is a long way to go. I agree with Kemi’s approach to go back to core principles, talk about the ‘why’ not just the ‘how’ and believe this will bear fruit.
People often ask me now how it feels to be in opposition and the mood in parliament. Much is the same job, but with a different approach. The mood and morale are very positive: I and the rest of the parliamentary party continue to be astounded with how badly Labour are approaching Government, and they are perplexed that they are not being feted in the streets. It is early days and opposition will be a long mission over the next few years, but we will hold this awful Government to account and work towards victory in 2029.
Following the election I was asked to serve as Shadow Minister of State, initially for Health, for an interim period during the leadership contest, and after moving to Science, Innovation and Technology following Kemi Badenoch’s election. As a bona fide science geek I’m delighted with this role and it aligns very closely with the work I’ve been doing locally to promote our local technology and life science businesses, supporting international aviation, and trade and investment from South East Asia. I’ve also been picking up a lot more media, both on the TV and on Radio, especially on some big topics going through Parliament including the introduction of VAT on school fees and ‘assisted dying’ legislation.
Locally, I continue to work to deliver our local priorities including: Improve local rail services; Support our schools; Better protection from flooding; Enhance access to NHS services; Reduce air and noise pollution. There is far too much going on for me to do justice to this work here, but to see more, please follow what I’m doing go to fb.me/drbenspencer and sign up to my parliamentary newsletter which goes out once a month at runnymedeandweybridge.news
I started this message with reference to the many challenges we face, but I want to end it by saying that I’m positive for 2025 and the future of our Party. I’d like to thank you for your support, both for our Party and for me personally. December was the five year anniversary of my first election, and your support helps me and all our elected representatives deliver positive change, which at the end of the day, is what politics is all about.
Finally, can I wish you and your family a very Happy New Year and I hope to see you soon, perhaps at one of our upcoming Association Events!"
Ben