MP Newsletter #1: Farming, budget, and remembrance
Dear reader,
A very warm welcome to the first edition of this regular newsletter.
This is where you can keep up to date with what I’m doing across our Melksham and Devizes constituency and what I’m up to in Westminster on behalf of constituents.
It’s now just over four months since I was elected on July 4th and since then it has been a whirlwind of casework, inductions, visits to a wide range of local organisations and working on national and international political issues through my work in the House of Commons.
In the regular versions of this newsletter, I plan to give you the headlines of what I’ve been up to in the previous few weeks as well as flagging useful information and guidance. But for this first edition I wanted to focus on a few main topics, mainly arising from the recent Budget.
I’m really looking forward to writing these in the coming months and years as there’s nothing more enjoyable than directly communicating with my constituents.
If you’d like to attend a surgery, please email brian.mathew.mp@parliament.uk. I hold them regularly around the area and would very much welcome talking with you to see how I can help.
My office is also on hand to deal with casework, and this can be sent into the same email address as above.
You can also follow me on Facebook and X (Twitter).
Fighting for our family farms
While I really do welcome the increased investment in our NHS, as well as the extra funding for our schools, there are several issues with the plans outlined in the Budget. Issues which will cause real difficulties here in Melksham and the surrounding villages.
Earlier this month I spoke in parliament about the very real threats facing our local farmers following the planned changes to inheritance tax. The new rules, which will force farmers to pay 20% tax on anything over £1m, will have a devastating effect on family farms. As a result, some farms are likely to be forced to sell to big business. As we’ve seen over the last few years, first with COVID and then with the war in Ukraine, ensuring food security is increasingly a vital part of a government’s work. This change threatens our food security and threatens family farms and the communities around them.
I’ve had the pleasure of visiting several farms in our constituency since being elected, and I will continue to champion farmers in our community so they can provide for their families, provide good local jobs and maintain our rural environment.
Tax rises will hit our health services
The other major change from the Budget means that National Insurance contributions from employers are set to rise. While I understand the need to raise money to invest in our badly run public services after years of Tory decline, laying the cost with employers will be counter-productive to growing the economy.
It will also threaten small businesses and the charity sector, especially small local charities like Julia’s House in Devizes who do such wonderful work with children facing terminal illnesses, and their families, and I think not enough thought has gone into this. I have spoken with the CEO of Julia’s House who told me the actual cost to them as an organisation will be £242,000 a year, a staggering figure when one thinks of the fundraising effort that goes into raising funds.
This is why I, along with my Lib Dem colleagues, am urging the government to exempt GP Surgeries, social care providers, hospices, NHS dentists, charitable providers of health and care, and pharmacies from the increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions. I have heard from many healthcare providers in our local area who will face serious financial challenges if faced with this increase.
Melksham and Devizes remembers
I had the honour of laying a wreath at the Melksham War memorial on remembrance Sunday. It was incredibly moving to hear the readings and speak with those in attendance who have strong connections to our armed forces.
Earlier this month I planted a tribute to our area’s veterans in Parliament's Garden of Remembrance on behalf of all my constituents.
Lest we forget.
Best wishes,
Brian Mathew MP
Your Member of Parliament for Melksham and Devizes
P.S: I always welcome feedback. As we get started with this newsletter, if you have any suggestions or comments please do get in touch via email.
