Brian's MP Newsletter #22: The Budget, Jury Trials, Flooding, Parliament Week, and Prostate Cancer
Dear reader,
I hope you are keeping warm as the mercury dips this week. It’s been another busy fortnight both up in Westminster and around the constituency, and it’s been particularly lovely to meet so many of my younger constituents recently too.
Of course, the Budget and its fallout has dominated the headlines since I last wrote to you, and I offer my thoughts on this below. The government have also sprung another surprise on us all, with their proposed scrapping of juries in many cases.
As ever, I welcome all feedback and comments about this newsletter, and I want to make sure that it is as useful as it can be for my constituents. If you have any suggestions, comments or feedback please do feel free to email me at brian.mathew.mp@parliament.uk. A reminder that you can also contact my office on 01225 434216, and please do get in touch via phone or email to book a surgery appointment. These take place at regular intervals at different villages and towns across the constituency and we will do our very best to fit you in at the one which suits you best.
If you missed my previous newsletter, you can catch up here.
Remember you can follow me on Facebook here, and I am now on Instagram too here!
Please do also forward this newsletter along to friends, family, neighbours etc if you feel it would be useful for them too.
In this edition:
- The Budget: a missed opportunity for our area
- Defending jury trials and the rule of law
- Flooding, planning, and protecting our communities
- UK Parliament Week and school visits across the constituency
- Supporting targeted prostate cancer screening
- Keeping up with my work in Parliament
💼 The Budget: A Missed Opportunity for Melksham & Devizes
The Budget was a chance for the Government to tackle the cost of living crisis and set out a serious plan for growth. While extra investment in the NHS and the lifting of the two-child benefit cap are welcome, I’m afraid this was another missed opportunity for local families and businesses.
In Parliament, I set out why the Government’s approach is falling short: “For the second year in a row, the Government have largely failed to deliver on their promise to tackle the cost of living crisis and grow the economy.”
One of the biggest omissions is the refusal to fix our broken trading relationship with Europe. A closer, pragmatic partnership - including a customs union - would cut red tape, boost growth and help small and medium-sized businesses thrive. Just last week, the owner of a transport company in Broughton Gifford told me he’d been up until the early hours completing export paperwork so his business could trade with Europe.
Our hospitality sector tells the same story. Our pubs, restaurants and cafés are at the heart of community life in towns and villages across the constituency, yet they are being squeezed by high energy costs, staffing shortages and rising bills.
I raised the impact on Wadworth Brewery, a proudly independent, family-run business based in Devizes. Despite changes to the multiplier, many of its tenanted pubs face business rate rises of up to 76%, adding nearly £13,000 on average over the next three years.
As I said in the Commons: “A closed pub pays no taxes - so these measures aren’t just a nail in the coffin of the great British pub, they’re a shot in the foot for the Chancellor too.”
That’s why Liberal Democrats are calling for a 5% cut in VAT for hospitality, helping businesses survive and ensuring people can still afford the small joys that brighten life - a pint after work, fish and chips on a Friday, or a family meal.
This remains a high-tax, low-growth Budget that fails our high streets, family farms and working people.
⚖️ Defending Jury Trials and Our Justice System
Last week, the Government announced plans to scrap jury trials for offences carrying a sentence of less than three years.
I challenged the Justice Secretary directly, asking whether this was a short-term measure to clear court backlogs. The answer was deeply concerning as he confirmed the change would be permanent.
Trial by jury is a cornerstone of our justice system and a fundamental safeguard of liberty and fairness. It is not a bureaucratic inconvenience to be quietly removed.
Trial by jury is a basic right that generations have relied upon and once eroded, it is extremely hard to restore.”
Court backlogs must be tackled, but dismantling long-standing protections is not the answer.
🌧 Flooding, Planning and Protecting Our Communities
Flooding remains one of the most serious concerns across Bradford on Avon, Melksham, and the surrounding areas - and it will be a major focus of my work this winter.
This week, I pressed the Housing Minister on the risks of building on land that floods regularly, such as the former golf course site in Bradford on Avon. The Minister confirmed that national planning rules prohibit development in high-risk flood zones - an important reassurance for our community but I am not naïve enough to think that this are iron-clad.
Sites that flood regularly should not be in local plans or considered for development. Not least, as those who purchase those new homes could be opening themselves up to a world of problems.
As I mentioned in my previous newsletter, I’ve also written to the Flooding Minister to invite her to visit the constituency, to see first-hand the impact of repeated flooding and to press for clarity on flood recovery funding for residents and businesses.
I’ll continue to campaign to make sure flood-prone sites are protected and that our communities receive the support they deserve.
🏫 UK Parliament Week – Democracy in Action
Last week was UK Parliament Week, and it was a brilliant jam-packed day travelling between schools across the constituency.
I had the pleasure of visiting:
- Southbroom St James Academy in Devizes
- St George’s C of E Primary School in Semington
- Seend Church of England Primary School
- St Mary’s Broughton Gifford CE Primary School
I spoke with pupils from Years 3 to 6, met with teachers, and spent time with several school councils. The questions were thoughtful and wide-ranging - from transport and the Budget to Ukraine and what life as an MP is really like.
I was especially pleased to receive letters from pupils about local issues - and I will be replying to every one.
Across the constituency, 33 organisations signed up to take part in UK Parliament Week activities. It’s a powerful reminder that democracy works best when people are engaged early.
And somewhere between school visits, I even managed a quick lunch stop at Post & Provisions in Seend - thanks to Zara for the food, and to Spike the dog, who clearly has the right idea curled up by the fire.
As I said to all the groups that I met, they are the future and they can decide which direction we in the UK and across the wider world takes. I urged them all to vote and engage in democracy whenever possible as they approach voting age.
🩺 Supporting Targeted Prostate Cancer Screening
I’ve recently signed a cross-party letter calling for targeted prostate cancer screening for men at highest risk.
The letter coordinated by Prostate Cancer Research and signed by 125 MPs, was delivered to the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting.
Too many men in the UK are diagnosed too late. Evidence now shows that targeted screening can be safer, more accurate and more affordable than ever before.
No man should face a higher cancer risk because of his postcode, ethnicity or access to a GP.
I’m proud to support this campaign and will continue pushing for action.
You can read the full letter here - www.pcr.org.uk/letter-on-need-for-targeted-screening
🏛 Keep Up with My Work in Parliament
You can follow everything I’m doing in Parliament on your behalf - including speeches, written questions, votes and Early Day Motions - on my official page here:
👉 https://members.parliament.uk/member/5214/contributions
Thank you, as always, for reading and for staying engaged. Whether it’s the cost of living, justice, flooding or healthcare, I’ll keep working hard to make sure your voice is heard.
With best wishes,
Brian Mathew MP
Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Melksham & Devizes