Esher & Walton Conservative Association website representing Esher, Walton on Thames, Hersham, Molesey, Claygate, Hinchley Wood, Weston Green, Cobham, Oxshott & Stoke D'Abernon, Thames Ditton & Long Ditton
Working and caring for the local community -
Welcome to the Esher and Walton Conservative Association website - to represent the views of the people of the Esher and Walton Constituency Esher, Walton on Thames, Hersham, Molesey, Claygate, Hinchley Wood, Weston Green, Cobham, Oxshott & Stoke D'Abernon, Thames Ditton & Long Ditton
Ian Taylor MBE MP
Here you will find the latest local and national Conservative news and information about us, what events are coming up, what your local councillors are doing and what we believe in.
Our aims:
to campaign on the issues that local people care about.
to sustain and promote the objectives of the Conservative Party.
to ensure the return of Conservative candidates at elections.
this site will support these aims by providing information on the Association's events and activities, contact details for all of your local Conservative representatives, along with open and clear Conservative policy information.
whether you are interested in becoming a member, want to stand for elected office as a Conservative or simply want to know more about the Conservative Party locally, our web site should be a good starting point. You will find out more about the organisation of the Association and its branches, as well as details of Conservatives on Elmbridge Borough Council and Surrey County Council, in the European Parliament and our Member of Parliament.
Officers President - Mrs Olga Denyer Chairman - Mr Chris Platt Deputy Chairman (Political) - Mr Mark Ashley-Hacker Deputy Chairman (Fundraising and Membership) - Mrs Celia Guy
What we do with your money! - Pressures mount for Local Authorities - we want to hear your views!
How the world has changed in just one year. Bankers, those bastions of society to whom we have all turned to for advice either personal or in our business dealings have made such a catastrophic mess of their own business (notably with other people’s money) that they came close to destroying the economic structure of the entire Western World. Added to weak inept government having sold the family silver (gold actually) and frivolously spent our money at such a rate that it is estimated to take 23 years for us to recover to the healthy state we were back in 1997, and now recession has bitten with a vengeance. Unemployment locally in Elmbridge has tripled in the last few months and nobody knows how long this financial trough is going to last.
Elmbridge, as the Local Taxation Authority handles about £200m of public funds. We collect £94m in Council Taxes most of which is passed on to County and the police, we keep £12m. We collect £54 in business rates which is passed on to government. We receive £36m to redistribute in grants and benefits to residents; a £6.4m in grant support for Elmbridge and the balance of the money we handle is generated by fee income from land searches, planning applications, car parking, the children’s SHOUT programme, building control among others etc.
We deliver a whole host of services under headings: Highways & Transport, Environment, Waste collection, Housing, Leisure & Culture, Regulatory Affairs, Corporate, Social, Planning & Building Control and Community development. We expect our costs for delivering all services in 2010/11 will require an £1.8m over and above what we have available.
In the last three years your Conservative Administration has made around £3m in efficiency savings and/or increased fee income from non-essential services. There is a finite amount we can do to deliver more efficiency savings and only so much we can add to fees. For example we subsidise the museum by approximately £250,000 pa - increasing entrance fees will not recoup the subsidy. We subsidise the SHOUT holiday programme for school aged children during holiday periods to the tune of about £200,000 pa. Will a further increase in fees effectively kill off the scheme?
Do you have a view? Tell us what you think; these are real problems which we have to address in the coming months. The maths are simple, the government is going to give us an extra £80,000 for 2010/11. For every 1% we increase Council tax we will raise £125,000 – with public opinion strongly against any rise at all and government likely to cap us at around 4% in any event were we to go that far.
And yes we could make wide-spread redundancies, but only at a cost of some non-essential services and a severe restriction on other council services. Give us your views, email or write to your councillors by clicking here.
When he arrived at the Treasury in 1997, Gordon Brown received a glowing report on the economy. His officials told him national income was growing strongly, inflation was low and the public finances were improving. “What am I supposed to do with this,” the new chancellor is said to have barked. “Write a thank-you letter?”
Mr Brown did not pick up his pen, nor did he feel minded to move into epistolary mode in his 1998 Budget, when prospects were even brighter. Instead he used his first two Budgets to criticise his predecessors and introduce the New Deal, reform corporation tax (raising billions in the process) and add taper relief to capital gains tax.
Don't let Brown take you for a fool
They say if you repeat a lie enough, people will start to believe it. Gordon Brown is banking on you believing that he won't cut public spending. Don't let him take you for a fool............. and by the way Labour has introduced over 4,000 new laws since 1997, one for each day they have been in power ..... and it goes on!
Independent report by the Audit Commission says Conservative administration makes Elmbridge among country's best councils - more
ELMBRIDGE HEALTH PROFILE The health of people in Elmbridge is generally better than the England average. Life expectancy is high, and rates of early death from cancer and from heart disease and stroke ..... but our children are not physically active ......more
Conservative Future is the movement for under 30s, including all members of the Conservative Party of this age. Conservative Future is the largest youth political organisation in the UK. The organisation is all about involving young people in politics and addressing the issues that matter to them. With 18,000 members across the country, Conservative Future runs a range of events and activities, from policy discussions to social gatherings. Many of these are organised by individual branches, which are based in cities, constituencies and on campuses. ........ more
Conservative Meetings
To view all scheduled meetings check out the Events Pageoften!
Come and meet your local Hersham councillors at: Hersham Fair Stalls, lucky bags and merchandise Date: 4 July Place: Hersham Green, Hersham Time: 11.00am - 4.00pm
Cllr James Vickers Mayor of Elmbridge is a keen advocate of helping young people to live a healthy and independent life and he was interested to learn of the work of a locally based charity that provides essential equipment and support for disabled children. Since 1991 'Newlife' has become through it's work, the specialists for special children. Their needs and the needs of their families and carers, their health and their voices are all central to the work of the charity. ‘Newlife’ will be the main beneficiary of the Mayor's Charity Appeal and further details of the appeal can be obtained by e-mail to themayor@elmbridge.gov.uk .
Should you wish to help the Mayor's Charity or if you would like further details do telephone the Mayor's secretary on 01372 474383 or e-mail the Mayoral Office.
Sponsors’ Advertising -from only £10 per annum
Advertise on this web site from only £10 per year - 10,000's of visitors view our web site each month and is very cost effective to obtain new customers and support local businesses! We only accept sponsorship where appropriate to the content and relevant to our visitors. To advertise E-mailus now. Terms & Conditions apply.
The links in this area will let you leave this web site. The linked sites are not under the control of the Conservative Party and the Conservative Party are not responsible for the contents of any linked site or any link contained in a linked site, or any changes or updates to such sites. The Conservative Party are not responsible for webcasting or any other form of transmission received from any linked site. The Conservative Party are providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by the Conservative Party of the site.
However much he tries to put it off, Gordon Brown has to call a General Election before June 3rd next year - this counts down the days until the British people get to have their say.
What we do with your money! - Pressures mount for Local Authorities - we want to hear your views!
