Witney Conservatives

Latest news from YOUR local Conservatives team in the Witney constituency. Join us:

[Cllr Liam Walker @_LiamWalker_]

A brilliant election result for the @WitneyBlueTeam in #WestOxfordshire gaining TWO seats from #Labour and TWO seats from the #LibDems. So proud of our amazing team! 🤩 #WinningHere

[Kemi Badenoch @KemiBadenoch]

You may not agree with me, but you will always know where you stand with me.

Today in Billericay, a heckler tried to shout me down as I spoke about the normalisation of hatred towards Jews. I did not back down, because it needs to be said. British Jews are being targeted and too many people are pretending this is the same experience of other minorities. This lady implied Muslims are being similarly targeted. This is simply not true.

Let's be honest about what is happening. Certain groups (in particular but not solely Islamic Extremists) are creating a climate of fear and intimidation that is normalising Jew hatred. I will never stand for that. Governments have spent too long hand-wringing, making excuses and hoping it would go away. It is time to call this what it is: a national emergency in our attitude, our urgency and our response.

I will always engage with people who disagree with me. That is politics. But there is a difference between argument and intimidation. Shouting does not make a bad case good. It's done to silence others. And it certainly does not change the truth.

The truth is that British Jews have been made to feel less safe in their own country. Our country. They are being singled out, threatened and harassed in ways that should shame everyone in public life. If we do not stand up now and stop this rise in antisemitism, then why bother saying "Never Again" at Holocaust Memorial Day? Because this is how it starts.

I am not prepared to play along with the pretence that this is normal, or manageable, or just another example of tension between groups. It really is not. It is targeted hatred and it is getting worse.

So my message is simple. Not here. Not in Britain. And not on our watch. We need to stop the hand-wringing and start doing the right thing. That means standing with British Jews openly, unapologetically and without fear.

[Cllr Liam Walker @_LiamWalker_]

⛳️ Finding time for golf wasn’t something I thought I could do days before an election.

Due to neglect of our roads from the ruling Lib Dem council craters like this one near the A40 at Curbridge are common.

🗳️ Time to send them a message. #VoteConservative on Thursday.

[Matt Vickers MP @Matt_VickersMP]

☀️ Beautiful day campaigning with @_LiamWalker_ and @WitneyBlueTeam for the amazing Tammy Abarno.

Local people are not impressed with the Green–Lib Dem–Labour coalition council!

✅ Only the @Conservatives will focus on local people's priorities.

🗳️ #VoteConservative on 7 May.

[Cllr Liam Walker @_LiamWalker_]

It was great to have @Conservatives Party Deputy Chairman @Matt_VickersMP join us for canvassing in a sunny #Carterton this afternoon. A really positive response on the doorsteps with people fed up with the Lib Dems. #VoteConservative

[Matt Vickers MP @Matt_VickersMP]

👍 Out on the doors with the @WitneyBlueTeam, supporting our brilliant @Conservatives candidate Tammy Abarno.

✅ She has a plan to back business, freeze council tax, and improve local infrastructure.

🗳️ #VoteConservative on 7 May.

[Conservatives @Conservatives]

On 7 May, Vote Conservative to Get Britain Working Again 🇬🇧

[Cllr Liam Walker @_LiamWalker_]

In Carterton this morning launching our #WestOxfordshire local election campaign! Across our area local Conservative councillors are standing up for residents and fighting for common sense politics. Time to kick the LibDem, Labour, & Green coalition out! #VoteConservative

[Witney Conservatives @WitneyBlueTeam]

🔵 Another busy Saturday for the local Conservatives team in #WestOxfordshire 💪 #VoteConservative

[Cllr Liam Walker @_LiamWalker_]

🔵 Another Saturday getting them steps in to defeat the Lib Dem’s 💪 @WitneyBlueTeam #VoteConservative

[Cllr Liam Walker @_LiamWalker_]

🔵 Another busy weekend with the @WitneyBlueTeam campaigning ahead of the District Council elections in May. #VoteConservative

[Witney Conservatives @WitneyBlueTeam]

🎄🎁 On behalf of the Witney Conservative Association officers, councillors, supporters, and members, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas! 🎅🏻💙

[Kemi Badenoch @KemiBadenoch]

Unemployment is stuck at a 4 year high. Wage growth is at a 4 year low.

This Labour conference should be about fixing the economy. But Starmer is too weak to take the right decisions so instead he is plotting a VAT raid.

Only the Conservatives have a plan to fix our economy.

[Conservatives @Conservatives]

Labour's economic plan? Stack, wobble, collapse.

And it's working families left picking up the pieces.

[Mel Stride @MelJStride]

Labour logic: Tax more, borrow more, spend more.

The result: Growth down, investment down, jobs down.

Britain deserves better than this economic vandalism.

[Priti Patel MP @pritipatel]

Britain is suffering from Labour’s corrosive economic policies.

Britain must reduce public spending and Labour must stop attacking employers, businesses and hard-pressed families across the country with their reckless tax and spend policies. https://t.co/J3rGgkBrkN

[Kemi Badenoch @KemiBadenoch]

We’ve been here before. After the Winter of Discontent in the 1970s. After the financial crisis in 2008. In both moments, it fell to the Conservative Party to steady the ship, restore confidence, and lay the groundwork for recovery.

It will fall to us again. Other parties may channel the country’s righteous anger, but their promises are empty and their plans as bad as Labour’s.

As we head into the autumn, the public deserves honesty. This Government promised no more tax rises. It promised fiscal discipline. Instead, it is now preparing the ground for a fresh round of hikes on everything from savings to property.

If Labour goes ahead with what it is briefing, it will not just be breaking promises. It will be making everything worse.

My piece in the @Telegraph today.

[Kemi Badenoch @KemiBadenoch]

The summer is drawing to a close. It’s been a good one. The weather has been great – unless, of course, you run a farm. But as the holiday months give way to cooler evenings and longer shadows, the signs are already pointing to an autumn of discontent.

In a few weeks, Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, will deliver her second (or arguably third) Budget in less than a year. The last two were sold as bold resets, but damaged confidence and worsened the economic outlook.

This one is rumoured to bring more tax rises – stealthy and not-so-stealthy taxes that will hit homes, pensions, small businesses and family inheritances. We’ve been here before but the lessons have not been learned.

Last November, Reeves told a room full of business leaders at the CBI conference that she would not be “coming back with more borrowing or more taxes”. Now, after a £70bn spending surge, falling tax receipts and a £50bn black hole she dug with her own shovel, she is doing what she said she wouldn’t do – coming back for more taxes.

The problem is not just the scale of Labour’s tax plans. It’s the fact that they were avoidable. Britain did not need to become the only G7 country with rising inflation, stalling growth and surging borrowing costs.

We got here because Labour stuck to its own ideological instincts – more spending, more government, more tax – without any serious plan for growth.

Labour is going wrong because it is following its principles. We went wrong when we failed to follow ours. This is not just a line to take. It’s a reflection on what the last few years have taught us. The Conservative Party is under new management. We know what went wrong, and we have the experience to fix it.

We learned the hard way what happens when budgets aren’t balanced, based on hope rather than reality. Sadly, the country is now learning what happens when people with lots of rhetoric, little political understanding and no business experience are given free rein over the economy. We must not make this mistake again.

Labour’s instincts have always leaned toward redistribution rather than dynamism. That’s exactly what we’re seeing now. With employer National Insurance hiked, growth contracting and government spending outstripping tax receipts, Reeves’ answer is to raise even more, targeting pensions, homes, and savings.

Meanwhile, gilt yields are at their highest in 25 years. Investors are treating Britain as riskier than Italy or Spain. That is the price of her economic mismanagement.

I reject the idea that higher taxes are inevitable. Labour is not dealing with a pandemic or a new war in Europe like we did. Its tax rises, whether on family farms or VAT on private schools or family businesses, are a political choice – and they are the wrong one.

Conservatives take a different approach. We believe in cutting spending, not raising taxes. We believe the state should live within its means. That means a full review of public spending, a serious commitment to deficit reduction, and a freeze on the constant expansion of government. These are not easy decisions, but they are the responsible ones.

We would also resist attempts to raid the wealth of hard-working families. The so-called “death tax”, abolishing the seven-year inheritance rule, is an attack on those who do the right thing. Likewise, taxing the capital gains on main homes, or stripping away pension tax relief, punishes people for saving and planning for the future.

Growth won’t return through tax raids and political slogans. It comes through the private sector – through job creation, investment and enterprise. That’s why we would back targeted tax cuts. It’s why we want to make things easier for employers that stimulate growth and investment. It’s why we would cut red tape, reform housing and energy, and remove the barriers stopping Britain from building again.

[Matthew Barber @matthewbarberUK]

My weekly roundup...
👮‍♂️ Held my regular Liaison Meeting with the Chief Constable
📈 Talked to a local busines owner on Harwell Campus about the future of their business
🏛️ Met with the Leader and Chief Executive of Oxford City Council to talk about their plans for a Greater Oxford
🔌 Discussed proposals for stabilising energy costs for the police in the coming years
👮 Met with student officers at Thames Valley's Training centre to explain my Police & Crime Plan
✉️ Caught up on recent casework
🔐 Held a meeting with my senior leadership team to review progress on crime prevention initiatives
🤝 Met with the Leader of Reading Borough Council about local policing issues and the latest progress on devolution
🍽️ Spoke at the Wokingham Conservatives Lunch Club
📰 Talked to journalists about the importance of civic responsibility
🔷 Met with residents whilst campaigning in Long Wittenham

[Conservatives @Conservatives]

Under Labour, inflation has soared to 3.5%.

Rachel Reeves is making everyone poorer.