Whilst I would have hoped for a different result politically, congratulations to all the councillors elected in Adur and Worthing last week. There are big changes afoot as Labour takes over control in Adur for the first time in 24 years and Lancing Parish now has no overall control. Many commiserations to all those councillors who were not re-elected, and I know how galling it can be to be the victim of national swings and be turfed out regardless of how hardworking a representative you have been. I do hope the good work that has been carried out by Mike Mendoza and the Conservative team on the Parish around the Youth Hub and improvements to Beach Green especially will continue.
I am particularly pleased that Katy Bourne was re-elected as Police and Crime Commissioner and I will be making sure that she follows through on her pledges to make the record number of police officers we have in Sussex more visible. I did my usual shifts at telling across the constituency on Election Day. It was particularly challenging at the new polling station at the Charmandean Centre in Worthing where the entrance was shared with people arriving for blood donor sessions and yoga classes. Asking people I thought were voters for polling numbers caused some confusion when some gave me their blood type instead!
I attended an impressive reception for air ambulances in the Commons last week which included representatives from the KSS Air Ambulance Charity serving Kent, Surrey and Sussex, the largest area in the country. We heard some very moving testimonies from families whose loved one’s lives had been saved by the speed and professionalism of the service. Going back to 19989 KSS has attended over 40,000 incidents and averages 9 call outs every day. And it only operates through charitable donations with costs of £18.8m a year so see how you can help at www.aakss.org.uk
Unfortunately I am away on a Home Affairs Select Committee trip this weekend so I will not be joining the team at the Shoreham Farmer’s Market on Saturday but normal service will be resumed on June 8th
