Ed Vaizey Parish Newsletters Column

The local elections saw the Conservatives lose our majority on both the Vale of White Horse District Council and South Oxfordshire District Council. I was very sad indeed to see so many hard working local councillors lose their seats, and new candidates who had been hoping to serve fail to achieve their goal.

The newly elected councillors will face similar challenges to those they are replacing, and there are no easy answers. I have always worked with politicians of all parties to get the answers we need locally, and will continue to lobby central government for the support that we need.

Many councillors who lost their seats will rightly blame Westminster. While local issues are very important, there is no doubt that voters use them to send a message to government. I will be taking the message of frustration felt on the doorstep of the campaign and at the ballot box back to Westminster: it is wrong that local politicians who have worked tirelessly for their local communities should bear the brunt of a Westminster failure.

I am working with the AEA Technology Pension Campaign is to secure the pension rights of scheme members that may be otherwise lost because AEA Technology entered a pre-pack administration. If you are a member of the AEA Technology pension scheme, please do contact my office for more info.

In Parliament this month I was delighted to see Fitzwaryn School from the constituency at PMQs and have the opportunity to meet staff and pupils afterwards. Fitzwaryn School is an Outstanding school for SEN pupils in Oxfordshire and I asked Theresa May to support more high needs funding in rural areas.

In the constituency this month I was delighted to welcome HRH The Duke of York to the constituency to open Wave Optics New HQ at Milton Park, Oxfordshire.

On other constituency visits I met GWR Managing Director Mark Hopwood at Didcot Station, 6th Formers from Didcot with an interest in Politics, I attended a meeting of Didcot First at the New Marriott Courtyard hotel in Milton, I was interviewed by a local 6th form student as part of her International Baccalaureate project, and met with local residents and senior management of FirstPort at Alfredston Place in Wantage to discuss issues there.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any pressing issues that you would like help with. Either myself or one of my team will get back to you as soon as possible and do what we can to assist. You can contact me on any matter at the House of Commons, SW1A 0AA, dicksonce@parliament.uk or 01235 768 888. Email is the quickest and most reliable way to get in touch, as I keep a very close eye on my emails and can reply very quickly. Details of my activities in Parliament can be read on my website, https://www.vaizey.com. I also send out occasional general interest emails about developments in the Wantage and Didcot Constituency. If you would like to be added to the distribution list, please complete the online form at http://bit.ly/EdVaizeyMP

David Leigh-Pemberton

Parliamentary Assistant to The Rt Hon Ed Vaizey MP

Member of Parliament for Wantage and Didcot

david.leighpemberton@parliament.uk

Tel: 0207 219 6350

www.vaizey.com

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