Claire Coutinho Newsletter October 2021
I must start this month's newsletter by addressing the senseless murder of Sir David Amess. I feel heartbroken for his family, friends and staff having to make sense of this hateful act. He was a kind, gentle colleague filled with wisdom and humour for us new MPs. You would struggle to find a more devoted local MP. He was an example to us all. I want to thank all those who have sent me some extremely kind messages over the past week. They have meant a great deal to both me and my team. My number one ambition in this role is to be an accessible MP, someone who you feel is visible and easy to reach. I want to assure you that is still my aim. Politicians have always attracted the obsessive grievances of disturbed individuals. But we cannot stop being with our constituents. That is a core part of our democracy and it keeps us rooted in the things that matter to residents.
I’m pleased to share that I'll be hosting a Surrey-wide virtual Climate Summit at 6pm on Thursday 28 October to coincide with the COP26 Summit of global leaders in Glasgow this year. Secretary of State Michael Gove will be joining us to deliver a keynote speech, followed by three panels of experts, including other Surrey MPs, the Surrey Wildlife Trust, Surrey County Council, and many more. For more details and to sign up to attend the Summit, please do get in touch with me at claire.coutinho.mp@parliament.uk.
Last week, I was honoured to unveil a plague to the abolitionist William Wilberforce at Marden Park, now home to Woldingham School. I first came across Wilberforce in my work on modern slavery at the Centre for Social Justice and recently first edition pamphlets of his great friend and fellow abolitionist Thomas Clarkson. It took 20 years for Wilberforce to get the Slave Trade Act, and it was 56 years after he first met Clarkson that slavery was finally abolished. As someone at the beginning of their parliamentary career, it has given me much to think about, and I know it has given the inspired young women at Woldingham School much to think about too. Thank you to Dr Whitehead and team for welcoming me.
I also had the pleasure of visiting several other local schools recently, including Aurora Redehall School, Oakwood School, and Godstone Farm’s new day nursery. Despite being very different educational settings, it struck me how much of a difference excellent leadership has made, so I’d like to thank Mr Fjord-Roberts, Jackie Flaherty, Simon Potten and their teams for all they do.
One of my passions is women’s safety and getting women into politics. I recently had the pleasure of attending East Surrey Business Club's Ladies' Lunch and meeting with the Meridian Ladies to hear about their work. On the national level, I’m pleased to share that Surrey will receive an additional £174,000 from the Government's Safer Streets Fund. This will bring the total amount of support Surrey has received from the fund to over £1 million. The Government has also launched an important new tool called Street Safe, which allows people to anonymously report areas where they don't feel safe. You can access Street Safe by visiting police.uk/streetsafe. And if you'd like to help support the wonderful work being done locally by Michelle and team at East Surrey Domestic Abuse Services, you can make a donation on their website. I would also highly recommend the book In Control, Dangerous Relationships and How They End in Murder, which is a stark reminder from author Jane Monckton Smith about the dangers of coercive control.
Lastly, I am pleased to share that local community groups can now apply for grants of up to £2,000 from a new community fund designed to support local activities such as helping people to be able to live independently for as long as possible, reducing social isolation, and safeguarding people from abuse or neglect. Applications to the fund are now open and need to be submitted by midnight on Tuesday 30 November. You can apply by visiting Tandridge District Council’s website.
As ever, if you need my help, have any questions, or think there’s somewhere I should visit over the next few weeks, please do get in touch with me at claire.coutinho.mp@parliament.uk and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
