Dear <<First Name>>,

Since I last wrote, only a month ago, much has happened in Westminster. Following the Prime Minister's decision to resign, a rapid leadership contest took place over the past ten days amongst the Conservative MPs in the House of Commons. This concluded on Wednesday with the selection of two final candidates who will now face the Conservative Party Membership in a final ballot.   Some have pointed to the fact that whoever becomes the next Leader of the Conservative Party will also become Prime Minister, as though this is unusual or somehow improper. But we live in a parliamentary democracy, where the Prime Minister has to command majority support from MPs in the House of Commons. Since the end of the First World War there have been more changes of Prime Minister through loss of confidence of their MPs than through a General Election, whichever party has been in power. Even in the last 25 years, only two Prime Ministers (Blair and Cameron) have first been elected through a General Election, while three have been selected first by their party (Brown, May and Johnson). As many readers will remember, I supported Jeremy Hunt, when I ran his leadership campaign in 2019 - when he was runner-up to Boris Johnson - and again ran  his shorter-lived campaign in this month's contest, when MPs clearly wanted to skip a generation. I have not declared publicly who I have supported since. The task now for me is to look closely at the character, track record and policy platform of the two final candidates: Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss as they put their vision for the party and the country forward over the next five weeks.

I want to hear what South Shropshire residents think of the final two candidates. Either Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss will become the next Prime Minister on 5th  September. I want to hear from you before I declare which candidate I will be supporting. This decision will effect the lives of every one of us as the new Prime Minister takes on the significant challenges of our time, not least the ongoing conflict in the Ukraine and the cost of living crisis.   Rishi and Liz are putting forward nuanced views on how best to tackle key issues such as public spending, taxation, our relationship with the European Union and defence, so it is crucial that the candidate with the vision to succeed wins the contest. I strongly believe that Shropshire residents will have clear views on what is best for them, their families and our county, so I want to hear what my constituents have to say before declaring support for either candidate. Please fill out the short survey on my website to share your views at www.tellphilip.com.

I was shocked and saddened by the news that Cllr Les Winwood passed away suddenly this week. Les was a dedicated public servant and a loyal friend to Bridgnorth having been a Councillor for over 40 years.   Cllr Winwood served as the youngest Mayor of the town in 1986 and chaired the Town Council twice, before representing Bridgnorth on the then District Council. Since 2009, he won four elections to Shropshire Council and held the post of Deputy Cabinet Member for three years.   He was one of the kindest, most caring and considerate people I have come across in public life in Shropshire. He was always thinking foremost about those who needed his help rather than himself or his political career.   Les was a leading figure in the ongoing campaign against the Tasley Garden Village proposal and has fiercely supported the Bridgnorth Livestock Market when it’s future has been questioned. A strong supporter of nature and the environment, he championed outdoor education and encouraged residents to live sustainably, ahead of his time.   He will be very sorely missed in Bridgnorth and across Shropshire. The County’s politics will be all the poorer for his absence. My thoughts and prayers are with Les’ sister and family at this sad time.

Last week, I helped organise an NHS Shropshire Ambulance Summit to review with NHS leaders and others what actions are being taken to tackle widespread delays in ambulance responses to emergencies.  Shropshire’s NHS is working to improve its capacity to cope with additional patients through its hospitals, adding a new ward last year, and working with social care partners to speed up discharges. In the short term, building social care capacity is crucial.    On Friday’s BBC Newsnight and with the new Health & Social Care Secretary in the Commons on Monday, I argued that attracting people into the care sector would be a quick win, particularly for rural domiciliary carers who cannot recover their higher travel costs. Speeding discharges of medically fit patients will increase capacity within hospitals, allow faster handovers at Emergency Departments, so freeing up ambulance to attend to emergencies more quickly.    In the medium term, the Hospital Transformation Plan to transform acute services is essential, and all six MPs whose constituencies rely upon Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Princess Royal Hospital in Telford have agreed to endorse its strategic outline case due to be reviewed by the Department for Health and NHS England later this month.     I am determined to do everything I can to restore effective emergency cover across Shropshire.

I was pleased to be able to join the Church Stretton and District Royal British Legion Branch Centenary Dinner earlier this month.  It was a pleasure to share my congratulations and appreciation of the role the Royal British Legion plays in supporting the military community and their families.

This week, the Government announced the largest uplift in public sector pay for nearly two decades. NHS workers, teachers and police all stand to receive significant pay increases.
 
The Independent Pay Review Bodies, which advise the Government on public sector pay, have made three pay recommendations which have been universally accepted this week by the Government.
 
Over one million NHS staff are set to receive a pay rise of up to 9.3%, equating to £1,400 per person. All teachers across the country will benefit from a 5% pay increase, with uplifts on starting salaries of 8.9%, bringing them closer to the Government manifesto target by the end of this Parliament of £30,000 salaries for new teachers.
 
All police ranks will receive a pay lift of £1,900, the equivalent of an 8.8% increase for the lowest paid within the force.

At the end of June, I visited the Groundswell conference on regenerative agriculture for the first time, where much innovation for farming was on display. The ⁦Secretary of State for the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs, the Rt Hon George Eustace MP shared a platform with NFU President Minette Batters, both of whom agreed the need to.

With kind regards
Philip 

Rt Hon Philip Dunne
MP for Ludlow