Danielle Newson, a lawyer working for the NHS, has been appointed the Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the new constituency of Sussex Weald which includes Crowborough, Heathfield and Hailsham. Danielle is currently a Guildford Borough Councillor, representing the largest ward in the borough which is largely rural with areas of wealthy and of social housing.
Danielle was born in York where her father was stationed at Lynton on Ouse Royal Navy airbase and the family move around regularly with his postings. She certainly did not have a privileged background as her father came from a council house in London’s East End. Her father died when she was a child so Danielle had to grow up quickly to help look after her two younger sisters. Contracting a very serious illness, and delayed diagnosis, when she was 12 resulted in Danielle spending a long period in hospital, followed by months in a wheelchair and off school for much of a year. Nevertheless, Danielle fought every step to regain full health and make up for lost time in her early teens. That determination aids her every step as an adult. Through her work she also understands the pressures on the NHS and the impact staffing shortages have on services provided to patients, as well as the need to ensure we all have access to good health care which is free at the point of access, including good access to GPs and dentists in all areas.
Danielle is a mother and grandmother, and family are very important to her, as is ensuring we have a world that is habitable for their lifetimes and beyond. Hence, Danielle has campaigned regularly on issues related to water and unacceptable water outages in her local area. Danielle held Thames Water to account over woefully inadequate infrastructure and issues with lack of consistent supply of clean fresh water to local residents.
The Liberal Democrats are preparing their manifesto for the next General Election and Danielle is fully behind their proposals on education, the economy, the environment, energy and climate emergency as well as health and water quality and pollution.
Danielle will be a local champion for Sussex Weald. Especially in education, which has faced enormous strain in recent years but is key to unlocking the potential of every child. The Covid pandemic did huge damage to children’s learning and mental health. Schools are crumbling and pupils' learning is being further disrupted.
Danielle is not alone in saying, “The Conservatives have neglected schools. Their reckless cuts and teacher shortages have let children and parents down. Children are our future and we must ensure they have the best start possible.”
The Liberal Democrats will invest in education through childhood and beyond, to give everyone the skills and confidence they need to thrive.
- Four week waits for a GP appointment in East Sussex reached 250,163 last year
- It is a 32% increase on those waiting more than 28 days compared to 2022
- The number waiting 14 days or longer in East Sussex saw a 24% increase from 2022
East Sussex saw a 32% rise in four week waits for GP appointments last year when compared to 2022, House of Commons Library research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.
The NHS data measures the time between when the appointment was booked and when it took place. It showed that the number of appointments that saw patients wait two weeks or longer in East Sussex has spiked by24% to 719,342 in 2023, up from 580,329 the previous year.
It means the proportion of appointments where a patient waited two weeks or longer in East Sussex has risen to 20.1%, up from 17.3% in 2022.
East Sussex’s Liberal Democrats have criticised the Conservative government for letting the community down with their neglect of local health services.
The Liberal Democrats are calling for a legal right to get a GP appointment within seven days, or 24 hours if in urgent need.
The policy would enshrine this right in the NHS Constitution, putting a duty on the government and health service to make sure it happens. It would be achieved by increasing the number of GPs, and increasing the number of nurses and pharmacists fully qualified to prescribe day to day medicines.
Commenting, Danielle Newson, Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Sussex Weald said:
“Far too many people in East Sussex are struggling to get a GP appointment when they need one. It is causing people huge anxiety because they can't be confident any more of getting the care they need.
“It shows our community has been totally abandoned by this government when it comes to local health services.
“Being able to see a GP when you need to, should not be too much to ask, but even on this measure people are being failed after years of neglect by this Conservative government.
“That is why the Liberal Democrats are calling for a legal right for all patients to see their GP within seven days or 24-hours if in urgent need.”
Notes:
The NHS data measures the time between when the appointment was booked and when it took place. This includes cases where the patient requested a particular date, so it is not a direct measure of “waiting times”.
The data includes all appointments in general practice (including those with e.g. nurses or other staff).
The overall number of appointments in England was nearly 20 million higher in 2023 than in 2022 (+6%).
The percentages exclude the small number of appointments for which the time between booking and appointment is not known.
Source:
This data used is based on our analysis of the underlying data from NHS Digital’s Appointments in General Practice December 2023
Research by the Resolution Foundation think tank has found pensioners are set to lose out from last week’s Budget. This is due to the Conservative government’s decision to freeze income tax thresholds. All 8 million taxpaying pensioners will see their taxes increase, by an average of £1,000 – an £8 billion collective hit.
Further analysis by the Liberal Democrats suggests this will impact on the estimated 18,102 pensioners in Wealden who pay income tax. That is a massive 69% of the 26,183 pensioners in Wealden.
Wealden’s Liberal Democrats have said that this showed the Conservative Party has “abandoned” pensioners who are already struggling to pay the bills.
The Liberal Democrats were the first party to commit in full to the triple lock for the upcoming election, which ensures pensions will see an increase by whichever is highest of average earnings growth, CPI inflation, or 2.5%.
Liberal Democrats have called on the government to double the Winter Fuel Allowance to offer extra help to pensioners, paid for by a proper windfall tax on the oil and gas companies.
Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Sussex Weald, Danielle Newson, said:
“Pensioners who have worked hard and paid taxes all their lives are now being punished by this Conservative government with a £1,000 stealth tax.
“Many elderly people are already struggling to make ends meet as heating bills and the cost of the weekly shop go through the roof. Now these Conservative tax hikes will only pile on the misery.
“The Liberal Democrats are proud of our record of introducing the triple lock to protect people’s pensions. We will stand up for the pensioners in our community who have been cruelly abandoned by the Conservatives, including by calling on the Government to double the Winter Fuel Allowance.”
Sources:
According to the Resolution Foundation, around 8 million pensioners (roughly 70% of all UK pensioners) are taxpayers, losing from freezes to Income Tax thresholds but not benefitting from NI changes (because they are already exempt from paying NI).
Compared to where the personal allowance might have been in 2027-28 without freezes, the average taxpaying pensioner will lose around £1,000. In total, policy will have increased taxes for pensioners by around £8 billion.
Liberal Democrat analysis allocated the 8 million pensioners among Parliamentary constituencies based on their total number of current pensioners. The constituency hit assumes all affected pensioners face the average hit of £1,000. Current pensioner figures sourced from DWP Stat-Xplore.
New figures released by the Environment Agency have shown that Southern Water which covers Sussex Weald discharged sewage into waterways for a staggering 317,285 hours last year, a 116% rise on 2022.
Sussex Weald Liberal Democrats are calling for tougher action against sewage dumping in local rivers, including replacing Ofwat with a tougher regulator. The party has also called for a ban on bonuses for water company bosses whose firms have dumped sewage into waterways.
Conservative MPs have consistently voted against measures which would have helped to tackle the crisis, including MP for Wealden, Nusrat Ghani.
Across the area serviced by Southern Water there were 29,494 spills in 2023, an increase of 77% on 2022, when there were 16,688 spills over 146,819 hours.
Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Sussex Weald, Danielle Newson said:
“It is a complete scandal that filthy sewage is being pumped into Sussex Weald’s rivers and waterways.
“It beggars belief that Conservative MPs have allowed water firms to get away with this environmental vandalism. Local people are furious that Conservative politicians blocked tougher action on these disgraced firms.
"The Liberal Democrats are calling for tougher action to stop sewage being dumped in local rivers including replacing Ofwat with a regulator that has real teeth to clamp down on these polluting firms. We have also called for a ban on bonuses for water company fat cats whose firms have pumped filth into our waterways."
Sources: Environment Agency Data
The analysis is based on official data from the Environment Agency, compiled by the House of Commons Library for the Liberal Democrats. It shows sewage was dumped into local rivers and lakes on3,665 separate occasions in 2023.
This is a shocking 90% rise in the duration of sewage spills compared to the previous year, showing how the sewage scandal has worsened under the Conservative government’s watch.
Sewage was dumped into England’s rivers over 460,000 times for a total of over 3.6 million hours in 2023.
It comes after the Liberal Democrats local election success where the party campaigned relentlessly on sewage and the local environment. The party gained over 100 seats and control of two councils, beating the Conservatives and coming second for the first time since 1996.
The Liberal Democrats have led the way in campaigning against sewage dumping for years. The party is calling for strict measures including replacing Ofwat with a tougher regulator, a ban on bonuses for water company bosses whose firms have dumped sewage into waterways and the declaration of a national environmental emergency.
Last year, the Liberal Democrat-run Stockport Council became the first Council in the country to launch an official sewage inquiry. The inquiry asked for evidence from the local water companies and was chaired by Liberal Democrat councillor Lisa Smart.
Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Sussex Weald, Danielle Newson said:
“It is disgusting that Southern Water pumped their filthy sewage into our waterways so many times last year.
“On doorstep after doorstep, people in Wealden told me how furious they were that filthy sewage had been pumped into their rivers and waterways - they want to send this Conservative government a message.
“The Liberal Democrats have led the way for years in campaigning for tougher action. We want to see a tougher water regulator, an end to bonuses for polluting water company bosses and stronger protections for our local environment.
“Come the General Election, Liberal Democrats will be campaigning hard against this national scandal that has been allowed to take hold while the Conservative Government has sat on its hands and looked the other way.”
Original source: Environment Agency (EA), Annual Returns for Storm Overflows 2023