This week, I joined Hassocks parish councillor, Alex Simmons and West Sussex County Councillor, Joy Dennis to meet with Nationwide executives to challenge them on their decision to close their branches in Hurstpierpoint and Hassocks. Almost all local elected representatives have now signed our letter to oppose this move and I am stunned that Nationwide have broken their own often publicly repeated ‘Branch Promise’. In this circumstance, all customers with accounts at the branch should already have been written to and it appears that this is not the case. If this applies to you then please do get in touch as it may help us to force a rethink. Together with Alex and Joy, I will be taking the matter further with the Nationwide Board and with banking and advertising regulators.
Readers may have heard of the existing Rampion offshore wind farm but not be fully aware of the plans for significant expansion which will require an onshore cable corridor and a new electricity sub-station. The proposed cable corridor route runs diagonally through the South Downs National Park from Warningcamp to up beyond Partridge Green whilst the sub-station options are near Cowfold and Bolney. I am keen to hear constituents’ opinions on all aspects of this scheme. You can find out more and share your own views on the dedicated page on my website ahead of the representations I will be making to the scheme promoters later this year.
Finally, I am supporting the launch of my constituent Katie Price’s petition to end anonymity on the largest social media platforms. Katie is a veteran campaigner on this topic and I was pleased to work with her to raise awareness of this issue and to support the petition which we aim to get debated in Parliament. Katie is also a mum standing up for her disabled son Harvey, and her protective instincts are something that we can all identify with. By calling out the terrible abuse that happens online, she is working to make social media a safe platform for all. I believe it would be a simple process for the largest social media companies to enable users to verify their identity using readily available technology already used by others. Removing the cloak of anonymity would be a big step forward in tackling the worst online harms without restricting anyone’s freedom of speech under the law. Readers can sign the petition at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/575833 or via the link on my website.
