Chris Coghlan for Dorking & Horley
"I’m standing to be your next M.P. because, like so many of you, I’ve had enough of the economic and political chaos that years of Conservative rule have left this country in. I have friends in Dorking who are struggling to feed their kids or pay their bills or, like millions of others across the country, get an appointment with their G.P. Businesses are going bust while the cost of living is skyrocketing. I passionately believe there is a better way. I love this area. It’s where I grew up, where I live and where my children go to school. But my wife Clara and I worry about our future and the future for our three little girls. Will they find good jobs when they grow up and be able to afford to live around here? Will the NHS still be there to care for them? Will our beautiful local countryside be protected for them and their children? With this government in charge I fear not. My career has taken me from The City to the British Army fighting ISIS terrorists in the deserts of Iraq. Now I'm campaigning for change. I believe in a liberal economy, personal freedom and social justice. We deserve better than a government whose political and economic choices have caused so much financial and social damage. For decades this area has sent Conservative MPs to Westminster. It’s almost as if they take your vote for granted. However, recent polling analysis across Surrey shows that many of you are fed-up and want change. The Liberal Democrats are now level with the Conservatives in the polls in Dorking and Horley. I promise that if you put your faith in me at the ballot box, I will fight harder than I’ve ever done to give you, and your children, the country and future you all deserve."
Time Is Up For The Tories
"2024 will almost certainly see a General Election and it can’t come too soon. Many people, including previous Conservative voters, have told me that they are fed up with being taken for granted by this Government. They worry, too, that the Conservatives are completely out of touch with the residents they are supposed to represent and preoccupied with fighting amongst themselves.
I was brought up to believe that an MP is elected to serve their community. It’s the same sense of service that motivated my real- world experience at the Foreign Office, in the Army Reserve, and as founder of an international charity.
It’s a sense of service I share with the ‘heroes’ who work for our NHS and Care Services - despite everything, the Conservatives have always taken them for granted too.
I am standing to be your next MP. With your support, I will fight to restore our great NHS. And, I will stand-up for our communities in Parliament."
Chris Coghlan, PPC for Dorking & Horley
NHS Betrayal
Lib Dem parliamentary candidate, Chris Coghlan, says, “Our communities have been taken for granted by the Conservative Party for too long. Bookham, Fetcham, Dorking, Horley and their surrounding villages deserve a local MP willing to stand up for our NHS.”
This time last year, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised that ‘NHS waiting lists will fall and people will get the care they need more quickly.’ He and his government have failed. Recent data shows that more than 7.7 million patients are waiting for treatment in England. That’s higher than the previous year and almost 300% higher than 2010, when the Conservatives took office.
Across our area Conservative MPs were criticised after voting down Liberal Democrat plans to improve GP and ambulance wait times.
The Lib Dems also called on the government to build the promised 40 new hospitals and bring in measures to address the crises in the NHS and social care.
Lib Dem parliamentary candidate, Chris Coghlan said: “Put simply, the NHS is not safe with the Conservatives.
“Our residents deserve local health services that provide the care people need. They should not have to wait, sometimes for hours, for an ambulance to arrive or for months on ever increasing NHS waiting lists - more than 160,000 outstanding patient referrals in our area in September 2023.
“This Conservative government has run our NHS into the ground and our communities have been taken for granted by the Conservative Party for far too long.
“People here trust the Liberal Democrats and, if elected as your next MP, I will stand up for our health and social care services in Parliament.”
Protecting our rivers
Chris Coghlan wants to see a shake-up of the water industry, to prioritise our environment over profits.
The Liberal Democrats are taking action to reform the water companies amid the ongoing crisis in the industry.
They have tabled a new Bill in Parliament which would transform firms, such as the disgraced Thames Water, into “Public Good Companies". Under the plans, water firms would no longer prioritise profit over the environment. The companies’ boards would be reformed, to include environment experts, and become far more open and transparent to the public.
The Liberal Democrats have slammed water firms for handing out large amounts of profits to overseas investors and excessive bonuses to their CEOs. It has also been revealed that some firms (including Thames Water) borrowed £ billions to pay these dividends instead of investing in vital sewage infrastructure.
Chris says:
“The potential collapse of Thames Water must be a wake up call. This Tory government seems more interested in protecting big business than its citizens or the environment.
“There is no time to waste ripping up this scandalous industry. Thames Water is treating its customers like fools. Over many years, they have forked out insulting payouts to overseas investors and senior executives, but are still releasing sewage into our stretch of the River Mole and its upstream tributaries - for a staggering 6,000 hours during 2022 alone.
“Water firms must stop putting their profits before our environment. These firms need reform from top to bottom. This law would be an important first step to finally turning around this sinking ship.”
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