HAPPY New Year! 2024 was an enormous year for our town. It saw Airbourne named as the best free Airshow in the UK at the Airscene Awards for the fifth time.
It saw big new shops invest in town, like Smyths Toys in the Harbour and many small businesses too, like Pebbles at the Enterprise Centre and Flour Flow in Hampden Park. We also saw record numbers of Eastbourne students get top grades, national awards for Eastbourne voluntary groups Mankind and Sanctuary and so much more.
Refusing to be downtrodden by Covid, a recession, or the cost of living crisis, Eastbourne has come out fighting – as we do best!
2024 also saw a historic General Election result locally and nationally, where I had the honour of being elected to represent our town as our MP. As an Eastbourne lad, born and bred, it means so much to represent our town.
I’ve got to work from Day one, starting with securing the re-opening of the DGH’s Midwifery Unit, following months of campaigning with it being closed for births for nearly a year. A huge thank you to all those NHS staff who pull out all the stops to power that unit for local families.
Another win for our local NHS in 2024 was that the Health Secretary has responded to our campaign for more DGH funding by confirming that our hospital will receive landmark investment to upgrade its facilities. Having spent 2 weeks very poorly in the DGH in 2024, I know just how amazing the staff are – and just how impactful it would be to their work and welfare if I get this investment over the line pronto.
We’ll hear soon on the final amount and timescales – and, as a campaign priority of mine for 2025, I’m pushing for this ASAP so that we can get cracking.
Beyond this, I’m also pleased in my first 6 months to have successfully secured the future of the £20million Towns Fund for Eastbourne! The Labour Government put this under threat in July.
Just as I promised before the election, I challenged ministers on the floor of the House of Commons for this money, met with four different ministers 1-2-1 to push for this cash, wrote letters to ministers to make the case and they have confirmed to me that our lobbying was successful – the cash is Eastbourne’s!
Before the election, our last MP said of my commitment to fight to save this fund: “there isn’t a scenario where a Lib Dem MP would have that influence and that voice”.
Pulling out all the stops on this since becoming our MP, I’m glad to have proved that wrong. I’m especially proud of all those who joined me in making the case for our town.
The Eastbourne Town Board (separate from Eastbourne Borough Council) that local residents applied to join in 2024 will be doing a public consultation in this year to ultimately decide how this cash is spent.
I’ve made no secret of the fact that a top priority for me in 2025 will be urging the Board to spend a good chunk of this cash on facilities for children and families to enjoy – whether that’s at the Sovereign Centre (where I learnt to swim as a kid!) and/or elsewhere in our town.
I’m also pushing the Government to make the first initial payment of this cash earlier than the initial 2026 date it has proposed.
Another key priority of mine in 2025 is supporting survivors of domestic abuse – an issue particularly close to mine and my family’s hearts.
I’ve been very concerned that many domestic abusers qualify for the Government’s early prison release scheme, despite the Government giving assurances to the contrary.
The problem is that, because there are currently no specific offences of domestic abuse in the law, abusers are able to hide behind convictions such as assault, which masks much of their abuse and qualifies them for the early release scheme. You can only exclude someone from early release based on the offence they’ve committed.
I’ve therefore put forward a new law to close this loophole, which would create a new set of domestic abuse offences in the law for the first time. By recognising this in law, we could exclude perpetrators of these new offences from early release schemes.
I launched my Bill live on Good Morning Britain, with Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley backing the idea, as well as Women’s Aid and Refuge. I’ll be lobbying the Government to help me make this law to support victims in Eastbourne and across the country.
I’m as energised as ever to keep fighting for our town in 2025 – it’s a real honour. If I can help you with anything, please email me on josh.babarinde.mp@parliament.uk
