Political Opinion from Nusrat Ghani MP

Happy New Year! I hope that you had the chance to relax and reflect over the festive period, and that you are ready to embrace 2026.

The sunny days of my summer surgery tour are now a distant memory. Thank you to everyone who came to catch up with me in Wadhurst, Frant, Groombridge, Hartfield, Crowborough, Hailsham, Cowbeech, Bodle Street Green, Rushlake Green, Punnetts Town, Broad Oak, Cross in Hand, Mayfield, Town Row, Five Ashes, Hadlow Down, Maynards Green, Heathfield and Horam.

You will have seen that all local focus has been on Crowborough’s Training Camp over the past few months. I have made my objections to the use of the site to house asylum seekers clear to the Home Office and Wealden District Council, and I continue to do everything I can in my power to hold them both to account, and to protect local residents.

Nevertheless, despite the major challenges that the end of last year has presented, we must not forget about the good news and successes that 2025 brought for our communities in Sussex Weald. Please allow me to reflect on just some of them below.

We’ve had a huge win for Heathfield this year, where the construction of a new Youth Hub was completed thanks to nearly £5m Government support. In Wadhurst, we’ve secured improvements to mobile coverage at the train station, following my campaign with O2 and Vodafone. In Hadlow Down, we’ve delivered disabled parking spaces for St Mark’s school, while in Horam, a new BMX Pump Track was completed. A new Gateway was opened on the Ashdown Forest to boost accessibility; a new multi-purpose Community Hub is underway at the railway station in Crowborough; and two Post Office branches have returned to our High Streets this year, in Mayfield and in Frant.

I must also pay tribute to our small businesses and charities. It was wonderful to join Waldron’s English Soap Company in celebrating their 25th anniversary; join the Crowborough Business Expo; and catch up with members of Hailsham Chamber of Commerce. I continue working with Crowborough’s King’s Award for Volunteer Services recipients Family2Family, Heathfield’s Wealden Works, Rotherfield St Martin, Hailsham’s Medi Tech Trust and many others, to ensure local residents are supported.

2025 has also given us the opportunity to honour and remember those who fought for our freedoms in WII. I joined residents in Hailsham, Heathfield, Mayfield, Rotherfield and Withyham in celebrating VE Day 80 and attended a ceremony commemorating Flying Officer Percy Burton, who lost his life fighting over Hailsham during the Battle of Britain.

I will always champion our local producers, and it was great to catch up with many at the annual Heathfield Agricultural Show and at my Farmers’ Forum in Five Ashes in May, which brought together over 30 farmers and many local authorities and stakeholders.

There are many other ongoing campaigns which I will continue progressing next year including work with: Southern Water to prevent flooding and sewage overspills; Sussex Police on tackling rural crime and enhancing road safety; and of course, my ongoing campaign to save the much-valued Crowborough Birthing Centre.

Please be assured that I will continue to work hard in 2026 and campaign for more resources for Sussex Weald. My surgeries take place weekly, so if you need my assistance, please email me at nusrat.ghani.mp@parliament.uk or visit my website www.nusghani.org.uk for more information.