Last week, I joined the members of Walton Rotary Club, for an evening kindly hosted by their President Reg Mills, Bob Freeman and David Edney. It was my first opportunity to catch up with Walton Rotary since the election last year.
We talked about the measures outlined in the Chancellor’s recent Budget, which included cuts to business rates (to help support small local businesses), and changes to income tax, with the increased Personal Allowance and a rise in the 40p tax rate threshold (from £42,385 to £45,000). The last two measures will provide a tax cut for 57,000 people across Esher and Walton constituency. We also discussed local issues like increased investment in flood defences, and the improved, more frequent links to London which Crossrail 2 will provide – as well as the upcoming EU referendum.
Walton Rotary provides huge support for good causes, from helping to eradicate polio, to providing support packages for communities in international disaster zones. Locally, they run an annual ‘Top of the Form’ competition for Year 6s from across local schools. It’s a fantastic event, and I had the honour of awarding the prizes last year. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable evening.