Nov 2025

Monthly resident update

Hi Reader

News from Vikki Slade MP – November 2025

This monthly newsletter is designed to keep you up to date with what I’ve been doing for Mid Dorset and North Poole.

It’s been a busy period both in Parliament and across our community; from marking Parliament Week with young people across the constituency to challenging the Budget, alongside fighting for better access to local pharmacies and pushing for better support for families affected by neurodegenerative conditions.

If you’d like to get involved — whether by coming along to an event, signing a petition, or joining me on the campaign trail — I’ve included links to make it easy. And if that’s not for you, that’s fine too.

I hope you enjoy the read, and feel free to share it with a friend or neighbour!

Please don’t reply directly to this newsletter – contact vikki.slade.mp@parliament.uk

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In this edition:

• Queen Elizabeth Leisure Centre: An Update
• Improving Support for Neurodegenerative Conditions
• Canford Energy from Waste plant: An Update
• Parliament Week: Engaging with Young People
• The Budget: My View
• Remembrance
• Out and About in the Constituency
• Christmas message

Queen Elizabeth Leisure Centre
: An Update

Over recent months, I have been working with Cllr Chakawhata and others to fight for the leisure centre to reopen. Its closure has been a real loss to the community and it has been frustrating trying to get to the truth about its finances and how we got to this position.
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For clarity, the site is part of the QE School, part of Initio Learning Trust and as such effectively owned by them. This means that the council’s funding was being poured into a building that was not theirs and the subsidy for QE Leisure Centre was around three times that of other council run leisure centres.
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In an attempt to keep things moving, I have recently met with Headteacher of QE school to talk about their plans, with the Director of Operations at Initio and with the Leader of Dorset Council and the senior officer responsible for leisure.
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As it stands, we are expecting clubs and groups only to be given access to the Leisure Centre in the Spring but at this time it will not yet be reopened to the general public.
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I will continue to challenge Initio to find ways to fully open the site, and I will look at Parliamentary options to see what access to funding there is. Unfortunately, Dorset has not been provided with much support from this Government in terms of grants and programmes and I will continue to fight until Wimborne has a fully functioning public leisure facility.

🧠 Improving Support for Neurodegenerative Conditions

Neurodegenerative conditions are affecting residents across our constituency. With 27.3% of residents over the age of 65, compared with 18.9% nationally, Mid Dorset and North Poole is disproportionately affected. Cases of Parkinson’s alone are expected to double by 2050.

What I did:

• As a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Parkinson’s, I spoke in November’s debate and raised the experiences of local people who were being failed by the current system. There are 333 people living with Parkinson’s locally. One constituent told me they used to see a specialist nurse every six months, then annually, but now they hadn’t seen one in two years because there was just one specialist nurse covering the entire constituency.

• I met with the Alzheimer’s Society to discuss how we could better support the 15,000 people living with dementia in Dorset, including tackling gaps in local provision.

• I also joined the Huntington’s Disease Association, meeting experts and speaking with my constituent Steve about his advocacy work and personal experience.

• I will continue to push for investment in specialist staff, faster diagnosis, and better integrated care, so families receive the support they need and deserve.

Canford Energy from Waste plant: An Update

Over the summer, the proposal for a new Energy-from-Waste plant in Canford was refused by the BCP Planning Committee. I was disappointed to learn that MVV, the company behind the plans, announced an appeal particularly after the Portland incinerator was approved despite Dorset Council’s objection.

The plant is not needed, it is not wanted, and it has the potential to cause significant harm.

What I did:

• I organised and chaired a public meeting attended by nearly 200 residents

• I worked alongside local councillors and community groups

• I challenged the Prime Minister during PMQs

• I wrote to the Planning Committee ahead of the vote to share the views of local people

You may be aware that MVV have recently announced they will be appealing the decision of the BCP planning committee. Following the appeal announcement, I submitted two Written Questions to DEFRA on the adequacy of current incinerator capacity, and whether the Government planned to reinstate the pause on building new plants.

I will continue to stand alongside residents opposed to this facility and use the tools available to me as your local MP to ensure their voices are heard.

🗳️ Parliament Week: Engaging with Young People

Parliament Week is a fantastic opportunity to inspire the next generation of active citizens, and I marked it with a series of visits and conversations across Mid Dorset and North Poole.

I visited three local schools: Yarrells School, Hayeswood First School, and Colehill First School, where I spoke in assemblies about the role of Parliament, how democracy works, and why the voices of young people matter. The questions asked by the young people were thoughtful, challenging, and full of ideas about how to make our community fairer.

As part of the week, I also hosted a Youth Conversation in Wimborne — an open forum designed specifically for young people. The informal setting encouraged honest discussion about local and national issues and gave me the chance to listen directly to their priorities for the future.

I also reached out to the schools and youth organisations registered for Parliament Week and offered to answer their questions. I received everything from “Are you a good MP?” to “Can we have more school councillors?” You can watch the Q&A here: [Watch here]

I remain committed to visiting every secondary school annually and every primary school at least every two years, ensuring children and young people have regular opportunities to speak directly with their MP. Many issues I’ve raised in Parliament began with these conversations — including concerns about local bus passes, which I first heard during a visit to The Purbeck School.

💷 The Budget: My View

The biggest event in Parliament this month was the Budget.

Ahead of the announcement, I joined Liberal Democrat colleagues in calling for a 17-month emergency 5% VAT cut, to save the hospitality sector, protect jobs, and revitalise our high streets. Having previously run a hospitality business, I know first-hand how tight margins are and how important these venues are to community wellbeing. So many pubs, cafés and attractions are struggling to stay afloat.

What I welcomed:

• The two-child benefit cap scrapped

• A higher minimum wage

• Respite on energy bills

My concerns:

• No VAT cut for hospitality

• A new tax on electric vehicles

• The Family Farm Tax remaining

• Nothing specifically for Dorset

Overall, I felt that whilst the Budget was not a disaster, it could have gone much further, and it did not do enough to support small businesses who have been pushed to the limit. The conduct in the Chamber was also disappointing. It was sad to see the country’s finances treated as political theatre.

🌺 Lest We Forget

November is a month of remembrance, as we mark Armistice and Remembrance Sunday.

I planted a cross in the Parliamentary Remembrance Garden in memory of all those from Mid Dorset and North Poole who made the ultimate sacrifice, and I attended services across the constituency to pay my respects to veterans, serving personnel and their families. I also laid wreaths across the constituency.

“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.”

🚗Out and about

It’s always a pleasure to spend time with residents and local organisations. Some highlights this month:

🚲 Bike Security in Merley — I joined Dorset Police, Merley HomeWatch and local councillors for a bike-marking event at Merley Community Centre.

Missed it? A second session is planned from 10am–12pm on 24 January at Broadstone Library — perfect if someone in your family unwrapped a bike this Christmas.

🌲 Holt Commoners Association — Along with local councillors, I attended a meeting in Holt, held alongside the Parish Council, to hear the concerns of local people following the fires this summer. Also in attendance were the Fire Service and the National Trust who are working together, alongside the local community, to heed concerns and look to explore appropriate and proportionate future fire safety measures.

Merry Christmas

As we come to the end of the year, I want to wish everyone across Mid Dorset and North Poole a very happy Christmas.

This season is a time for reflection, generosity and hope, and I’m grateful for the kindness, resilience and community spirit that I see across our towns and villages every day. Whether you’re celebrating with family and friends, working through the holidays, or finding this time of year more difficult, please know that you are not alone.

Thank you to all the volunteers, carers, emergency workers and local organisations who give so much of their time, especially over the festive period. Your efforts make a real difference.

I wish you a peaceful Christmas and a healthy, hopeful New Year. I look forward to continuing to work with you all in 2026.

Warmest wishes,

Round-up of some of my other activities