Tom Rutland MP

Delighted to be launching my monthly e-newsletter 📰 Click the link in my bio to keep up to date with my work for you across East Worthing and Shoreham and in Westminster.

Wonderful to see Lancing-based @flareaudio presented with The King's Award for Enterprise (Innovation)! Flare is an incredible local success story, so I was pleased to visit Flare recently to celebrate this achievement and watch the presentation of the award by Lady Emma Barnard, HM Lord-Lieutenant of West Sussex. They have won this remarkable award for their unique breakthrough product Calmer, an in-ear device that reduces stress from annoying and uncomfortable noises without blocking sound – avoiding the isolation caused by earplugs. Listening to music on their other incredible earphones transformed sound for me - hearing all the individual layers of the music is like being in the room with the orchestra, or transported away to a jazz bar. Winning the King’s Award is a tremendous achievement, and it’s great to see an amazing local business recognised in this way.

Many constituents have been in touch with me in recent months concerned about the impact of foreign money and foreign influence on our elections, particularly following the recent conviction of the former leader of Reform UK Wales for taking Russian bribes. Those concerns are well founded. Public confidence in our democracy depends on people knowing that political influence cannot be bought from abroad, whether through donations, opaque funding routes, disinformation, or online interference. In the House, I welcomed the measures in the Representation of the People Bill that would strengthen the rules on political donations, in particular the requirement that donations from companies must come from money made in the UK rather than abroad. That is an important step towards closing off one obvious route for foreign money to find its way into our politics. However, still more needs to be done. Foreign interference does not just come through donations. It can also come through disinformation and other attempts to hijack our democracy behind the scenes or in the digital world. I am also concerned about the role cryptocurrency can play in obscuring the source of political funding. Our democracy should be transparent and accountable, and there should be no loopholes for those seeking to hide foreign money or influence. This issue must be taken seriously across Government, with clear responsibility for identifying and tackling foreign interference wherever it appears. Our elections must be decided by voters in Britain, free from foreign money and foreign influence.

Good to join @naturalengland recently for a walk along the Adur Site of Special Scientific Interest. We discussed their work in Adur and Worthing to protect and restore nature - as well as their new strategy, which includes how they plan to collaborate with different sectors to realise the opportunities that nature recovery holds for growth.

Today marks International Nurses Day, so I wanted to take the chance to pay tribute to everyone working on the frontline across our NHS services in Adur and Worthing. Thank you for everything you do.

After years of the Conservatives and Reform damaging our relationship with our nearest neighbours, this Labour Government is working to reset relations with the European Union in a way that delivers for constituents here in East Worthing and Shoreham. That is why I raised the case of Worthing’s own Hobgoblin Music in the House recently, and the importance of making sure local businesses can feel the benefit of that reset. The Government’s response made clear that reducing barriers to trade, improving business mobility and strengthening cooperation with the EU on the recognition of professional services will help to unlock opportunities for businesses here on the south coast and across Britain. For us, that matters. Whether it is local employers, independent traders or enterprises, this is what the reset with Europe should mean in practice. Fewer obstacles, stronger trading relationships, and more opportunities for local businesses on our high streets, including Hobgoblin Music, to grow and thrive.

Thank you to everyone across Adur who placed your trust in Labour on Thursday. I am delighted to have seen us win five seats having been defending five seats - retaining our majority ably led by my brilliant local councillor, @cllrjeremygardner . It was fantastic to pick up two county council seats too in Shoreham North and Southwick. It was disappointing to fall short so narrowly in a couple of seats in East Worthing and I know that the results there are not a reflection on the dedicated councillors and candidates who did not make it over the line. They are fantastic community campaigners who love where they live and I hope they’ll be on the council soon. And I’m looking forward to pushing forward our plans to restore our Lido to its former glory with @drbeccycooper_mp and @sophiencox and seeing Worthing go from strength to strength with Labour. If this was an eventful election, the count itself was just as eventful - with the first announcement from the stage at the count at Worthing Leisure Centre not being a result, but that a swarm of 10,000 bees had arrived to join the crowd of political parties awaiting results! Congratulations to all councillors elected across Adur and Worthing. I look forward to working with you for the betterment of our area. Thanks to everyone who took the time to speak with me over the past few months. I’ll be back out on the doors very soon - never just at election time. But I might take a few days to heal the blisters on my feet from the 150,000 steps walked in the past week!

✅ Just voted for the brilliant Councillor Jeremy Gardner for St Mary’s ward in Adur and for the excellent Vikki Fryer for Shoreham South in West Sussex County Council! 🌹 Vote Labour across Adur and Worthing today to keep working towards a fairer, greener Adur and to keep building Worthing’s future. ❗️Labour is not just the party with the plan for our area’s future, but also the tactical choice to stop Reform across Adur and in East Worthing, Selden, Gaisford and Broadwater. 🗳️ You’ve got til 10pm!

Finishing strong! For a fairer, greener Adur - and to keep building Worthing’s future - vote Labour tomorrow! The party with a plan for both Adur and Worthing’s futures - and the party best placed to stop Reform and Farage across our community. Thanks to everyone who’s spoken with me and the team during this campaign. It’s been a privilege to hear your views and hopes for the future here!

In case you missed it, a new MRI scanner is coming to Southlands Hospital! 📢 Local patients will get quicker checks, tests and scans closer to home as the Labour Government invests £237 million in new Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs). Hear more from the Health Secretary and the Leader of Adur District Council about what this announcement means for patients in Adur and Worthing☝️

Every child and parent should feel safe travelling to and from school. In recent months, I have been working with Buckingham Primary School, Bramber Primary School, Broadwater C of E Primary School, Downsbrook Primary School, Whytemead Primary School and St Nicholas and St Mary CE Primary School to improve safety on the roads and crossings around the schools. I will be writing to West Sussex County Council about each school’s individual case and have been working alongside headteachers, as well as our fantastic local councillors, Cllr Jeremy Gardner, Cllr Dawn Smith, and Cllr Cathy Glynn Davies, to bring about change. Thank you to all the schools, parents, and road safety volunteers for engaging with me on this important issue.

Fantastic to welcome the Environment Secretary, @emmaforwycombe for Wycombe, to Shoreham and Worthing last month. It was great to discuss the Labour Government’s announcement of nearly £4 million in funding for Adur and Worthing’s flood defences to build long-term resilience for our community, as well as the excellent work our councillors are delivering for local people. Alongside @drbeccycooper_mp , Cllr Jeremy Gardner and Cllr @sophiencox , we visited the Worthing Capital Maintenance Project and the Shoreham Adur Tidal Walls Flood Defence Scheme to see the progress being made to protect homes and businesses by winter. Our Labour Government, Labour District Council and Labour Borough Council are working hard for everyone in Adur and Worthing – make sure to vote Labour on 7 May 🌹