Happy New Year! I hope this finds you well rested and full of cheese after the Christmas break. I’ll admit I was somewhat looking forward to Parliament coming back – it feels like there is a lot to do in 2025.
Already this week I’ve been speaking in Parliament about the devastating impact the Government’s planned increase to National Insurance Contributions (NIC) will have on West Dorset’s charities – especially our hospices. Weldmar Hospicecare is well known to West Dorset residents as a provider of specialist end-of-life care to patients in their own home, as well as at their inpatient unit in Dorchester. It does fantastic work.
NHS Dorset has notified Weldmar of a £400,000 reduction in Fast Track Funding from April. This cut, in addition to the National Insurance increase, along with ever-rising demand for their services locally, will create an additional financial burden of £600,000 this year.
Weldmar already subsidises 60 per cent of its NHS-commissioned care using charitable funds, but it is not sustainable or acceptable for charities to fill these gaps. The reality is these costs will result in Weldmar being able to support fewer people at the most critical moments in their lives.
Julia’s House, another well-known local charity, which provides care for seriously ill children in West Dorset, faces similarly dire consequences.
Only eight per cent of its income comes from the Government, making it one of the least-supported hospices in the country. The NIC increase alone will cost Julia’s House an additional £242,000 per year: yet their commissioning contract with Dorset ICB has increased by just 0.6 per cent, a rate far below inflation and the 5.5 per cent NHS pay award.
This inevitably means significant cuts to the amount of care available for those at end of life.
Charities like Weldmar and Julia’s House play a critical role in alleviating pressure on the NHS in Dorset. They provide care in our community, reduce avoidable hospital admissions, and support families in their darkest hours.
The Liberal Democrats are campaigning hard to get the government to reverse the NIC increases, or at the very least exempt charities from them. These organisations are the backbone of our communities, delivering essential services and support to those who need it most. They embody selflessness and service. We must protect their critical work and ensure that they can continue to provide comfort and dignity to those in need.
Edward Morello MP for West Dorset

Pondering on the theme for this first column of 2025, I looked forward to spreading some optimism and positivity on my first day back at work … and found myself groaning instead at the news of Baroness Casey’s social care review. Labour’s social care review sounded good, until we heard the timetable.
Some near-term gestures aside, there will be no recommendations for a long-term solution until 2028.
This is a blow. Dorset’s population is older than average across the UK’s counties, and a sustainable solution to social care is essential to help the NHS. Despite many previous excellent reviews and commissions, it seems that we must once again repeat the exercise to buy time for this government.
In China it’s still the year of the Dragon until the Lunar New Year arrives on 29 January and we turn to the year of the Snake.
Nothing so exciting sounding here in the UK, where our government has made it feel like 2024 was the year of the stubbed toe – too painful to laugh off, but we’re just too hardened to cry about it either.
We could see it coming during the general election. Almost everyone I spoke to said they expected to pay more tax – they’d almost be glad to do so, to be rid of the Conservatives and get public services working again. The only people who seemingly didn’t know it were Keir, Angela, Rachel, Wes and co…
Boxed into a corner by undeliverable promises not to raise tax, they decided to escape by shooting a foot with the half-cocked pistol of winter fuel allowance. Then came a budget that hobbled the nation’s spirits, applying extra national insurance contributions that will just slow hiring and investment.
Let’s not even mention the farming inheritance tax bullet into the other foot. It’s been hard to maintain enthusiasm for this government – but we can’t afford for them to fail.
My optimism from this time last year has only been delayed, not extinguished. Our Dorset community resilience and local business innovation offer hope. Nationally, there are clear positives. Our national strengths – that Brexit and numerous Prime Ministerial failures called into doubt – are returning: we have political and legal stability, financial credibility and talented people. Our universities are stressed, but they and their research remain world class. Trumpian tariffs on goods may be threatened but our large and competitive services sector will help us.
Dorset needs sustainable social care, flood and climate resilience, intelligent devolution and planning reform in a thriving economy. All need to be fought for, and Liberal Democrats will continue to campaign through 2025 nationally to influence, and locally through Dorset Council, to implement and improve. I hope you will share my optimism and I wish you a Happy New Year.
Gary Jackson
North Dorset Liberal Democrats

The New Year brings an opportunity to take stock of where we are, and to decide how we might change the way we do things, for the better, so that 2025 becomes a year we can look back on with satisfaction, instead of regret.
Regardless of our many differences, we all share one thing that is absolutely essential for life – the planet we inhabit. In many ways it’s in a mess right now, and we face huge challenges … but humans can be incredibly resourceful and it is certainly within our power to change things for the better.
We are great survivors, largely thanks to our ingenuity. And ingenuity relies on what is perhaps our greatest strength: our imagination. It not only enables us to find solutions, it also inspires and motivates us to take action. Focussing solely on what we don’t want can leave us feeling disempowered: challenges can seem insurmountable.
Instead, if we use our creative imagination to focus on what we actually do want, we can be uplifted and inspired to make it happen.
Rob Hopkins from Totnes is the author of ‘From What Is to What If – Unleashing the Power of Imagination to Create the Future We Want’. His book is full of real-world examples of the positive difference made by creative thinking. He makes a compelling case for the use of more imagination in school, at work, in our personal lives and in politics.
My own political imagining is of our elected representatives choosing to act collectively, and for the common good. MPs rejecting the pressures of political dogma and of wealthy vested interests splashing cash and favours to influence political decisions. Imagine that!
Around the world ever-more positive actions are being taken to address our many challenges. However, they are still nowhere near enough, as the decline in wildlife and the changing climate clearly show. Although many of us struggle with demands on our time and energy at the moment, we can still find actions to take, no matter how small. So let’s imagine the glorious world we want, and find ways we can help to help make it happen. Together. Onwards and up!
Ken Huggins
North Dorset Green Party