2026: Week 32 - Heatwaves, water leaks and Palantir
It’s been a week of high temperatures, with the UK Health Security Agency issuing another amber heat alert which covers almost the entire country.
Whilst the sunny weather is being enjoyed by many, especially during the holidays, we have to remember that these prolonged spells of hot, dry weather are causing significant problems for the country. Many areas are now in drought conditions, including Devon and Cornwall. We also now have a hosepipe ban implemented by South West Water.
It is now impossible to ignore the impact that climate change is having, I can’t remember a summer which included 5 recorded heatwaves, and the lack of rain is very worrying. This last week I have called on South West Water to urgently fix their crumbling infrastructure that is responsible for so many leaks across the area. During 2024/25 SWW lost 107.8 million litres of water per day due to leaks. If they are asking households to “do their bit” and save water they should be modelling the same behaviour by doing all they can to fix leaks as quickly as possible and investing in their infrastructure to prevent further leaks across the network.
On a more national topic, I have launched my campaign and petition to “Get Palantir Out of Our NHS”. The software solution provided by Palantir to the NHS is not fit for purpose, it doesn’t do what it claims to be able to, and this week the Government have stated that the projected costs of the project have risen to £1.1bn, at the same time as the forecast benefits of the platform have fallen.
If you would like to learn more about the campaign and why Palantir is the wrong choice for the NHS, check out my videos on my social media platforms, also, please head over to my website where you can find further details along with the petition.
My summer safari continues, so please come along to one of my “pop-up” surgeries if you are able. You will find all the dates on my website www.martinwrigley.co.uk, and they are also advertised on my social media channels. These “pop-ups” are the highlight of my summer recess, it is a wonderful opportunity to meet constituents, and it gives me a real insight into what topics and issues are affecting local communities the most.
I would also like to say a huge thank you to the venues that have offered to host one of my summer surgeries, without these locations it just wouldn’t happen, so I’m sending my thanks to you all. An unexpected bonus has been seeing how many fantastic venues and initiatives there are out in the constituency, from small cafés who offer space to hold community events, supermarkets who go above and beyond to help their local areas, and regular events who have invited me along!
There are so many more similar places and events across the length and breadth of the constituency, having these amazing places on our doorsteps really does show how special our little corner of Devon is.