Tuesday 4 May 2010

Making History in Wolvey




In 1910 a General Election took place and one of the candidates had his photo taken in Wolvey with local villagers who came out to meet him. One hundred years on we have recreated the event in the same location. It's fantastic to be playing a part in making history & hope something similar may take place a hundred years from now!

Canvassing in Bilton

We had a rather different canvassing team out on Saturday supporting Rugby Borough Council candidate, Lisa Parker.
It was great to be accompanied by a touch of glamour on this occasion!

Sunday 2 May 2010

Ballot Papers

I discovered a consequence of the leaders debates the other day when a resident told me that they had received their postal votes. The ballot paper for the local election was included, as the one for Rugby's MP with my name amongst those on it. However, the resident wanted to know why there wasnt one with Mr Brown, Mr Cameron & Mr Cleggs name on it.

BBC CWR Interview

Our local BBC radio station, BBC Coventry & Warwickshire visited Rugby to talk about progress in the campaign and issues being raised locally. It was quite appropriate that Sue Curtis and I spoke about Rugby's development on the steps of the Library opposite the new Asda development. This includes a number of shop units which came on to the market at just the wrong time. While we have fewer vancacies than many similat towns, our plans to get the economy moving and the new housing that Rugby will be accomodating in the next few years will hopefully provide an incentive for new retailers to come into out town centre.

Admirals canvassing

A really impressive feature of our 2010 campaign in Rugby is the number of people out on the doorsteps with us. This photo is pretty typical of the team out in Admirals last week, aiming to secure re-election for Mike Stokes as the local Rugby Borough Councillor in addition to victory in the Parliamentary election.

Meeting the Motocycle Lobby

During an election campaign, candidates receive an approach from lots of groups who are keen to get their message across. Last week I met Riders are voters who told me about their concerns over the new test regime to aquire a license, the state & design of roads and the rights of motorcyclists to use bus lanes. It was a good idea to meet at a local motorcycle retailer and put the candidate on a bike in a suitable colour!

Saturday 24 April 2010

Grant Shapps in Rugby




On Thursday, Conservative Spokesman on Housing, Grant Shapps was in Rugby to look at the implications of the huge housing development that Rugby is expected to take over the next 20 years. This is an issue raised regularly on the doorstep throughout the campaign with the greater part allocated to the Mast site at Hillmorton. Grant was shown over the site from a vantage point on the Clifton to Lilbourne road. The big challenge here is to ensure that the appropriate infrastucture is put in place that will enable Rugby as a whole to benefit from these proposals.

Thursday 22 April 2010

Football Shirts for Rwanda

I held a further appeal in Rugby Town Centre on Tuesday for additional football shirts that I can send to the children of Rwanda. This was as part of the Conservative Party's National Social Action Project, and I feel it was a fitting addition to my appeal. We spoke to many people in Rugby about the project, and I would like to thank everyone who has been able to make a donation.

Candidate Debates


One of the things that has surprised me most about this election campaign is the amount of public participation in it. In this election I have so far taken part in two debates at local schools, two organised by local community groups and a further three organised by the business community-and there are still more happening! These events have been extremely positive for me, and I have enjoyed hearing the concerns of the people of rugby during this campaign. The Chair of New Bilton Community Association is doing her best to keep me to time!

Wearing out shoe leather

In an election campaign every candidate makes claims about the numbers of miles walked canvassing and delivering leaflets. I dropped two pairs of shoes in to Claire at JS Cobblers in Rugby town centre this week having been worn out already in just the first two weeks!

Shadow Justice Minister in Rugby.


Last week I was able to welcome our Shadow Justice Minister, Dominic Grieve to Rugby. We visited the Brownsover area and spoke to business owners where a scheme is in place aimed at tackling anti social behaviour and helping young people to put their lives back on track. This kind of community work is what the Big Society is all about, and I am glad to see Rugby taking the lead on this issue.

Sunday 11 April 2010

Delivery team in Wolvey

This is a fairly rare picture for this blog in that I'm not in it (apart from on the poster) ...........and for the good reason that I wan't there! Throughout the past few days we have had teams of volunteers out delivering election leaflets throughout the length and breath of the constituency from Bilton to Bulkington and from Wolston to Wolvey. I really appreciate the hard work that is being put in by so many people to make sure we get our message out, and playing their part to make sure that David Cameron is the next occupant of No 10.

Andrew Mitchell in Rugby

Our first Shadow Cabinet Minister to join us in Rugby was Andrew Mitchell who has responsibility for overseas development. I got to know Andrew during the two visits that I made to Rwanda when he led our party. It was logical to ask Andrew to help publicise a further appeal that I am making for additional football shirts to send over. A number of shirts have arrived over the past few weeks and we are looking for more to make up a batch for use by both children and organised teams. We will have a stall in Rugby town centre on Tuesday 20th April from 3pm to 4.30pm so that they may be donated after school so if anyone has a shirt they have grown out of or where the sponsor has changed & the shirt is no longer wearable here we know how to put it to good use. Our Association Chariman, Mike Stokes who is holding the Brazil shirt and I will be pleased to recieve them. We though it was a good move to give Andrew the bllue one!

Thursday 8 April 2010

Visiting Bulkington Residents

We had a great team out yesterday meeting people in Bulkington. I have blogged before about the special nature of Bulkington within the new Rugby Constituency and it was great to be there early in the campaign. Good reception on the doorsteps with a real mood for change within the country. Long day yesterday, since we started off by meeting commuters at the Railway station 7.00am but it's good to have got off to a start after waiting so long for the election to be called.

Tuesday 6 April 2010

The campaign has started!

Today we launched our campaign with a rally beside the Webb Ellis statue followed by full canvassing sessions in two areas of the town. Lots more full days ahead!

Monday 5 April 2010

The calm before the storm

The past couple of days have been an opportunity to catch up with a few jobs around the house and garden, and generally chill out since the next few weeks are likely to be fairly busy. Just about every commentator expects the election to be called tomorrow in which case I will start on a mapped out campaign of canvassing, delivering, meeting with voters and debates with other candidates which will run until election day on May 6th. So it's been good to take stock and do some of the things that there wont be time for over the coming weeks! I''ve just found some comfort trawling through the on lone editions of the newspapers in a new interactive site the Times has set up for the election showing here an encouraging prediction of the likely result in Rugby.

Wednesday 31 March 2010

Rugby Myton Hospice

Yesterday I was shown around Rugby Myton Hospice where I met one of the nurses there, Ros. The Hospice was opened in 2002 after a greal deal of hard work to raise funds and provides a high level of care on a day patient basis. I was shown around the facilities on site and saw the various activities that take place. I even joined in breifly with a quiz that was taking place. I left with a sense of a tranqil place where people are given a sense of ease at a very difficult time of their life.

Overslade Canvassing Team

Last week we had a great team out visiting residents in Overslade ward. We met plenty of people and received a positive response on the doorstep

Wednesday 24 March 2010

McDonalds visit

Today I joined Franchise Holder, Glyn Pashley at his Rugby town centre store where I learnt about his business. This is a sector I am already familiar with as when I was in business we supplied to the independent catering sector. I have also been a fairly regular customer as someone often in a hurry and taking my children when young for a treat. This was however my first "behind the scenes" and I saw the production of burgers during a busy lunchtime, met the staff and was shown the training courses they receive. I have always been impressed by the professionalism of the McDonalds operation and the influence they have on the labour market with so many young people gaining their first experience of work with them.

Sunday 21 March 2010

The Internet Election?

Much has been made about the new campaigning techniques facilitated by the internet, used extensively by Obama in 2008 and being taken up by the parties here. I have been runnig this blog for a good while and have recently revamped my website. However, I've long felt that there is no real alternative to meeting potential voters face to face and so I was interested to read this article by Andrew Rawnsley in today's Observer in which he concludes "success will belong to those who...pound the pavements, knock on doors and get among voters in the real (world)." As a candidate for three and a quarter years, with twice weekly phone or doorstep canvassing sessions, out on doorsteps every Saturday, making visits to local businesses and organisations, and with a regular town centre stall, I reckon to have made contact with around 15,000 of the voters in Rugby constituency - an average of 90 voters a week over 165 weeks. Over that time I've spoken with people about a huge variety of issues both local and national and I've seen attitudes change as the news agenda has changed. I believe this contact with people individually has given me a good understanding of people's priorities and what they expect from their next MP.

Overslade Community Centre Grand Opening

On Saturday afternoon I joined Rugby Borough Council candidate Mathew Francis at the opening of the extended and refurbished Community Centre on Overslade Estate. This is an excellent facility for an area of Rugby which will benefit greatly from these facilities and many people worked incredibly hard to secure the funding to get it in place. I look forward to visiting again soon.

Pavillions Estate Canvass

On Saturday morning our canvassing team led by County Councillor Claire Watson was on the Pavillions Estate, part of New Bilton Ward. This is recently completed housing and I was keen to visit for two reasons. The first is that there are a large number of new voters there, recently added to the electoral roll who we may not have previously seen. The second was a front page headline in the Rugby Advertiser a month ago "Living in Fear" and giving an account of "gangs of nuisance youths...who run wild" on this Estate. The matter was discussed at the Commity Forum I attended on Wednesday and I wanted to see whether local residents thought that this description of their area was a fair one. I spoke to many people, all of whom said that that there had been the occasional instance of youths making a noise and riding motorcycles, but nothing untoward. I met one lady whose husband had given an account of the area to the Advertiser which was printed on page 8 this week stating that the portrayal of the estate was wrong and that in two years they had never experienced any trouble. It seems most residents agree. So was the paper being sensational and has their report caused the area to be given a wrong reputation? If so, it's not the only area of Rugby where that has happened recently. An arson attack on the mobility scooters of two elderly residents in sheleted housing in Bilton led to their death, and was rightly a serious matter for the Police who have apprehended two teenagers. This reasonably made headline news in national newspapers, but the Daily Mail painted a picture of Rugby that nobody who lives here would recognise. If we are not to see areas "talked down" in this way, it is important that those reporting such instances ensure that there is a sense of balance.

Tuesday 16 March 2010

Mill Green Residential Care Home Visit

Today I visited Mill Green Residential Care Home in Newbold, where I was able to chat both with residents and Manager Lyn Mills and her staff. Mill Green provides personal care and support for people with physical disabilities across a wide age range. We had a wide ranging discussion, including MPs expenses, and the broader issues of funding social care and the recent disagreements between the parties. The home is spacious with accommodation on the ground floor and well laid out grounds. One of the residents described it to me a a real "home from home". I have visited a number of care homes over recent weeks and have built up a good understanding of the sector and the challenges it faces over coming years.

Bulkington House Meeting

Throughout my time as a candidate, I have been meeting groups of residents in someone's home to hear views and answer questions. Yesterday James who is spending a couple of weeks with my campaign as part of his work experience, and I met residents in Bulkington. We covered a huge range of topics starting with the issues relating to illegal traveller encampments which has been a feature of the village in recent years. MPs expenses is a topic I am regularly questioned about and that together with proposals for dealing with the deficit took up a large part of our discussion. I learnt a great deal from those present who told me how very clearly they see things. I was most encouraged at the end when I was asked by one person if they could join in our campaign to win the seat and look forward to being out on the doorsteps there soon!

Thursday 11 March 2010

Binley Woods Memorial

I spent this morning meeting residents in Binley Woods, the village where I grew up. We visted the occupants of houses on the site where I went to primary school and where there is a new memorial to the 6 servicemen from Binley Woods who lost their lives in WW2 and had not previously been honoured. More details from the villages excellent website here.

Rugby Credit Union AGM

I am now in my fourth year as a candidate and find I am attending many annual events in the Constituency for the second and third time. Yesterday I attended my second AGM of Rugby Credit Union and I was pleased to be there to support the work they are doing to provide affordable loans to people who would otherwise be forced to use exhorbitantly expensive sub prime lenders. There was a stimulating discussion about the providers that many people are forced to use and how the Credit Union can can ensure that the help it offers is more widely known about. Those running the organisation, who are all volunteers giving up their free time, deserve our thanks for making an alternative available.

National Campaign in Rugby

It's pretty clear that the General Election date will be 6 May and locally we have been planning for that date for some time. The national campaign is also gearing up and we have benefitted from the party nationally taking billboard poster sites with two in sucession along Corporation St. The theme is demonstrating how many people will be first time Conservative voters and the policies that attract them which is consistent with what people are saying to our team out on the doorsteps.

Friday 5 March 2010

Male Teachers in Primaries

I am interested in the BBC news item here that, as a consequence of the recession, there has been a 50% rise in applications by men to become primary school teachers. I beleive that men in primary schools are important role models for boys, where a significant proportion are now being brought up by their mothers alone. I hope larger numbers of men in the classroom will help provide a better balance to our youngsters in their formative years.

Thursday 4 March 2010

Question Time 2, 3, 4, 5, ...

Already I have taken part in two local question time events with other candidates as well as appearing together on the local BBC Politics Show. The most recent event was earlier this week and organised by a new business breakfast group "Rugby does Breakfast" when we were once again put through our paces by an informed audience. Already there are 3 other such events in my diary between now & the expected election date and I know of a couple of others still to fix a date. As a candidate in 2005 elsewhere, I debated with my opponents only twice during the entire campaign and on each occasion the candidate from one of the parties failed to show at all! Does this mean that there will be increased interest in this years election? I hope so, although I am finding that the proportion of electors saying that they won't vote is as high as previously. I do think that those intending to vote are more interested in calling to account those who seek to respresent them, with more detailed questioning. Looks like a lively few weeks ahead.

Getting ready

The window for a General Election on 26 March has now passsed and it is likely that it will be held on 6th May, the same day as local elections to Rugby Borough Council. 6 May is just 6 weeks away and our preparations are starting to be put in place. One includes signing up my car and I hope people now won't be able to miss me as I make my way around the constituency!

Sunday 28 February 2010

Working Party

This morning I joined a team of Rugby Councillors clearing overgrown brambles from the Great Central Walk in Brownsover. I had no idea they could take such a hold and had begun to cause real problems for a resident living nearby. Many hands make light work and we made a real difference over a coulpe of hours, followed up with some fantastic bacon butties courtesy of Carolyn.

Question Time

Earlier this week I took part on a "Question Time style" debate with other politicians at Ashlawn School where arounf 100 students from three of Rugby's secondary schools put the questions. Quite reasonably several questions were about issues that affect the students themselves - EMA (Education Maintenance Allowance) and the unfairness of some 16-18 year olds getting financial support while others don't; the unfairness of tuition fees being charged to University students in England but not in Scotland; the implications of raising the school leaving age to 18 by 2013; the difficulties faced by students by the late payments of grants this year. We also covered more general issues suuch as whether MPs understand the seriousness of the expenses scandal (they do!) & why people are motivated to persue a career in Parliament and how to deal with the current economic situation. The questions were well prepared with each questioner giving their point of view as well as comments from the floor. It was interesting to take part and I enjoyed being put through my paces. Thanks & congratulations to Keith Bradbury, Head of Sixth Form for organbising it and getting in first. I already have three more such events in my diary as we approach the election date!

Sunday 21 February 2010

Party Chairman in Rugby

Party Chairman, Eric Pickles MP, joined us in Rugby last week for a get together with activists as we prepare for the coming General Election. Eric gave us a stirring call to action, reminding us how close the election date now is and setting out just how important it will be for us to succeed in Rugby if we are to succeed in the country. We had time for lunch at La Casa Loco Restaurant where Eric pronounced the meal as good as any Mexican food he had tasted!

Our Annual Dinner

Our Guest of Honour at our Dinner on Friday was Edwina Currie. Edwina is one of few MPs who have left the House to develop an even more sucessful career elsewhere. In Edwina's case this has been as as an author and TV personality with characteristcally strong opinions. Both careers have provided her with some excellent stories and she was a most entertaining after dinner speaker. Edwina was kind enough to make part of her speech "advice to a candidate & aspiring MP" and I particularly enjoyed learning that I should carefully listen to advice and then "ignore it"! Edwina was most generous in offering a very attractive raffle prize which added to the success of the evening. It's great to receive such help & support.

Friday 19 February 2010

A night at the Theatre

Tracy, Sara and I enjoyed a splendid evening at Rugby Theatre yesterday evening watching HMS Pinafore, made all the more interesting by two friends, Richard Jones & Stuart Esworthy in the lead male roles. Both cast and audience were thoroughly enjoying themselves and despite the snow, the theatre was almost full. It was good to reminded of another great facility the town has to offer.

A modern stylish building

This week I was shown around what I believe is one of Rugby's most stylish commercial properties, 11 Arches House on Leicester Rd, by the proud owner, Ivan Lewis of ECL Contracts. Ivan business supplies modern building cladding materials and their offices are a showcase for their products. We held a very interesting conversation about the structure of the industry, current business prospects, and the decline in new constuction projects generally. The property is named after the adjacent viaduct which is a key feature of the approach to Rugby from the M6 motorway.

Today's economic news

When last weekend I was involved in a discussion on the BBC Politics Show West Midlands and spoke about the economic difficulties the country faces, I was accused by my Labour opponent of "talking Britain down". Today the Times covers here the country's January borrowing of £4 billion at a time when records have always shown a surplus, and the Government itself budgeted for a positive £2.8 billion. In addition BBC News reports here about the biggest fall in retail sales between two months, December and January, for a year and a half. The survey that we are doing this month on the doorsteps and on the phone demonstrates that there are still some people who don't fully appreciate the severity of the problems we face, but the majority know that things will have to change. I was astonished that there was a tiny amount of growth recorded in quarter 3 of last year, as all of the evidence seemed to show a continunig decline. It is only recognising reality to suggest that the first quarter of this year will be bad. No organisation, whether a household, business or country can carry on with a mismatch between income and expenditure as big and long as we have experienced without serious consequences. The task facing an incoming Government is increasing all the time. The sooner we make a start the better.

Monday 8 February 2010

Damian Green MP in Rugby


On Friday our guest in Rugby was the Conservative Spokesman on Immigration, Damian Green. Damian spoke at a reception when about 50 people came to hear about both our policy on this issue. Damian also spoke about the campaign he is heading calling for the DNA taken from innocent people to be returned, details of which are on my website. Immigration is always a sensitive issue and it was good to hear about our ordered and consistent approach from the person who has had a major role in the development of our ideas. There were many questions for Damian, indicating the level of concern on this issue, and I was pleased that he was able to provide reassurance on how immigration will be handled more effectively under a Conservative Government.

England v Wales

I was lucky enough to have a ticket for the game on Saturday and was delighted with an England victory after several recent visits. I sat right at the top of the new South stand and had a great view of the play unfolding even if the players were so far away that it was difficult to tell who was who! The game celebrated the 100th anniversary of Twickenham as a stadium and a DVD of great matches there came with the souvenir programme. I was reminded of the 1980 game (30 years ago!) which I was also lucky to be at, when Bill Beaumont’s team won 9-8 with Dusty Hare’s penalty kick in the last minute giving England their first victory after dominance by the Welsh throughout the 70’s. Although not covered by the DVD, the match was also famous for a certain scantily clad lady making her way onto the pitch to the delight of the crowd and the consternation of Beaumont who was giving his half time talk – being men they didn’t retreat to the changing room but remained on the pitch. I love the line from scrum half Steve Smith, who at the time said to his captain “Don’t look now Bill, but a girl has just run on to the pitch with your backside on her chest!”

More development in Rugby

Last year I spent a couple of days at the design inquiry for the mast site which is at the eastern side of Rugby’s urban area. On Friday I attended an exhibition of proposals for development of what is known as the “Gateway” site which is to the west of the Leicester road and up to the M6 Motorway. This is a large site where the proposals are for 1300 houses and 36 hectares of employment land with an anticipated 2400 jobs. In many ways this is a more obvious site for development than the mast site but many of the concerns are the same. It will be important that infrastructure is in place before much of the development takes place and there is anxiety about the capacity of the Leicester road which although a dual carriageway will take all of the traffic from the Western Relief Rd when it opens later this year. It will be important that new residents are able to easily access the town centre in order to keep their spend here in Rugby and there is already a great deal of pressure on the Avon Mill roundabout. In addition links to the existing community of Coton Park on the other side of the Leicester road will need to be considered closely. All in all done well this can be a benefit to Rugby, but there is much detail still to be looked at. You can see a short film of my remarks about these development proposals here.

Friday 5 February 2010

Actual records or a survey?

Chris Grayling Shadow Home Secretary today said that he will continue to judge crime statistics on police records rather than an opinion survey. There is a disagreement between the Government and the Conservatives over which set of crime figures to use. Labour prefer the British Crime Survey - which shows a fall in crime - but which is based on an opinion survey rather than real records and fails to take account of hundreds of thousands of offences including murder, manslaughter, crimes against commercial premises and crimes against under-16s. We have consistently argued in favour of using recorded crime figures as collated by the police in police stations. When it comes to decisions making in Business or in Government and given a choice between a survey and recorded data, I know which I would rather rely on.

Sunday 31 January 2010

On the doorstep in Hillmorton

After the town centre stall on Saturday morning I spent the afternoon with Councillors Sewell, Allen and Kathryn Lawrence. We knocked on doors with our survey and people were pleased to see us. Not so many years ago there wasn't a single Conservative Councillor in this ward. However with Bill winning first seat, by working hard and earning a reputation for getting things done all three ward Councillors are now Conservatives. It was good to hear residents tell me how effective their local Councillors are and this really is the Conservative localism agenda in practice.

Town centre survey

Saturday was a busy day for campaigning starting off with a street stall in the town centre. Despite a bitterly cold day we had a great team out asking questions and handing out leaflets. Even more impressive was that many people wanted to stop and chat with their thoughts on who will get their vote in May. With the messages we are putting out it's great when people tell me that we cant go on like this and that its time for a change in the county. Our survey is also on line where we're picking up a clear idea of how people feel here in Rugby.

Wednesday 27 January 2010

Teaching Cooking

My daughter, who is in Year 7, has been given at school a recipe book to bring home which complements her cookery lessons. Nothing wrong with that, but it contains a foreward by Rt Hon Ed Balls MP including his photo, without anywhere referring to his position in Government, and containing the quote ".....with millions of pounds invested in building and revamping teaching kitchens in schools etc". Is this a reasonable teaching aid or the political targeting of pupils at an early age and their parents? Should the Minister's photo and comments appear in such a document? Should his remarks triumph the Government's expenditure in this area? Is it what we should expect from a politician such as Ed Balls? Or am I being too sensitive?

Monday 25 January 2010

Holocaust Memorial Day

On Sunday Tracy and I attended a Holocaust Memorial Day Service at St Andrew's Church. This is celebrated internationally on 27 January, being the date on which the largest Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated. We heard a very moving account from Susi Bechhofer, a resident of Rugby for many years who told us about how she found out that she was a survivor of the Holocaust. At the age of three with her twin sister, Susi was transported to Britain under a scheme known as Kindertransport when 10,000 Jewish children were sent to relative safety around the world in 1938 and 1939 as people started to become aware of Nazi intentions. Susi only learnt about her background later in life when she sat an exam and her birth name was revealed. This prompted her to find out about her past and unsurprisingly many of her relatives were killed in the concentration camps. In his remarks, Rev Mark Beach referred to more recent genocides, including Rwanda and my mind was taken back to my visits there over the past two summers. The capital of Rwanda, Kigali has its own Memorial centre, where I look this photo of those who were killed during the attrocities of 1994.

Thursday 21 January 2010

Alstom's impact in Rugby

Continuing my visits to industry in Rugby, earlier this week I met Steve Houldcroft and Stephen Burgin at Alstom's Newbold Road site. This is one of our biggest employers although numbers at the site have reduced in recent years. I learnt a great deal about power generation and concerns that we are facing a shortage of capacity as old nuclear and coal fired plants are de-commissioned before new, mostly gas powered, plants come on line. I was shown the massive turbines that are used in the generation of electricity and was hugely impressed by the skill that goes into their manufacture. Here is a sector which has undergone big changes in recent years and it is important that we provide the environment and support which will ensure that this type of industry is retained both in Rugby and within the UK.

Monday 18 January 2010

Better Teaching

I was pleased to see an emphasis on improving teaching standards within the draft education manifesto the Conservatives launched to today. Attracting the best quaility graduates into the teaching profesion by raising the status of teachers is the right thing to do but it's also important to remember that just because someone is good at a subject or skill they will make a good teacher. Most people will remember from their schooldays who the best teachers were and they weren't always the ones with the best degrees. Passing on enthusiasm for a subject and an ability to understand people is often just as important. This can often be seen in sport where the best players don't make the best coaches or managers, and where good managers often weren't the best players. Alex Ferguson of Manchester United is perhaps the best example of the latter. In my own career I worked for someone who was great as at getting the business in, but lousy at handling people and so I moved to an organisation where my line manger was by no means the best salesman I met, but always had time for, and a knack of getting the best out of people. As we work to improve the opportunities for our young people in our education system it will be increasingly important to look out for this skill and ensure that those who have it are motivated to join the teaching profession.

Wednesday 13 January 2010

Developing Sure Start

Last year I visited the Sure Start centre in Brownsover and saw the work they do in supporting parents with young children. As a parent myself I know that nothing prepares you for having children of your own, how life changes completely and how difficult the early years are, particularly when other children come along. The support that pre school children centres provide is invaluable, particularly as in many cases support which in the past might have been provided by the family, often isn't available. Labour said we would axe them and they were wrong. I was pleased when David Cameron earlier this week announced the Conservative's commitment to Sure Start but with a renewed emphasis on intervention to help the most disadvantaged familes and the opportunity for independent organisations to run them. There is more about David's speech (where interestingly he was accompanied by Labour MP Frank Field) here.

Tuesday 12 January 2010

Meeting Eric

Yesterday I joined candidates and helpers at the opening of a new telephone campaigning facility for use during the coming General Election campaign. Honours were provided by Party Chairman, Eric Pickes who gave a stirring speech to get us all fired up. As someone who ran a business based on telephone sales, I am very aware of the opportunities provided by using the phone, particularly at a time of weather such as that at the moment when it is difficult to contact people on the doorstep.

Monday 11 January 2010

Lessons from Obama

I enjoyed Saturday nights fly on the wall documentary which followed Obama's campaign from when he was running well behind Hilary Clinton for the Democratic nomination right to his success on election night . It showed how different the US process is from our own and how much more pushy and upfront their style is. However there were some lessons to be learnt for a campaign such as my own, not least the appreciation of volunteers. The slogan written in large type on the wall of a campaign office "We love our volunteers" hit home as did Obama's message: "A change of Government won't come if you wait for someone else to do it"! In other words, sign up for www.myconservatives.com now!

Support for manufacturing

As a parliamentary candidate I recieve a fair few invitations to meet with various groups and organisations. I am always keen to understand their relevance to Rugby and so when The West Midlands Manufacturing Advisory Service wanted to speak about the service they offer I asked if we could do so at the site of a local company they are working with. Last week Technoset MD, Kevan Kane, showed me around his buisiness with Simon Griffiths and Cliff Johnson of MAS. I saw a well organised manufacturer of high precision machined compenents which has clearly benefitted from the input of experienced professionals. Manufacturing is a tough business to be in at the best of times and today's climate is particularly difficult. As a country we need a strong manufacturing base to generate the wealth that enable Governments to do all of the good things we want them to do. I am pleased that there is an organisation such as MAS to provide the back up and support that businesses such as Kevan's need.

Tuesday 5 January 2010

Return my DNA

I had an interesting conversation at the week-end about the retention of DNA on a national database by the police as an aid to sloving crime. It was put to me that more crimes would be solved if the police retain DNA of people who are arrested but are subsequently not charged in addition to those who are found guilty. My sense of freedom of the individual led me to disagree. I believe that there is no right for the state to hold such data on people who are innocent of any crime. It seems that the benefits to the police of such data are in any event over stated with todays Telegraph having an article here about the statement from a senior police officer that DNA solves just one in 150 crimes. Following Damian Green MP's high profile arrest last he campaigned successfully for his own DNA to be released. The Conservatives have now taken up this issue as a campaign which you can support here.

Back to work

I joined the rest of the country back at work yesterday after the Christmas and New Year break. I am regularly reminded that there are no more than 150 days to the General Election and there is plenty to be done. Loke others I have been very impressed by way our front bench and David Cameron in particular have made the early running in what looks likely to be a long campaign.
I met Craig Humphrey, Council Leader at Rugby Town Hall to talk about recent successes in the running of the Council since the Conservatives took full control and some of the plans for the future. Showing the good work that has been done in running local government will be a good way of indicating to voters the approach we will take if we are succesful at the General Election.