Thirteen-point Tory lead over Labour is highest for 19 years

Not my headline, but from today's Independent and designed to put a smile on the faces of people like me. They are publishing a survey showing the Conservatives on 40% and Labour on 27%. And this survey was done before the revelations about irregular donations to the Labour party.

Data Disaster

Poor Alastair Darling. He seems to be handed jobs where there is someone else’s mess to clear up. In Rugby we remember him as the Transport Minister who took over responsibility for aviation just as the Government launched a white paper including absurd proposals for a massive new international airport at Church Lawford. There are still placards on trees saying “No Airport here, Darling”.

Now he finds himself as Chancellor with two of the biggest crises to hit this Government in his area of responsibility with the latest being an almost incredible loss of trust in Government to protect personal information. However both the Northern Rock crisis and the current fiasco over the loss of 25 million child benefit details have their origins in decisions taken by Gordon Brown before he became Prime Minister. The first because of changes made to the regulation of the banking industry and the second because of the merger between Customs & Excise and The Inland Revenue. Darling owes his position to Brown, so it is pretty difficult for him to blame his predecessor, but the hand of Gordon Brown is all over the Government’s current problems. With their reputation for economic and administrative competence now all but gone, people will regret not having had the opportunity for change that was tantalisingly close earlier this month.

One aspect of the “data disaster” remarked upon by one commentator is the fact that the records lost consist of details of 25 million people, which is half the UK population! The tax and benefit system has become so complicated under this Government as a consequence of changes introduced by Gordon Brown that such a massive proportion of the people are affected. It is this which has led to the need for a huge bureaucracy to administer it, often by untrained staff, which has in turn contributed to the current problem. And these people want to introduce centralised health records and identity cards!

Councillor Bryan Levy

Have just returned from the funeral of Bryan Levy. Bryan was a larger than life local Labour poitician who served on both Borough and County Councils. I enjoyed listening to the tributes given by senior politicians of both main parties and an and was able to reflect how despite being on opposing sides, in local politics there is sense of working together for the good of the community and how despite having differing opinions, friendships can be built up.
I have a particular and non political reason for being grateful to Bryan. Bryan's career before politics was in the catering trade and in 1982 when I started my business he was Catering Manager at Aston University in Birmingham. I rang up for an appointment and he agreed to see me. He gave me a fair hearing and started to use us as a supplier despite knowing about my connection with the local Conservatives. I well remember dropping by just before Christmas in the early 80's and joining him for a quick drink....in fact there was no way of leaving Bryan's office without one!

With Hillmorton Councillors

In Hillmorton Ward, the Conservative Councillors don't just talk a good job, they do something about it. At the weekend their usual monthly working party was tidying up and trimming trees back, doing the work themselves rather than waiting for the Council to do it for them. I was talking to residents in Hillmorton village centre when lots of issues came up, and with particular concerns about the future of our local hospital, St Cross. We are in the middle of our monthly survey about what may be happening there and will be soon be reporting our findings. I then joined Bill and Nigel at the site where they and their team have done so much good work.

Back in the Gym

I was in the gym again on Sunday morning, having attended the Remembrance Day Service last Sunday. I enjoy the political programmes on Sunday morning and with 5 screens in front of me can flick between the coverage on ITV, Sky and BBC while I'm doing something to keep myself fit. The difference between yesterday and just a few months, even a few weeks ago, is very clear. We're now making the running and leading the issues with the broadcasters much more sympathetic. On Sunday Michael Gove on BBC gave a sterling performance on new proposals for the teaching of reading to Primary School children, refusing to be side tacked by Andrew Marr and Theresa May was covering the same issue on ITV. Where were the Government spokesmen? It's no surprise that the opinion polls are heading firmly in our direction.

Campaigning in Binley Woods

Despite "Yellow Saturday" and the cancellation of the General Election we've carried on campaigning. With darker, colder nights we've started talking to voters on the phone, but on Saturdays we're still out and about, even if it is raining. On Saturday we were in Binley Woods, a village where I spent my first 17 years and where my parents had 3 separate homes as my 5 younger brothers came along and our family grew. It was great to be recognised on the doorstep by people who knew me when I was in short trousers! Binley Woods is much closer to Coventry than Rugby and so the issues there are different to other parts of the constituency. However two matters that came up on several occasions were the continued noise from jets taking off from nearby Bagington airport and the nuisance caused by the illegal riding of motorcycles in Brandon Wood. The airport has been established for many years and has recently expanded and the best that can happen is for further expansion to be contained. There has been a concreted effort by the Police to deal with the motorcycles where Cllr Heather Timms who was out with me has done sterling work. I rember the woods fondly from my time as child when my "gang" used to build our dens there. It is a great shame that a few people showing a lack of respect for authority are ruining a wonderful resouce which should be safely enjoyed by the majority. Unfortunately, that's something which happens all too often and when it does we must ensure that the Police have the manpower and resources to deal with it.

With Fellow Candidates

One of the good things about being a candidate is the interaction with others who have been selected to fight a seat and who will hopefully end up as colleagues in the House when we are all elected!

Last week I had two opportunities to meet up. The first was a social event with Theresa May after Theresa and I had attended a meeting in Rugby with RoSA. This was a joint event with Nuneaton and North Warwickshire Associations when Simon Rouse candidate for Nuneaton and Dan Byles candidate for North Warwickshire were present. The second was a speech made by David Cameron in his constituency of Witney on Thursday when candiates were with him on the stage. The significance of Thursday was that day would have been the date of the General Election, had Brown not bottled it and when many of the candidates could have expected to have become MPs. The benefit of meeting othe candidates at events like these is the opportunity to compare notes and share ideas and good practice. It was good to get together to make sure we are all on the right lines.