Mobile phone driving jail threat

I have spent a fair amount of time in my car over the past few weeks, visiting customers of my business. While I've done so, I 've kept in touch with the Constituency office and the staff in my business using my hands free, voice activated, bluetooth phone. In doing so I believe I'm making effective use of my time, often while stuck in a jam on the Motorway. So I was very interested in the debate on the Jeremy Vine show about proposals for a charge of dangerous driving for using a hand held phone which could lead to a jail sentence, with some people going as far as to call for a ban on the use of hands free devices. I'm happy that use of a hand held phone while driving should be against the law but consider a jail sentence and the thought of a ban on hands free use in tha car as just another assault on the motorist. The motorist is already an easy target with law abiding and insured drivers coughing up each time they are caught on a speed camera. Perhaps the target should instead be the increasing numbers of untaxed and uninsured drivers on our roads who are not persued effectively when they break the law. I wonder how many of them use a hand held mobile?

Ballons in the Town Centre

We have been carrying out our monthly surveys in the town centre recently but calculated that just 10 days before Christmas people would be rushing around buying presents and too busy to talk to us. So instead we decided to hand out Christmas cards and balloons and took up our usual spot. People were pleased to recieve a card from us, even if several were suprised to be getting something for nothing, and the bsallons were as ever popular with young children. What did surprise me was the number of people who wanted to chat along the theme of "do what you can to get this lot out". There is a real mood that Labour in Government are tired and discredited and people really are looking for change. There is a real feeling of being denied the opportunity to have a say when the election anticipated for November was called off. And the bad news is that with a downturn in the economy, rising business failures and falling house prices, the next election is likely to be later rather than sooner and the people I spoke to who are so keen for change will have longer to wait.

Kenneth Clarke in Rugby

The long list of leading Parliamentarians from the Conservative Party to visit Rugby this year, which includes David Cameron, George Osbourne, Iain Duncan Smith, Stephen Dorrell, Theresa May, and Andrew Mitchell was added to on Friday by Ken Clarke, QC, MP when he came to open our refurbished office and new entrance lobby. Ken met with our members and visitors at a reception afterwards when he was able to do the demolition job on the Government that was denied to him the previous evening when Douglas Alexander pulled out of Thursday night's Question Time programme.

Saving St Cross

We have continued with our regular monthly survey and spent November talking to people on the doorstep and by telephone about the future of our local hospital St Cross. The results are available on the Rugby Conservative Asociation website. I felt it was important to keep both the PCT and the Trust running the hospital aware of our activity and I promised to let them both know what the people tell us. Yesterday I met Bryan Stoten, Chairman of Warwickshire PCT at his office in Warwick. Later this month I hope to be meeting Martin Lee, Interim Chief Executive and Consultant Surgeon, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust.