Since finishing for the Christmas break and with the help of lots of friends & family, I have been planting 600 trees and shrubs in a field close to home. Some of the trees have gone into an area containing an old hedgerow which needed thinning out and removing dead wood which was a bigger job than expected and then we placed a colour coded cane for each of the new trees. On the weekend before Christmas the gang joined us for the planting and the full 600 were in the ground by the end of Saturday. On Sunday we placed plastic mulch mats around the trees on the lower area which is susceptible to flooding and we have used wood chippings for those on higher ground. I'm looking forward to seeing the trees establish themselves and the planted areas develop over time and will include photos on the blog over the coming months.
Tuesday, 30 December 2008
Planting Trees
Since finishing for the Christmas break and with the help of lots of friends & family, I have been planting 600 trees and shrubs in a field close to home. Some of the trees have gone into an area containing an old hedgerow which needed thinning out and removing dead wood which was a bigger job than expected and then we placed a colour coded cane for each of the new trees. On the weekend before Christmas the gang joined us for the planting and the full 600 were in the ground by the end of Saturday. On Sunday we placed plastic mulch mats around the trees on the lower area which is susceptible to flooding and we have used wood chippings for those on higher ground. I'm looking forward to seeing the trees establish themselves and the planted areas develop over time and will include photos on the blog over the coming months.
Wednesday, 17 December 2008
Citizens Advice
I spent yesterday with volunteers at Rugby Citizens Advice Bureau. When I visited with Front Bencher, Chris Grayling I asked Manager David Gooding if I might learn more about the role of the CAB and see the work they do. So I sat in with a number of volunteer advisors and we met clients with a variety of problems including access to children; utility disconnection; relationships with former partners; housing; debt; faulty goods and preparation of a claim. Often the kind of issues that an MP comes across in his surgery and I know that the CAB here works closely with Jeremy Wright. In each case the advisors were able to quickly identify issues and through experience and a very helpful database provide clients with a useful way forward. I hadn’t realised how much training is required before being able to meet with people bringing in problems and I joined some trainees going through some written examples as we worked out together the advice that should be given. I found I was drawing mostly on my experiences as a Councillor, as a Business Owner and as a Dad!
Monday, 8 December 2008
Out with The Police

Friday, 5 December 2008
Avon & Swift Result
The hard work paid off and Helen won the By-election convincingly with 57% of the votes cast and more than double the number of votes of the second placed candidate. Well done Helen!
Thursday, 4 December 2008
Avon & Swift By election
Today is polling day and I have spent a fair amount of time our canvassing in the villages that make up Avon & swift ward with our candidate, Helen Walton. Helen has worked hard and been well received on the doorstep and I know she will make a very valuable contribution at Rugby Borough Council. But this has been one of the most unpleasant elections I have been involved in. There have been inaccuracies in the literature of one of our opponents and in addition false information has been given to local newspapers about Helen leading to The Warwickshire Telegraph printing an acceptance of an assurance by Helen yesterday and the Rugby Observer printing an apology to Helen today. Perhaps both have come too late to correct a wrong, being published on the day immediately prior to, and the day of the election, at a time of year when many will have voted by post. I do hope this won't set the tone for coming elections in Rugby. I wouldn't be in politics if I didn't enjoy a debate with people whose views are different from mine, and I will be very keen to put forward the Conservative case in public hustings when the time comes. At the same time I will call my opponents to task over their party's record or proposals. That is what an election campaign is for. What we have seen over the past few weeks in Avon & Swift has been a long way away from open and honest campaigning, and all decent people will hope that we don't see it's like again in Rugby.
Tuesday, 2 December 2008
Football Shirts update
More and more unwanted, grown out of & "old sponsor" football shirts are coming in to our office to be sent over to Rwanda. I now have a very generous offer to despatch the shirts over to people who will really appreciate them & expect to send the first consignment in the next couple of weeks. The project has caught the attention of the team running the blog page on the Conservative Party website and a report can be found here.
Monday, 1 December 2008
Back to the future

Monday, 24 November 2008
Remember the date : 24 November 2008
This date will be of great significance in the years to come. It is the date on which commitments to repay massive sums of Government borrowing were made as Labour passes the bill for getting out of their current economic mess on to its successor. It will be, of course, a Conservative Government which will have to start balancing the books and will have to endure a period of unpoularity to do so. Conservatives have done it before and we will once again do the right thing. It looks as though the next Parliament will be pretty interesting. I hope to be there to play my part.
Tuesday, 18 November 2008
Avon & Swift By-election
Twickenham
Thursday, 13 November 2008
Chris Grayling in Rugby
Tuesday, 11 November 2008
Remembrance Day
On Sunday I attended Rugby's remembrance day's service held at the memorial gates in Hillmorton Rd which appeared to me to be even better attended than previous years. The more I learn about the armed forces, from both the two world wars and the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the more I appreciate the importance of the ceremony in keeping alive memories of the fallen. I have just returned from the firing of maroons which are large rockets set off at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month another part of our remembrance.
On my way back to the office I saw what was obviously a primary school trip, walking though the town accompanied by teachers and some parents. Nothing unusual about that, but every child was wearing a dayglow vest in the style of those worn by workers on building site & in warehouses. I know about health & safety requirements, but isn't this a bit over the top?
On my way back to the office I saw what was obviously a primary school trip, walking though the town accompanied by teachers and some parents. Nothing unusual about that, but every child was wearing a dayglow vest in the style of those worn by workers on building site & in warehouses. I know about health & safety requirements, but isn't this a bit over the top?
Defending St Cross
Thanks to John Major
Friday, 31 October 2008
Keynes is not the solution
All of the talk about returning to Keynesian economics reminds me how I felt at University when I first learnt about his theory. I haven’t heard Keynes’ name for years which itself is perhaps an indication of just how serious the current economic situation is. His is the idea that the effects of recession can be reduced and the recession brought to a halt more quickly by the Government spending money on public works, even to the extent paying people to dig holes in the ground and fill them up again. Alastair Darling has been speaking about bringing forward capital projects and allowing spending to carry on unrestricted. The weaknesses of the theory include the time lag to get new projects under way; the fact that sucking in imported raw materials and labour for these projects can have an inflationary effect and ultimately that the extra expenditure has to be financed by either more borrowing or additional taxation. It’s my view that if the economy needs a boost it’s better to provide it through personal spending since individuals will make better decisions than the state by spending on what they need to maintain, or remain as close as possible, to their choice of lifestyle. This can be achieved through reducing personal taxes and such a change can be implemented quickly. With the decline in our manufacturing base the danger of imports being sucked in remains, although a significant proportion of household expenditure is on services, which are almost entirely provided locally. Nowhere is the need for reductions in tax more needed than for those on the lowest incomes who have seen the proportion of their income taken in tax increase massively over the past ten years. In many case low earners pay tax only to claim it back through tax credits. Change the system and not only will there be additional incentives to work, there will be a major simplification of a system that only qualified accountants and tax inspectors fully understand. Of course this won’t happen under Labour as the chief architect of tax credits was Gordon Brown and this Government are hell bent on a high tax, high spending strategy.
Half term break
Sunday, 26 October 2008
Sir John Major in Rugby
Former Prime Minister Sir John Major was our speaker at Rugby Conservatives Annual Dinner on Friday evening. Sir John said that The Conservatives should look forward with confidence to the next General Election as the current Government had dashed the hopes of a generation through their mismanagement, false claims and their evasion of responsibility. He also spoke about broader issues including the effects of population growth in their future affecting the world's food supply, climate change and a shift in world power from west to east. He took a variety of questions including the current economic situation and (predictably) correctly answered a test question about the laws of cricket to enable a bet to be won between two guests. He was personable and mixed freelyamong those attending who enjoyed really good evening. Photos to follow!
Monday, 20 October 2008
Canvassing my first home
Sunday, 19 October 2008
Back to school

Friday, 17 October 2008
Questions & answers
pTotal Politics is a fairly new publication with a strong on-line presence which describes itself as "a lifestyle magazine for the political class" publishing items of cross party interest. I bought a copy before attending conference and found several articles worth reading, both light hearted and more serious. A week or so ago I was invited to respond to a Q&A they have given to various candidates, MP's, comentators and other politicos. The article is at: http://www.totalpolitics.com/politico.php They've secured at least one new regular reader!
Sunday, 12 October 2008
Survey Question
Our survey this month is inevitably about the economy. One question concerns trust in Gordon Brown to deal with the current economic difficulty. Interestingly we only get as far as “Do you trust Gordon Brown……” before people instinctively say “no”.
House Sales or the lack of them
Thursday, 9 October 2008
School visit
I spent this morning at Oakfield Primary School where I had been invited to address the entire School about what has become known as my "Football Shirts for Rwanda" appeal. The school already has an understanding of issues relating to overseas development, having a link with and having sent books to Ghana. I found the children receptive about what I am trying to achieve with an interest in how the facilities for youngsters to play football in Rwanda. I was asked whether they had nets on their goal posts and when I explained about a dirt pitch with wooden sticks for posts and a ball made from plastic bags tied up with string there was real concern & understanding. Less understanding, however, about my support for the local league side Coventry City! I enjoyed speaking with the Headteacher about the challenges facing the school and the excellent progress they have made in recent years.
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
Conference Wednesday - Leader's speech
I joi
ned candidates on the stage for David Cameron's speech bringing conference to a close in the grand setting of Birmingham's Symphony Hall. Not his best speech as some suggest, as that was his claim to the leadership, but the statesmanlike presentation of why we are the party to deal with today's problems that the country wants (and needs) to hear. As someone whose first experience of the general election process was 1979 when the former Chancellor, Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary & then Prime Minister Callaghan was replaced by a new Conservative leader, I enjoyed his rebuttal of Labour's claim of inexperience. It will be interesting to see how the polls react now that the conference season is over and all parties respond to the economic turmoil we now face.
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
Conference Tuesday
Monday, 29 September 2008
Conference Monday
Cllr Tom Day and I enjoyed a lighter moment in the main foyer of the Birmingham International Convention Centre.
Sunday, 28 September 2008
Conservative Party Conference Sunday
Great line from Liam Fox winding up the discussion on the armed services where we heard an impassioned plea for more support for our servicemen serving in Afghanistan & Iraq from Falklands hero Simon Weston. Liam said "New Labour used to be called a charm offensive - but the charm resigned, and now they're just offensive."
Thursday, 25 September 2008
Motorway madness

Tuesday, 16 September 2008
Football shirts response
Sunday, 14 September 2008
New Rugby Season
Thursday, 11 September 2008
Back to college
I enjoy putting new items on the blog but I don't enjoy the typing involved in doing so because I am no good at it. Computers were in their infancy when I was at School and University so they didn't feature in my education and I started my working career at a time when businesses employed secretaries to type letters. After a few years I had a PC on my desk in my own business and I started to input data & prepare documents but it's always been painfully slow and often inaccurate using one finger. Now I am writing more articles, letters & documents like this I thought it would be a good idea to learn to type properly. Accordingly I have enrolled at Warwickshire College, Rugby on an e-type course learning to touch type. The literature says I will "become a real whizz at using (my) computer keyboard" and I will be "able to save time and have faster results at my fingertips" Hope so! I did my first hour session yesterday and look forward to better blogging!
Friday, 5 September 2008
Government as Dad's Army?

Update Sunday 14 September: It seems I'm not the only person to have noticed this connection. A correspondent has drawn my attention to this posting on the Labourhome website!
Wednesday, 3 September 2008
Back to the office
La Belle France
Sunday, 17 August 2008
Family holiday becons
I'm afraid that I once again over the bext two weeks I wont be the most active blogger around. I have spent two weeks away in Rwanda and the last week in the office every day getting my mail up to date which, has been a substantial task as a consequence of many resplies to be made to residents who have responded to my constituency wide survey, more of which anon. Now it's time to spend some time with my family as we spend a couple of weeks in France, firstly in Paris and visiting a pen-friend in Epernay & later on at the coast. With batteries recharged, I will get back to a more regular update & comment early in September
Thursday, 14 August 2008
Reflections on Rwanda
There are two economies in Rwanda. The first is Rwandese and largely subsistence farming or as we were memorably told “gardening,” where people, and particularly those outside the capital, Kigali, struggle to keep life going. The second is based around the ex-patriate community, aid, and the many NGOs who are there to administer it. While we enjoyed the later during the evenings eating in quality restaurants such as “Heaven” which would compete anywhere in the world, my day to day activity was concerned with the former, trying to pass on some of the experience I gained running a small business in the UK.
I spent varying amounts of time with seven enterprises ranging in size from a co-operative of largely subsistence farmers who have formed a co-operative to grow pineapples together to a Rwanda’s largest textile manufacturer looking to diversify into silk production and the manufacture of mosquito nets using a new technology. In between I met with business owners and managers to learn about the cultivation of roses almost entirely for export; the manufacture of toilet rolls and paper napkins; a project to install polythene lined ponds to enable some irrigation to be brought to areas of agriculture; the development of a new private school; and an engineering business focussed on making wheel barrows. There was also time to speak to students at the School of Business and Finance about running a business in the UK and the enjoyment of being a dragon in the “Dragons Den” modelled on the TV series with a separate group of students at Kigali Institute of Science and Technology. My pleasure at being able to ask the difficult questions was tempered by fellow dragon’s suggestion afterwards that we put our proposals for a business idea before the students we had just put through the mill and who were keen for revenge!
Common themes among all of the businesses were the impact of Government involvement in the business sector; the difficulty in recruiting effective middle managers; the very high cost of raw materials caused by little domestic availability and the high costs of transportation; the lack of a relationship between producers and their customers leading to little understanding of the market place in which they operate. I was shocked to learn that despite low labour rates, the high cost of materials causes products as basic as toilet roll and wheelbarrows to be double the price of similar products in the UK. Improvements can simply and easily be made within the production process in each case, but the greatest opportunity to improve efficiency can come from better purchasing and use of resources. However as a land locked country with poor road communications to the ports making big changes is always going to be difficult. For this reason the decision of the textile manufacturer to produce silk makes sense for products going to export since silk is four times as valuable as cotton for the same weight. If you’re looking for a new tie in a couple of years time see whether Rwandan silk is available!
The recent history of the country is never far from the surface and while some people shied away from discussing the genocide of 1994, others spoke of it in a matter of fact way. Some businesses lost many of their staff and have made an effort to recruit widows and heads of orphan households in order to provide an income. I was able to tell business people about the success of “Fair Trade” here, and how there is a sector of our market in supermarket commodities where people are willing to pay more for goods when they know that a larger proportion of the purchase price finds it’s way back to a producer in need of a boost to their income. I believe that if Rwandan manufacturers can similarly identify products made for export and for consumption by the ex-patriate community in Rwanda, consumers will be willing to pay a little more to support a country which is re-building after horrific times. Every large business started off as a small business and getting this message across will assist small businesses to grow. Trade will always have a better long term benefit than aid.
Those Conservatives who were building the community centre saw a marvellous facility come to fruition; our teachers were able to measure the improvements shown by their pupils over the two weeks and our doctors had a direct relationship with those they helped. In the private sector group our achievements were less tangible and at times difficult to appreciate. Our results will be more long term. I know that I will remain in contact with each of the businesses over coming months and I look forward to continuing to help them, often by putting them in contact with people more experienced in a particular field than myself. Whatever happens, I will follow the progress of Rwanda and the development of it’s economy with a special interest, hoping that the enthusiasm and desire to succeed of the people I encountered will be reflected in their future together.
Friday, 25 July 2008
Blogging will be light....
.....or even non existent over the next two weeks. Tomorrow I will be joining a group of volunteers from the Conservative party in Rwanda who are working on a five separate projects and I will be helping with Rwandan businesses. I have decided not to take my laptop and I am unsure when I will have access to a PC so I am reverting to pen & paper to keep a diary of my activity & observations while I am there & will post a full account when I get back.
Never having previously visited Africa, I was very interested to hear from last year's volunteers about their work and what they found and I am really pleased to have the time to go this year. I have been provided with some useful and interesting background about the genocide that took place in 1994 and expect to be moved by the memorials we will be visiting. I will be interested to see how much the people I meet are keen or willing to speak about that time. I have done some research on two of the businesses I will be visiting, one of which is a manufacturer of toilet tissue called Supa which is a product range I am very familiar with from my Central Catering Supplies days, and the second is a producer of pyrethrum, about which I knew nothing until a week or so ago. The company is Sopirwa and their website is here. I am looking forward to meeting the people in both firms and hopefully passing on some of the experience I gained in my business career.
I'm also getting lots of advice from Victoria who spent 6 moths in neighbouring Tanzania during her gap year. Something of a role reversal & she has given me lots of tips & ideas. I know I will miss my family while I'm away, but I'm looking forward to a whole set of exciting new experiences. Lots of details later.
Never having previously visited Africa, I was very interested to hear from last year's volunteers about their work and what they found and I am really pleased to have the time to go this year. I have been provided with some useful and interesting background about the genocide that took place in 1994 and expect to be moved by the memorials we will be visiting. I will be interested to see how much the people I meet are keen or willing to speak about that time. I have done some research on two of the businesses I will be visiting, one of which is a manufacturer of toilet tissue called Supa which is a product range I am very familiar with from my Central Catering Supplies days, and the second is a producer of pyrethrum, about which I knew nothing until a week or so ago. The company is Sopirwa and their website is here. I am looking forward to meeting the people in both firms and hopefully passing on some of the experience I gained in my business career.
I'm also getting lots of advice from Victoria who spent 6 moths in neighbouring Tanzania during her gap year. Something of a role reversal & she has given me lots of tips & ideas. I know I will miss my family while I'm away, but I'm looking forward to a whole set of exciting new experiences. Lots of details later.
Friday, 18 July 2008
Pledge to reduce knife crime
This is an issue we adressed in a survey of opinion we conducted in June, when we identified a great deal of support for Conservative proposals. These include increasing the dection of knives in peoples possession when they are out by increasing the numbers of police on the streets and a stronger deterrent by ensuring that those found in possesion are convicted. Firm law and order stuff, but the appoach which in the long run will make the difference we all want to see.
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Pressures of being a candidate
I was saddened to learn that my colleague, Simon Rouse has decided to stand down from his role of Parliamentary candidate in Nuneaton. I understand that the pressure of work and family has meant that Simon has felt unable to keep working in the constituency as hard as he has done so far and he has chosen to allow someone else to take over. This is an enormously courageous decision on his part and I am pleased to see from the ConservativeHome article and comments, including from Chairman John Waine, here, that the sound people of Nuneaton both respect and understand this. From my own experience there in 2005 and now in Rugby, I know just how demanding this role is and I appreciate how lucky I am to be at a later stage in my career and able to concentrate on being a candidate.
Bulkington Carnival
Wednesday, 9 July 2008
Proud Dad
Friday, 4 July 2008
Royal Show
Tuesday, 1 July 2008
Binley Woods' Refurbished Pavilion
Veterans Day
On Friday I attended the Veterans Day Celebrations organised by the Bulkington Branch of the Royal British Legion. Veterans Day is a nationwide celebration of the contribution made by all who have served in the Armed Forces as a way of raising public awareness. I know from my time as candidate in Nuneaton (when Bulkington was part of that constituency) just how hard working the British Legion is there and the event consisted of a service in St James Church where I enjoyed the address by the Venerable Ian Watson, Archdeacon of Coventry, himself a former military man, followed by the laying of wreaths and a march past by the Coventry Ex Servicemens Corps of Pipes & Drums, 30th Signal Regiment from Bramcote and many others. It was a formal event which caused me to consider the role of the military today and the tasks we ask them to perform and gave me the opportunity to meet up with many friends from the Nuneaton side of Rugby constituency.
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Post Office Closures
Friday, 20 June 2008
Science Matters
Rugby is lucky to have had several national organisations to have made their headquarters here over the years, often infuenced by our location just an hour away from London by train and at the heart of the motorway network. One is IChemE, the Institution of Chemical Engineers which I visited today and where I learnt about their campaign to encourage more youngsters to become involved in their work and take up their subject at University. I well remember a few years ago reading in the national news about Universities withdrawing science courses simply because of insufficient numbers of school leavers applying. Things had got so bad that the only way employers could find the staff with the right qualifications was to recruit oversea. Engineers make things and in doing so provide the basis of our economic activity and wealth. The entire country will be affected if even more manufacturing is allowed to move overseas. IChemE have worked hard to redress this trend of insufficient science graduates with various techniques, one being to encourage volunteers among their members to go into schools to explain about a career in engineering. As a consequence numbers taking up science courses are increasing and the next stage of their campaign is due to start and can be found at http://www.whynotchemeng.com/. Its well worth a look for anyone with an interest in science looking at their career options.
Fund Raising Lunch
Henley By-election
Tuesday, 17 June 2008
IT Problems Solved!
I have had a few IT issues over the past week or so as the combination of moving my contact details from my company and the age of my laptop (4 years ) with limited capacity strugged to do everything I want it to. So I decided to treat myself to some new kit, bought and installed with the advice of a friendly IT guru. I have a Dell XPS laptop with a small screen (which arrived within a couple of days) so that it is very mobile backed up with a larger screen to work from when I am at my main base which is now at home. Expect a number of new postings as I familarise myself with my new set up! People who know me well will be surprised that I am able to operate it at all.
Tuesday, 3 June 2008
New Livestock Market
After a couple of false starts, a group of farmers, led by my old school friend Richard Heckford have brought together 250 of their colleagues, supported bt other agencies to invest in a brand new site at Stoneleigh. This shows great confidence in their future by those at the sharp end of a difficult business.
Yesterday was the official opening, performed by Lord Plumb, and I was pleased to be invited. As I wandered round and watched an aution of promises to raise money for farmers benenevolent funds, I realised how many farmers I have come to know and what a solid group of people they are. I hope the new market goes from success to success.
Back from holiday
Wednesday, 21 May 2008
Crewe & Nantwich Final Push
We saw once again a very slick and professional campaign with a very positive response. It's great to be walking down a street wearing a blue rosette and to have drivers tooting horns and waving at you! I didn't speak to as many people yesterday delivering as I did on my previous visit when I canvassed, and so was less able to gain an impression of what the result is likely to be, but if the amount of effort the party has put in and the general anti Labour sentiment mean anything, then there should be a Conservative victory.
Sunday, 18 May 2008
Message
Thursday, 15 May 2008
Mayor Making
Today's meeting represented the very best of local government and there were some very fitting tributes to former councillors and others leaving office. Our outgoing Mayor, Sue Peach, who I worked with as a Councillor and have met at several events across the Borough has always been most courteous and again a terrific representative. Also standing down as a Councillor is former Mayor Bill Shields with whom I shared a ward and who has been an excellent source of advice to me, particularly during my time as a Councillor.
Thursday, 8 May 2008
Crewe & Nantwich By-Election

Tuesday, 6 May 2008
End of an era for me
Council Elections - reflections on the results
With Rugby not counting until Friday morning, I took to my bed on Friday evening rather than wait for results. One result I was delighted to hear about was from John Waine, Chairman of Nuneaton Conservatives, where I was Parliamentary Candidate in 2005. Nuneaton is part of Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council which was created in 1974 and has only ever had a Labour controlled administration. With 4 straight gains, including John himself ,this Council is now under Conservative control. With this last bastion of socialism in Warwickshire having finally been won, no wonder David Cameron chose to visit on Friday. His visit was enjoyed by all and topped a tremendous effort by Marcus Jones, now Council Leader, and his team.
In Rugby, our gains in terms of numbers of seats were less significant, partly as we were working from a higher base and labour were only defending seats in their strongest areas such as Newbold and New Bilton. This meant that our gains were likely to come from the Lib Dems and this duly happening in Hillmorton which Bill Sewell has turned into a Conservative stronghold. What was more significant within the Rugby results was the magnitude of the Conservative majorities. Take Earl Craven (Binley Woods, Brandon & Wolston). Five years ago the Conservative & Labour votes here were much the same. The Conservative majority has steadily increased over this period and this time Heather Timms majority was around 1000. The move from Labour to Conservative has been progressive and while there was a real mood of dissatisfaction with Labour generally and against Brown in particular at Thursday elections, there has slowly been more acceptance of what we're saying and offering with people seeing us as the party with the vision and ideas to make Britain better.
In Rugby, our gains in terms of numbers of seats were less significant, partly as we were working from a higher base and labour were only defending seats in their strongest areas such as Newbold and New Bilton. This meant that our gains were likely to come from the Lib Dems and this duly happening in Hillmorton which Bill Sewell has turned into a Conservative stronghold. What was more significant within the Rugby results was the magnitude of the Conservative majorities. Take Earl Craven (Binley Woods, Brandon & Wolston). Five years ago the Conservative & Labour votes here were much the same. The Conservative majority has steadily increased over this period and this time Heather Timms majority was around 1000. The move from Labour to Conservative has been progressive and while there was a real mood of dissatisfaction with Labour generally and against Brown in particular at Thursday elections, there has slowly been more acceptance of what we're saying and offering with people seeing us as the party with the vision and ideas to make Britain better.
Thursday, 1 May 2008
Council Elections - results awaited
Sunday, 27 April 2008
Thanks to Norman Tebbit
I enjoy canvassing. You get to hear ordinary people's views and it can throw up some real surprises. Yesterday I was in Bulkington with candidate for Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council, Julian Gutteridge. A man of retirement age with a north eastern accent called me over. "Do you know what the Tories did for me?" he asked. Fearing a tirade against Mrs Thatcher & how she single handedly destroyed British Industry and put millions on the dole, as I had heard many times while the Parliamentary candidate in Nuneaton, I replied "No" and prepared myself for the onslaught. But I was told a different story. The man said he had been working in the shipyards in Sunderland and had been intermittently out of work, with no job security when he heard Norman Tebbit speaking about has father getting on his bike and looking for work. The man said to me that after listening to that speech he decided to leave the north-east and move to the Midlands where he found a permanent position working in a local authority where he worked until retirement. His biggest complaint was the fact that he is being taxed on a modest income additional to his pension where the tax rate has just doubled from 10p to 20p and whatever fudge Brown & Darling are bringing in to compensate him doesn't impress him in the least. I left with a spring in my step!
Tuesday, 22 April 2008
Success of The Scouts
A year ago I wrote on the blog about Rugby Scout's St George's Day Service. On Sunday I was again a guest at the Parish Church and once again marvelled at the good work the Scouts do with young people. This year I also learnt that in the past 12 months numbers involved in Scouting in Rugby have increased by 10% and in The Time the other day, there was an article about an increase of about 3% over the country as a whole. This is a tremendous credit to all of the volunteers who give freely of their time to provide our youngsters with a range of new experiences and an organisation to belong to and provide a sense of purpose. The wider community owes them a debt of gratitude.
Monday, 21 April 2008
Polyclinics and Rugby

In Rugby we have much to fear from these proposals. There is already a threat to our local hospital from the moving of more specialist services to larger regional hospitals; now this proposal seeks to move more low level and routine services from the local hospital to the clinic. Time after time Rugby people have shown that they want to retain as many services as are feasable at their local hospital. We will need to win this part of the argument as part of our campaign to defend St Cross.
Wednesday, 16 April 2008
Local elections
The local election campaign is well and truly under way with just two weeks to polling day. I have been out with candidates across the constituency canvassing and taking soundings of how people feel on the doorstep. There's a real sense that people are pleased with how our Councillors have managed the borough well and at the same time they will want to show their diappointment with Government. I've no wish to set our expectations too high, but am confident that we will have some good results on May 1st. Last night out in Wolston we had a large, entusiastic team out, and I really enjoyed the response from the people I met.
Monday, 14 April 2008
Unintended consequences of the new tax rates?
One of the churches in Bulkington has drawn my attention to a consequence of the changes in personal tax rates that came into effect at the beginning of this month and how it affects the income of a charity under the Gift Aid scheme. Quite simply the reduction in basic rate from 22% to 20% means that if a donor leaves their pre tax amount unchanged, the gift aid income to a charity will fall by 11%.
The sums are as follows:
2007/8 a gross donation of £100 means the taxpayer pays £78 and the taxman adds £22 where the gift aid element is 28.2% of the total.
2008/9 a gross donation of £100 means the taxpayer pays £80 and the taxman adds £20 where the gift aid element falls to 25% of the total.
If the taxpayer leaves their payment at £78, the taxman will only add £19.50 giving the charity an income of £97.50 instead of the £100 they will have budgeted for.
Was this consequence of a change anticipated? Was it thought through?
In addition, the effect of taking away the 10% band means that those on lower incomes who may be supporting a charity will have less income left from which to make the charitable payment. Lots of people will have seen the leaflet the Conservatives have produced showing how a nursery nurse is £154 worse off,; a catering assistant £161; a library clerk £203.
So what Gordon Brown trumpeted as a great benefit has turned out to be nothing of the sort. And those who need support most will end up suffering.
The sums are as follows:
2007/8 a gross donation of £100 means the taxpayer pays £78 and the taxman adds £22 where the gift aid element is 28.2% of the total.
2008/9 a gross donation of £100 means the taxpayer pays £80 and the taxman adds £20 where the gift aid element falls to 25% of the total.
If the taxpayer leaves their payment at £78, the taxman will only add £19.50 giving the charity an income of £97.50 instead of the £100 they will have budgeted for.
Was this consequence of a change anticipated? Was it thought through?
In addition, the effect of taking away the 10% band means that those on lower incomes who may be supporting a charity will have less income left from which to make the charitable payment. Lots of people will have seen the leaflet the Conservatives have produced showing how a nursery nurse is £154 worse off,; a catering assistant £161; a library clerk £203.
So what Gordon Brown trumpeted as a great benefit has turned out to be nothing of the sort. And those who need support most will end up suffering.
Monday, 7 April 2008
Old Laurentian Dinner 2008
A new era dawns
For the past few months I have been involved in negotiations for the sale of the business my brother, Mike, and I set up 25 years ago. The matter was finally concluded on Friday after an intense few days. In fact the only activity that I have ever been involved in with the same level of intensity has been fighting a General Election. The magnitude of the change that this will mean for me hasn’t yet sunk in, but it will mean that I will have more time to spend as a Parliamentary candidate over the next few months and possibly two years as we wait for the next Election.
It will also involve me no longer having an involvement in an industry which I have been involved in almost my entire working life, and a business which has been my life for 25 years. In the short term I will be involved in ensuring an effective handover with the new owners and so maybe now isn’t yet the time for reminiscing.
In the meantime there are always the Borough Council elections to keep me busy!
It will also involve me no longer having an involvement in an industry which I have been involved in almost my entire working life, and a business which has been my life for 25 years. In the short term I will be involved in ensuring an effective handover with the new owners and so maybe now isn’t yet the time for reminiscing.
In the meantime there are always the Borough Council elections to keep me busy!
Monday, 31 March 2008
Considering Agriculture
Continuing the Shadow Ministerial visits to Rugby, Peter Ainsworth whose brief is Food and the Environment and I visited local famer Cecil Thomas. Cecil runs a mixed farm with a dairy herd, pedigree sheep and arable, and he is a former Chair of Warwickshire NFU. He is a very strong advocate of his industry and was forthright in his views concerning the difficulties facing farming. Having been shown around the farm we discussed the strategies to dealing with the TB problem and blue tongue; the continuing problems with single farm payments; the power of the supermarkets and the lack of understanding of many people, & in particluar the young, of how food gets to the table. I learnt that school vists used to take place to farms in the past but this is no longer possible because of health & safety and the need for risk assesments. We considered the work being done by people like Jamie Oliver and it is a shame that more is not being done to enable a greater appreciation of the contribution of our farmers.
Tuesday, 18 March 2008
Lawford & New Bilton County Council By Election
I suppose that any election where there is a tie between the top two candidates, two recounts leading to your candidate loosing by just one vote, is always going to be tough to come to terms with. That certainly the case for Claire Watson who fought a really strong campaign in Lawford & New Bilton and must be asking herself what if we had made just one more phone call, or visited just one more house. Claire shouldn't be too down hearted because to change a Labour majority of 500 three years ago to just one vote is a real achievement, and one that give me great heart for when the General Election eventually comes.
Decorating the new village hall
Front Bench visitors to Rugby

We have had the pleasure of welcoming two more members of David Cameron's Shadow Cabinet to Rugby over the past couple of weeks. The first was Jeremy Hunt MP, Shadow Minister for Culture, Media and Sport who, in the home of the game, visited players and officials from Rugby Lions Rugby Club. Jeremy heard about the challenges of encouraging youngsters who start off playing the game as Mini Rugby to keep on playing as they get older and the pressures on a club with aspirations in the professional era where it is increasingly hard for a club to find the money to meet the wages bill. With two sons having worked their way through the Minis and Juinor section, I know just what a good job the Lions do with young people, despite limited facilities caused by the restricted site. The press who joined us on the visit were keen to play up Jeremy's vote as most fanciable male MP, when he was keen to point out that the competition was pretty limited!
Our second visitor was Francis Maude MP, Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office and Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, who is no stranger to this area, having been MP for North Warwickshire between 1983 and 92. Francis and I visited the Benn Partnership in Railway Terrace where we saw the drop-in and training facilities they offer to many groups in the town.
Having been established with Lottery funding, the centre has recently recieved grant aid from the Borough Council which is enabling the good work to continue. Afterwards Francis joined Association members at the Romna Restaurant in Regent Street where the owner Mr Sidque and his staff provided an excellent lunch.
Tuesday, 4 March 2008
Sewers
I learnt a lot about sewers yesterday evening and how an effective campaign can bring about change when I attended the AGM of Woodlands Residents Association. Woodlands in Bilton has suffered for many years from the obligations of local residents to maintain their unadopted sewer system. Over eight years, with support from both MPs in that period, they have fought to ensure that maintenance of privately constructed sewer systems is taken over by the water authority. Severn Trent Water, whose representative attended the meeting have now agreed to take on the liability from 2010 which will provide great comfort to many residents. Despite this good news, I learnt, however, that there is no British standard for the construction of new sewers on new developments. It seems that the problem is being created elsewhere and it is likely that other groups will have to get together in future to ensure that the same happens in their area and keep lobbying. The Residents Association in Woodlandsnow are the experts, and no doubt others will beat a path to their door to seek their advice. Great management of a meeting by the Chairman, as well. Constuctive comment, well prepared election of officers and all over within an hour. One or two organisations in Rugby could take note!
Monday, 25 February 2008
Lawford & New Bilton County Council Campaign
Thursday, 14 February 2008
Making recycling work
Yesterday I visited a plastics recylcing plant where plastic is recyled into material that can be used again in a manufacturing process. It's all very well putting recylable logos on to products to try and establish green credentials but it is important to ensure the material is actually used again rather than just sent to landfill. The process of getting it right is complex with a need to segregate different plastics, to clean the material and then make it in a form that can be reused. The simplest material available is plastic drink bottles (as shown in the photo on the left) but only 23% of those used in the UK are recycled. At the plant I visited they produce a top quaility product (seen in the photo on the right) which is so good that it commands 80% of the price of virgin material, with much ending up in automotive components such as car bumpers. I was surprised to learn that one of the problems the plant faces is actually sourcing the right quantity of material since much is being shipped from Britain to China for two reasons. Firstly low labour rates in China enable hand sorting of material which means that this then doesn't need to be done here where the cost is much higher; and secondly because the hugh imbalance of trade between the UK and China means that many sea going containers return to China empty and so the cost of filling and sending the container is low. I concluded that there needs to be more joined up thinking, education and communication between original producers, users of plastic products, local authorities who collect the material once used and recycling companies such as the one I visited for the whole process to succeed.
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