NHS Drugs Bill

In my posting a week or so ago, I referred to an article about the cost of drugs in the NHS. ConservativeHome have drawn attention to this article in the Guardian where the Conservative front bench are attacking the Governments incompetence on this issue.

The wider picture

As a candidate based in the Midlands I am not often in London and so don’t usually get to many policy group meetings and briefings. However yesterday I had arranged to meet a customer in West London and so afterwards went along to a meeting of TRG in Portcullis House billed as a “Journalists Panel”.

Speakers were Iain Dale and Polly Toynbee and I was hoping to hear Peter Oborne since I am close to finishing his book “Rise of the Political Class” but he did not attend. The style of meeting was rather along the lines of a fringe meeting at conference with a fairly wide ranging discussion chaired by Damian Green. It’s always interesting to learn how others see you and so Polly Toynbee’s contribution was interesting, suggesting that given where Labour are now, we Conservatives should be much further ahead. Iain’s response was that this is because we have moved to an era of three party politics, although that’s not particularly evident somewhere like Rugby.

A further discussion revolved around the fight for the middle ground. If you accept that the policies of the main parties are closer than previously, it seems to me that, even more than having distinctive and different ideas, the most important attribute that any party intending to take office needs to display is that of competence in managing the business of Government.

I met a friendly face in Wendy Morton who is candidate for Tynemouth and was on the same training course as me a couple of years ago and we were able to compare notes.

It’s easy for a candidate to get immersed in the issues affecting just their own constituency and their local association, sometimes missing the wider picture, and so it was useful to attend. I hope to have the time and opportunity to go along to similar events in the future.

Caldecott Burns Supper

On Friday evening Tracy and I joined Caldecott branch at their annual Burns Supper oganised by Mark Taylor and his team. We were treated to haggis, (with the customary address) neeps and tatties followed by a wee dram. Mark is an Aberdonian, has been in Rugby for nine years during which time he has made a really valuable contribution both in policy ideas and campaingning. Unfotunately for us he will shortly be leaving us to head back over the border. We really enjoyed our evening and hope that there will be someone to take over from Mark and and keep the supper going.

Numbers

I’ve been following a few statistics lately, all on the BBC news website. Some don’t bear thinking about.

The Commons public accounts committee reports that the NHS drug bill has more than doubled from £4bn to £8.2bn in 10 years with GPs prescribing 14 items per person at an average cost of £11 per item. This means spending on drugs is £154 per person per year. The difference between a generic version of a drug and the branded version is a factor of 12.5 with the former £2.34 and the latter £29.69 in the case of statin simvastatin. Surely there must be a way to control this expenditure more effectively?

In the past decade obesity levels have risen to 25% of adults and 20% of children. Current predictions talk about 60% of men, 50% of women and 25% of children obese by 2050 if action is not taken. How have we managed to get to this?

Apparently 4 out of 10 motorbikes are not taxed. Why do we allow this?

League tables show that almost a fifth of England's state secondary schools do not yet meet the government's new "floor target" for GCSE attainment. In 639 schools, less than 30% of pupils got five good GCSEs including English and maths. Why are we failing so many of our young people?

Liam Fox has established that 68 MoD laptops were stolen in 2007, 66 in 2006, 40 in 2005 and 173 in 2004. What controls are in place to prevent this and why don't they work?

UK public borrowing shows the biggest deficit since records began a decade ago, according to the Office for National Statistics figures show. For 2006 net borrowing reached £43.6bn, £11.4bn more than 2006. That’s almost £1000 for each person in the country. Why when our economy was in good shape didn’t we plan more effectively for the bad times?

And all of these numbers pale into insignificance when you consider the Northern Rock debacle. The plans for the Government to issue bonds would mean British taxpayers providing a £25 billion mortgage to the bank, with guarantees to depositors bringing that figure to nearly £55 million. George Osborne points out that represents a £2000 mortgage for every family in this country and effectively a second mortgage on every home. Why should people pay like this just to save the Government’s face?

Is it any wonder people are looking for a change?

Rugby's Future Prosperity

Yesterday evening I joined in with a workshop held by the Rugby branch of Coventry & Warwickshire's Chamber of Commerce concerning the needs of business to succeed in Rugby. The execrcise involved an updating of a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis carried out a couple of years ago and I was able to contribute not only as a potential MP for the town, but also as a local business owner. I was keen to stress the opportunities afforded by Rugby's location in the centre of England, 90 miles or one hour by rail from london with exellent road links at the heart of the UK's motorway system. That's certainly been the basis of the sucesss of my business as we distribute products across the Midlands. Many other factors were discussed including the new shopping development and relief road both currently under construction; proposed new housing, commercial & industrial developments; the new college site; and the opportunities provided by being the home of the game. In response to the weaknesses and threats identified such as a percieved poor image of the late night economy and over reliance on the warehousing and distribution sector, it took a visitor to put these in prespective and tell us that as an outsider he was unaware of such issues. Sometimes the view from outside can be better and the broad conclusion of the evening was that from a business perspective, Rugby is certainly a good place to be.

A cold morning in Bilton

I spent Saturday morning on the doorsteps of Bilton with Councillor Lisa Parker (no photo as I forgot to take my camera). It was howling a gale and bitterly cold and I was struggling to write down people’s survey responses as my hands were so numb. At one point Lisa turned to me and said “You must really want to do this to be out in weather like this”. I replied “Yes I do” and I’ve thought about her comment over the past day or so. I do want to be elected as Rugby’s MP whenever the election comes and in many ways it was the kind of comments that people made to me on those doorsteps yesterday morning that provide me with my resolve. So many are fed up with what Labour are doing to Britain and want to see change, and I want to do my best to ensure that change takes place. I hope that when elected I will be part of a Government that puts Britain on a track where peoples responsibilities, rights and values are respected and where people are rewarded for doing the right thing. I do want the chance to speak out for the people of the area that I come from. Every so often something comes along which causes us to question what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. I’m sure Lisa’s remark wasn’t intended to make me think deeply about my role as a Parliamentary candidate, but I’m glad that it did.

The Triumph of the political class

A friend received Peter Oborne's book for Christmas, enjoyed it & was concened about it's conclusions and has passed it to me to read. I am currently about a quarter of the way through. Having spent the past 25 years running a business and persuing a political career later than most, I certainly don't see myself as being one of the group the author refers to. In some ways it appears already that he has a theory and is looking for evidence to support it, but I'm happy to stick with the book and will comment futher when I've finished reading it.

Update

I havent been as thorough in keeping my blog up to date over the Christmas & New Year period partly through taking the usual break & partly through being rather more active in my business with preparations for the year end and planning for 2008. And also an unscheduled redecoration of the offices caused by a bust pipe while the business was closed over the Christmas break. However there was a silver lining in the opportunity for a thorough clear out and tidy up and rejigging of the office layout, giving us a fresh start for the new year.

A new month means a new survey and we are already on the phones chatting to people about their hopes & expectations for 2008 and I will report what people say to us at the end of January with a press release to the local press and local radio station, Rugby FM.

Happy New Year!

After the highlight of David Cameron’s visit to Rugby in April, for Parliamentary Candidates like me, 2007 was the year of the “nearly election”. We expected a 2009 poll until Gordon Brown led us on a merry dance in the autumn. With a November election apparently almost a certainty, we put in place our campaign plans, only to see our hopes of changing the Government dashed at the last minute.

Given that most commentators think that the economic situation will get worse rather than better in the coming year, we may have wait as late as 2010 to make a change. Between now and then, we Conservatives will be seen as a Government-in- waiting with the ideas, initiatives and vision to change Britain for the better. Here in Rugby I will have the opportunity to continue my dialogue with voters and so, with my team, we will be out on doorsteps and in the town centre with our monthly surveys listening to what people have to say about topical issues.

Being a Parliamentary Candidate has enabled me to go to places I wouldn’t normally have visited and to and meet people I wouldn’t otherwise have met. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of those experiences and have learnt a great deal from the many people I have come into contact with. I am looking forward immensely to continuing to do that in the New Year.