Trees 1 year on

It's almost exactly one year since we planted the trees. This time last year it was wet with soft ground which made the planting easy; our current cold snap would have caused us to put it off. The trees did well until the very dry spell in October when it appeared that several had died, with one or two sitting in cracks in the heavy clay unable to find moisture as the roots had barely formed. However, we are hoping that some of the ones I thought might have died will show shoots in the spring and so we have left them in place. I intend to take an anual photo so that we can monitor progress over the years.

Only G20 country still in recession

The Times carries a report here that the UK remains the country still in recession despite Alistair Darling's contention that our economy would be back in growth by the end of the year. So much for us being better prepared to weather the storm. The economy has shrunk by 6% since the recession began in Quarter 2 of 2008. One of the commentors draws attention to the fact that the public sector has not (yet) reduced in size and so therefore the decline in the private sector has been significantly greater. It is sometimes easy to forget that it is the weath created by the private sector which provides the resources for the public sector to provide the services we all need. So it is vital that we get the incentives in place to encourage that sector to thrive once again,and generate income. Increasing National Insurance contributions by both employers and staff (as set out in the pre budget report) wont help with that and is a step in the wrong direction.

Pailton Mulled Wine & Mince Pies

It's Christmas Party season & last weekend Tracy and I joined Pailton branch at their annual Christmas event. I was asked to say the usual few words which were followed by a discussion about our prospects at the coming General Election. As the election gets closer more detail will be available as the manifesto takes shape and this will be eagerly awaited by both our supporters and the country as a whole. The new year will see our campaign hotting up locally and nationally and so I'm looking forward to a few days with our family over the Christmas period.

Vetting & Barring Scheme

A couple of months ago our regular monthly survey was on the Governments Vetting and Barring scheme where we asked local residents their views about the proposals for adults to be vetted before they give lifts to childrens friends or visit a school. A large majority felt that this would be reversing the presumption of innocence and many felt that volunteers would simply stop helping out. It was clear that while we must ensure the safety of our children at all times much of what was proposed was going too far. Now it seems that Ed Balls, Children's Secretary agrees. The Times reports here that he has promised a U turn. I used to be chairman of a local Twinning Association and we arranged for many youngsters over the years to get a taste of family life in France and improve their language skills as well as forming friendships that for many have lasted. I am pleased that these visit will remain as private arrangements and that registration won't be necessary.

Scam Mail

As a candidate I get to learn about issues about which I had previously little knowledge. I recently met a family where an elderly reliative has become a victim of scam mail. Prior to the meeting I had no idea of the extent or seriousness of this where often vulnerable people are tricked into sending off money through the post. The sums involved can amount to tens of thousands of pounds. There is a really useful website at www.thinkjessica.com which gives details of how the scams work, instances of how people have been affected and some useful advice on how to avoid them and support those who have been drawn in. We hear a great deal about internet scams but less about those through the post. Most of us enjoy receiving post and here criminals are preying often on the elderly who live alone and look forward to the contact through letters delivered by the postman.

Ron Ravenhall

I am sad to hear of the death at the weekend of Councillor Ron Ravenhall. Ron and I served together as Councillors in a three member ward with Bill Shields for Dunchurch & Knightlow at Rugby Borough Council between 2002 and 2007. Ron started off his political life as a Conservative and joined the Liberal Democrats in the 1980s. Despite different political allegiances I always found Ron supportive and helpful while I was looking to establish my political career. I recall his contributions on Planning Committee where he spoke with great authority. My fondest memories of our work together revolve around the campaign, led by Gordon Collett, to oppose Government plans for an International Airport at Church Lawford. Ron was keen to ensure that I played a full role and often insisted that I spoke early in the various meetings we held in churches around the affected area. He had a big impact in both the Council Chamber in Rugby and in the community more widely and he will be missed.

More Government Waste

So Gordon Brown has found a further £3 billion of savings to add to the £9 billion already identified, according to The Times here. Who authorised this expenditure in the first place? Stable doors and horses?

Shadow Health Secretary in Rugby

Last week I joined Andrew Lansley on a visit to our local hospital, St Cross. Our commitment to the NHS will be fundamental to our campaign at the coming General Election, and I was keen to ensure that our Health Team are fully aware of the range of facilities and services here in Rugby. We met the trust Chief Executive, Malcom Stamp and were shown over the site by Hospital Manager, Carl Holland, Modern Matron, Judith Lewis and Non-Executive Director, Nick Stokes. Rugby Observer photographer, Jamie Gray, has kindly provided a photo of Judith making a point to Andrew just after we had been shown new and aditional toilets and bathrooms installed to improve patient dignity. Andrew raced off after the visit to get down to the BBC in London in time for the recording of "Question Time" which went out later that evening.

Town Centre Campaigning

On Saturday we had great team out in the town centre with our campaign to protect front line NHS services. People are depending on us to support the NHS with the funding it needs and making sure that the money goes to doctors and nurses on the front line. With a survey asking abour peoples experiences of local health services, we heard about how much our local hospital, St Cross is appreciated, but also the occasional account of what happens when things go wrong. I will be visiting St Cross later this week with Andrew Lansley, Shadow Health Minister when I will pass on the information we gathered. The local children loved the balloons!

Defence matters

On Thursday evening I attended a social event where the guest speaker was Liam Fox, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence. At a time when rightly our concentration is on our troops on active sevice in Afghanistan, Liam reminded us about the threats and challeges in other parts of the world. Liam has been in his current role for four years and has built up great knowledge of defence matters which contrasts with his Ministerial opposite who is the most recent in a long line. I enjoyed meeting up again with Liam who I found to be an excellent Party Chairman when I was a candidate in the 2005 General Election.

House Meeting Brownsover

Continuing my series of meetings in the homes of people who are kind enough to act as host, I joined a small group in Brownsover for a discussion of topical issues. If time passing quickly is a measure of the effectiveness of a meeting then we did well, since after starting at 7.30 and covering a broad range of issues I looked at my watch to find it was 10pm! I was challenged about my reasons for wanting to become an MP which led to a long discussion about expenses; two strong characters in the room felt that we are not being strong enough about the seriousness of the country's financial position and laying the blame for this on Labour's actions in Government while another person was put off by the adversarial nature of politics - which shows how difficult it is to get the message just right. We spoke at length about the trends that are causing some people to think about supporting the peripheral parties; and the opportunity that we will offer to Parilament of a free vote on the repeal of the Hunting Act. We spent more time on national issues than at previous house meetings and I enjoyed our discussion. Many thanks to Alma for making her house available to us.

The All Blacks at Twickenham

With more happening on Saturday morning as the election approaches I've been able to go down for just one game in the Autumn International series and though the New Zealand match woulds be the pick of the three. England did better than in the previous two games and against pretty ordinary opposition apart from McCaw, but with only one try from 3 games there is plenty of work to do before the six nations.

Citizenship

I was very pleased to join Cllr Tom Day at Binley Woods Primary School on Friday morning and not just because over 40 years ago I was a pupil at the school albeit in now demolished premises. Tom was leading the year 6 class in citizenship and spoke about the different level of Government, with my contribution being my aspirations to represent Rugby in Westminster. Tom arranged for house teams within the class to form a political party and prersent their aspirations for how Binley Woods could be made better. We heard some ambitious ideas including more shops with a local Marks & Spencer (!) and a fishing lake together with some practical ones based around the local environment. All groups referred to the prize asset the village has, which is access to the woods, where I remember spending much of my time when I was growing up. The manifestos were voted on and the wining group will have the chance to present their ideas to the Parish Council. I was impressed by the constructive ideas of the children and how well they got them down on paper and the confidence with which they presented them. I'm sure I met some of the politicians of the future. Thanks to Mrs Watts of the School for the photos and Tom for a well planned and organised morning. The children dont usually have such wacky hairstyles - the school was holding a mad hair day to raise money for Children in Need.

Football Shirts Project

Since I returned from Rwanda, the soccer shirts have continued to roll in. Today I visited St James School in Bulkington to pick up several bags full. These have been brought in by the children and Headteacher, Paul Ison introduced me to soccer enthusiast Todd Loveitt who had contributed several of them. I shall send off a consignment to Rwanda for distribution to children there pretty soon & will be pleased

to accept any other that are no longer wanted and which people are willing to donate. I have been speaking to Paul about his wish for children at his school to make contact with a school in Rwanda and I'm very much hoping that this will happen. I know youngsters in Rwanda will be interested to hear from their counterparts here and there is much that can be learnt from one another.

Preparing for Government

The General Election counter shows less than 200 days to the election. The polls are largely in our favour with a good prospect of a Conservative victory and so many people are considering the process of handover between Governments. In the past 30 years there has only been one such handover which took place in 1997 after the Labour victory that year. Prior to that the last change from Labour to Conservative was in 1979 so there isn't a great deal of experience in the process. A further complication is that a new Prime Minister takes office the day the election result is announced which contrasts with the position in the US where a new President has a two month handover. Much of the process and preparation is covered in a report by The Institute of Government "Transitions: Preparing for Changes of Government" which is available here.

Voters switching from Labour

Today's Times has an interesting story here about Labour's cash shortage & that they are concentrating their activity in the run up to the election on seats where their majority is more than 3,000. No mention of Rugby where the notional Labour majority is arounf 2,500 according to Rallings & Thresher, but the article does go on to identify the 4 groups that are most likely to switch from Labour as being:

• Thirtysomething homemakers who voted Labour in 1997 but are burdened with debt as they start a family — they may turn to the Conservatives;
• low-skilled, largely unemployed households who will either not vote or turn to far-right parties;
• those in former manufacturing communities who no longer have strong union and Labour Party ties — they are also vulnerable to extremist lobbying;
• people approaching retirement in some of the nicer council estates who exercised the right to buy — they may also turn to the Conservatives.

From the time I have spent on the doorsteps across the constituency over the past three years I would say that is pretty accurate and would add to it a small but significant group of young voters from Labour families who will take the trouble to vote, voting Conservative for the first time they vote.

Creating New Apprenticeships

I have just returned from a presentation in Birmingham where George Osborne and David Willets were talking to student and members of the local business community about the economy in general and our plans to increase the number of new apprenticeships for young people. David spoke about the difficulty that apprentices face if they loose their job before their training is complete, how this would be completely unacceptable in any other area of education. Well informed and questions were posed about tuition fees, climate change, support for manufacturing, overseas aid, the effect of uncertainty in the postal service on business, the extent of tax avoidance and Govenment cuts to the College building programme. What was interesting was that most questions were posed on the basis that we will be in power after May and it fell to George to remind people that our assumption remains an "if" rather than a "when".

Dunchurch Coffee Morning

My first elected position was Councillor for Dunchurch & Knightlow in 2002 and so I was delighted to meet up with old friends and helpers at Dunchuch Conservatives Coffee morning this week. I was reminded by one or two people of the first campaign I look part in as a Councillor when we opposed the Government's proposals for an International Airport at Chuch Lawford. It all seem laughable now but at the time was a real threat to the environment and way of like here.

11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month

I have just returned from the firing of the maroons (rockets) on Whitehall Rec at the beginning and end of the two minute silence to commemorate Armistice Day. While there I took the opportunity to look at the many wreaths which were fixed to the gates at the ceremony on Sunday.

Unemployment & Ericcson

The unemployment figures announced today are horrible but especially bad for our area with the news that Ericcson have announced that they will be pulling out of the Ansty Park employment area leading to 700 redundancies. This is within Rugby Consituency although most of the staff there live in Coventry. Details from the Coventry Telegraph here and it falls to Guido Fawkes on his blog here to draw attention to the consequence of the Prime Minister's visit to the site earlier in February this year.

Remembrance Day Service

I have attended the Remembrance Day Service at the Memorial Gates at Whitehall Recreation Ground every year since I was elected a Councillor in 2002. This year during the march past there was spontaneous applause for both those currently in active service and veterans, and I believe this was the first time that happened. Coverage of the war in Afghanistan through modern media brings to life the sacrifices that both present and past servicemen have to make and has led to a greater appreciation among the public. I was please to be there on Sunday to pay my respects.

Even more spending?

The story to catch my eye in today's papers is here in the Sunday Times concerning Browns plans to increase spending in the run up to the election. Apparently this is not an attempt to bribe the electorate with jam today, but an even bigger stimulus to try to pull the country out of recession. It is as if the massive current deficit is not signifiant, nor that the the debt and interest payments we will be passing on to future generations don't matter. People sometimes say on the doorsteps that there is little difference between the parties. On the economy there will be bigger differences than for many years with according to the article Treasury officials fearing that increased spending will upset financial markets making it harder to service the national debt. The game is up - people know we can't carry on as we are and living beyond our means.

On the doorsteps in Bilton

We had one of our biggest teams ever out with our survey yesterday when Chris Heaton-Harris, candidate in Daventry brought a few of his supporters out to join us. We were asking people their thoughts about the Government's treatment of our Armed Services and you can take part through my website. I have found a survey a great way of finding out what Rugby people think about a topic and this gives me a good understanding of what people will expect to hear about from us in the coming General Election and what our priorities should be if we form the next Government..

Rugby's Fire Serice Consultation Meeting

Yesterday it was Rugby's turn for a local meeting concerning the proposals to reorganise Warwickshire Fire & Rescue Service. I have previously attended meetings in Bedworth & Brinklow and Rugby's was a lower key affair since there is no plan to close the local Fire Station. However Rugby will be affected as when Rugby's appliances are out of the station attending a call, which can often be on the Motorway with the M1 & M6 passing round the town, cover is currently provided by Southam and Brinklow. There are a couple more consultation meetings across the county and the consultation period finishing soon. I have voiced my opposition and I know many others have also done so.

Diwali

I had a great evening on Saturday when I joined Kieth Ranu and about 250 others for the Diwali celebrations at Rugby Workers Club. Again several people wanted to talk about the Question Time programme but as the evening wore on there was more interest in dancing, entertainment and chatting with friends.

Canvassing Eastlands

Out with our survey on Saturday the main topic people wanted to talk about was Question Time on TV on Thursday. There was a degree of sympathy for the leader of the BNP who found himself under pressure from other panel members, the audience and the chairman in a programme almost entirely focussed on him and his party's followers. I felt that he had a right to be heard given the BNP success at the recent Euro elections but it was wrong for the format and questions to be devoted to one issue. It has caused people to consider the issue of immigration and community relations with a real feeling that the Govenment have failed to get a grip of this issue. Nowhere was this more apparent than in Jack Straws performance on the programme when he refused to acknowledge any responsibility for the miscalcuation of the numbers of people intending to come to the UK from the EU acession countries.

Tougher Scrutiny for Home Loans

When I was running my business, from time to time I would receive a letter from a Building Society advising that a member of staff was applying for a mortgage. The letter would ask for confirmation of employment details such as job title and how long employed. Up until about 10 years ago the letter would ask for confirmation of salary but about then that question stopped. This was because many mortgages were now "self-certified" where the lender relied on the borrowers statement alone about income, which is of course related to ability to pay. It was no surprise to me that this change accompanied the fastest rate of growth in house prices the country has ever seen. In hindsight this was an example of the reckless lending that led to the financial problems just over a year ago and of the lack of control of the FSA in regulating the mortgage market. So I was pleased to read todays announcement of plans for borrowers to once again face a mortgage affordability test and self certification mortages will be banned. Some times appropriate regulation can be the right course since soaring house prices are in no-ones interest in the long term. Read more here.

House meeting Hillmorton

Continuing my series of meetings at peoples homes across the consituency, yesterday I was invited to the house of Eleanor Thorneycroft where I met number of her friends and neighbours. I explained that I was there to answer questions and listen to points of view and inevitably with the focus again on MP's expenses following Sir Thomas Legg's audit that was an early topic for discussion. I explained that by the time of the next Parliamentary intake there will almost certainly be new rules in place and if I am succesful in Rugby, I will clearly abide by them. Having run my own business for 25 year I am quite used to preparing accounts for submision to the authorities and will continue to do so in any future role. We moved on to a very wide ranging discussion covering international issues such as our approach to terrorism; national issues including border controls and illegal immigration, family breakdown and the downward movement of decision making within government; and local issues such as the mast site development proposals and new charges for renting an allotment in Rugby. All in all I was put through my paces by a well informed group. If you know anyone who would like me to join them for a similar discussion, please let me know and I will be glad to come along.

Saving Brinklow Fire Station

Last week I attended a consultation meeting in Bedworth concerning proposals to close the Fire Station there and yesterday a similar meeting took place in Monks Kirby in relation to Brinklow. The new Chief Fire Officer presented the proposals which were drawn up by his predecessor and members of the public were invited to make points and ask questions. Brinklow is a smaller Fire Station, serving a rural community but many of the same points arose and, of course response times and the quality of cover the service will be able to provide in the future were the key issues. Despite a bias in the questionnaire that accompanies the consultation, there are many good points in the document such as increased emphasis on training, on fire prevention and reducing arson; and reducing Firefighter sickness levels. However it seems to me that these do not necessarily have to be linked to reducing the number of Fire Stations across the County from 19 to 12. Almost everyone in the room was of like mind and I know that there will be many responses urging that the closure proposals in the consultation are not implimented.

Brownsover Saturday

After the focus on national policy at conference last week it was refreshing to be out talking about more local issues in Brownsover South on Saturday morning. Matters people raised included inconsiderate parking by rail users close to the station and the price increase in the new multi storey car park; the success of the new recycling arrangements; and the local impact of anti-social behaviour. It was great to have newly elected County Councillor, Carolyn Robbins with me who is actively involved with all of these.

Conference Final Day

MP Alistair Burt's thoughts about this week's conference

Defending Fire Stations

After a morning at Conference, I drove down to Bedworth with North Warwickshire Candidate, Dan Byles to attend a meeting to discuss proposals to make changes to Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service. There is a number of ways in which it is proposed to improve the service residents receieve but unsurprisingly, the one to get the most attention is the one to reduce the number of Fire Stations across the County. A consultation document has been issued which includes the option of closing Nuneaton and Bedworth Fire Stations and replacing them with one new station between the two towns. This is of concern to me as Bulkington and villages to the north of Rugby constituency are covered from Bedworth. I felt that the consultation had it weaknesses but was prepared to hear what the Deputy Fire Officer had to say in support of this idea. The longer the meeting went on, the more clear it became to me that this particular part of the proposal hasn't been properly thought through and they strike me as too loose, too vague and too one sided. I will be attending a further meeting in Brinklow this coming Monday, Oct 12 when residents will be able to have their say on proposals to close the Fire Station there.

Dragons Den

Yesterday I took part in a fringe event organised by the European Information Alliance. 3 speakers competed for my vote & that of others with presentations on the management of the IT processs in Government; governance of the internet; & the role of IT in the UK economy. We covered how to improve IT procurement in the public sector, a matter of interest to many of us given recent failures an cost, delivery time & security; how to ensure safe use of the internet, particularly by children; how to ensure IT jobs stay in here by ongoing training and innovation.; the vaiability of broadband across the country, an issue of concern to me as I live in a village where speeds are often frustratingly low.

Porkie Pies

One of the many stands in the Conference, this one offering a product "endorsed" by Gordon Brown!

Conference Day 2

Speeches from George Osbourne & Ken Clarke.

Conference Day 1

Great atmosphere at the Conference; looking forward to some interesting discussion and announcement over the next couple of days.

Listening to Young People

On Friday I joined a class of 17-18 year olds studying citizenship at the Rugby site of Warwickshire College, many of whom are hoping to take up careers in the uniformed services. I spoke about the role of a Parliamentary Candidate and the selection process, before being asked questions. I later took part in a Question Time type debate when some of the students joined me on the panel. I was asked about my motivation in seeking to become an MP which led to a lively debate about expenses. No surpise to find that the students feel the same way an most people about some of the items that were claimed for! We moved on to many of the matters that would be raised by a wider audience, with emphasis on local matters including road congestion in the town centre and safety late at night. It reaffirmed my view that there are very few issues that are exclusive to young people and that they are just as concerned about the things that matter to the country as a whole. Great to see some friendly faces in the audience in the form of some of my son's team mates from Rugby Lions, who came up with some good questions and thoughtful contributions.

The Sun's change of allegiance

In my business career I quickly learnt that if a contract didn't go your way, or if you lost a customer, you don't 1. abuse the decision maker (Mandelson) 2. show your anger & frustration at the decision (Brown) or 3. denigrate the customer or his product publicly (Tony Woodley). Who's the nasty party now?

Rugby Town Juniors Football Club

I was reminded recently that I hadn't been to see my nephew & Godson, Harry Pawsey, playing for his new team, Rugby Town Juniors Under 15s, so I promised Tony Potter, team coach that I would go along on Sunday. It enabled me to visit the fantastic set up that the club have at Kilsby Lane and I was able to see the team win 2-1 with a fantastic winning goal from Harry in the last ten minutes. Great team performance & a number of lads with real talent enjoying themselves. I expect more of the same on my next visit!

Old Laurentians Vice-Presidents Lunch

I had some great years playing Rugby in Rugby for the Old Laurentians Rugby club and was really pleased to be invited to be a Vice-President a few years ago. Actually it's not that great an honour as there are over 100 of us, but it's a great way of keeping an involvement with the club while being relieved of some cash. On Saturday many of us met up for a lunch before the first XV game againt Earlsdon which OLs won 36-23. Photos are taken from Ray Todds's gallery on the clubs website here: http://www.oldlaurentianrfc.co.uk/2008/Home.html

MacMillan Coffee Morning

Today I joined the worlds biggest coffee morning raising money for MacMillan Cancer support when I joined Emma Russell and her helpers at Cawston Grange Primary School. The idea of lots of events all taking place at the same time is a great one and I know just how much support MacMillan provide. My mum used to be active in the organisation in Rugby and both my parents have benefitted from the back up they provide. Lots of people at the event I visited, and with I understand another half dozen in Rugby and thousands across the country I hope a good sum has been raised.

Business Feedback

Yesterday I joined many former colleagues in the foodservice packaging industry at their annual lunch at the House of Commons. The location and my current regular activity are a coincidence!It is regular date and somewhere the member enjoy attending. I was interested to learn how people were finding the current market and the consenus is that things are difficult. With little new investment in the catering sector, few new restaurant openings and a contraction in the workplace as unemployment increases, the only way for a muanufacturer or distributor to increase sales is at the expense of competitors which is leading to huge pressure on price & margins. This in turn is leading to either business failure or consolidation between companies. Once again I picked up the message of how essential it is that we quickly get business moving again and return to a more orderly market.

Rugby Rail Users Group

On Wednesday evening I attended a meeting of RRUG when Chris Gibb, Chief Operating Officer of Virgin Trains spoke. Virgin operate the London to Scotland service which passes through Rugby on the West Coast Main Line which has just been the subject of massive public investment leading to a revised service . Communcations are vital to Rugby's prosperity and so it was interesting to be involved in a discussion on recent changes among regular and knowledgeable users of the service. The service to London has settled down as much improved both on reliability and journey time as I know from my own experience of fairly infrequent jouneys down to Westminster. More contentious has been the reduced frequency from Rugby to the north west which has arisen from the political imperative to shorten journey times between London and the major connurbations of Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow. The easy way to do this is for the train to stop less frequently and so there are now fewer stops at Rugby and places like Lichfield and Crewe. Again I have had my own experience of this and have decided that it will probably be better for me to travel to party conference in Manchester by car rather than wait to change at Birmingham New Street. It will be important to continue to lobby people like Chris to ensure that the needs of all of Rugby's travellers are taken into account in any future changes.
I learnt a great deal about the structure and operation of the railway industry including the nature of the franchises offered to operators and the tender process; the intensity of use on the West Coast Mail Line and the challenges of meeting all the demands placed on it; the time for a station stop within a timetable (5 minutes) and the minimum time gap necessary between trains (7 minutes); the nature of the Christmas 2007 disruption; the problems caused by the rising price of copper leading to cable theft; the complexities of different IT systems running the ticket booking process; concerns about travelling with cycles; and the challenges of developing a new and separate High Speed Service and the possible implications of that for Rugby.
I hope to take a closer look at the impact of all of these in the near future.

Coldplay at Wembley

On Friday Tracy & I were at Wembley for the Coldplay concert. I had expected the audience to be mainly older and was surprised by the age range and the number of families. Coldplay were superb, put on a really good show of old favourites and all of their latest album, Viva la Vida. This was my first visit to the new stadium and I was very impressed by all the facilities including the link to the Tube station where we were easily able to get into central London afterwards.

The deteriorating economic position

During the County Council election campaign in May, Philip Hammond Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury came to Rugby and spoke to local business owners & managers. Philip out the state of the Governments finances in perspective by telling the audience that the country was borrowing £1 for every £4 it was spending. In today's Times leader column headed "fainting by numbers - new figures on goverment debt show the landscape is rockier than we imagined" there are more scary numbers: national debt at over £800 billion or £25,000 per family; debt increasing at £6000 per second; every day £83 million having to be found to pay the interest and by 2013/14 accounting for £63 billion a year or more than we will spend on transport & defence combined. Surely now no-one can be in any doubt of the magnitude of the task facing an incoming Government.

Leading on NHS policy

ConservativeHome has covered today's Times article here setting out the results of a poll asking which party would do the best on a series of issues. The headline is about NHS reform and the lead across the country is consistent with what Rugby voters have been telling us on this months survey. We have so far been on the doorstep in Admirals, Wolvey, Paddox, Benn & Newbold and in addion have been speaking to people across the constituency on the phone. I have heard many accounts of peoples experience of the NHS when the staff in the service receive much praise but where people find the system at fault and see huge waste and inefficiency. There is a real understanding that much needs to be changed, a point acknowledged by Andy Burnham, Health Secretary in his speech a couple of days ago. The shame is that it has taken the biggest recession for a generation which has led to huge pressure on spending for Labour to consider changes that should have been made years ago. Iain Dale blogged about Browns "cuts" speech "What was most intriguing was the moment when Brown said Labour would spend less on unnecessary things and low priorities. Which rather begs the question as to why any money was being spent in the first place on unnecessary things..." Just what have the Government been doing over the past 12 years, how much money has been wasted and how much better should our services be?

Canvassing in Wolvey

We had a great team out in Wolvey meeting residents with our survey on Saturday morning. Unfortunately our team photo obliterated the fantastic "Inspector Morse" Jag that was parked in the square!

Office of the Schools Adjudicator meeting

I have just returned from a meeting called by the Office of the Schools Adjudicator to take the views of members of the public over the admission arrangements to Rugby’s secondary schools. The key issue being considered is the extent to which places should be made available to pupils from other education authorities and a decision needs to be taken quickly so that both schools and parents will be clear about the situation for September 2010 entry. I heard a number of parents speak who were passionate about the education their children receive, quite reasonably wanting to make sure that they have the opportunity to receive the best.

It seems to me that adjudicator has a most difficult task, that of setting out access arrangements for something which is extremely rare and very precious, namely grammar school places. The tragedy is that there are so few of them, and as they are scarce in supply they are highly prized and contested. It is this which has led to the conflict between parents from different areas. I am a product of one our grammar schools, one of my children was in the 6th form, one has just started at one of the schools and so I know from my own experience just how valuable these places are. We are extremely fortunate that such schools exist in Rugby and that they do so is thanks to the hard work and commitment of Rugby's elected representatives a generation ago. In the 70s a campaign was fought to resist the imposition of a comprehensive system and instead to retain grammar schools in Rugby. At that time those engaged in the campaign sought to do so not as a principled stand for the country as a whole, but for the benefit of the people they represented, Rugby parents and their children. For this reason, it is my view that in coming to a decision, the adjudicator should have regard to how it is that here in Rugby there remains real choice in education and as such the priority in allocating those places should be to Rugby's children.

On a broader point, listening to parents tonight, I came away with a real understanding of how important quality and choice in education is for many parents. I was left in no doubt that raising standards across the system as a whole, and ensuring that all children get the education they deserve will be so important for us once we are in Government.

Well done England

I'm not a great follower of football, but really enjoyed the England match last night. It showed the difference that confidence can make to a team which is credit to the manager. It's great news that England will be at the World Cup in South Africa and gives many people something to look forward to next summer.

Cycling & traffic

The weather first thing today was superb so, fair weather cyclist that I am, I rode the 7 miles or so to the office this morning. Rugby has a number of new cycle lanes which I used wherever I could but much of my journey was at the mercy of the traffic. It would be great if motorists more general had a better appreciation of the difficulties faced by cyclists, not least potholes at the side of the road which force the rider towards the centre. For this reason, I felt much safer in a cycle lane marked on a footpath, although these have a habit of suddenly disappearing

as at the town end of Dunchurch Rd. Today's Times takes up the cause of cyclists with an article here and a leader column, all of which adds to ensuring awareness of a method of transport which benefits both the individual and the environment. For my part I felt that by cycling today I dont need to go to the gym later!

Election night campaign

As someone who has attended their fair share of counts over recent years, I too am concerned about moves to push the count back to a Friday morning, as was the case at the recent County Council elections here in Rugby. There's nothing quite like the atmosphere at the end of election day waiting for results to come in, both locally and across the country. I'm pleased ConservativeHome are campaigning to retain the tradition. Details here.

Back from holiday

I am now back from holiday. With Tracy and Sara I have just returned from a really interesting holiday in Cuba. Regrettably there was little opportunity to blog from Cuba, with internet access in hotels limited and on one occasion not capable of use as the entry code cards hadn’t been delivered.

Cuba is now a fairly standard holiday destination, but we were keen to see a little more than just the capital or beaches and learn something of the country's recent history . So after arriving in Havana and spending a few days there we drove to a resort into the east of the country at Cayo Lavisa. After resting for a few days on the beach there we flew to the second city in the south of the country, Santiago da Cuba, before another car journey to an “All In Resort” at Guradalavaca. We then took a further plane journey back to Havana before coming home.

I hadn't previously visited a Communist country and what I saw was a society continually looking backwards towards the 1950s revolution rather than one looking forwards. The vintage American cars are well-known, and now a tourist attraction, but the whole economy, industry and infrastructure is left behind in the 1950s as well. Some development took place in the 60s and 70s a time when Cuba was allied to Soviet Russia and so attractive colonial buildings sit side-by-side with more recent brutal concrete blocks. Many of the buildings are run down, most of the roads are a very poor state, factories are crumbling and there is evidence of much poverty.

We visited several museums and monuments to the revolution aiming to understand what happened at that time. In Santiago we visited the barracks where the revolution was launched and where the bullet marks in the external plasterwork have been preserved. We saw the balcony where Castro addressed the people once the previous president had fled in 1959. We went to the museum in Havana housing the boat that Castro and Che Guevara took from Mexico to launch the revolution. All very interesting, but little compensation for the low standard of living we could see experienced by the people living in the countryside as we drove by .

Cuba has finally recognised that it has one big asset, which is fantastic beaches and a very warm climate, making it ideal for tourism. Interestingly the all-in-resort we visited was opened by Castro five years ago and the speech he made at that time is written on the wall where he claimed credit for the entire enterprise being of Cuban construction. Now that tourists are welcomed and with a possible relaxation on travel arrangements from the USA it is likely that Cuba will be able to earn valuable overseas exchange and reinvest in its economy and provide growth which will enable living standards to rise.

We enjoyed spending time in a society very different from our own and experiencing a different culture. Everywhere people were pleased to talk to us and learn about where we were from (as well as trying to sell us cigars or earn a tip!). I have returned refreshed and ready for the next few months leading up to the General Election.

Silly Season

You know it's the silly season when some remarks by an MEP in the states about the NHS spark a national debate; old comments posted on a blog some weeks ago about MP's expenses make headlines once again and the BBC repeats remarks by Lord Mandelson about his last year's holiday. I'm about to depart the silly season here by taking my annual holiday with my family when we will be visting Cuba. This is country none of us have previously visited, where people we have spoken to who have been all tell us what a great time they have had, and where there is a system of Government quite unlike anything I am familiar with. I'm looking forward to relaxing and being able to spend some time together, to seeing things done in a different way and trying to understand the way of life there. I hope to post the odd blog entry or two from internet cafes but hope that I will be forgiven if I don't achieve that. September will leave us just months away from a General Election, and from then on in the pace of local political activity will speed up. I will return, I am sure, refreshed & raring to go.

Tribute to Hazel Bell

Hazel was a very determined Rugby Councillor who died a year ago and gave me much very valuable advice in my early days as a member of the Council. I was unfortunately unable to attend her funeral as we were away on holiday at the time and so I was very pleased to join a large group of people today who, despite the rain, gathered in Caldecott Park where a plaque was unveiled in her memory. In addition, a path is to be named "Hazel Bell Way" which stuck me as very appropriate since Hazel had a very distinctive and effective way of getting things done, with a straightforward and direct approach. I know that she is sadly missed.

Eastlands Delivery Team

We increased the size of our team delivering leaflets this week by the addition of more 6th formers wanting to help us make a change. As the General Election gets closer, people are contacting us to offer help which will be of great assistance when the time comes. There is a real mood that Labour's time is now up and real support for the realistic approach we are putting forward to dealing with the country's problems - especially among the young.

Hillmorton Branch Barbeque

Association events have continued throughout the summer and on Saturday Hillmorton Branch put on what is now an annual event in the garden of Chairman, Bill Sewell. There was again a great attendance, a relaxing afternoon in the sun and a good time raising money for a very important cause!

Ending the Couple Penalty

There are several meeting with residents on the doorstep while out canvassing which stick in my mind. One occured during the County Council by-election 18 months ago when I met a young couple with children. They told me that there had been difficulties in their relationship that caused them to live apart, but that they had recently got back together again, partly for the benefit of their kids. They told me that they were shocked to find out that they were better off financially living separately. So I was interested to learn yesterday about a new report from the charity CARE reviewing the couple penalty, showing that the numbers of people affected by this is growing. This is a matter we must address urgently in Government. Quite apart from the long term savings from reducing the number of households by encouraging couples to stay together, there is so much evidence that children benefit substantially from being brought up in a household where both parents play an active role in bringing them up.

Bulkington part 2

I took a video camera with me to Rwanda but unfortunately it was faulty. I replaced it on my return and my first chance to use it was yesterday. I hope to make more use of it on the blog as we approach the General Election.

Bulkington Team

Back to regular campaigning, today I had a team of sixth formers & students between school & University out with me delivering leaflets and talking to residents in Bulkington.

Reflections on Teaching

I am now back in Kigali, where there is a better internet connection, waiting for our flight back to the UK. I thouroughly enjoyed my time with my class and hope that the language exercises we worked on will have improved their English. The teachers take a number of subjects which have been taught in French up to now. A change of policy by the Rwandan Government, wishing to align itself with English speaking East Africa and the Commonwealth is the reason for the programme we have been involved in. Yesterday we held a closing ceremony with each class presenting a song. My class chose "Old MacDonald had a farm", and had great fun with the farmyard noises. I was later presented with some superb gifts which will remind me of my time with them. While we worked to a lesson plan, there was room to work on issues that interested the students, and I had a fair amount of preparation to do each evening. I now have a healthy respect for the job all teachers do and an understanding of how difficult the role can sometimes be!

Teaching the Teachers

I arrived late in the town of Huye, previously known as Butare, late on Sunday and was thrust into my first lesson as an English Teacher at 8.00am next day. I have a class of around (it has varied by session) 40 teachers, of a broad range of ages, experience and knowledge of English. It's occasionally a challenge! We are working from a 2 week prepared course with plenty of scope for improvisation. We have played word games and sang, and today the class made presentations on the theme, "What I would do if I were the President of Rwanda." I heard much about the Teacher's priorities for improving the education system, the care for children and the work needed on economic development. We teach until 2pm with two half hour breaks and so there is time to visit the local area after we have finished working.
Yesterday I went to the Rwandan equivalent of the FA Cup semi final with the local team making its way to Saturday's final in Kigali on the away goals counting double rule, since both legs resulted in a draw. The local crowd went wild and it didn't seem possible that a fairly small by UK standards, crowd could make so much noise. Today I visted the Rwandan National Museum which is based here and provides a backgroung to the country's more distant history and culture.
We will be here until Friday when the course finishes and we make our way back to Kigali for a final night with the entire team on Project Umubano and our flight home on Saturday.

Soccer match

Last year I thouroghly enjoyed the match we played at the textile factory. Yesterday we went back to the community centre the contruction team completed last year. We played a rolling five aside game against a team of youngsters aged between probably 8 and 15 and I think we lost about 10-9. At one stage they were running rings around us which was pretty embarrasing considering we had three FA coaches amongst us, taking part in their own project working with the Rwandan football authorities and including Alastair Burt MP. It was great for those who had helped construct the pitch see that it is put to such regular use and we had a fun, if tiring, afternoon after the physical work earlier in the day.
Today I will be switching projects to join the teachers in Butare where I will be taking over from Nick Hurd MP who took the class last week. Never, having taught before, I am approaching this role with a degree of trepidation, although Nick tells me the students are great. I'd better get my lesson planning done!

Umuganda

Normal life comes to a halt on the last Saturday of the month in Rwanda when everyone is expected to take part in a community activity called Umuganda. Yesterday we joined a huge group of people laying a drain on a hillside, digging the trench and filliing it with rocks and stone. I joined the team mixing cement, a task which was attacked with great gusto. By the end of an hour or so I was exhausted and with hands covered in blisters. In a slightly surreal moment, just now on Sunday morning, I have been listening to Andrew Mitchell MP, the leader of our project explaining how pleased we were to be taking part. Outside where I am staying are are number of houses where the kids play outside and the radio is often on. I awoke to hear an English language station with the morning news and Andrew's dulcet tones!

Meeting the President and Ministers

On Friday I was invited to join MPs and Candidates who are in Kigali to a meeting with President Paul Kagame. This took place in the eqivalent of the cabinet office and we spent two hours talking about the five area that make up Project Umubano. A discussion took place on matters affecting Rwanda generally and in greater detail about the relationship with neighbouring Congo; the state of the official opposition and the recent banning by the Rwandan Government of the Kinywandran local language service of the BBC. In each case the President put forward a strong case for his Government's interests, putting them in the context of Rwanda's recent history and current situation. After the meeting I was able to speak to Minister of Education, Daphrosa Gahakwa in more detail about our project to help survivor students compete in the jobs market.

Norwich North

Great result; well done Chloe, although there will be a long wait to take the seat in Parliament due to the extra long recess. This result is really encouraging for the candidates with me here in Rwanda with whom I've already struck up some great friendships.

The Project Progresses

I have struggled to blog as we have been busy putting the documentation together on the advice to college leavers. There is some urgency since the document needs to be ready for printing on Sunday and on that day I leave for my teaching role in Butare in the south of the country. We have met with fomer students to learn their perspective on the recruitment process at the Groupe des Anciens Etudiants Rescapes du Genocide (Group of Former Student Survivors of Genocide). This is a well oganised group of young people who are helping one another to overcome the major difficulties they face. Our discussion moved on to politics more generally and those we met were keen to learn more about our system. I also found time to meet with one more employer, Raj Rajendran, MD of the textile manufacturer, Utexrwa, with whom I spent several days last year. It was great to see the progress the business has made in its new fields of silk production and mosquito nets as well as to find about the internships Raj is setting up in his business,

Meetings, meetings

Our project is now gathering momentum. In order to advise candidates how to best prepare for applying for jobs we have started off by meeting employers. This is to understand the recruitment process here in Rwanda and find out what is expected of applicants. So far we have met The Public Service Commission, The Rwanda Development Bank and The Rwanda Development Board from the public sector and RwandAir and MTN, an extremely progressive mobile phone company from the private sector. The next stage is to meet up with students to get their perspective on the process before pulling our ideas together and prepare a prersentation and handout. Key to our thinking is to leave behind a process by which candidates from the survivor community have an improved chance when they apply for their first position in work.

Mentoring Project

Our team met today to start work on our project. We will be providing advice on applying for jobs to young people who are survivors of the 1994 genocide and who are being supported by our friends from SURF. We met at SURF's headquarters just outside Kigali located on the site of a memorial to victims where 40,000 bodies are interred. We have a plan in place to firstly find more about the needs of local employers and the current level of knowledge of the people we are helping. We will then draw up a presentation and a toolkit to leave behind for those who follow using the broad range of skills within our group. It's good to be making a start!

Why we're here

Our projects start on Monday so there has been time to make a few visits.
Yesterday, along with PPCs, Rob Halfon (Harlow), Wendy Morton (Tynemouth) and aspiring PPC Karen Robson I visited the orphan's school where the first building project took place two years ago. We were shown around by Director, Eugene, and Wendy who proudly pointed out the wall she had painted. The school accommodates 200+ children and is working hard to generate funds for more badly needed facilities. It was a timely reminder of why we are here.

Project Umubano 2009

The first part of the group from the Conservatives working in Rwanda this year arrived in the capital city Kigali yesterday evening and we will be joined by others on Saturday. I will be in Rwanda for the first week working on the mentoring project and next weekend I will transfer to Butare in the south of the country where I will be teaching English. It's a year since I was last here & have already noticed a number of new buildings where construction has finished but in many ways it seems I was only here a few weeks ago. The sounds and smells, and the air of relaxed commotion (if that's not a contradiction) hit me immediately as we came though the airport and on the bus journey to our accomodation. We have a couple of day to acclimatise and then the briefings and meetings begin.

Bulkington Carnival

Today I joined hundreds of people at Bulkington's Annual Carnival. It's great that a small community has kept a traditional carnival alive when in so many other places they have fallen by the wayside. The floats are superbly constructed and clearly are a labour of love. The children on them were having a whale of a time as they fished for coins with their nets.

Norwich North By-Election

I am fortunate to have two sixth form leavers working on my campaign at the moment. Both have just finished their A Levels and intend studying Politics at University. Ian is taking a year out and so will be with us throught the run up to the General Election while Tom is starting Uni this September. On Thursday we went to help in Chloe Smith's campaign in Norwich North following the decision of the sitting Labour MP to stand down in the wake of the expenses scandal. We delivered hundreds of leaflets and it was good for Ian & Tom to see a highly professional campaign with plenty of people out on the streets.

House meeting

Last week I joined a group of young mums for a chat about general matters of concern to them. I believe that there is a new interest in politics, partly as a consequence of the MP's expenses issue. The idea is for people to be able to question me about my ideas and motivation as well as for me to hear more about their thoughts on the issues that are important. With the people I met at Emma's house, amongst other things, we spoke about what makes Rugby a good place to live and the impact of the new housing proposals; the lack of bus services on the recently built housing estates and the cost of public transport; the pressure some young mothers feel under to return to work earlier than they might like linked to the difficulty in keeping up with developments in a career while bringing up children. I enjoyed hearing things from a different perspective and hope to hold more house meetings in the future. Please let me know if there is anyone who would like me to visit & chat in this way (assuming they are resident in the new Rugby constituency!)

Chief Whip in Rugby

On Sunday at a summer event in one of our villages our guest speaker was Patrick McLouglin MP. We had a great turnout and were treated to an assesment of the likely developments at Westminster over the coming months. As a thank you for visiting Rugby, I presented Patrick with a ball produced in honour of the Lions tour to South Africa (and had the Lions not won on Saturday would have had to find something else). A Rugby ball is the best gift we can offer, as we are the only town with an international sport named after it. Have you ever heard of a game called Milton Keynes?

Great Game & Great Result

The final Lions test gave us what we wanted - restored pride! The result came from what was clearly a superb spirit running throughout the squad. You have to take your hat off to the coaching team to take players from four countries and mould them into a team in short a short space of time. As a schoolboy I remember listening on the radio in the middle of the night to the test matches on the 71 Lions tour of New Zealand, when my hero at that time, David Duckham was playing. Then tours were much longer which gave more time for a team to come together. That the Lions did so well after a handful of games and at the end of a tiring season is a tribute to all involved. It's important for the Lions concept, unique in professional sport today, to keep going. Looking forward to the next tour in four years time!

Urban Design

Having spent two days last week at the Mast Site Design Enquiry I have just returned from a short break in Milan where I saw some of the best classical and some not so good urban design. The best is in the formal squares and the Galeria shown in the photo, where even the McDonalds reataurant added to the ambiance. The not so good is the stret clutter with moped and scooters left just about anywhere, the shortage of green space and the graffiti. The food we ate was fantastic athough at just over one Euro to the Pound pretty expensive and an indication of why many people will be holidaying at home this year.

Police spending priorities

I might have missed that Warwickshire Police held a Gypsy Culture Day at the force HQ this weekend if a resident hadn't drawn it to my attention. I have learnt that the event was arranged following Government encouragement to engage with the Gypsy and Traveller community. It links in with the thrust of policy from the Government towards this group which includes making provision for transit sites within the planning process.If the objective was to achieve better understanding between the Police and this community, the opportunity might have been taken to ensure that those attending the event were aware of all laws, rules and regulations that are in place rather than providing face painting and a bouncy castle. Perhaps it would be better if the Police were sometimes to appreciate how this kind of event, and the expenditure that goes with it, is viewed by the rest of the community.

What a game!

We had a gang round to watch the British & Irish Lions second test against South Africa. Right up til the last minute we thought we would hang on for a win or at least a draw to keep the series alive. However, as a Rugby enthusiast who has encouraged my sons and other people's sons to take up the game, I was horrified by the eye gouging picked up by the TV camera and seen clearly by the Touch Judge. Schalk Berger should have received a red card rather than yellow and a bigger ban than the eight weeks we have heard about today. The Lions fought superbly and there was no greater presence on the field than the oldest player, Simon Shaw. Despite having lost the series no one will stop me watching this coming Saturday!

Rugby Radio Station Design Enqiry

I have spent the past two days at the design enquiry considering ideas for development of the mast site. This is a pre planning application workshop with interested parties coming together to consider what's best both for the site and the area as a whole. I was impresseed by the open and inclusive approach which is being led by the landowner and its development partner and consultants. The mast site is a massive development to the east of Rugby plannned to take 20 years which will bring 6,200 new homes and 30 hectares of employment space and will have a huge impact here. The aim is to create a sustainable and attractive extension to the urban area and ensure that the town enjoys the economic benefits this can bring. In my view the key to the success of this project is all about transport links to the town centre, making sure that the new spending power stays in Rugby but without clogging up existing road links and affecting the quaility of life of existing residents. It's fair to say that Rugby doesn't want new development on this scale. Government policy through the Regional Spatial Strategy has imposed it and we are left with no alternative, so the challenge now is to ensure that Rugby gets the best possible development which will be an asset to the town. From the process I saw at the Design Enquiry, it seems that collectively we are seing the best chance of achieving that. There is a useful website for people who want to find out more and follow progress at http://www.radiostationvision.com/the-site and there is also an opportunity for local people to register to vist the design enquiry this weekend to see for themselves. Councillors Lawrence and Sewell are looking at part of the exhibition, itself taking place on the site in a transmitter hall which will be retained and has many opportunities for use as new public building.

Now for change

Hilary Benn says on Question Time that his department will need to cut it's budget and make tough spending choices, and the Government is launching a new policy blueprint of reducing the number of targets and giving patients, parents and citizens more control over local services. Sounds as though we are winning the argument.

Rugby's New Mayor

Our new Mayor, Councillor Kam Kaur, opened the fete on Hillmorton village green at the weekend. Kam and I were both first elected to Rugby Borough Council in 2002 and went to the same induction courses learning together as we went along. I was delighted when I learnt that Kam wouuld be the Borough's Mayor for the current year; she is a really effective Councillor and will be a superb Mayor.