Saturday

A very foggy Saturday morning started with canvassing in Castle Donington (picking up where we finished on Friday evening). With several teams working in different parts of the village a great deal of ground was covered. After a very enjoyable pub lunch the stalwarts of the campaign team moved on to the Thringstone Ward to canvass and leaflet along Brooks Lane and Thornborough road until tea time. The canvassing and leafleting steps up a gear once again as the election looms ever nearer.

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Labour's defence review

Gordon Brown has consistently let down our Armed Forces. He underfunded the last defence review and tried to force savage cuts on our Armed Forces in the middle of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have had four Defence Secretaries in four years, one of whom was part-time. His record is one of contempt, not respect, for our military. It’s clear that Gordon Brown’s decision to announce a review now, on the eve of a general election, is more about winning votes than national security. Gordon Brown will say anything to get re-elected – which is why we need to change to get Britain back on its feet.

Labour’s failure on defence – key facts

· The Armed Forces have been reduced by 21,000 since 1997.

· There are more civil servants in the MoD than there are sailors and airmen combined.

· Gordon Brown cut the helicopter budget by £1.4 billion in 2004, leading to a shortage in helicopters.
 

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A busy Thursday

Thursday morning Operation Griffin

Thursday morning started with a visit to the airport for a briefing about security and the anti-terrorist activity being undertaken in North West Leicestershire and in particular the airport itself. The briefings and presentations were from the members of Leicestershire constabulary based at the airport, special branch anti-terrorist squad and also the Royal Logistics Corps based at army Chilwell near Nottingham (bomb disposal). The briefing was part of Operation Griffin to raise awareness of the potential threat and the fact that the UK threat level has recently been raised to 'Severe', which means that an attack on UK intersts at home or abroad is likely.

It was very reassuring to see the work all of these services were doing to reduce the risk and mitigate the impact of a potential terrorist attack in our district. The briefings called for 'awareness not alarm,' most of these in the audience work at or near the airport and it is vital that they report anything unusual to the police and security services. We watched several short videos showing how a potential terrorist incident could be discovered and thwarted by the security services as a result of putting several small pieces of information from different sources together. Security is all of our responsibility and we all have our part to play. we need to ensure in our battle with those who would perpetrate such attacks that our vigilance and security measures in North west Leicestershire are at least as good as anywhere else in the UK as the terrorists will always go to what they believe is the softest and easiest target

Thursday Afternoon

I was interviewed for the BBC Daily Politics show which is being shown on Friday 5th of February at 1200hrs, the topic was North West Leicestershire and wether we should have a by-election or just wait for the General election?

Thursday Evening

The campaign team returned to the village of Castle Donington, canvassing and leafleting. I noticed a massive increase in the number of 'Don't Destroy Donington' signs in windows and gardens. This evening was far less wet than Wednesday, after which it was not just the canvass sheets and leaflets that needed to dry out on the radiator when I got home.

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Monday with the Air Ambulance

This afternoon I visited the Leicestershire and Derbyshire Air Ambulance service at East Midlands Airport I was invite by Andy Williamson. The air ambulance service is funded by charitable donations and it needs £1.6m of funding each month to keep the helicopter serving our area flying. Huge numbers of volunteers across the two counties carry out vital fundraising work to ensure the service continues and thrives. Last year the Air ambulance was called out on 980 missions. The helicopter is called out by the NHS ambulance trust and uses paramedics seconded from the NHS. The Air Ambulance also employ their own doctors who also supply extra expertise at the scene of accidents and emergencies. The helicopter flies during daylight hours throughout the year and was called out to help rescue a man from Hinckley who had fallen through ice try to rescue his dog while I was touring the base.

The service in its current form has been based at East Midlands Airport for the past two years and it is seeking to raise funds to improve its infrastructure by building a hanger and replacing the portacabins its office are in with a permanent purpose built office facility. This investment is expected to cost in the region of £600k and will be a commitment for the long term to our area.

Amazingly I was told that despite its charitable status and the life saving work it performs the Air Ambulance is ineligible for lottery funding.

Following the return of the helicopter from is rescue mission I had the chance to travel in the helicopter for a trip to the Derby Royal infirmary to see how quickly casualties can be taken to hospital.

Interestingly the staff who run the service expressed a determination not to take Government funding and all the controls and targets that currently come with it, instead preferring to remain funded by donations and free to set their own goals and to run the service so that it is able to respond and to local needs. I think there is a lesson to be learnt there.

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Canvassing, Canvassing and then some more Canvassing

Despite the dip in temperatures as the thermometer barely got above zero all weekend our campaign team and volunteers were turning up the heat in preparation for the General Election or a By-Election (if Gordon Brown can get over his pathological fear of elections). Friday early evening was spent in the village of Breedon meeting residents on the doorsteps. Saturday and Sunday mornings were spent in the Greenhill Ward canvassing voter intentions and identifying our supporters. We also delivered leaflets across several polling districts.

Given the very cold weather on returning home a hot shower was most welcome to warm up my legs, you don't seem to realize how cold it is on the streets until you get back into the warm.

Another weekend of excellent progress, as we tick off another week of the pre-election period.

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UK no longer among most stable banking systems

The United Kingdom is no longer classified as being among the most stable and low-risk banking systems in the world, credit rating agency Standard and Poor's (S&P) said on Thursday (28th January).

Britain's weak economy will continue to hinder the credit profile of it's banking industry. S&P said in a report, adding it expected the unwind of high levels of debt to weigh heavily on economic growth prospects and banks' financial performance. '

We no longer classify the United Kingdom (AAA/A-1+)among the most stable and low risk banking systems globally' Standard &Poor's ratings service said.

What this means is that because of Gordon Brown's complete failure to produce credible policy framework to reduced our national debt or even a policy to stop it soaring by 300-400%, international investors are losing confidence in our country's financial services sector. Gordon Brown is running the economy for the short term benefit of his Labour Government rather than the long term good of the country . This could mean more expensive mortgages and loans for hard pressed householders and businesses in the near future due to UK Banks finding it harder to borrow money at competitive rates due to an increased risk premium.

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Thursday at the Marlene Reid Centre in Coalville

Today I spent time seeing first hand the what the voluntary sector are doing to help support the lives of some of our most vulnerable local residents and those who need support be it short term to get back on their feet or for the long term.

Mr David Ahlquist the chief executive of North West Leicestershire Council for Voluntary Services (CVS) gave me a tour of the facility and I got a chance to meet some of the people who work in the groups providing the community support, I also got an opportunity to find out a little about the projects they are delivering. These included Community transport, , Play schemes, The play bus, Carers support, NWLCVS toy library also Money and Welfare benefits advice and attracting volunteers and brokering volunteering opportunities in our area.

Several of the team leaders remarked at the increase in demand for the services provided by their group as the economic situation has deteriorated. I was very impressed by the knowledge, motivation and the can do attitude of all the leaders and volunteers.

The picture shows me with some volunteers at the React project which provides new and re-used furniture at an affordable price to those in need. It also works with the woodwork project providing training for people with learning difficulties, assembling flat pack furniture and repairing donated items. the other spin off benefit is that because of the 10 000 items of furniture collected and delivered to households approximately 250 tonnes was diverted from landfill. A real win- win scenario.

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We can't go on with Labour's debt crisis

Figures published earlier this week showed the first signs of economic growth after 18 months of recession – the longest and deepest since the war. And as George Osborne pointed out yesterday, the latest figures show that the average family is almost £900 worse off than in 2005.

Labour’s Debt Crisis is now the biggest threat to our recovery. It’s clear that Gordon Brown’s Government left us badly prepared for the recession and badly prepared for the recovery with no credible plan to tackle the deficit. We can’t go on like this. We need change and a Conservative government to get a grip on our debt crisis. As any family with a credit card knows, the more we spend and the longer we wait to pay off our bills, the worse it gets.

Five facts about Labour’s Debt Crisis

• We’re borrowing money at a rate of around £6,000 every second – every five seconds, the Government borrows more than the average British person earns in a year.
• This year, we’re expected to borrow almost 14 per cent of our GDP – almost twice as much as when we nearly went bust in the 1970s.
• We’re spending more money on the interest on our debt than on almost anything else.
• We have the biggest budget deficit of any large economy.
• Last week, we had the worst public borrowing figures for any December on record.

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Wednesday Meeting with local Farmers

On Wednesday aftenoon I met with some local farmers to discuss Conservative Party policies and especially those related to agriculture and the countryside. The meeting was arranged by Andrew Redfern the senior group secretary of the NFU and was kindly hosted by Mr David Rhodes of Home Farm Long Whatton.

The discussion included talking about the fact that 15 percent of farm households in england were in poverty at the last count according to official figures obtained by the Conservatives.

There are few more important industries than the production of food, but these figures show how tough life is for farmers. Despite welcome increases in income many farm businesses are barely breaking even as the costs and regulatory burdens imposed by Governmnet increase. As a result thousands of farmers have quit the industry, weakening our supply base and leaving us more reliant on imports of food that we could produce ourselves. Our agricultural industry is a national asset but too often under the current Governmnet farmers have been undermined.

Whitehall must source more British Food

Nick Herbert has pledged that if Conservatives are elected to Government they will require all Governmnet departments to ensure the food they serve meets British standards of production. The Government must take a lead by example to boost sustainable food courcing in the UK. Every year the public sector spends over £2 billion on food, currently under Labour barely half food the treasury buys is from our own production.

Consevative plans Rural action

A conservative government will breath new life into the countryside Our Rural agenda will:

• Respect rural people by giving rural communities a voice to decide their own future and only seek to regulate where self-regulation fails.
• Give power to rural communities by shifting power and decision-making to communities, so that people have a genuine say over the matters that affect them locally.
• Protect rural services by considering social value alongside environmental and economic value. We will address the lack of affordable housing through growth which reflects the wishes of local communities and also help rural communities protect the countryside they cherish from development by central government.
• We will revive the rural economy, by reducing the barriers to business growth and creating incentives for rural development.

Farming policy

Rural communities need a thriving farming industry, but Britain`s farmers have endured a tough time, faced with animal diseases and excessive regulation. They need a Government which will work with them not agianst them, so we will

• Overhaul farming regulations to lift the burden of unnecessary paperwork and inspections.
• Press for reforms of the Common agricultural Policy which reflect the importance we attach to the long term sustainablity of UK farming.
• Make it easier to buy British produce by improving food labelling with our Honest Food Campaign.
• Use public procurement to strengthen the link between food grown in our fields and the meals served in our schools and hospitals.                                     

                                                                        
This cooperation will be crucial in tackling the threats to our food security and it will help to rebuild the bond of trust between rural communities and the government.

Further the Conservatives have pledged to introduce a Supermarket Ombudsman to protect farmers. The ombudsman will be charged with powers to prevent leading retailers from using their size and influence to squeeze the profit margins of farmers and other suppliers.

This special help for agriculture is on top of measures we will introduce to encourage all businesses to thrive and grow, ultimately for the benefit of everyone in our society.

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Moira Fire Station report

The Save Moira Fire Station Action Group has compiled this document to highlight some of the inconsistencies in the data provided to support the Fire Authority case for closure of Moira Fire Station. The Leicestershire Fire Service's "IRMP" report was based on data from the "Northern Review" documentation which sets the standard for Risk Analysis in the North West Leicestershire. Their report was also supported by various LRFS reports published before and during the public consultation period. Anyone wishing to study this source material in depth can do so by following the links (in blue print) in this report.

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Evening canvassing sessions

Wednesday evening saw our team canvassing in the village of Long Whatton. This week we had already spent Monday evening in Donisthorpe, Tuesday in Bardon and we will be meeting in Thringstone this evening. As the nights get lighter and the General election gets nearer, we will be extending our evening canvass sessions to ensure we get to speak to every voter between now and polling day and explain to them that there is an alternative to Gordon Brown`s ever increasing centralisation of power and control, top down targets and increasing taxation.

Many thanks to the growing band of loyal volunteers who turn out most evenings in all weathers to help get our message of hope out on the doorsteps.

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Out of recession, but only just!

The economic news today was deeply disappointing. Most experts were predicting 0.4% economic growth for the last quarter, for the actual figure to be only 25% of this at 0.1% destroys Gordon Brown's economic credibility even further.

This risk now is a double dip recession. Something I have warned about several times on my blog, and something even Alistair Darling recognises as a possibility.

Unfortunately Gordon Brown's Labour Government left us badly prepared for the recession and badly prepared for the recovery. What we need is a General Election so we can have a Conservative Government with a credible deficit reduction plan that keeps mortgage rates low, creates jobs and doesn't choke off recovery.

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'Stay and Play'

On Friday morning I visited the ' Stay and Play' nursery on Ashby Road, Coalville to meet and speak to the staff and also the parents who use this facility. The circumstances of the visit were very sad, as the committee who run the nursery have decided to close it due to lack of funds. The 'Stay and Play' nursery was opened in 1987 and has been supported by charitable donations and fundraising. Speaking to one of the committee it would seem that they need something in the region of £2500 per month to keep the facility open and have struggling for some time. I have asked to be given an accurate estimate of the funding gap so that we can try to look for solutions to the problem.

The closure will be especially hard on the dedicated part time staff some of whom have worked there for 8 years or more, several of whom I had a chance to meet (when they were not busy looking after the children or serving drinks).

The nursery which accommodates children up to 5 years old during school term time and also older children during the holidays, was very busy at 1215hrs when I left and it was closing its door for possibly the last time at 1300hrs. Another victim of the worst recession for 60 years and if it remains closed a loss to the children and parents of Coalville and the surrounding area.

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Friday Afternoon

We spent a few hours on Friday afternoon canvassing in the village of Long Whatton and had some great responses and support. We are co- ordinating our doorstep canvassing with our telephone canvassing teams (often with interesting results). While we were leafleting and canvassing in Thringstone during the week we spoke to one resident who had been telephone canvassed only minutes before our arrival and another householder who was actually on the telephone to one of our telephone canvassers at that moment! Given the calls for a by election we are upping our work rate considerably over the next couple of weeks ready if Gordon Brown can summon up the courage to call the by election or better still for the country call the General election the electorate want and our democracy needs so much.

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Don't destroy Donington

This morning I joined protesters objecting to the development of land adjacent to Park Lane by Miller homes and Clowes Developments. This would see land off Park Lane in Donington potentially seeing 975 new houses in addition to 500 new homes already approved, a 55% increase to the size of Castle Donington. A village whose local services are already under enormous pressure. We were joined by the BBC East Midlands Politics Show who were filming my views on whether there should be a by-election in NW Leics. The Protest Group have set up a very smart website www.dontdestroydonington.co.uk and will have my full support as the mater progresses.

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Haiti needs our help now

On Tuesday, the poorest country in the western hemisphere was hit head-on by an enormous earthquake.

I’m sure you’ve seen the heart-wrenching images of Haiti. The full impact of the earthquake is still emerging, but it’s clear that hundreds of thousands of people have either been killed or left homeless.

It’s essential that this small nation gets the help it needs as quickly as possible.

Britain is an incredibly compassionate and generous nation. We showed that five years ago when the British public raised £350m in the wake of the Boxing Day Tsunami, and I’ve no doubt we will show it again.

The best way for you to help, if you haven’t already, is to donate directly to the Disaster Emergency Committee. Whether you can afford to give £5 or £500, it all makes a difference.

Call 0370 60 60 900 or visit the DEC website now to make your contribution.

In the meantime, I know our thoughts and prayers are with all those people who have suffered so much in that country over the last few days.
 

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Sunday morning in Bardon

On Sunday morning the campaign team was to be found in the Bardon Ward canvassing and leafleting. The number of volunteers allowed us to make good progress and to meet a large number of local residents. Special thanks to sitting Bardon Ward district councillor Ted Purver for his help and support in Bardon not only at the weekend but throughout the year.

Our canvassing in Bardon rounded off a busy return to the campaign trail this weekend. Many thanks to all those who gave their time to help.

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New year, new start, new business

Many people up and down the country will be thinking about putting their New Year’s resolutions into practice. As well as finding a new job, many will also be thinking of starting their own business. Conservatives understand that to create the wealth and job opportunities of the future, we need new businesses.

While it may not appear at first sight the best time to start a business, as someone who started his business in the teeth of the last recession, I know from first hand experience if you can make it now, you can make it any time.

So, it is worrying that new Conservative research showed that more businesses have gone bankrupt during this recession than in any previous recession. Even worse, that the Government has initiated over 3,500 winding up orders against businesses since the recession began. That’s why Conservatives believe it is time for change and why we have announced three new policies to help more small businesses start up in the UK.

First, we would cut the time it takes to start a new business in the UK. Currently, it takes twice as long to start a business here as in the USA, Denmark or Hong Kong. Conservatives want to change that, so we would reduce the number of forms needed to register a new company and move towards a ‘one-click’ registration model.

Second, Conservatives would remove the outdated restrictions that prevent people in social housing from starting up their own business. We would seek to prevent local councils and housing associations from including clauses in tenancy agreements that stop social tenants from reasonably running a business at home.

Third, we will end Labour’s practice of pushing thousands of businesses into bankruptcy over small amounts of unpaid taxes. The majority of businesses that have been forced into insolvency has been initiated by the Government, for owing as little as £750. This is why Conservatives will raise the threshold from £750 to £5,000 before a company can be petitioned by the Crown. This will make life easier for entrepreneurs and save jobs.

All of these changes come on top of our plans to help reduce small company corporation tax to 20p, make small business rate relief automatic in England, and abolish the tax on jobs created by new businesses in the first two years of a Conservative Government.

Conservatives understand businesses create wealth, not government; that’s why it’s time for change.

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Saturday in Coalville, Snibston and Hugglescote.

Saturday was our first big campaign day when we leafleted and canvassed some large areas of these three Wards. Our local volunteers and supporters were augmented by some help from outside our constituency and so we were able to make good progress despite the inclement weather. The areas of these Wards we did not get to today will be completed later next week. The biggest issue on the doorstep was the untimely death of out sitting MP David Taylor. The affection held by the electorate for him remains huge.

I was telephoned by the BBC, who asked my views on whether we should have a by election in North West Leicestershire? I told the BBC that what we wanted was a General Election, but if Brown won't give us that at the moment I will go for the by election in our constituency. I was asked if we were prepared for a by election? I responded that we have been ready for along time and that over the past three and a quarter years there had been several times went Brown had nearly called an election and then decided against it, so we were in a state of constant readiness.

Finally I was asked if the people of North West Leicestershire wanted a by election? I believe that the people of our constituency want a General Election and have wanted this for many months and that without any disrespect intended, there may well be constituencies that would not miss their elected Parliamentary representative for six months, but due to the hard work and high local profile of our last MP North West Leicestershire is not in that category.

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Friday Afternoon

We started campaigning on the doorsteps again today by spending Friday afternoon canvassing in the villages of Hemington and Lockington. We canvassed until 5.45pm and then I went to a meeting to hear local residents concerns in neigbouring Castle Donington. At the meeting in Donington I was supported by one of our district Councillors for the Ward Tony Saffell. I will be back in Castle Donington next week to follow up on some of the issues raised.

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Wednesday Evening Talk on Campaigning

I gave a talk on campaigning on Wednesday evening at the Springboard centre in Coalville. The meeting was organized by Beverley Purver chair of the Conservative Women's Organisation and I was supported by election agent who laid out the North West Leicestershire campaign plan for the General Election, which cannot be more than a few months away. The number of attendees was somewhat reduced by the awful weather conditions, but was still more than sufficient to make the exercise a great success.

I talked about What is campaigning? How we campaign and Why we campaign? There followed a very interesting Q &A session which gave all those who wished the chance to ask several questions. I hope our supporters and activists left the meeting confident that our election or by election plans are well progressed and also had a good insight into what they can do to play a full and active part in the local campaign to ensure that our constituency goes Blue at the next election.

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Government tell Leicestershire County Council to cut back on Gritting

I have taken a number of calls this morning regarding the state of the roads in our constituency. Driving to Measham this morning, even the main roads were in a very poor state. The side roads remain untreated as they have been throughout the cold spell.

The Labour Government have told Leicestershire County Council to cut back on gritting this week as the country risks running out of grit/salt. I have asked the County Council for an update on the situation.

Update - The Government are now trying to take Leicestershire's salt to give to Council's who have failed to plan ahead.The Conservatives doubled salt reserves after the last winter and advised the Government to do the same but they ignored the Leicestershire County Council advice.

Also at Leicestershire County Council Cabinet yesterday the Conservatives said no to Government request to take its salt reserves.

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CCHQ Coleshill New Call Centre

On Monday I accompanied Councillor Graham Allman our association chairman to the opening of a new telephone canvassing centre at CCHQ Coleshill. The telephone banks and computer systems will allow volunteers to telephone canvass in some comfort in the run up to the next general election.

The new call centre was officially opened by our party chairman Eric Pickles MP.

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Happy Birthday Kathleen

Yesterday it was my pleasure to drop in and congratulate long standing Conservative member Kathleen Davies on reaching her 90th birthday today. Kathleen of Ashby de la Zouch has lived in Leicestershire from the age of 8 years apart from a short spell in Kent due to her father serving in the Navy. Kathleen lived in Donisthorpe for many years before moving to Ashby was born in 1920 and has been a member of the Conservative Party since the 1930`s when she joined as an `Imp` at a time when Stanley Baldwin was the Conservative Prime Minister.

Congratulations Kathleen and many happy returns.

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£4million of council home improvements

I pleased to report that Conservative-controlled North West Leicestershire District Council is to carry out £4 million worth of improvements to roofs, walls and doors in council houses across the district. This money will allow much needed improvements to council homes, and improve the security and comfort of our council house tenants.

I recently visited 81-year-old Tommy Roach, of Thompson Avenue, Belton, to see how the improvements will directly benefit tenants. Mr Roach said: “I am very pleased that the council are going to provide me with a new door to my council house. The current door is very flimsy and offers very little security or draught proofing. I have lived in this council house since it was built in 1952. The current door was a replacement itself many years ago and is not as good as the original one was and needs replacing.“

Visiting Mr Roach let me see first hand how these kinds of improvements provide real benefits to our tenants. This huge improvement programme is going to make a real difference to the quality of life for our residents.

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