Thanks for all your support

Apologies for the lack of updates. I would like to thank all those who supported the Conservatives at the General Election in North West Leicestershire.

Obviously this is a period of transisition. In the next few weeks a new MP website will be coming online as well as an MP's office. In the meantime if you need to contact me over any issue, please e-mail me at andrew@andrewbridgen.com, call the office on 01530 514625 or write to me at Andrew Bridgen MP, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA.

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Polling Day 6th May 2010

I apologise for the lack of blogging during the latter part of the election campaign, the fight for this seat has been very hard fought on all sides. All that remains now is to Get Out The Vote. I am writing this blog entry before we set out for the 'Dawn Raid'. Please come out and vote and Vote For Change , Vote Conservative.

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Campaign Update

It's been a busy few days on the campaign trail. Last week we had Conservative Party Chairman Eric Pickles visit Ashby in the Conservative battlebus greeted by over 50 enthusiastic activists. We have ran 2 NHS street stalls in both Coalville and Ashby, and have been leafleting and canvassing from Cavendish Bridge in the north of the constituency to Swepstone in the south, with a lot of ground covered in the middle.

The next 2 weeks of campaigning will be crucial to the future direction of this Country. We need a decisive result, and that means voting Conservative in North West Leicestershire to see real change in this Country and remove Gordon Brown as Prime Minister.
 

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Campaign update

Since my last blog entry we have been canvassing across the constituency, from Appleby to Hemington and Lockington, Bardon to Breedon, Castle Donington to Ibstock and everything in between. I was extremely pleased with the response in my wife's ward of Donisthorpe and Oakthorpe on Friday evening, which just goes to show the value of having good local councillors (true despite me being biased).

On Saturday morning we had a super response to our stall in the Belvoir centre and an excellent turnout of 12 volunteers, while other teams were leafleting canvassing and erecting posters. Many thanks to Keith Merrie and his army of helpers who delivered our first leaflet in such an amazingly short time.

As we are set to enter the second week of the campaign we will be increasing the tempo even more.

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Campaign update

Tuesday

The campaign kicked off in Coalville with volunteers meeting to give out balloons, reusable shopping bags and leaflets in the Belvoir Centre in Coalville. Our opponents and an ITV camera crew also turned up in the shopping centre. Our network of volunteers across the constituency then started to get the first election leaflet out through the letterboxes. We were also leafleting and canvassing in the Coalville, Greenhill and Bardon Wards till late in the evening.

Wednesday

Ashby in the morning, leafleting and Castle Donington in the afternoon and evening leafleting and canvassing.I also delivered some leaflets out to the more remote areas of the constituency who sometimes get overlooked in campaigns The election posters and signs will also be starting to go up over the next few days. Our sons Alex and Ben are at their Grandmothers( Jackie's mums) until the weekend and we are missing them a lot them despite the heavy workload, but this is allowing Jackie to provide valuable full time help and support to the campaign.

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Easter weekend

On Saturday and Monday we were out canvassing in Coleorton, Griffydam, Peggs Green, Sinope, Farm Town and Swannington. We decided not to campaign on Easter Sunday to give both the electorate and our volunteers a much deserved break before the forthcoming General Election, which we all (and the media) believe will be called on Tuesday 6th April, so long as Gordon Brown doesn't bottle it again.

It is expected that Mr Brown will go to see the Queen at 1200hrs on Tuesday to ask that Parliament is dissolved and that will trigger the start of the election campaign. This will be the most important election for a generation and a real opportunity for the change that our country needs to mend our broken economy, our broken society and our broken democracy.

The battle for the hearts, minds and votes of the residents of North West Leicestershire is particularly important because historically whoever wins in our constituency forms the Government.

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The week so far

On Monday, the inclement weather made doorstep canvassing impractical so we switched to telephone canvassing, which was very successful and far less wet. Although I prefer to meet the electorate face to face where ever possible we will also be using this important tool during the forthcoming election campaign.

On Tuesday we were canvassing in Norris Hill in the Moira Ward in the early evening with volunteers. Then I headed over to support the Whitwick Action group as they handed in their petition to the District Council in Coalville. Many thanks to Jo Straw and the other organisers for the invite and the use of a T shirt for the photo-shoot. Next we were off to the hustings at the Sir John Moore school at Appleby Magna. The meeting was excellently chaired by Chris Keeley chairman of Donisthorpe parish council which all the parliamentary candidates stick to answering the questions and keep their answers concise. Encouragingly the room was almost full to capacity and the audience had plenty of questions and seemed very disappointed when the event came to an end.

Wednesday Canvassing we were in Albert Village and Spring Cottage, despite being caught at one point in a hail storm we battled on in what seems like a return to Winter weather. Later in the evening I attended the Whitwick action groups meeting at the Methodist chapel on Hall Street I was accompanied by Councillor Tony Gillard (District and County Councillor ) and had an opportunity to speak on several points.

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Weekend Update

On Friday afternoon I was the guest speaker at an event in Burbage in the Bosworth constituency. The picture shows some of the guests with me and David Tredinnick MP after the meal.

On the way back to the constituency I drove through torrential rain, which fortunately stopped before the evening canvassing session.
The campaign team were out on Friday evening and Saturday in Measham (after the meeting with Ken Clarke) and we spent Sunday morning in the Appleby Ward, visiting the villages on the constituency`s Southern boundary.

With just over a week until we expect Gordon Brown to call the election the pace of the campaign is really hotting up.

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Thursday with Dominic Grieve MP shadow Justice Minister

I had the pleasure of Dominic Grieve`s company on Thursday to discuss problems in our prison system that a future Conservative Government will have to address. It is clear that the Labour Governments end to early release is just a ploy for the election as the prisons are already at bursting point due to over crowding.

After our meeting I took Dominic to Nottingham for a meeting at the Law Courts on Canal Street.

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30 million people hit by Gordon Brown’s new stealth tax

Once again, Labour have been caught hiding a stealth tax in the small print of a Budget. This time, 30 million people will pay more in tax thanks to personal allowances being frozen. It’s the biggest single tax rise in the Budget – but the Chancellor failed to mention it.

The Budget failed to set out a credible plan to deal with the deficit.

• We are now borrowing more than at any time in our modern history.
• For every four pounds the Government spends, one pound has to be borrowed.
• We will be paying more in interest on the government debts than on the entire school system.

The choice is clear. Five more years of Gordon Brown, with the same debt, waste and taxes that got us into this economic mess. Or David Cameron and the Conservatives who offer you energy, leadership and new ideas to build an economy that grows – and an economy that works for everyone.
 

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Weekend Update

The campaign teams continued their sweep of Coalville, Snibston and Hugglescote Wards on Saturday and Sunday. We had several groups out in different areas so excellent progress was made which should allow us to complete these areas on Monday evening. As the election gets nearer the electorate are increasingly deciding which party they are going to back on polling day which makes the canvassers job much easier. It is clear from what we are hearing on the doorsteps that the public sector unions are working hard for the Labour party with all sorts of scare stories being disseminated to their members and anyone else who will listen. Labour activists are also spreading false information that Conservatives would end the pensioners free bus pass , Winter fuel allowance etc which is completely untrue. Expect more of these tactics from Labour as the election approaches. They will say and do anything in a desperate attempt to cling to power, you can't really blame these Labour politicians, when so few on them have the ability to get themselves a job in the real world. You have to ask yourself how did they get elected in the first place, perhaps this explains why so many of them are willing to take cash to influence Labour Government policy for their paymasters.

Everyone who attended our annual dinner has commented on what an excellent evening it was, many thanks to Mary Tuckey and Annie Culf for making it run so smoothly.

On Saturday evening we were invited to the Ashby Mayor's charity concert. The current Mayor Councillor Graham Allman's has raised funds for Rainbows the children's hospice throughout his year in post. The concert was held at Holy Trinity church and was well supported. The music was excellently performed by local musicians and everyone had a fine time while also raising money for a worthy cause. Thanks to Graham and all those involved once again.

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NWLCA annual dinner with Eric Pickles

North West Leicestershire Conservatives welcomed Conservative Party Chairman Eric Pickles to speak at our annual dinner on Thursday evening held at Willesley Golf Club. After i introduced Eric to the packed audience, the Party Chairman spoke about the electoral battle ahead and the differences a Conservative Government would make to the Country. Amongst the many topics covered, Eric spoke about localism and specifically how a Conservative Government would scrap unaccountable regional bodies and top down Whitehall topics and return powers back to accountable elected local councils. A very enjoyable evening and thanks to everyone who attended.

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CONSERVATIVE PLANS TO GET BRITAIN WORKING – A NEW SERVICE ACADEMY

Last year, we set out our proposals for radical welfare reform to Get Britain Working – including giving individual support to more people to get into work and creating more training opportunities, particularly for the young unemployed. Today, we are announcing plans for a Service Academy which will offer up to 50,000 industry-designed training places and work placements over two years. The Service Academy is backed by 11 of the UK’s largest hospitality, leisure and tourism companies. The Academy will not only give people practical skills but also a route into a career in a growing area of business. This is further evidence that the Conservative Party has the ideas to deal with the jobs crisis and get the economy moving again.

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Weekend update

On Saturday morning I attended the memorial service for David Taylor MP. The service was held at St Helen's Church in Ashby and was very well attended as you would expect for such a well respected member of our community.

Saturday afternoon was spent on the doorsteps in Collie, taking the debate into what used to be described(but no longer) as Labour's home turf.

We spent Sunday morning canvassing in the Snibston Ward. Great progress and plenty of volunteers on the brightest Sunday morning so far this year. A very encouraging morning interacting with the electorate.

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MAKING BRITAIN EUROPE’s LEADING GENERATOR OF NEW TECHNOLOGY: Sir James Dyson’s report

At the election, voters will face a clear choice on the economy. Five more years of Gordon Brown will put the recovery at risk. David Cameron and the Conservatives will get Britain working by boosting enterprise. We will cut corporation tax rates, abolish taxes on the first ten jobs created by new businesses, promote green jobs, and get people off welfare and into work.

Yesterday, Britain’s leading business organisations backed Conservative calls to act now on debt to get the economy moving. Today, Sir James Dyson publishes his report on how a Conservative government can make Britain Europe’s leading generator of new technology. In it are the ideas that will help us create new, high-paying jobs right across our country. Dyson is one of Britain’s biggest success stories and Sir James Dyson knows better than any bureaucrat how you start a business, build it up and start selling to the world – and he’s put that knowledge into this blueprint for creating a generation of innovation and enterprise.

From day one of a Conservative government we’ll encourage the entrepreneurs who will start the businesses which will drive the industries which will create the high-paying jobs this country needs. The talent and the ideas are out there in Britain, the opportunities for trade are out there in the world – now we just need a Conservative government to get Britain open for business
 

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Canvassing in Whitwick

This week we have spent each evening canvassing and delivering leaflets in the Whitwick Ward, meeting electors and discussing local issues and how the result of the next general election could improve the lives of our local residents. As the Whitwick Ward with approximately 3000 houses in it there is plenty to do.

Interesting news on crime figures.

An independent report has vindicated Chris Grayling MP the shadow home secretary (who visited NW Leicestershire on Friday) claim that violent crime has risen hugely under Labour. The independent report concluded that violent crime is up 44%, despite Labours claims that it has fallen(they have changed the way violent crime is measured). Once again is shows that Labour cannot be trusted on Law and Order.

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Weekend update

Saturday and the campaign team were out canvassing in Whitwick, we will be spending a few days in this Ward over the next week. The main issue remains Gordon Brown's top down housing targets and the prospect of huge housing development on some or all of the Green Wedges which separate Whitwick from Coalville. Only a Conservative Government can get rid of Labour's target of 12200 extra houses and return full powers for housing to locally elected and locally accountable councillors. This will be the choice for voters in Whitwick and many more wards in our constituency of North West Leicestershire come the election.

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Shadow Home Secretary Visits Coalville

On Friday we had Chris Grayling the Conservative Shadow Home Secretary visiting the police station in Coalville and out on the beat with local policemen around the centre of Coalville. The visit was a great success and gave Chris the chance to have informal discussions with the senior local officers about his ideas to improve policing and streamline the paperwork, targets and bureaucracy.

Prior to visiting North West Leicestershire Mr Grayling had been visiting the High School in Shepshed with Nicky Morgan the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Loughborough. There is no doubt that having a shadow cabinet member in the constituency gives our campaign a huge boost. The last time Chris was in our constituency was in his role as Shadow Transport Minister back in 2007 just before the 'election that never was', when Brown bottled out off calling a snap election. Many thanks to Inspector Chris Brown and sergeant Paul Harrison for organizing the visit.

On Friday evening we were out canvassing in the Whitwick Ward and our teams had very encouraging results. Once again many thanks to the volunteers who support our efforts with such vigour and determination.

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Tuesday Evening Planning Meeting at the District Council

Late Tuesday afternoon, I spoke in the district council chamber in support of the planning application to rebuild and expand the Belvoir centre. This was undoubtedly the most important planning application affecting our major conurbation of Coalville for many decades. Provided that the development proceeds in a reasonable timeframe this application will shape the future of the centre of Coalville for the next twenty-five years plus, play an integral part in the Conservative controlled councils plans to regenerate Coalville and also provide 1100 much needed new jobs in the very heart of the town Coalville.

The ambitious plans provide for a new superstore, numerous shops, bars and restaurants, also a six screen cinema and a multi-story car park accessed by a new bridge and traffic island at the junction of Whitwick Road, High Street and Hotel Street. I am pleased to report that the application was passed with all party support.

I would like to compliment Councillor Matthew Blain and the all the planning team at the council involved in the work required to bring this most important application to the planning committee. The fact that the Conservative controlled council have been able to attract developer willing to invest in Huge projects such as these in the teeth of the deepest recession for sixty years is a testament to their hard work, professionalism and dedication to the cause of improving the quality of life for our residents in Coalville.

The Belvoir centre application can proceed alongside the redevelopment of the Ford garage site and the North side of Hotel Street which was passed by the planning committee in the Autumn. For those who were disappointed by the refusal several months ago of the so called ' Asda application' please bear in mind that under Labour Government rules had this been approved then the Belvoir centre project would not had been able to be given permission as the maximum amount of retail space permitted in the town would have been reached.

Coalville has suffered more than its far share of disappointments over the years, as I left the chamber the representative of the developers thanked me for speaking in support of the application, I replied ' please now deliver the project and regeneration that Coalville so desperately needs, He replied 'We will '.

I am sure that we all look forward to ' Cranes over Coalville' in the near future.

Following the planning meeting I travelled across to Ashby to join our canvassing teams for the rest of the evening. I had a couple of interesting conversations on the doorsteps with some of our younger voters, more about this later.

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Tuesday Visit to Haines Watts accountants in Ashby

Today I visited an accountancy firm in Ashby to discuss the state of the economy and the outlook for business and enterprise locally and nationally. I met with Mr Ryan Wilkinson of Progress Haines Watts.
Given the figures released this week showing that business investment has fallen drastically in the few months of this year, I was keen to question Ryan on this. Ryan was emphatic that the problem holding back business and enterprise remained access to funding from the banks. He regaled me with numerous examples of small and medium sized businesses employing local people which have been unable to get bank support to grow their businesses. Every time a business expands and takes on a new contract there is usually a delay between the delivery of the goods and or service and the payment from the customer, the funding of this gap is called the working capital requirement of the business. Without this working capital businesses are unable to fund extra business. It is clear that the Labour Governments bank loan guarantee scheme is failing, Ryan remarked that he only knew of one business who had been able to access the scheme.

Only by getting business and enterprise moving again will our country be able to recover from recession, with the Labour Government sending mixed messages to the banks several of which are now effectively in Government control, it is obvious that business is not getting the support it needs. Banks are being asked by Gordon Brown to lend more to business, pay back the debt to the Government and at the same time improve their cash reserves, it is impossible to do all three of these at once and it is business which is suffering.
 

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Weekend update

Canvassing in Ashby in the morning, we had teams in all three wards (Ivanhoe, Holywell and Castle) meeting the electorate and spreading our message. Early afternoon I attended a presentation at the Conkers Waterside site in Moira by Emma Bryn-Jones and Alison Adkin. The presentations also included one from some of those who work at Conkers about the environmental projects they are pioneering for our area.

On Saturday evening I visited the residents of the Coleorton Hall community (many thanks to Sudesh Mattu and Mr Ray Dennis for organising the visit). I was accompanied by my wife Jackie and our sons Alex and Ben. The residents were invite to one of the houses and we had a good old fashioned question and answer session which I enjoyed very much. Many thanks to Andrea and Raj for hosting the event in their lovely home and also for providing the refreshments.

Sunday canvassing

This morning we had teams out in both Thringstone and Ashby contacting voters. As expected the rain held off and we were able to make good headway through our uncanvassed residents. The canvassing will increase again next week as there are now less than 70 days until an expected May 6th polling day. If Gordon Brown wants a March 25th poll he will have to call the election by Tuesday this week, I wonder how brave he is feeling?

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The Royal Hotel Tuesday and Thursday evenings

This week we have been not only canvassing in the market town of Ashby De La Zouch throughout the week, but I have had two speaking engagements at the Royal Hotel as well.

On Tuesday evening I had the honour of giving a speech to the Conservative association at our annual general meeting. This was the fourth time I have addressed the AGM as the Prospective Parliamentary Candidate and it will be the last time before the General election. I think everyone agreed that it was the best AGM for many years and members left (into a snowstorm) ready and eager to take the fight to Labour in the forthcoming election and to hold them to account for the last 13 years they have spent in Government.

On Thursday evening, I was back at the Royal Hotel as the guest speaker of the Rotary club (dinner club). I was invite by Mr John Bate and I had a very enjoyable evening in fine company. The topic of the speech was `my life so far` and I hope it gave the audience an insight into what drives and motivates me in my business, political and family life.

The recanvassing of Ashby continues with more to be done tonight (Friday) and at the weekend.
 

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UK worse off than five years ago

This evening, George Osborne will cite new research showing that, for the first time in modern history, national income per person will have fallen over a full Parliament.

When people ask the famous question, ‘are you better off than you were five years ago?’ Gordon Brown is the first Prime Minister in modern British history who has to answer ‘no’. Labour’s 2005 manifesto promised ‘increased prosperity’. That is the biggest broken promise of all. Even through the dark days of the 1970s and the recessions of the early 1980s and 1990s the growth of GDP per capita was sustained in every full Parliament.

This shows that the debt-fuelled model of growth that Gordon Brown pursued for the past decade is fundamentally broken. Gordon Brown’s debt is the single biggest threat to our economic future. We need a new economic model built on saving and investment.
 

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Weekend Update

Saturday saw our canvassing teams out in Kegworth until mid afternoon after which I moved on to a meeting in the Friendship centre in Long Whatton. The meeting was organized to hear about the proposed removal of funding by the airport to support the night time bus service through Diseworth and Long Whatton. A representative of the airport had the unenviable task of explaining to the packed hall (I calculated that over 100 local residents were in attendance) why the airport was no longer willing to support this service to two villages very near its perimeter and the flight path of its aircraft. The airport maintains that very few of the local residents use the evening (7pm to 7am ) service (which was disputed by local residents) The current service is proposed to be removed and re-routed through Kegworth from April. The data presented by the airport seems to be totally at odds with the concerns of local residents and given the number at the meeting indicate that there are more users of the service than the figures provided suggest.

I had a chance to meet the chairman of the protest group Mr John Payter and I have agreed to try to help them, despite the airportmaintaining that the decision has already been made.
 
On Saturday evening I was invited to attended the Bull and Lion public  House in Packington for a 'Help for Heros' fundraising event. I was very pleased to support the event and thanks to David Cameron's help  was able to donate a bottle of House of Commons Whisky signed by our  party leader. Also in attendance was Councillor Graham Allman (also Mayor of Ashby de la Zouch) and many members of the local Conservative  party. I have been informed that the event raised over £2000 for this very worthy cause.  

Sunday morning back in Packington canvassing. Despite the return of  Wintery conditions in the form of 3 inches of snow North West  Leicestershire Conservatives turned up the heat as the media  speculation about the prospect of an early election increased. We  canvassed until lunchtime filling in gaps in our returns. The election can only be a few weeks away now and so we cannot be deflected in our task of holding this Labour Government to task for its record of 13 years of failure.

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Terrible borrowing figures

The UK Government's financial position worsened again last month as it borrowed money for the first time in January for 17 years. Instead of the expected £3billion surplus, we borrowed over £4billion. This again brings into question the accuracy of Alistair Darling's budget figures. The question is will Gordon Brown allow a budget before the election which will highlight the economic failure of his Government.

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