Wednesday 26 December 2007

Happy Christmas!

It's Boxing Day - not exactly "deep and crisp and even" but rather warm and damp with beautiful winter sunshine. And that was just what was needed for the traditional Boxing Day dip by the pier in Teignmouth. I sponsored rather than "dipped" but it was great spectator sport and a great way of raising money for the RNLI. On then to Shaldon for the annual three-legged race - or should we say "pub crawl" starting this year from the Shipwrights public house by the playing field. A fantastic turn out and some first class costumes - including one pair who had dressed themselves up as the missing NHS and Pension computer disks that Gordon Brown's administration would appear to have lost! Very topical! But the winners for their dress were a quite remarkable pair of eyes - each eye ball was some four feet wide with the competitors barely visible through each pupil! In the under 18 category - a very young pair as "118 118" won. And finally on to Bradley Manor in Newton Abbot for a very festive boxing day gathering as these things should be done - as a thank you to all those who have worked so hard during the year. I sometimes despair at how materialistic Christmas has become with the original Christmas spirit and message largely drowned out.

But what a busy time Christmas is in Teignbridge. I sat and counted how many carol services, Christingle services, blessings of the crib, nativity plays, Victorian markets and mulled wine and mince pie thank you parties I have been to in the last 10 days - some 26! The Christmas message is alive and well here - and the quality of these events a real tribute to those involved. The Victorian market in Stokeinteignhead provided my Christmas cake, the Victorian evening in Newton Abbot my Christmas table centrepiece. While the RNLI carol service in Teignmouth was exceptional in its quality and professionalism, there are so many other gems across the constituency, of which Starcross sticks in my memory as one of the best - but then I have always enjoyed my carols most by candlelight and the delicious mixture of poetry with more traditional readings was quite special - as was the apple cake which followed!

I was elected an associate governor at Rydon School in Kingsteignton last month and I feel very privileged - it is a very special school. The teachers and the children had worked very hard on two productions, one was a delightful version of the nativity story with carols to new modern tunes that really got the feet going with the beat- and I was very pleased to see the angels had wings! The other was a story about a very miserable snowman who just would not cheer up - until at last he saw Jesus in a manger! Great fun and clearly enjoyed as much by the children and the audience.

And on the national stage, Gordon Brown is not having much luck - yet more and more lost records - and this time in the States! Why were they there - what happened to the "buy British " mantra? The Liberal Democrats have now elected Nick Clegg - and we wait with bated breath to see what that brings. While a number of MPs in the South West have been elevated to the now substantially enlarged Liberal Shadow Cabinet, that did not include Mr Younger-Ross. What will 2008 bring? Predictions are not good - a failing economy, a Prime Minister who does not enjoy the trust and confidence of the people - where is the next banana skin? Was Gordon listening to the Queen on Christmas Day - please God he was and takes seriously the debt we owe to the courage of our troops and begins to properly fund their health and safety as they continue to fight a war of his making.

Best wishes to you all for 2008. Keep the comments coming. If you would like a reply let me have an e mail address - its a bit difficult to reply to anonymous contributions!

Thursday 29 November 2007

Remember, Remember.....

November is a time to remember. The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month is a time to remember what so many others have done for so many of us. I was very moved to see so many with me at the three Remembrance Day services I attended in Newton Abbot, Dawlish and Shaldon. I laid a wreath with great pride. Perhaps best of all was the sight of so many young people and young families. We so often think of them as the generation that knew only peace. Today, sadly that is simply not true.

The last few weeks have been full of reminders of our proud history. Shaldon celebrated Trafalgar Day with a first class dinner in the church hall. As I addressed the dinners, I reminded them why we won..and the French lost. We were a better, well trained force which despite our numbers won the day..and a lot of that was down to morale and sheer will power..to win! And we will do that again when Brown is forced to call the next general election. Gordon missed his chance and it won't come again. David Cameron is moving from strength to strength in the opinion polls and consolidating the vote. Labour will deserve to lose the next election and we will deserve to win it.

Newton Abbot has its own proud history which we also regularly celebrate. The Earl of Devon and I were guests of the Newton Abbot Court Leet at its annual Law Day on 20th October. Reports of all the activities of the year were given - with great hilarity on occasion - and I was asked to deputise for the new Portreeve, Alan Vizor - which included paying his fine for non-attendance!

But most important of all has been the time spent with constituents listening to and helping out with problems. As has already been well publicised on TV I worked with residents of Holcombe village to help them in their battle with the Tax Inspector - and we saved the village £19,000. I have now a number of cases where much to my surprise there is huge discrimination against the young -and disabled. The system seems to cope with disability which is age related but not with a disability such as arthritis when it happens to someone in their twenties. Does it seem right to you that a young 28 year old mother of two should lose all help and financial support when she is lucky enough to find a young man willing to become part of that family and take on many of the burdens. Apart they were twice as well off, together they are struggling to pay for the most basic items of food and clothing.

Planning seems to be the bete noir for many and the present governments approach is most unhelpful. Is it right that loft conversions should be allowed to proliferate at the expense of personal dignity and privacy? I have three cases now in Kingsteignton where loft conversions have seriously affected individual's human rights. It is one thing to find that the privacy you enjoyed to look out into your garden without being overlooked has been eroded. It is quite another to find neighbours turned into "peeping Toms" looking in to watch a family having its evening meal, or worse still to watch an elderly and immobile person receive medical and nursing treatment and support. The police have taken an interest and the Human Rights Act may provide some relief - but surely it should never have come to that.

It was a pleasure to welcome Michael Gove to the constituency with his education brief for the party. Together we visited Coombshead School and I think I can say I was quite simply blown over by the quality of the media studies offering. We watched the children put together a live radio broadcast which goes out not just to the school but to local residents in Newton Abbot. The school has a fully equipped broadcasting facility. The printed daily newsheets and the full blown newspaper they produce are very professional and is produced in conjunction with the Western Morning News. Michael was interviewed by one of the students - bringing back fond memories of his early days as a journalist!

Michael and I were also able to visit The Maltings Drop In Centre - and what a professional first class job they do. Yet again it was clear how completely inappropriate the state system is. We met three young girls, all had been made homeless through no fault of their own, all wanting to get on in life and to study and work. As a young person it is financially not possible to work and study if you want a roof over your head. Because of the way housing support works and education grants work, studying is only affordable if you don't work! Where is the logic in that! I had not appreciated what a housing problem there was for youngsters here. Finding accommodation for children and young adults from broken homes is exceedingly difficult, particularly for those that fall into the gap age between being technically a child and technically an adult.

While Richard Younger-Ross did not not attend, I was able to attend the public meeting at Newton Abbot Racecourse concerning the changes in health care provision for those with Mental Health care needs. The St Michael's ward on the current site is to close when the main hospital is relocated from the centre of Newton Abbot to Jetty Marsh. Inpatient care is to be moved to Torbay. I am disgusted that this has only come to light now with no time to make sensible plans for the change and clearly no will to consult. It is simply not acceptable to say that this is a now cast in stone and cannot be changed. There are safeguards set down in legislation which require any such change to be consulted on and Devon County Council Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee must be held to account to insist on a thorough investigation into the change with an opportunity to refer any change to The Secretary of State for Health. I will hold them to account!

I am delighted to report that I have recently been appointed an Associate School Governor at Rydon School in Kingsteignton. It is a fabulous school with much to be proud of and I very much look forward to my first meeting next week. I am also as you know a member of the Shadow Senior Council for Devon. Slowly but surely we are working towards developing a body to represent the views of those over 50 so that there is a real voice for change. The constitution is now being developed as well as links with other groups, including I am pleased to say the Junior Council. The gap between the generations seems to have widened over recent years which is a real loss to both. A joint meeting between members of the Senior and the Junior Councils is planned next month.

And of course there has been much more activity besides and I have found myself all over the constituency at various events including Kingskerswell , Abbotskerswell, Ogwell, Haccombe and many more. If I have to chose I would rather "do" than write. My apologies to my regular readers for too long a gap since my last entry, but sometimes you have to make a judgement call - and I believe my time has been better spent making a difference rather than writing about it. I hope you agree.

Tuesday 16 October 2007

A week is a long time in Politics!

Not for a long time has politics been so much in the eye of the media, nor has it been so volatile. Ming Campbell's decision to resign as leader of the Liberal Democrats last night was yet another momentous change which will no doubt send the polls into flat spin again with Nick Clegg the front runner to succeed him. This will leave Brown even more exposed as the old man of politics...and these days he really is looking old. And will this influence how Brown performs on the European issue? I think we all expect Mr "bottle" to try to persuade us that all is well across the water and that no red lines have been breached! The man is a wimp and if his party had any sense they would see he is not the man to win the next election - probably in 2010. One way or another Brown's career as PM is not going to be a long one.

But the tragedy of all this is that the real job of running the country seems to be taking second place. What is Mr Brown's vision - and how will "Darling " afford it? I don't think either of them know. Shame on the pair of robbers who stole the Tories tax ideas - not only does their announcement on inheritance tax go against their party's principles - but it was quite simply a media stunt! The new threshold of £600,000 was achievable anyway under existing legislation. Most of us reading the Sunday papers recognise that we are going to be very much worse off under Darling's proposals for Capital Gains Tax, while the private equity target he had in mind is largely unaffected. Is this incompetence, unintelligence or both? These proposals are bad for business, bad for families......and may land up being bad for Labour

While the media remind us of our real woes - a shortage of NHS dentists, inadequate access to GPs, an obesity problem which will be on a par with smoking - what is Brown doing? Lots of promises, little action....just another review! Our health service must be de-politicised. And what of our businesses? The postal strike has really hit home - one of my constituents is having to spend an extra £10,000 a week to meet customer needs. Can the government really just sit on its hands and say - not our problem - Royal Mail have to sort it? Sorry - this sounds just like the approach to Foot and Mouth first time around - a response too late which inflicted lasting damage on the industry. Enterprise has been the great strength of this country but with this type of attitude is it any surprise we are losing our best and brightest abroad?

Sunday 30 September 2007

Its election time!

Well it looks like it just might happen. Gordon Brown has kept us on our toes for weeks and now he may be hoist with his own petard. He needs to call an election this coming week - or call it all off and live with the roller coaster of a recession which seems to be fast approaching. And this time Gordon cannot blame anyone else.

And if he goes to the country he will find that 11 point lead very fragile. Britain has dropped from fourth to tenth in the international competitiveness league tables under Labour. The British Chambers of Commerce now estimate that the cost of new regulations on business under Labour has topped £56 billion. There have been more than 14 new regulations every working day under Labour and the average British company has to spend £14,270 a year implementing new legislation. Under Labour, lending has been rising at a rate of over 10 per cent per Annam, making the debt mountain now greater than Britain's total GDP. And during his ten years as Chancellor, Gordon Brown introduced 111 stealth tax rises, including the abolition of tax credits on pension funds' dividends and increases in stamp duty - can we really forgive and forget that?

This is a man of promises but not principles. There have been nine major reorganisations of the NHS in nine years, estimated to have cost a total of £3 billion - but we now have a health service in total disarray with more administrators than nurses. And now he wants us to believe he will put the NHS first on his priority list for reform! According to a report by UNICEF, the UK is rated the lowest out of 21 OECD countries for child well-being. 1.25 million young people aged 16-24 are not in work or full-time education - almost 20 per cent more than in 1997. And the UK has a higher proportion of its children living in workless households than any other EU country and the highest proportion of lone parents in Europe. Almost half of 11-year olds cannot read, write and add up properly. According to the latest international comparisons by the OECD, the UK has fallen from 8th to 19th for maths results and from 4th to 12th for reading results. Over one third of adults in the UK do not have a basic school-leaving qualification. This is not a family friendly man.

Post offices have been closing at a rate of nearly ten per week under Labour. 4,875 sub-post offices have closed since 1997 and the Government has announced plans to close a further 2,500. 52 per cent of households in rural areas do not have access to a regular bus service. Violent crime has doubled and gun crime has increased by 80 percent and a quarter of all offenders are under 21. There are over half a million illegal immigrants. Under Labour immigration has tripled. Since 2004 over 700,000 arrived from EU Accession States. Can we really be surprised that we have a broken society. Society is not safe in Mr Brown's hands.

Only a Conservative Government will strengthen society, empower individuals and bring back meaning to the words-the family, economic stability and peace. Watch this space, watch David Cameron.....you will be surprised.

Sunday 9 September 2007

Family, Responsibility and Opportunity

If there were ever any doubt, I think it is now clear that the Brown "bubble" has burst. The papers today are full of the news of our financial woes - something for which Gordon can blame no-one else. If you have a mortgage, as I do, the financial burden is getting more and more painful. Even though there seems to be a move to reduce our forces in Iraq and an outside chance that Gordon may consider a referendum on the EU, that is unlikely to be enough to give Mr Brown the certainty I think he needs to go to the country.

And I am pleased to see David Cameron stick to his guns - he is a Conservative and always has been. I quote from the Telegraph yesterday: "So let me spell it out. I am a Conservative because of the values that I have believed in all my life:family, responsibility and opportunity. I am a Conservative because I believe that those values lead inexorably to a political agenda whose central mission is to give people more power and control over their lives... because we want people to rely on their family, not the state; because you can't take responsibility for something unless you have control over it; and because true opportunity means having the freedom to achieve all you can in life."

Compassionate Conservatism doesn't mean abandoning a belief that lower taxation increases economic growth, or a belief that Europe should be about free trade not political union, or a determination to fight crime and give power back to citizens and take it away from criminals. But unless we address the fundamental causes of the breakdown in our society we won't be able to deliver. We need a health service run to deliver quality health care - not to meet artificial targets; we need an education system that gives our children real choice and a real prospect of employment, led by teachers, not children; we need families to feel supported not undermined by the state and a raft of legislation - without them we have no society.

In Newton Abbot and across Teignbridge we face daily attack on our public services, be it our paramedics and nurses or our fire fighters. Gordon Brown seems quite uninterested in the personal consequences to individuals of his cuts and has no interest in listening to the case put by local people who know first hand what the consequences will be. Post offices are set to suffer the same fate. Gordon does not know how to listen - and in time he will pay the price. In Newton Abbot, I will listen, I will do my homework and check the facts, and I will fight for those who look to me for help if that will deliver a better future for all of us living in Newton Abbot and its surrounding villages.

I have received much correspondence about the bypass - keep it coming! The more I know the better able I will be to champion the cause. And for the avoidance of doubt that cause is the reduction of traffic congestion and provision of much needed housing - BUT in the right place, at the right time, at the right price and after full and frank disclosure and consultation. Lets get it right...and not say after the event, why did we let Asda happen? "Anonymous" whoever he or she may be, asked me if I had evidence of the planned development which is a large part of the justification for the current bypass proposal. I would refer "anonymous" to an article in the Herald Express on page 22 dated April 26th 2006 and to the Kingskerswell Bypass Economic Impact Study of 2002.

Another week in politics!

Sunday 2 September 2007

Law and disorder?

Prison officers on strike, nurses walking out of a mental health hospital - are we in for a winter of discontent? Those working in public services feel unloved and unappreciated. Given how much money has been pumped into public services this is surprising. Too much money has been spent on target setting and the administration required to measure compliance - what we need is money redirected to front line services. Nurses, prison officers and many other professionals do a fantastic job for very little recognition or reward. That has to change.

Perhaps even more disturbing is how ineffective our community police officers have been as reported in the press this week. The number of crimes solved is tiny - but let us bear in mind that they are not to blame. Their training is minimal and their powers are severely limited. This is a labour government attempt to meet the public outcry for "bobbies on the beat" - with a cheap "sticking plaster" solution. And what of our full time, fully trained police force? They remain frustrated by so much desk work filing in forms and a drive to get crime solved numbers up by solving the easy "paper" crimes rather than the crimes which are more damaging for society. Can we please focus on crimes which damage people and communities rather than those which are little more than a technical infringement?

Canvassing in Starcross and Bishopsteignton this week was very enlightening - lots of support for me and the Conservatives in areas which to date have been seen as solidly Liberal Democrat. I am increasingly hearing it said that the Liberal Democrats and Richard Younger-Ross are simply not delivering on promises made and that community life is getting worse not better - rubbish collection, parking provision, traffic speed, planning are all cited as not working.

The bypass continues to be a key issue -and we need to ensure any decision takes account of all affected communities - not just Kingskerswell and Torquay. Newton Abbot residents in whose community the Penn Inn roundabout sits, need to be asked for their views along with many others. I was intrigued by Richard Younger-Ross's position on the bypass as he expressed it in the Herald Express-he is only in favour of the bypass if there is no development. Given the proposal for the bypass contains significant plans for housing development, does this mean he is in fact against the bypass?

While predictions in the national press suggest an election announcement this week, labour are at pains to deny this. What is really happening in the labour camp - and how ready for an election are they really? It could be an interesting week!

Monday 27 August 2007

An Autumn of promise?

Well my last blog created a great deal of interest! The bypass is a critical issue - and clearly not so much of a done deal as its advocates would have us believe if an item on my blog can undo "cross-party" support for it - or so the Herald Express would have us believe. The Herald Express has long been an advocate for the bypass and the coverage is therefore by no means surprising. But no, I have not been deluged by fellow MPs asking me to "fall into line in favour of the bypass". No, David Cameron is not unequivocally in favour of the bypass and has put in writing that he will not support any road development until and unless it has been properly costed. And no, I have not been seeking any short term political advantage, but rather a long term sustainable result which best serves our community.

My position on the bypass is based on fact and on a view that this bypass is about housing more than it is about traffic congestion - and this has not been openly and honestly discussed. I am concerned about both housing and traffic congestion- we need a well thought out solution to both issues following proper consultation. Will Devon County Council or the Herald Express allow a proper debate on the real options to solve the traffic congestion problems of which the bypass is only one - and many times the most expensive, as a matter of urgency? Will Devon County Council and Teignbridge Council allow a proper debate on their housing strategy, with all the options properly costed and put in the context of a housing needs analysis, particularly given the adverse views the Northern Option proposal has received from the inspector? Will Richard Younger Ross tell us what his views on these issues are and why he holds them?

We are at an interesting juncture in political history - will Mr Brown go to the country this Autumn or not? The polls are willing him to do so but I suspect common sense is saying to him - not yet. If I were Mr Brown I would be extremely worried about the current economic health of the country - and my part in it. We are one of the most heavily taxed countries in Europe and our "street cred" as a strong economy has plummeted under Brown as Chancellor. The FTSE is fluctuating unpredictably, interest rate rises have still not stabilised inflation and yet the mortgage pain for borrowers is reaching breaking point. Mr Brown is coming under increasing pressure - and rightly so -to have a referendum on Europe from his own party! We are paying a huge price for membership of something which has changed beyond all recognition - and is not what we signed up to! And the Lib Dems are as committed to staying in Europe as Mr Brown according to their leader - so who is breaking ranks with his leader now I wonder - Mr Younger-Ross! Are you really a Eurosceptic Richard or is this just a short term political tactic given the predicted Autumn election? Tell us where you stand.

As we move into the party political conference season, we will see some very interesting developments - not least more from David Cameron on how we can begin to mend our broken society. The more shootings, stabbings and muggings we read about the clearer it is that something has to be done to restore a sense of the family and the community, a sense of belonging and being valued and valuing others. Tony Blair tried to tell us how to live our lives because he thought he knew best - he got it wrong, and badly wrong at that. Let parents be parents and teachers be teachers, don't tie their hands behind their backs. Discipline is a good thing and it is part of growing up. If there are no signposts setting out what is right and wrong should we be surprised at the society we have today. Parents should not live in fear of being reported to Childline by their own children, teachers should not fear for their very lives in the classroom. Rules and regulations to stop the abusers have done just the opposite - they have made the list of possible abusers so wide, it's hard to spot the real ones! Clearly child abuse must be stopped, but this plethora of legislation is making things worse not better. And lets have real policemen, properly trained, on the street solving real crimes - not paper crimes which just help the statistics rather than making the country safer.

Bring on an election - we are ready!

Wednesday 15 August 2007

A summer of discontent

So we had the floods - now we have foot and mouth. Thankfully not in the West country but the very fact that there has been a new outbreak has seriously impacted our local farmers, butchers, market traders and others. Walking through the market in Newton Abbot and speaking to local farmers, the picture is bleak. One farmer who specialises in sausages told me he had just two days left before he would have to stop trading - fresh meat supplies require freshly slaughtered meat which in turn requires animal movement. Pork supplies have been particularly hard hit. While Gordon Brown executed a master media coup, breaking his holiday to return to sort the crisis - it isn't yet sorted. Indeed how much progress has been made on the real issue, to vaccinate or not. The argument centres on the impact vaccination would have on our export market - I think I am more concerned about our own domestic market which vaccination would help not hinder.



Summer always brings with it traffic chaos as holiday makers and the rest of us struggle to get north and south on the A380. Devon County Council decided to take the initiative and push forward its plans to build a bypass through Kingskerswell. Among other things it sought to gain compulsory purchase orders over the sites required for the development. All the media coverage seemed to indicate that this was a good thing - rubbish! I am as eager as the next pedestrian and motorist to sort out the traffic problems but this bypass is not the answer. First it will cost £130million to built - is that a sensible use of funds - indeed if it had been it would have been built years ago at a significantly lower cost. Second will concreting over more than 100 acres of Devon countryside, almost the size of Kingskerswell solve the traffic problem - the evidence so far is that it will not. Third there are many cheaper and therefore more achievable solutions which will solve the traffic problem and preserve our countryside - a flyover at Penn Inn, a pedestrian bridge over the A380 at Kingskerswell, filter lanes on key junctions and a third "tidal flow" lane would improve traffic flow in months rather than years at a fraction of the cost. But the thing which annoys me most is that this is not really about traffic flow but about housing. If Devon County Council want to open up land for development, please will they be honest and say so - green field development is a very different issue.



My daily case load grows with more individuals coming to me or being referred to me for help. Someone once said to me: " why would they come to you? - you have no voice or position of authority" . The reason is very simple I understand the system and can get through the red tape and with my Conservative councillor colleagues get a result. We are a good team and are persistent and creative in looking at ways of solving problems. You won't read much about what I am doing in the press - no-one wants to be used as a political football - what people want is a result. I have one lady who is facing extreme difficulties trying to exchange her housing association accomodation which is now innappropriate given her deteriorating health - I am working with the housing association and the local councillors to find a solution. There are inevitably a number of planning related matters - Mile End Road development plans and the annex to the existing Holcombe village hall being just two. The local Liberal Democrat councillors have not been prepared to help resolve the former and I am working with the local action group to see what we can do. While Richard Younger Ross has spoken up in the media in support of the Holcombe annex which I welcome, he has not been able to secure any change in the revenue's position - something I am working with the residents to achieve. The revenue wish to charge VAT on the building work despite compliance with all the conditions in their booklet on the part of the parish which should result in a zero rate of tax.

Maybe we can still look forward to an Indian summer, some sun - and some good news!

Monday 30 July 2007

Brown a month in - verdict?

The sycophantic and uncritical British Press claim Brown's first month in office has been a real baptism of fire - really? Where is the fire. Two unsuccessful terrorist attacks and a lot of heavy rain. My sympathies are with those affected by serious flood damage - but surely they should be asking why when as Chancellor Gordon could have prevented much of the damage by freeing up money to build flood defences, did he not do so? Gordon has not yet been tested in a real crisis - an earthquake, a successful terrorist attack or even a major flood with serious loss of life - for example if the Thames Barrier was overwhelmed.

For all the talk of change, nothing much has changed - and nor is it likely to. The Blair legacy continues - we are still in Iraq, ID cards remain, the West Lothian question remains unanswered and the European Constitution is still being pushed through the back door without even a cursory thought of holding a referendum. Real change would be a prime minister that genuinely wanted to listen. I am still astounded how many can so easily forget what Gordon did to our pensions - we are living longer and having to make do with very much less while inflation sores. So many say, but he was a good chancellor - then why do we all feel worse of? Because we are - as a result of stealthily indirect taxes. Income tax is only part of the story.

Real change would give people real choices and reduce the insidious and relentless mountain of red tape. Are you happy with the latest suggestion that the Revenue should be able to take money directly out of our bank accounts? I for one am not, not least because the number of errors the revenue make are legendary! Real change would deliver a tangible result- and in health we see just the opposite - Gordon has condemned us to yet another review. I am not sure he knows how to improve public services - if he strings it out long enough maybe no one will notice!

I think we need to give those political commentators and moaning Minnnie's in the party a lesson in mathematics. It is simplistic and quite wrong to read the two bi-election results and conclude that the Conservatives did badly and the Labour Party did well. If you look at the facts, particularly the change in each party's share of the vote since the General Election, Labour lost 7.2% of its share of the vote in Ealing and 14.4% in Sedgefield. By comparison, the Conservatives gained 0.9% in Ealing and 0.1% in Sedgefield. Our vote held up while Labour's fell The winners from Labour were the Liberal Democrats but if this pattern were repeated at the next general election, the Conservatives would have 281 seats, Labour 243 and the Liberal Democrats 93.

Mr Brown is not going to just walk the next election - whenever it is called!

Monday 16 July 2007

A Home At Last!

Anyone who has moved house in the last year will I hope sympathise and relate to my over long silence! They say it is one of the most stressful things to do - and that is before the battle with the various utilities, BT etc. Last time I moved it took three months before broadband was up and running - so a couple of weeks is pretty good! So much for the improvements in communication the hi-tec world has brought.

But no - while I have been silent I have not been inactive - as the Mid Devon Advertiser would have you believe. Unlike Richard Younger-Ross who can only raise such highly irrelevant issues as the Eurovision Song Contest in Westminster - and ask a completely inappropriate ecclesiastical question of Tony Blair at his final Question Time (which Blair tossed away as not worth an answer) - I have been fighting the case for housing - more of it and more family housing which is affordable, really affordable. Many of you will have seen me on the Sunday BBC Politics Show on the topic - where was Richard - or indeed any Liberal Democrat?

So what have I been doing, other than unpacking cardboard boxes in the wee small hours? Well I have been out meeting the local business community at a number of networking lunches - lots of frustration and lots to be done. Together we can take this useless bunch of Lib Dem councillors and shake them up - they have done precious little for the business community still less to attract business investment into Newton Abbot. Are they just going to stand aside while business rates go up? The market traders are unhappy - why have the councillors not listened to them?

And yes I celebrated my 50th birthday with more than 70 friends at Sampsons Farm in Preston, Kingsteignton - it was wonderful, despite the weather. Nigel and his very talented wife made us very welcome and we ate and drank only locally sourced wine, meat, fish and veg - and it tasted good! That is what I call a party. My family had a chance to meet my new found friends - and my friends to vet my family - they do say a good look at the mother will tell you volumes about the daughter!

Gordon is threatening an early election - really? Whatever else it has helped us all focus on the needs of a full blown campaign and to that end my campaign team have been planning the next few months activity very carefully. Social and fund raising events have been plentiful, particularly in Teignmouth and Dawlish - we are, as we must, building a war chest. Teignmouth has seen a revival of the Conservatives - and Richard has noticed and is worried. He has officially complained to the press for giving me too much press coverage! Richard, press coverage is about the quality of the press release and the relevance of the issue - not the number of trees culled for multiple press releases - too often consigned to the bin!

This is the season of carnivals, regattas, fetes and fun. This week's Dawlish Carnival has been much fun - last Saturday I presented the carnival queen with a posy - where was Richard? I was at the Rydon School Fete - where was Richard? I was at the Highweek fete - and was accosted by many Mile End residents concerned about proposed developments there - where was Richard? Last Wednesday I was at a meeting in Newton Abbot for the over 50s to look at the needs of the ever growing number of senior citizens and will be representing them at a county meeting next week...Richard would have been in Westminster - but doing what?

And what of the new Labour initiative to take the tax they believe you owe them directly from your bank account? Big brother has clearly arrived! I confess to being totally bemused as to how the country can give Gordon the 7% lead he has in the polls - this is a man who destroyed our pensions over night when he changed the ACT rules and who was right behind Blair in everything he did over the last ten years. Are memories that short? And what of inflation and the average mortgage? Are the Lib Dems - or UKIP for that matter the answer? While most know they are not the answer nationally, what about locally? What can UKIP do for the farmers without a mandate in Westminster - and what have the Lib Dems done locally, rather than just talked about doing? I look forward to Alan Connett's answer and to the inspectors finding on the Northern Option for building due out today.

Another week in politics!

Sunday 24 June 2007

Housing - affordable or otherwise!

Garden grabbing - a good or a bad? In my view an entirely undesirable development following the Labour Government's decision to class gardens as Brownfield development sites. And we have seen the consequences. In Teignmouth we have seen the loss of many of our lovely Edwardian and Victorian villas, picked off by developers who look for large houses with substantial gardens which are not in a Conservation area or listed - Marlyn House in Landscore Road is a case in point. Developers applied to demolish and convert the house into 14 flats - just below the number which would have required the developers to include affordable housing - knowing full well that conservation status had been applied for but not yet granted. We have been left with a deteriorating building on a site which has already seen the developers destroy the boundary walls and site clearance well in hand - will the council now feel it has no choice but to grant permission?

But it is not only in our seaside towns but also in our rural villages we see the damage. In Holcolme we have seen the development of four houses, on the market for £500,000 each, built in the former garden of Red House, Fordens Lane. The development was fiercely opposed by residents, who while recognising the need for some development (the original proposal was for three bungalows) were very unhappy with what was finally built which was and remains totally out of keeping with this old and historic village. Their view was supported by the Council's Planning Committee. What happened? The decision was made by the Regional Authority in Bristol to build come what may without any consideration or understanding of the local community! Worse still perhaps is the decision in Ogwell to build 180 houses in Reynell Road. This was opposed, locally by residents and the council and regionally - only to be overruled by Ruth Kelly in London who approved this development on greenfield land.

We must change the planning regime so that decisions are made locally, based on local knowledge and need, not regionally at the dictate of bureaucrats. We need to abandon Labour's inappropriate density targets ( a minimum of 30 homes per hectare) and planning red tape and replace it with a "family friendly" housing strategy which builds houses with gardens for families, not cramped one and two bedroom flats, the consequence of which has been the total distortion of the housing market. There is now an over supply of flats, many now empty and an under supply of three and four bed roomed houses the consequence of which has been the inflation of house prices which have risen more than eight times the price of a flat - taking them well out of the reach of the lower and middle income earners.

As some of you will have seen, I expressed my views quite forcibly on the Politics Show today, broadcast by BBC South West!

And when I have not been on my soap box , I have been getting to as many summer fetes and shows as I can - but the weather has been terrible and so many have been cancelled after such a lot of hard work and planning - it is a great shame. Despite the rain, I made it to the Puppy Show in Denbury on Friday, 22nd, at the kind invitation of the South Devon Hunt. It was quite an event as the hounds came in couple by couple to be judged - and the rain it did rain! However the weather did not prevent it from being a truly excellent occasion with a marvellous spread for tea. The open garden event at Houndspool in Ashcombe to raise money for the church was again a pretty wet affair - but for those of us who made it, we were treated to a superb tour of Whetman's nurseries and came away very much more knowledgeable about how new breeds of Pinks are created, tested and commercialised.

The movers arrive tomorrow - so my next entry will be from Sandford Orleigh!

Saturday 23 June 2007

Europe - and a new home!

In 1975, politicians of all parties urged the UK electorate during the referendum campaign to support the continuing membership of the "Common Market" which stood explicitly for "free and undistorted competition". It now seems likely that the misleadingly titled "reform treaty", more accurately and honestly described as "the EU Constitution", will drop any reference whatsoever to free and undistorted competition. If that happens, it would be high time for the electorate of this country to to be given another opportunity through a referendum to decide whether or not they wished our membership of the European Union, which is now very different from what it was in 1975, to continue or not. Food for more than a little thought.

This is rather a late Blog entry....it has been chaotic! I exchanged and completed on my house purchase last Friday, the 15th! But at last I am the proud owner of Templer House in Sandford Orleigh overlooking the new hospital development in Newton Abbot. I feel very privileged to be somewhere of such local historical significance. Built in the 1830's by George Templer, the man responsible for building the granite tramway that brought granite from the quarries at Hay Tor on Dartmoor to the Stover Canal, it was later the residence of Samuel and Florence Baker, English explorers in Africa. Some of you may remember the building as a school before it was finally restored to its former glory and converted into five houses some six years ago. As exchange and completion were simultaneous, phone lines, utilities, removals all had to be organised very much at the last minute!

Notwithstanding all that, it was a pretty busy week across the constituency. Canvassing across Dawlish on Monday I was delighted to meet so many people and hear about the problems and frustrations - the bins are still full of maggots and only being emptied fortnightly and of course the housing issues - chronic and ongoing! I am delighted so many of the old traditions remain - including beating the bounds - again - this time on Tuesday in Kingsteignton. On Wednesday I visited a constituent in Bishopsteignton to hear about the problems the elderly are having finding and paying for care in community homes. The red tape is unbelievable leaving surviving relatives with huge bills for health and social care. Very small savings deny many any contribution to bills of some £2,000 a month. Worse, to save money it would seem, the Devon Primary Care Trust has downgraded the level of care they will fund by regrading downwards the level of care needed by individuals in local homes. The homes themselves are then clawing back the lost income from the state by increasing their charges for care to these residents.

No one knows it all. Over the weekend we had a training day for my campaign team across the constituency. Politics is changing and if we really want to make a difference we have to deserve being voted in. That means we need to demonstrate what life would be like if you voted for me and for the Conservatives...and actions speak louder than words. We had enormous fun and then rounded the day off by christening Templer House with a few bottles of champagne! Sunday was a great day - the Dawlish horse show in Starcross at Blackforest Farm was brilliant. The horse and hound competition saw many a young rider thwarted not by the skills of their ponies over the jumps - but their Spaniels and Jack Russels who refused to jump over or crawl under but had to be carried over!

Monday 11 June 2007

Campaigning for Shopmobility

Shopmobility is one of our most valuable charities providing vital support to the elderly and less able. The Newton Abbot Shopmobility found itself in trouble - the end of lottery funding at the end of June will mean the end of the current level of service to residents. While Teignbridge District Council have provided some funding it is not enough. Unless Devon County Council or private donors can come up with new funding, the service will have to be severely curtailed. I met with the Shopmobility team and with Devon County Council on Thursday. There is some light but at the end of a very long tunnel - and no guarantees. The funding of all transport for the less able is being reviewed now but unless a better, simpler way can be found of administering those funds no increase in available funding is likely. While the council officers are on side, it is the members that need to be convinced - and I will be working with Shopmobility to gain members attention and commitment to change.

Shopmobility have a second problem - their location. Just by the multi-storey car park in Newton Abbot and the bus stop which has become their terminus absent anywhere else, you will find the entrance to Shopmobility. There is no crossing to the shopping centre - never mind a safe one! Buggy riders quite literally take their lives in their hands crossing between large buses with very poor visibility at the "launch point"on either side. Again I took Devon County Council to task. They had agreed to a crossing - only then to go back on their promise. Now the officers of Devon County Council have come up with an alternative place for the crossing - but Council members still have to be won over....and I shall be campaigning hard with Shopmobility and Access (the local campaign group for the less able) to help them see the wisdom of such a crossing.

On Friday I visited a lovely lady who has been having trouble getting a disabled car parking space outside her home. While anyone who is disabled is entitled to this, it would seem that if your disability is blindness, you are excluded! Why...because you can't drive.....yes but you can be driven and you still need easy access from your home to your car! The council have since seen sense but - get this - not only can they not say when the space will be provided so that neighbours can be consulted and got on side, they state that even when provided the resident cannot expect any help with enforcement from the police or the council! One has to ask then - what value does this "parking space" have? I shall be following progress!

Tuesday and Thursday were spent with local residents in Newton Abbot who are suffering intimidation and worse from local school children at Coombshead School. I joined residents at a meeting with the headmaster, the chair of the Board of Governors and the Mid Devon Advertiser. While many promises were made about fencing, access, school discipline and the residents complaints procedure, we have yet to see if these will be delivered on. The school is undergoing extensive building works which has put a lot of pressure on the school and the children - too little space for too many children - but that is no excuse for what has been happening. Recognising the constraints the school is working under, I will continue to work with the residents to ensure that the school, Devon County Council and the builders come up with a more acceptable approach to the problem which fairly recognises the rights of the local residents. If Coombshead School wishes to obtain trust status it will need to pull its socks up.

That apart, this week has been a round of committee meetings, coffee mornings, cream teas, local fetes and fairs and dog walking all in aid of good causes and/or the Conservative party. Teignmouth has been most high profile in my diary this week - a cream tea in aid of the League of Friends of the Hospital at Bitton House and a visit to the Orangery, an evening canvassing followed by a committee meeting. On Wednesday I attended a very wonderful garden party at Huntly in Bishopsteignton just down the road to which I felt very privileged to have been invited. Lots of interesting people, a great celebration of those who have fought for and given their lives to this country and a wonderful brass band. On Sunday I was in Coffinswell at a cream tea to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy sufferers.

And this coming week....I hope to exchange contracts finally on my new home in Newton Abbot - Sandford Orleigh to be precise -looking out over the new hospital site. Fingers crossed!

Saturday 2 June 2007

May Festivals and Fairs

The end of May and a remarkable Monday bank holiday - no rain! Shaldon held its long established Fair at which the May Queen for the year was crowned - alongside her princesses. She looked radiant and carried off her first official duties with great poise awarding prizes in a painting competition. Traditional stalls - and of course the cakes! - brought out many villagers and the Green was packed. I bought some truly yummy apricot flapjacks and was tempted by some interesting wooden- yes wooden roses. A dozen now sit on my bedroom windowsill. Richard Younger Ross was there but had no particular message to bring from Westminster -or indeed anywhere else.

The Ram Roasting Festival at Oakford Lawn in Kingsteignton was a huge success with long queues to get in. As usual despite reserves, the supply of roasted ram ran out! Lots to see and lots to do, from the bucking bronco, the donkey rides, maypole dancing, racing and of course the tug of war! Tony Beard the Wag from Widicombe did a great job - and of course crowned the May Queen, seven year old Robyn Pearson, whose great grandmother had been the Ram Roast May Queen 81 years ago. The local Conservatives ran a treasure hunt this year which was a great success....while the Liberal Democrats decided not to take a stall at all! And yes, I bought another cake - a very rich and moist Ginger Cake with lemon zest.

You are going to think I am a bit of a foodie - but there really is nothing like home made cakes....and local wine! This was English Wine Week. Old Walls Vineyard in Bishopsteignton and the new Kenton Vineyard offered tours and tastings alongside a number of others in South Devon. I think English wine has finally made its mark as a true quality competitor in the market and about time too!

On Thursday I attended a really excellent talk at the Town Hall in Newton Abbot organised by the Civic Society and Friends of the Museum- Michael Martyn has a rare gift of bringing the history of Newton Abbot to life. This time we were taken on a tour of the creation of and competition for educational establishments in Newton Abbot - indeed it was one of the attractions of living there. Quite fascinating with exhibits from the museum on show which had played a key part in the story!

On Friday I spent a couple of hours with the residents of the Churchills in Newton Abbot listening to their concerns about the behaviour of children around Coombeshead College. A residents meeting has been called for next week with the school to see what can be done to improve the situation which I shall be attending to see if we can find a solution.

And finally I have been out with the team canvassing again! Everyone complains politicians are only interested during an election - I am interested all of the time in doing what I can to help. I met a couple of families who really did have problems and I am working with them now to try to solve them. People are not just frustrated by the inadequate bin collections, the poor state of the roads and the generally poor upkeep of the town, but also by much bigger failures in social services, health care and the police. They have had enough!

Sunday 27 May 2007

On the Eve of the May Bank Holiday

I have read and re-read The Mid Devon Advertiser, The Teignmouth Post and the Herald Express and I still can't believe the madness of our newly elected Liberal Democrat led Teignbridge Council.

1. Front page news - the days of maggot filled bins are over - but only if you are one of the 8,000 pilot households for the new weekly collections - which may not be permanent. And how is this going to be paid for? No ideas have been offered as to how the funding gap is to be met! Was this just another election promise which will not be met?
2. Despite and in the face of objections being raised to the Core Strategy by the Inspector, the Council Executive has voted unanimously to push it through! There is no housing needs analysis, no proper review of the consequences and implications of building on a flood plain, no robust plan to fund the development proposed - are they mad? The case has not been made for the Northern Option and the longer this "dead duck" is championed, the longer it will take to give the green light for a viable plan to build homes - and right now any homes wold be a bonus, affordable or not!

And what is Mr Younger Ross doing......

  • campaigning to change the rules of the Eurovision Song Contest
  • bemoaning possible post office closures - but doing nothing to stop them
  • building his Eurosceptic credentials - sorry I am not convinced - and no doubt Menzies isn't either. As a member of the European Scrutiny Committee he has a lot to answer for! The best he can offer is "I may or may not agree with what they come up with but I reject their way of doing it" Eer...so what are you going to do about it Richard?
  • explaining how he is paying his way on a twinning visit - and what about the other expenses which have been incurred to such a high level -well above average
  • oh and the Lib Dems can't stop the data protection changes - so they didn't bother to turn up for the vote!

And so another week of democratic decision making comes to a close!

Saturday 19 May 2007

Devon County Show - and grammar schools

What a fabulous event the Devon County Show is. It is quite wonderful to see such a huge variety of livestock all in beautiful condition. Being able to go behind the scenes so to speak and see how a cow is prepared for showing is fascinating. The show jumping events always have me gripped - something I used to do in a minor way when I was much younger (and I have the broken tooth to prove it!). I did not know we had such a variety of Devon beers and cheeses - a delicious discovery. Everyone was represented, the schools, hospices, NFU, Countryside Alliance to name but a few. Teign School gave a very spirited performance with a selection of pop songs performed by a group of very talented youngsters which attracted a good crowd. Three good days - and surprisingly with weather to match.

On Wednesday, Dawlish Town Council held its formal Council Meeting to welcome in and instate the new mayor, Ros Prouse and formally appoint the new committee members. I felt very privileged to be there. Some traditions are very special and this is one of them. On Friday Sir David Hoare opened Luscombe Castle and with the Dawlish League of Friends gave a splendid coffee morning for the community raising funds for the local hospital. Well done to all the devoted carers who skillfully pushed wheelchair bound residents to the castle - quite a challenge even for the very fit! I thoroughly enjoyed meeting so many of you.

I was very surprised at the press coverage given to David Willets announcement on the party's position on education. For me, a good education means providing a range of institutions meeting the diverse and complex needs of our children. Be in no doubt , I strongly support Grammar Schools along with City Academies and other schools in all their diversity. I do not believe in a one size fits all approach which is what Labour's Comprehensive Schools were established to provide. Only this week a young 19 year old told me that his generation felt let down by this government and in particular its failure to provide vocational training which would lead to real job opportunities. More university places had done very little to improve employment prospects - just raised expectations only to see them dashed.

This government's behaviour as regards Post Offices beggars belief. Nothing like leaving it until after the District Elections to announce massive closures! No attempt has been made to explain where the money being lost has gone and why. No attempt has been made to help and support Post Offices - instead all we have seen is increasing cuts to what they can provide. There is clearly no understanding of or support for the role Post Offices play in the community. I will be fighting to keep our Post Offices open and offering practical help and support, not just words.

Sunday 13 May 2007

Moving on

Total exhaustion had set in and it took a few days to get back the energy spent on the elections. I am now however well stuck in to a round of debriefing meetings and capturing the feedback from each branch. There are always valuable lessons to learn which need to be identified and acted on.

My Campaign Group met for the second time to look at the election results and lessons across the whole constituency and to put in place the steps needed as we begin to prepare for the County Council elections in May 2009. Key tasks for the immediate future are a major fund raising campaign and a new calender of Constituency events which we will be publishing on our Newton Abbot Conservatives website which is now under development.

Lots of local events this week. The highlights were the Street Market in Kingsteignton on Bank Holiday Monday and Beating the Bounds of the Borough of Newton Abbot on Saturday. The weather was reasonable for both - not too hot but not pouring with rain either although both were threatened by black cloudy skies and a bit of drizzle. I found a great pair of silver earrings made by a local artist and bought some yummy home made plum and gooseberry jam -but missed the cakes! I must get to the market earlier next year!

Beating the Bounds was absolutely fascinating and took me to parts of Newton Abbot I had not yet discovered. Eveline, our Town Crier did a fabulous job and her lace and velvet costume was wonderful - her three cornered hat was a bit of a challenge in the wind - but she kept it well down on her head! The other civic court members were equally well dressed and I was absolutely delighted to be so much a part of a tradition dating back to the 8th Century. Newton Abbot is muddier than you might think - next time I will wear my walking boots!

While I have been living in Coffinswell, I have been looking for a house to buy in Newton Abbot. After a number of false starts I have now found the perfect house in Sandford Orleigh - I am absolutely delighted and hope to have moved in by the end of June. Indeed while chatting to fellow beaters on Saturday I discovered that there is a plaque which used to be in my future dinning room which is currently sitting in a builders yard. It would be wonderful to reinstate it and we talked about how we might do that.

Next week - the County Show to look forward to!

Sunday 6 May 2007

3rd May - election day!

A very busy week which was hugely successful. Following the last election four years ago we held 14 seats on Teignbridge District Council. During the last administration two independents crossed the floor to join us taking us to 16. We won four seats from the Liberal Democrats on Thursday last week and lost one to them in return. This takes us to 19 seats as against their 21. The second seat in Kingsteignton West nearly fell to us - we lost it by one vote after several recounts! That would have put us at 20 seats.

This gives us a very healthy picture. Dawlish is now completely Conservative. We won our first seat in Newton Abbot - Ken Lewis wiped the floor in Bushel polling the most votes in the ward as a whole. Kingsteignton was a hold with Joan Lambert and Mike Walters holding their seats - and nearly a one seat gain if we had polled just one more vote. In Ambrook Denis Smith gave us our first Conservative seat in this recently acquired part of the constituency from Totnes. Shaldon turned blue with the ever popular Chris Clarence standing for the Conservatives rather than an independent this time around. Ipplepen returned Victor Elliot, perhaps one of our most colourful candidates! Teignmouth will be the battle ground for the future - we fought every seat but only returned one Conservative, Sylvia Russel. Similarly but surprisingly we also failed to make headway in Kerswell with Combe.

After a breath of fresh air and some sleep, I am looking to the next challenge - the County Elections in May 2009!

Sunday 29 April 2007

Elections - next week!

A very very busy week! My feet and my knees know I have been out canvassing at least three times every day. Second leaflet drops are now in progress and to this we have added a copy of a letter from our group leader in the council, Stuart Barker, on maggots and bin collection which appeared in the Daily Telegraph last week.

The fund raising continues with a number of events including a coffee morning in Bishopsteignton on Wednesday. We had a very good turnout and a number of people came to talk to me about particular problems which I shall be working with them to resolve in the coming weeks.

On Friday a team from London came down to help us with our campaign and we spent a successful morning canvassing in Bushel and College in Newton Abbot. We debriefed in Exeter over a pub lunch and began to look at how we take our campaign forward longer term.

On Saturday I traded my car in for something smaller, more fuel efficient and with lower carbon emissions - still four wheel drive though so I can still get to the hunt and to point to points without getting stuck in the muddy fields which can be more than a little challenging in the winter months.

Next week will be our first test as we get out the vote for the District and Town elections on 3 May. We will have to hold our breath over night as the count doesn't start until the following day!

Monday 23 April 2007

David Cameron visits Newton Abbot

A very busy week! Monday and Wednesday were spent in Bishopsteignton and Kingsteignton, Tuesday and Thursday in Dawlish and Newton Abbot. Some of this time was spent canvassing and delivering leaflets and some of it progressing our constituency plans and preparing for David Cameron's visit. Friday morning was spent walking around Daccombe, Haccombe and Combeinteignhead finishing off leaflet deliveries.

On Friday afternoon Mel Stride (PPC Central Devon), Stuart Barker (Group District Council Leader for Teignbridge) and I met David Cameron and his team in Queen Street by the old market gates. The public response was wonderful and David received a very warm welcome as he talked to our youngsters, our pensioners and local businesses. David was very concerned to hear about the financial crisis many pensioners are facing but delighted to see so much local enterprise - a fine display of local meat at Bakers the Butchers. David met David Austin and was most impressed by his family's long standing independent department store. David met all the Conservative candidates standing for District and Town Council seats locally and wished them well.

On Friday evening David Cameron addressed over 250 well wishers at a drinks reception in Exeter at the rugby stadium ground, Sandys Park. It was a good evening and David did not shrink from even the toughest question. Concerns ranged from devolution, affordable housing, council tax, pensions, the armed forces to top up fees for students at university.

Saturday morning I spent with prospective district council candidates in Teignmouth meeting and talking to shoppers in the Triangle, local businessmen very concerned at the level of their rates, and the local fishermen concerned at the way EU regulation was affecting their livelihood. That afternoon I was back in Kingsteignton canvassing followed by a very humorous and relaxing dinner with the South Devon Hunt at the Rising Sun.

Sunday 15 April 2007

Easter Week

Great weather but hard going underfoot, especially if you are racing. The Point-to-Point at Ideford Arch was great fun on Easter Monday - and we had a good turnout to watch the races. But the ground was hard going for the horses. Most impressive perhaps were the young rider and pony events - boy do those ponies move!

The week has been spent primarily on foot canvassing and delivering leaflets - on Tuesday it was in Coffinswell and Newton Abbot, on Wednesday in Kingsteignton and Broadhempston, on Thursday Kingsteignton and Daccombe, Friday in Combeinteignhead and Saturday in Newton Abbot.

A General Election could quite literally be called at any time and much may well depend on whether Tony Blair's successor is Brown or Milliband. To this end I have now put together my campaign team who with me will fight the next general election. Our inaugural meeting was not only very constructive but also a lot of fun. If any of you have been watching the poles' predictions - we are on current form looking at a 4% win for the Newton Abbot seat! But we cannot and will not be complacent - even a week is a long time in politics when very much can change!

Back to the pavements for another week!

Saturday 7 April 2007

Canvassing until we drop!

Well, if there were bits of the constituency I had not seen, by the end of the District Election campaign I will have seen them all - and I already have very sore feet to prove it! We started canvassing in Kingsteignton on Tuesday moving on to Newton Abbot in the evening. Wednesday was spent canvassing in Ipplepen and then Teignmouth in the evening. Thursday was spent canvassing in Kingskerswell. The only social thing I had time for last week was an evening meeting of the Women's Institute in Kingsteignton on Thursday night - we had a good evening with a very interesting talk about the evacuees during the war. By Good Friday we had our campaign literature ready - so next week it will be the same again but this time doing battle with "killer" letterboxes which chew up your fingers as you put leaflets through the door!

BT have finally got broadband to my cottage in Coffinswell - this is very welcome. For the last few weeks I have been standing in the garden to get reception on my mobile phone in the absence of a land line - great in the sunshine - not so good in the rain! IT engineers are coming to get me up and running on my computer which will be a huge relief - Blackberries are wonderful things but they do have their limitations. And best of all my car is back from the garage, all repairs successfully completed.

Anne Marie

Monday 2 April 2007

Teignmouth - a new start

Last Thursday saw the first meeting for over a year of the Teignmouth branch. A new group of Conservatives has emerged to drive activities and events forward. We now also have a full slate of candidates for the Teignmouth wards for the District elections to be held in May. This is excellent news. Teignmouth is a core part of the constituency. I was delighted to welcome the team on board and begin to plan our campaign.

Last week we also held a public meeting in Kingsteignton which was very well attended with over 100 people. Joan Lambert (current and prospective District Councillor for Kingsteignton) and I, wanted to hear what issues and concerns people had with which they wanted support. The biggest issue is the so called "northern option" for new housing and industrial development proposed by Teignbridge Council. There is little evidence that proper consideration has been given to the necessary infrastructure needed to support such a development - a school, a GP practice, roads and other services, or to the funding needed to provide it. There was also considerable unease at its positioning on a flood plain. Worst of all there has been very little consultation and little evidence of any consideration of other housing options contained in the original strategic plan.

And this week - will be spent canvassing and preparing campaign material!

Anne Marie

Tuesday 27 March 2007

Summer Time and Kingskerswell

The clocks have changed and the weather is definitely more like summer. My lawn has had its first mowing. This last week was busy. I moved into Coffinswell with all the usual moving problems - no phone and nothing was packed where I thought it would be. Unpacking continued into the small hours.

This week I spent time getting to know Kingskerswell. An interesting Parish Council meeting demonstrated a fair bit of disquiet with the way things were being run which I suspect will be reflected in the Parish Council election results. In short, matters and concerns which had been raised over the year had not been progressed and the finances were at best in a bit of a muddle.

I held a public meeting on Saturday to find out what issues and concerns residents had. The most pressing issue was the proposed by pass - talked about for 30 years with no solution emerging. It is very clear that the labels "for" and "against" the by pass are misleading. Everyone recognises there is too much traffic and that it is bottle necked causing excessive pollution and limiting travel - the disagreement is over the route. My overwhelming sense is that the planners have not really understood or got to grips with the problem and have therefore failed to come up with an appropriate solution. This is something I will tackle.

The health centre has just been rebuilt in Kingskerswell and is really quite something. Concerns were however expressed that such a building and amenities should be more used. One young lady came up with a brilliant idea - we could move the library above the health centre rather than closing it. While the decision on the existing library has been held over until June, most people expect the decision to be to close it. Building above the health centre would however be a cheaper and better alternative and would put the library in a much more central position with better parking. And the lack of parking generally was another key issue. I asked about the post office - a real success story of a business that has really taken off and provides a vast range of services. Better still it provides a community voice and produces a regular newsletter!

I found a real gem in Kingsteignton - Kingscare - what a tribute to all those who set it up! It provides a quite unique service to patients of the Kingsteignton GP Surgery and the local community. Not only does it provide a service to collect and return patients home for appointments but it also organises events and outings giving people a chance to get out of their homes and socialise. It has even published a book with another on its way! Maggie Bonnell and her team are to be congratulated for what they are doing.

Best wishes

Sunday 18 March 2007

Plastic daffodils,hail stones - and education

Global warming has clearly taken its toll this year and nature is having to adapt...and so I think must we. I am not entirely convinced it makes sense to plant plastic daffodils because the real ones have come unseasonably early - nature is a wonderful thing because it is just that, natural. Hail storms and snow are promised and our weather is increasingly unpredictable. While it must be a priority to reverse or at least arrest the march of global warming, lets make the most of these differences and if our daffodils arrive in January next year lets enjoy them then.

Following my visit to "Shopmobility" in Teignmouth last week, I was invited to attend a meeting of the Teignbridge Access Group which meets once a month in Newton Abbot to discuss access issues for the disabled and less mobile. What an enthusiastic bunch of people! They have been incredibly successful, fighting for improvements in pavement structure, crossings, loos, better access to local shops and banks and for better access to leisure facilities. We owe a lot to individuals like this.

Candidates' nomination forms for the District and Town Council elections have to be submitted at the beginning of next month so this month sees plenty of activity getting forms filled in and putting the final touches to the election campaign. I am pleased to be welcoming a number of new faces to our band of councillors , many of whom have said to me that they want to stand up and be counted and get things changing for the better - and some have crossed the floor to do this. Sitting council members are holding local meetings to give us all a chance to tell them what isn't working. This coming week we have a meeting in Kingskerswell on Saturday 24th March at 10.00 am at the community centre - everyone is welcome and I hope to see you there!

On Friday Tim Laughton, Shadow Minister for Children and Health, joined us in Teignmouth to get a better feel for and understanding of the issues teachers, children and parents face - and what we can do to improve both teaching and learning. Our first stop was at Inverteign Community Nursery and Primary School. Here we visited the Family Learning Centre - a real jewel in the crown and a first class success story in education. A highly motivated and very welcoming group offer a range of learning opportunities to a community which has some of the most socially deprived families in Teignbridge. Parents, grandparents and children all learn together. The courses are designed in response to requests for help so they really are relevant. That the school is community led is one of its greatest strengths. The latest addition is a course for Dads, created by Dads and run by Dads - fantastic!

Rydon Primary School was next on the visit - a really popular school with more demand on its places than it can comfortably accommodate. Neil Graham, the headmaster is a wonderful man, clearly totally driven by what he can do to continually improve the learning of his children. After a brief tour around the school with Neil and Joan Lambert, a school governor and the local district councillor, Neil shared with us some interesting insights. The first will come as no surprise - a lack of space, clearly evidenced by the size of the school's library. The second was more of a surprise - Neil has found it hard to find male teachers to recruit and at present he is the only male member of staff.

The weekend should have seen me in Nottingham at the Conservative Spring Forum - but when someone ran into my car, that was the end of that! Instead I was finding a car repairer and filling in insurance forms. I am still not sure if I will be mobile next week!

Sunday 11 March 2007

Spring is here - March 2007

A busy week meeting friends and new members in the run up to the District Elections. On Monday I met friends in Kingsteignton in the Ten Tors pub and we exchanged views on local issues over a pint of beer. A number of you have taken the time and trouble to show me just how diverse Kingsteignton is - it is both an active farming community and busy urban village - and the concerns of both must be met. A common theme is always the rapid expansion of the village and the inadequacy of the roads, schools and other facilities to meet the needs of this fast growing community. Worst of all the planners seem to have failed to consult us all on what we think is needed and to have ignored some of the geographical quirks of Kingsteignton - in particular the flood plain and landfill sites on which much of modern Kingsteignton has been built.

On Tuesday, I spent the morning with the Shopmobility team down by the quays in Teignmouth. I take my hat off to John Birch and his team of volunteers who have made such a difference to helping the less able to get around - giving them a sense of freedom and Independence. John gave me a lesson on how to drive one of the buggies and off I went! In the afternoon I visited Kingsteignton's many housing estates that have been built in the last twenty years and was surprised at how different they all are, reflecting changing building ideas over the last decade or two. I was made very welcome at the local Bowls Club in Kingsteignton - that is quite a facility! A beautiful state of the art bowling green, home to some very successful teams and individual players, its walls covered in cups and prizes tell their own story. But we need to support this great game so that the club remains financially viable. I know that new members would be very welcome. It is also a good venue for meetings and celebrating special occasions - and what a view of Newton Abbot race course.

Thursday was devoted to Newton Abbot. A group of us got together to thrash out what we thought the Council should be doing but wasn't doing to make Newton Abbot thrive. Traffic congestion, parking, the "Asda" eyesore and the plight of the bypass were high on the agenda. On Friday I stood on Walborough Hill and could see very clearly the stream of almost static traffic heading south out of Newton Abbot to Torquey on the A380. This problem now almost fifty years old has now finally to be addressed and working with you all we need to find a solution. I suspect one of the main problems is that the current route proposal for the bye pass isn't in the right place and isn't solving the real problem.

At 4pm on Friday I was asked to stand in and speak at an event put on by the Honiton Conservative group that evening as their speaker had been delayed returning from a trip abroad - so my week ended with a quick rescheduling of plans to accommodate this! Saturday was filled with a coffee morning, committee meeting and then a dinner at which I was the guest speaker. We must be doing something right - the turnout was three times the usual number!

Sunday 4 March 2007

Investing in Newton Abbot

A warm, wet and busy week - but a very successful one! I have found a house in Newton Abbot to buy which will put me at the heart of things. It has been a long search but with a very worthwhile result. The average purchase takes three months - so I should be moving in late May or early June. In the meantime I have found a cottage in Coffinswell to rent from the middle of March. This week I spent some time in Westminster meeting with Members of Parliament from other parts of the South West. We have a number of common issues across the West Country -together we have a much more powerful voice!

One of the issues I have been exploring is how we can attract new businesses to invest in Newton Abbot not just to create new jobs, but to create a greater variety of jobs outside retail and tourism. That way we will have more to offer our young people to stop them leaving and may even be able to attract those who have left, back. A technology company might be one answer. I am exploring this and other ideas with friends and former colleagues in London. But I don't have a monopoly on good ideas - I would very much like to hear from you with your ideas! Together we can and must regenerate Newton Abbot and reduce the huge and quite unacceptable gap between the average pay packet and the average price of a house.

Monday 26 February 2007

19th - 24th February 2007 in the Constituency



This was a busy week. On Monday I met with colleagues from Devon County Council and Teignbridge District Council. There is a lot which is not working and which we need to fix. Most important is the issue of affordable housing. I learnt how little progress Teignbridge had made with this. The so called Northern Option is not only unacceptable to residents of Kingsteignton but in practical terms unworkable. It is a mammoth project and by its very nature not going to deliver in the short term, if at all, the housing needed. Together we plan to fight this to deliver something more acceptable in a shorter time frame.

I was horrified to learn that the plans for the new hospital for Newton Abbot are already being eroded. There is no plan now to transfer the very successful rehabilitation unit to the new hospital. With my council colleagues we are raising our concern with the Devon Primary Care Trust and Strategic Health Authority. We have already seen the slow march of a succession of bed closures. We are told they are temporary but will they be? Our health care provision is under threat and we must fight to keep it.

On Tuesday I was in Ipplepen where I met with residents to discuss local issues. They are up in arms about a proposal to dig up the grave of Bertram Fletcher Robinson. The requests for exhumation are to satisfy curiosity and prove whether that as a matter of historical fact the deceased had been poisoned. This would damage not just this grave but a number of others – this intrusion into the peace and tranquillity of the churchyard is unacceptable and I am adding my voice to that of others to persuade the Chancellor of the Diocese of Exeter to refuse the requests to exhume.

On Wednesday I met up with Angus Bristow our political agent at our offices to look at how we could make some progress with all these issues and provide some real support. On Thursday I did a radio interview with Radio Palm in Torbay. That evening I attended a public meeting in Kingsteignton to hear about how Teignbridge have wasted £70,000 of taxpayers money putting in traffic lights in Ley Lane which have made the traffic situation worse not better, filled residents’ homes with car exhaust fumes and put their very lives at risk as cars drive on the pavements to cope with the traffic bottleneck which has been created. With residents I will be petitioning the council to remove these lights at their meeting on 9 March.

I spent Friday in Teignmouth and Newton Abbot meeting and talking with shoppers and on Saturday, after a meeting with residents in Kingsteignton, addressed a very well attended public meeting in the Scouts headquarters at Newton Abbot. We talked through the issues of affordable housing, the need for permanent council housing stocks for those in need. There was real frustration at the lack of any accommodation for families and lack of provision of local buses. The move, now almost complete, of the Newton Abbot post office to the other end of the town was roundly criticised by all. Together with my colleagues on the council we will campaign for change.