Sunday 10 February 2008

Spring is around the corner - but Gordon is still in permafrost

The daffodils are coming through and Spring seems to be well on the way - for most of us. For Gordon Brown it must seem like perpetual winter. The economy goes from bad to worse and rising prices and the credit crunch are hitting us all. Food and energy prices keep going up but with no knock on benefit for farmers. And the spotlight has for some time been on the woeful shortcomings of politicians - oh why can't they behave! Don't go into politics today unless you are really committed to making a difference and improving the quality of other people's lives - not your own.



After a brief break in January, I have been out and about in the constituency. Last week I was at the Wednesday morning stock sale in Newton Abbot. There was a good turnout and a surprising number of sheep and cattle for sale. Better still the prices fetched were significantly up bringing a bit of a smile to farmers' faces. I had a good meeting with Anthony Rew who is taking over the NFU Devon chairmanship this year. We talked over the many issues needing to be addressed, particularly the TB epedemic among the badger population. He is very supportive of the farmers group I am getting together - we need to act now. The point to point at Ideford Arch was great fun as ever and very well attended - and was a good opportunity to have my ear bent about the many other issues facing the rural community!



Seale -Hayne has taken up much of my time. I met with the Seale-Hayne Future Group at the end of last year and since then have been working with them to see what we can do. The original intention of Sir Charles is being at best ignored and at worse totally overidden. It is a complicated story of a charitable trust going through so much change that the principles and processes to preserve that intent have got lost. Only some £750,000 was left after the transfer of Seale-Hayne to Plymouth University in the late 1990s and this was used to establish a new trust to provide bursaries and other funding to related and appropriate causes. And now in 2008 Plymouth is selling up the very same asset for what many expect will be a figure in excess of £20 million. Justice still might be done if the sale is to a bidder with similar intentions to those of Sir Charles but that seems less and less likely....but there are still things that can be done.

I had a delighful meeting with one of our oldest residents in Dawlish, Lucy Poole - a staunch Conservative and still with a razor sharp brain at 102. She has a remarkeable memory and is righfully proud of many children, grandchildre and great grandchildren. Dawlish has been through much change in her time. The battle of the supermarkets will result in even more change. It seems to be that the old saying, "location, location, location" is as relevant to buying a family home as to big business. Sainsbury's have the better site and I fear Tesco's will lose out accordingly. A recent survey showed over 90% are in favour of the Sainsbury's option. The public meeting next week which I believe both supermarket chains have declined to attend should be decisive.

I have been spending this month getting out to meet school heads to better understand their issues and concerns. Teignmouth College made me very welcome last week. A school with a vision of where it wants to go and which is well on its way to achieving it. The improvement in GCSE results is impressive as is the extraordinary choice of subjects available to students. While it has an outstanding reputation for its maths provision, quite a rarity these days, it also has some quite outstanding arts facilities and talented pupils to go with it. This week I will be visiting Knowles Hill. A good education , like good health is without doubt one of the most important things we can give our children and the generations to come. And what we need more of is good quality vocational training, which Teignmouth College have spotted and made provision for.

I was very flattered last week to be elected Newton Abbot's representative on Devon's Senior Council. While I have been involved for some months now in the council which is being established under the auspices of Devon County Council, this was an honour I had not expected. I have been working with a number of the caring agencies on a variety of issues but this new body should give us something we have not had before - a voice - and a joined up one at that for all of us over 50 whether or not working and whether or not able bodied. Devon County Council are putting money behind this so we must give it our best shot and get it to work!

Last but not least I have been getting to know local businesses better. I run my own local marketing business and am a member of the Federation of Small Businesses. The FSB have been organising business breakfasts on a monthly basis in Teignmouth and Newton Abbot which have been great networking events and those I have met have been a huge support in times of crisis. One very kind fellow businessman helped me out with an urgent fax - my fax was down and these days there are no local fax bureauxs. I called for help - and without question got it. There is an enormous bond and lots of goodwill - we are all struggling to make our businesses work - and together we are much more likely to achieve that.

I think my January has been rather more productive than Gordon's - he needs a bit more sunshine to thaw out. The trouble is ...I doubt he will get it any time soon.