What will the Easter Bunny Bring?

Spring is here, the daffodils have come...and almost gone and Easter will soon be upon us. Does Gordon Brown have an Easter Bunny to pull out of the hat? I think he hoped the G20 would produce a bit of a bounce by supporting his demand for further fiscal stimulus....but no such commitment was forthcoming from his European chums. Where is the real support for local families and businesses to come from? How about:

• cutting small company corporation tax rates from 22p to 20p?
• allowing small and medium sized enterprises to defer their tax bills for up to six months?
• cutting national insurance by 1p for six months for companies with fewer than 5 employees?
• introducing a £50bn National Loan Guarantee Scheme to underwrite lending from banks to British businesses?

and

• abolishing income tax on savings for basic rate taxpayers ?
• raising the pensioners personal allowance by £2000 to £11,490 for 2010/11?
• freezing council tax for two years?

Will Gordon be brave enough to adopt these Conservative ideas in the budget which will soon be announced? Somehow I think not.

This Spring at the forefront of my mind is how to get businesses better supported. I have spent quite a bit of time with local businesses, particularly those involved in tourism. I met with the Warren Trading Association out at Dawlish Warren and they are deeply frustrated about the lack of funding and promotional support from the government. I have invited Tobias Ellwood, Shadow Minister for Tourism, down to listen to their concerns and he will be visiting them tomorrow. Some have none the less fared better as the fall in sterling has attracted overseas visitors and encouraged people to holiday at home rather than abroad. Cofton Country Holidays invited me to visit during National Tourism Week -a very well run business which has found bookings going up. But for all those in the business, the weather is key - and people are booking later and later as a result.

Other businesses are feeling the pain but in many different ways. A visit to Forde Park Nursing Home was a real pleasure -such care for those who have in too many cases been long forgotten. But cuts in funding for those in need are evident here too. Anne Walker at IDS in Newton Abbot is weathering the storm and for her international business the fall in sterling has been helpful. Pat Masterson at the Newton Abbot Racecourse is ever resourceful in coming up with new ideas - and this is a special racecourse at the heart of the people of Newton Abbot. The Boys Night Out and Ladies Day promise to be enormous fun! Charles Baughan at Westaways Sausages is creating all sorts of sausages for - the Chinese market!...but is finding they are increasingly popular at home as the credit crisis crunches the weekly shopping bill.

I also visited the Mare and Foal Sanctuary at Honeysuckle Farm in Haccombe who are finding themselves totally inundated with horses and ponies needing rehoming - victims themselves of the recession as owners can no longer afford to keep them. They are at capacity and need all the help they can get to find new homes and more practically, more hay! They have an open day next Saturday at Coombe Park and I would encourage you to go along! How about adopting a pony instead of giving an Easter Egg? With a picture of the pony and its adopter to keep and an open invitation to visit, what fun! It is certainly the healthier option!

And then there are the host of constituent cases which need attention. Some are in relation to VAT and planning, others social services support and others health or child care related. I have had several calls about the Warmfront offering. Much is promised in terms of government supported central heating installation - the result does not match up to that promise causing deep frustration and serious ill health during the very cold winter which I hope is now largely behind us. We have also had a bail hostel problem which I have been advising on and which has now been satisfactorily resolved.

The Shadow Cabinet have been visiting us in Newton Abbot this year - Chris Grayling, Shadow Home Office, Grant Shapps, Shadow Housing and tomorrow Tobias Ellwood, Shadow Tourism. I am delighted to have such support and obvious commitment to the South West which has not in my view had the attention it deserves - and I am determined that is what it should have going forward! Baroness Virginia Bottomley also came down to support our Spring lunch and was very entertaining on her time in government as Minister for Health. This is a key target seat ...and one we can and must win!

...and the week was delighfully completed with a splendid evening at Powderham Castle to celebrate with the Earl and Countess of Devon the 50th anniversary of the opening of the castle to the public!

2009 - a year for the history books

Last year we saw the economy shrinking. This year we are in recession - and this is no ordinary recession. In Newton Abbot, Teignmouth and Dawlish shops are closing and small businesses are folding. The unemployment rate in Newton Abbot has doubled. We need a change of government to give the country the confidence it needs for a recovery. The money being pumped into the economy just isn't making a difference - and all those jobs Gordon promised to create building roads, houses and other public sector services cant be funded. It reminds me of the emperor who had no clothes....there is simply no substance to the promises made and no money to deliver them.

The Conservatives are planning now how they will deal with the worst set of public finances any incoming government in Britain has ever had to deal with. The national debt is set to double to a trillion pounds and our budget deficit is expected to be the highest in our history. We have to learn to live within our means and adopt a new approach to avoid waste and increase accountability. Conservatives have pledged to deliver much greater transparency so that for the first time anyone will be able to find out how and where their taxes are being spent and thereby hold the government to account.

But at least one country has seen fit to make a change - the inauguration of President Obama was a sight for sore eyes. Never in my lifetime has so much hope been placed in one man. A man of courage ...with a plan for change. And it is change we need here. And it is not just change in Britain PLC - but change in Devon. Devon seems to have been forgotten. We languish at the bottom of the funding league table on so many things. The funding level for our schools is but one. At 145 out of 148 the Government is spending £659 per child less on our children than those in neighbouring Bristol - yet our teachers are paid no less, our school buildings are no cheaper to maintain, indeed our transport costs are higher. Some 2000 parents agree with me that something has to be done and I am now finalising my petition with their support to get this changed. I have discussed the issue with Michael Gove, Shadow Minister for Education and he is fully supportive.

During the course of the New Year I have visited a number of local businesses and they are deeply frustrated. The VAT reduction has helped no-one. Business rates and National Insurance contributions are killing small businesses - along with the Revenue's very hard approach to pay deadlines - the extensions being granted are thin in the extreme. The banks who seem to be one of the key villains of the piece continue to refuse credit to businesses. And the new guarantee scheme to encourage bank lending is so vague as to be meaningless. The guarantees that were needed were for businesses, not banks. We all have to weather the storm..and the bad news is that the good businesses are as vulnerable as the bad.

Let Gordon have the courage to go to the country......but with opinion polls giving Conservatives a 15 point lead, that looks less and less likely.

A Busy Winter

With the rain and the frost, in every walk of life comes more activity. I have been busy launching a Social Action Campaign to keep the place clean and tidy. Along with a number of volunteers we cleaned up the playing fields in Starcross which was very much appreciated by the Parish Council and local residents. Andrew Mitchell MP was there to launch my campaign. It was good to be able to make a real difference.

On Halloween I spent time out with the Newton Abbot police. PC Cayless was very informative as we drove about the town dealing with quite a wide variety of issues. The police take pride in what they do and PC Cayless explained that the reason he had joined the force was to be able to help people. The young need help and advice and the approach he tries to take is to protect them.

We saw some underage youngsters on their way to a Halloween party. They were stopped and the cider and beer they had poured away and the cans crushed. The police diet that night was varied but included a blue light run to attend to a suspected school break in, dealing with a shoplifter and a vagrant and a number of other alcohol related crimes.

I have also been spending some time with the business community. I was made very welcome at Drake's Tooling. While there is a very severe downturn it is clear there is a real opportunity for the engineering sector. This view was reinforced at a meeting I had with the Clydesdale Bank who are looking at a 40% growth in business in this sector. This is something we can build on.

And of course there has been a full diet of meetings and events including a Trafalgar night dinner in Shaldon, Law Day in Newton Abbot with the Court Leet and the Newton Abbot Town Ball and Newton Abbot Civic Service, the Exe Estuary group and a Halloween event in Mamhead to name but a few!

A Government in Waiting

While the Conservative Party - along with the rest of us - wait for the real consequences of what Gordon Brown and Tony Blair have between them done to the country to be not just visible but understood, the country moves further and further into a deep recession. The Conservative Party is the government in waiting. The sooner we have an election, the better off we will be.

Labour may be looking a bit healthier but this will be short lived as the economy comes back to bite them. It never fails to amaze me how short memories are. It was Gordon Brown that destroyed our pension system when he changed the tax treatment of Advanced Corporation Tax. It will be interesting to see what Gordon does to pensions this year - some are suggesting ,somewhat fearfully ,that having spent so much on shoring up the banks he may not be willing or able to afford a proper inflation related annual increase.

Gordon had to shore up the capital and liquidity of the banks but this wasn't his idea - but rather that of the Treasury. But while what happened was necessary it was much too late. Many commentators have said, quite rightly in my view, that this recession has been as much about emotion and a failure to act decisively as it has been about the obvious shortcomings of our banks and our financial services systems and regulation.

And what plans does Gordon have to get the country back on its feet - other than those he has stolen from the Conservative Party? None! It was our idea to protect pensions and savings locked in banks - not Gordon's - and he still hasn't passed the legislation to move the savings ceiling to £50,000. He still hasn't bitten the bullet and reduced fuel related tax revenues - he has just asked the oil companies to be better behaved!

Conversely at our annual Conservative Party Conference we unveiled a number of immediate changes we would put in place to help people deal with the rising cost of living and the threat of unemployment. These include:

• a two year freeze on council tax which will save a typical Band D household over £200
• a fair fuel stabiliser so that fuel duty is cut when oil prices rise
• a reform of Post Office Card Accounts to enable direct debit payment of utility bills saving holders £100 a year
• a breathing space for good small businesses otherwise threatened with going bust to save jobs
• raising the stamp duty threshold permanently to enable 9 out of 10 first time buyers to pay no duty
• working with lenders to ensure repossession is a last resort
• simplifying the tax system to reducing business taxes and eliminate the couple penalty

But the Conference covered much more. The Conservatives would put an end to NHS targets which measure the wrong things and impede rather than improve patient care and choice. We would also bring discipline back to the classroom by allowing the headteachers word on such issues to be final. We would increase the much needed number of apprenticeships in the country giving £2000 to those small businesses taking an apprentice on. We would suspend the forced post office closure program on the day we are elected. But none of this and much much more received any coverage!

Come on Gordon - don't just sit there. If you really think you are doing so well - ask the country and call an election!

A summer of ups and downs

Too much going on...and no time to write about it! Apologies to regular readers. The summer is always a busy time but this one has been exceptional. Not least because of the increasing activity of the various organizations with which I am involved. The Senior Council is now fully established and up and running. The Newton Abbot area branch of which I am secretary has been the most active in the county and is now seen as one of the models for success. We have been lobbying on health care, disability and other social care issues and are actively involved with a number of local issues - such as the ill thought out plans for pedestrianization and bus movements in the center of Newton Abbot itself.

It has been a busy time at school too - exams, school plays, sports days - and at Rydon we have appointed a new headmistress, Sally Maunders, a very worthy successor, who as deputy head has demonstrated huge energy and commitment. At Knowles Hill we have been looking at the school's branding and its name. What the school have come up with together is brilliant - and the new name, Newton Abbot College very appropriate given the school's new direction. And then of course there have been all the challenges of looking at how we as a school can work more closely with both local primary schools and fellow secondary schools - the models and options are endless and need very careful thought and consideration.

I have also spent some time with local businesses, getting to know the management team and gaining a better understanding of their issues. Centrax is probably one of the most prestigious businesses we have in Newton Abbot and one of the most long standing. Following the closure of the railway activities in Newton Abbot, Centrax saw an opportunity to come in and use the skills of what would otherwise have been a redundant workforce. It now leads the world in gas turbine technology. Still a family business, the Barr family are very committed to Newton Abbot and the community. I was most impressed by the team and found the tour of the factory absolutely fascinating. I was also treated to a tour of the new building work and extension at IDS, the dance wear supply business, the brain child of Anne Walker - a great step forward and the source of much needed new jobs in Newton Abbot.

And of course there have been all the flower festivals across the villages which have shown very clearly that the old arts and crafts are alive and well - I have visited so many it would be hard to single any one out. Water sports have also been a huge source of fun. I spent one very enjoyable Sunday at Teignmouth Yacht Club watching the rowers - while I used to row myself, it was on a river - the sea is much more challenging and I take my hat off to those competitors - all very much fitter than I! The RNLI fete was a very wet affair - but everyone soldiered on - except the band!

Assorted visits to hear the police and residents talking about crime in Kingsteignton and to a local GP surgery to hear from the GPs and Patient Participation Group about the health issues facing residents if planned reorganizations went ahead, keep me abreast of what needs to be done - and where I have been able, I have taken local issues up for local groups and lobbied the shadow cabinet to take on board some of these critical issues in their planning for the future. I lobbied with Holcolme residents and those of Stokeinteignhead to stop the post office closures and obtained legal advice for the groups - but this government will not be stopped in its total disregard for the needs of the community. Finally I am also pleased to report that I have been elected a member of the Devon and Cornwall Board of the Institute of Directors, a body tasked with taking local business issues forward and giving them a national voice.

And then in late July I found myself in hospital. Ten days later I finally came home minus a gall bladder and with strong advice to take it easy - not my usual way! Torbay Hospital did an excellent job and I should pay tribute to the hard work of the doctors and nurses. Torbay too often gets knocked - it doesn't deserve it. But it is very clear this dedicated team achieve what they do against all the odds and we must urgently look at how we can provide the people and the medicines needed. I am an executive coach and marketing consultant and I found the experience of being in hospital hugely relevant to what I do. Most of my coaching clients are senior executives in NHS trust hospitals around the country - and "patient experience" is top of their agendas. I now have first hand experience.

So August sees me resting in the sunshine in Mallorca....getting ready for an action packed autumn on my return!

Wow....What a Victory!

May 2008 will go down in the history books as a very special month. Local election results to die for and Boris elected as Mayor of London. And as if that was not enough, Crewe falling to the Conservatives by a landslide majority - a first in 30 years. I have had so many telephone calls of congratulations and sheer relief that things are changing. We have two years to go until the next election....and it seems both very far away and very close.

It has been a busy couple of months quite apart from my commitments as a school governor at Rydon and Knowles Hill, and now Secretary to the Newton Abbot Area of the Senior Council Senior Council for Devon:

April

• launched Patrons Club
• Attended Dawlish Civic Dinner at the invitation of the Mayor
• Attended launch of Newton Abbot Community Plan - and won a bottle of fiz!
• Attended CPRE Annual General Meeting - the energy and food supply issues were hotly debated
• Issued press release on Newton Abbot Racecourse parking - picked up by Herald Express
• Visited Newton Abbot Indoor Market to hear about traders issues
• Palm Radio interview on the removal of coach parking at the racecourse
• 4Networking meetings to invite local traders to work with local schools
• Hosted coffee mornings in Mamhead, Starcross, Powderham and Kingsteignton
• Entertained Mark Harper MP, Shadow Minister for Disability and visited Shopmobility
• Joined Teignmouth Yacht Club and attended new members evening
• Invited to attend Sea Cadet Presentation and Service at Teignmouth and a reception at Bitton House

May

• Joined litter pick team at Dawlish Warren to clean the beach
• Visited street traders and market stall holders
• Met with local councillor and WBB re New Cross Development in Kingsteignton
• Beat the Bounds at Ipplepen
• Attended Teignmouth Town Council Annual Meeting
• Attended Devon County Show with Conservative Future
• Invited to County Show Reception organised by leading regional professional firms
• Met with local haulage company with Anthony Steen MP to address unfair competition issues
• Attended meetings with Holcombe residents to address proposed closure of the post office
• Canvassing, survey delivery across the constituency
• Met with national museums in London to explore local schools initiative in Devon
• Talked with local kidney dialysis patients concerning their future treatment

The most significant chunk of time has however been spent working with the Seale Hayne Future Group. While of course we need houses, we also need agricultural and educational provision. Seale Hayne, as a leading agricultural college, had been a a key asset to Newton Abbot - a beacon and example of what is best. It also brought young people to the town, created jobs and stood out as an icon for the town. That all changed. Plymouth University acquired it in the 1990s since when it has gone from bad to worse with no investment in its future. Plymouth have now agreed to sell it to a Scottish housing developer expected to build some 1200 houses on the site, and if we are lucky maybe they will be required to build a primary school. On the table was a proposal for something much more interesting - a plan to build a truly sustainable community incorporating a university and bringing employment to the town. It could have been Devon's Eden Project....and it still might be. Watch this space.

But in the next few weeks we must focus on saving Holcombe Post Office - not just as an end in itself but because of all it represents in this community - and many others like it. If the Post Office are calling for more government funding nationally yet again, would you back a promise from this government that there will be no more post office closures in a years time - I don't think so!

A wintery Easter ...and British Summer Time just a week away!

I am looking forward to the longer evenings...and some better weather! Walking the dogs every morning is a very muddy and slippery affair. The day of the storms which saw Teignmouth flooded was quite exceptional. I walked around Newton Abbot to see just how high the river would rise that morning and was staggered. Flood defenses must become more of a priority for the council - things are going to get worse not better. The new hospital in Orleigh Park might remain dry but the water was certainly right at the top of its banks in a number of places close by and the pools of water trapped by clay deposits numerous.

The Senior Council for Devon, on the Assembly of which I sit representing Newton Abbot, is making progress. This month we approved a new constitution and elected a new chairman, executive officers and the board of directors. The next step will be getting the local branches working properly and feeding up to the board, issues which need to be addressed by Devon County Council. Key issues are likely to include transport and health care provision. Our next local branch meeting is at 10.00am 17 April at Kingsteignton Community Hall. Please do come along and find out what we are trying to do and let us have your thoughts and ideas. While we are called the Newton Abbot branch, we also cover Kingsteignton and Bovey Tracey. There are separate branches for Dawlish and for Teignmouth which will also be holding meetings shortly.

Farmers have been top of mind this month. I was invited to attend a meeting of Devon Farms, a group established to promote tourism in our rural communities and provide a source of much needed income to local farmers diversifying into bed and breakfast and self-catering holidays. It was a fabulous celebration of all that this dedicated group have achieved. Gary Streeter MP was there to address us and we were treated to a great food, good company and an opportunity to meet the stock man and his wife with their prize cows on Fowlescombe Farm, just outside Ivybridge, where Richard Barker was kindly hosting the event. Now I understand why farmers are so attached to their animals. But on a more serious note there is great concern at how little support the government is giving to their businesses. The central budget promoting tourism has been slashed by half and it is these sorts of businesses which are paying the price.

I have also now established a farmer's forum and on 17 March we met for the first time at Bulleigh Park Farm, thanks to Angela and Phil Dallyn. A number of issues were raised but the most vociferously discussed were the red tape issues. Farmers know how to farm, let them get on with it! The government do not understand how to deal with infection and have failed to recognise that disease is here to stay - it is naive to think we can keep our borders as barriers in the global market farming has become. We had representatives from the Young Farmers and the NFU who came to hear what was being said. I was impressed and delighted to hear from one young farmer who thought the main reason stopping the young coming into farming was quite simply the price of land. Land coming on the market is being snapped up by those who want and can afford to pay above the agricultural price for land just to have the farm house. Sometimes the land that goes with it gets worked by a local farmer but then usually just for hay and silage rather than something more productive.

We had National Tourism Week this month and I went to visit three of our local tourism entrepreneurs to listen to what they had to say. Cofton Country Holidays in Starcross are an example of just what can be achieved. They have been awarded eight consecutive Gold Awards for Conservation by David Bellamy, in recognition of their commitment to protecting, preserving and maintaining this glorious corner of Devon. They pride themselves in sourcing everything locally. They would like to see some changes in the tax legislation to make it easier to employ part timers who are doing seasonal work like this. My last stop was to visit Nigel Bell at Sampsons Farm. Probably one of the few independent restaurant hotels of its kind, in the constituency, Nigel has a hard time making ends meet. The market has changed and he has found that the summer holiday market has largely moved abroad to guaranteed sunshine. The market he has diversified into - weekend breaks and the corporate market - is much harder to sell. His plea is for the government to recognise that small businesses are just that - small. They need greater flexibility and cannot survive on a one size fits all approach to business as a whole.

I was delighted to be appointed a governor of Knowles Hill School this month and am very much looking forward to working with Gareth Davies and his team. In a very short time he has turned the school and its prospects around. And schools were very much front of mind when I addressed two 4Networking business group meetings this month in Newton Abbot and Exeter. My plea was for business to recognise that there has to be a symbiotic relationship between businesses and the communities they operate it. This government won't help business but communities will. Key here is their relationship with schools. And on the subject of community I raised the issue of Post Offices and posed the question - what can we as successful business people do to support them? If Essex can come up with a plan, we should be lobbying Devon to do the same. I was lobbying Richard Younger Ross to support the Conservative proposal to the House last week to freeze the current closure plan and I urged them to do the same.

Europe has of course been another key issue. I had organised three Referendum street stalls asking members of the public to hold Gordon Brown to account giving them post cards to complete and return asking for a Referendum. Neil Parish our MEP came out to support us and we had an excellent response. But this government is stubborn to a fault. The call for a referendum in parliament went unheeded. And what a dreadful budget. I won't rehearse its ills here, we are already too familiar with them. Suffice it to say Gordon has taken his party to an all time low in the polls in 25 years giving the Conservative Party a 16 point lead. I am now being lobbied quite rightly by small haulage companies - if Gordon puts the extra tax on fuel in the autumn , many of them will go out of business - and that starts a further cascade of business failures.

But I did have some fun on Easter Saturday. The Newton Abbot Court Leet invited me to their annual bread weighing which this year took place at the Ship Inn on Walborough Street. Hot cross buns from a number of local bakeries were weighed and sampled by those assembled and found to be very good eating indeed! Certificates were duly presented and then the remaining goodies auctioned raising over £100 for Rowcroft , the Portrieve's charity for the year. The next event is the beating of the bounds next month - walking shoes will be needed to gain access to those parts of Newton Abbot rarely visited by most of us!