End of the Noughties

As the decade ends we’re one step ahead of the Americans for a change.
We British have a name for the era just past -- the Noughties -- whereas the US still can’t decide. Maybe it’s a decade they’d rather forget, and I wouldn’t blame them.
Welcome to the Teens.

Never Argue with LibDems

The Liberal Democrats may trace their origins back to one of Britain’s oldest political parties, but in the 21st century they behave like political teenagers.
Happy to say one thing to mum and something contradictory to dad, hoping to curry favour with both.
And it never pays to pick a fight with the LibDems as they are always right, and will carry on arguing until the cows come home.
Best way is to ignore them -- they really don’t like that!
Time they grew up.

Cloth Cap versus Tory Toff

I do hope Gordon Brown gets his way with a good old-fashioned class war in the run up to the General Election, taking us all back to the 1970s.
For Old Labour is nothing if it’s not the party of class warfare -- orchestrated by Champagne socialists, pulling up beneath them the ladders of privilege they themselves clambered.
Trying to portray the Conservatives as the party of the rich is hypocritical after thirteen wasted years of a Labour Government -- one that has achieved so little to help the less well off in any sustainable way. Meanwhile the gap between rich and poor has widened and social mobility has declined under Labour.

Akmal Shaikh

Fresh from hosting the complete failure of the Copenhagen climate change summit, the European Union again finds itself utterly impotent on the world stage.
Tomorrow morning China is set to execute the first European citizen in half a century, after choosing to ignore pleas from most civilized peoples. This is too big an issue for them to be worried about “saving face”.
Opposition to the death penalty is something I agree with the EU about, and whilst I also oppose drug trafficking, it is hardly a capital crime of which Akmal Shaikh is accused. To say nothing of the man’s poor mental state, further grounds for acquittal. Oh, and I might mention the barbaric method by which the Chinese Communists dispatch their victims -- a bullet to the head.
I somehow doubt that China will kow-tow.

Update 9am, 29 December 2009: Akmal Shaikh R.I.P. -- In China, life is cheap.

Leicestershire North West

Yesterday’s very sad death and untimely of David Taylor MP for Leicestershire North West prompts me to hurry up and get my EBT (electron beam tomography) -- see my blog three days ago. Mr Taylor was fit and healthy having run several marathons in the 1980s, and since then taken up long distance cycling around the UK.
I wonder if Gordon Brown will be brave enough to call a by-election before he has to go to the country? It is an eminently winnable seat for the Conservatives with a fine candidate in Andrew Bridgen. He was selected three years ago and is now well respected in the area, where he runs a family business producing pre-prepared vegetables.
It would be revenge for my own visit to the Leicester South by-election in July 2004 when the Tories were squeezed into third place. At that time the Liberals were on a roll with their anti Iraq War stance, gaining the seat from Labour with a 21% swing. (The seat returned to Labour at the following year’s General Election). I remember spending the day with Peter Bone MP and his campaign team from Wellingborough.

Myths Ahead

As the New Year looms, time for predictions, and 2010 will be a year of myths.
Like how easy it will be for the Tories to win the General Election. The last election ended with Labour on 35% share of the popular vote, and the Conservatives less than three percentage points behind at 32½%. And yet Labour had a good working majority, and nearly twice as many Members of Parliament as the Conservatives.
Another myth perpetuated by the left is that reducing government expenditure would threaten the economic recovery, leading to a “double-dip” recession. The truth is that in the past the Conservatives have been able to reign in state spending and at the same time witness economic growth. It’s quite natural for the private sector to thrive when relieved of the shackles of the state.

Happy Christmas

Merry Christmas to all readers.
Studying the label on my kipper this morning, it read: "may contain bones".
That made me think of a Labour Party manifesto: "may contain tax rises".

Healthcare

A big concern I have is that in the UK we spend only half as much as we ought to on healthcare. The problem is that people don’t see a direct benefit to them in paying more income tax to finance it.
One solution is to encourage more health screening, but not by law like MOTs for cars. In fact we often spend a lot more maintaining our cars than ourselves, and when they pack up you can buy a new one.
So getting a two-yearly health assessment like I did yesterday seems like a no-brainer. I seem to be in pretty good shape, but they don’t let you off the hook that easily.
One of a couple additional tests suggested was an electron beam tomography (EBT). It detects any furring of the coronary arteries, which can to heart attacks -- the cause of death for a third of all British men. So the £500 cost, say every five years, seems reasonable.

ConSeRvAtivE Party

I’m disappointed that -- according to the latest ComRes poll for The Independent -- half the UK suffers the misconception that the Conservative Party mainly represent the interests of the well-off rather than “ordinary people”
Well the name of the Conservative Party has always included all the letters of the word “cares”. And the most successful political party in history didn’t last that long by not caring for all the people.
I don’t deny the Tory Party includes a few toffs, just like the Labour Party has plenty of Champagne Socialists.
A little known fact is that the average annual income of Conservative Party members is significantly less than that of members of other British political parties.

Charlton Lane Recycling

For all their bluster Spelthorne’s Liberal Democrats have been rather timid in the Council chamber at County Hall in Kingston since they were elected last June.
And this week we think they shot themselves in the foot with a lukewarm response to the Conservatives’ ingenious plan to upgrade the Charlton Lane Recycling Centre, with a really cost effective way of dealing with all our waste.
The UK’s first Eco Park will include a special plant to heat all residual waste (that which cannot be recycled) in a totally sealed environment. In addition all food waste -- to be collected separately -- will be composted. The amount of natural gas produced by both processes will be enough to power ten thousand homes -- that's equivalent to a quarter of the houses in Spelthorne.
Not only will this proposal almost eliminate the need to bury waste in the ground, but it'll cost less than any alternative, there’ll be a reduction in traffic at the site, and there’ll be a profit from selling the green energy to the national grid.

Copenhagen & My Potatoes

Copenhagen may have been a complete failure, but all this talk of global warning caught me on the hop.
I was ill-prepared for a week of hard frost, and yesterday had to rush and dig up all my potatoes.
Although potatoes originated high in the Peruvian Andes, they can be damaged by frost near the surface.
Back breaking work, but it kept me warm, and I can now look forward to another year of self-sufficiency.

PS: Sometime yesterday evening my blog received the one thousandth visit in a month, so thanks for reading.

MPs’ Expenses v Open Primary

I’m very disappointed that our local press has chosen to lead on the continuing “revelations” about MPs’ expenses, rather than mention Spelthorne’s exciting Open Primary election next month.
None of the people I speak to -- over a hundred ordinary voters in the last 48 hours -- have mentioned MPs’ expenses. No one is interested any more!
In contrast a quarter of them are definitely going to try and attend our Open Primary next month. If you add in those who’ll think about it, over a half of those I’ve contacted are interested in the chance to help choose who could become their next MP.

Canvassing for Open Primary

Cold, dark and wet, that’s my favourite time for knocking on doors. You get such a nice welcome because people really appreciate you’ve made the effort.
Testing the water this evening for Spelthorne’s Open Primary in five weeks time.
I must admit the majority of people really couldn’t care less -- about voting at all in elections, about which party governs, or about choosing the Conservative candidate.
But there is a hard core out there who realise it does make a difference, and I like their community spirit.
Now the canvass sheets have dried, out I can reveal that of thirty households to whom we said hello, six showed a really positive interest in taking part. A further fifteen would give it some thought.
Maybe democracy is alive and well after all.

Opinion Poll Volatility

You can tell there’s an election in the offing, with numerous opinion polls published almost daily. But how do you explain the volatility?
Well it’s partly to do with differing methods used by each organisation to “weight” the raw data.
However I think it’s more to do with the credence given to minority parties such as the LibDems, BNP, SNP and UKIP.
No one honestly expects any one of their leaders to become Prime Minister next year, and yet people are confused.
Speaking to voters in the north of England such as Cheadle and Penistone & Stocksbridge, I find that a lot of people are still waivering between Brown and Cameron, and voting for some other party is seen as a middle way.
Soon it will be time to decide.

Liberal Dirty Tricks?

Having tested the water, local Liberal Democrats are now starting to pre-register for Spelthorne’s Open Primary election next month.
The Conservatives are relaxed about this because there has rarely been any effective minority party manipulation of primaries in America, where they are commonplace.
In a secret ballot voters realise they are choosing the person that could well become their next Member of Parliament, and are therefore careful to go for the very best person.
Besides the Liberals’ attempt at dirty tricks in Totnes last August backfired spectacularly, when the candidate they backed came last!

Criticism

I just read the first criticism of my blog over at ConservativeHome.com and how chuffed I am. It's a pity it was so badly written that it doesn't really make sense.
But hey, having a pop at me is fine, because it proves someone's reading!

Careful being rude on my own blog, or I might have to start moderating comments.

A Brutal Process

I’ve been praising the new Conservative Party open primary elections.
However there’s one group of people for whom the process is not so wonderful.
For the participating candidates it is the most brutal process, which touches even the winner.
You are expected to give the speech of your life in front of a large audience and be subjected to sometimes very personal questions. You are under huge pressure, in what is a potentially life-changing event.
And the five losers drive away utterly dejected, yet they still try again for the next seat.
There are now two breeds of politician, those selected under the old system of having to wow a few dozen activists in a smoke-filled room, and those who have survived the gladiatorial process of a Conservative Party open primary.

Spelthorne Six Ready for Primary

What a busy day (yesterday), finalizing the short-list to compete in Spelthorne parliamentary constituency’s very first open primary election.
In the afternoon we had to notify the hundreds of disappointed applicants, and thank them for all the effort they put in.
I then spent all evening coordinating the initial presentations from each of the six candidates – who’d want to be a journalist.
We’re ready to go, and Spelthorne Conservatives have an absolutely fantastic set of candidates to choose from. Furthermore we are happy to invite those of all political persuasions to take part in the process. Democracy at work. Visit Spelthorne Conservatives.

Readership Stats

It’s a brave blogger who reveals his readership.
A more famous blogger than I, Charles Crawford announced yesterday (7th) he gets 16,000 visitors a month, yet he does not consider that mass readership. Well I do find his musings rather esoteric, so he won’t be on my blogroll.
I only started blogging last month, and have been tracking my readership for just two weeks. In that time I’ve had 710 visits settling at between 25 and 50 visits per day (48 visits yesterday).
So do please keep coming back, as I do try and write something interesting each day. And who knows what news I might have for you tomorrow!

Copenhagen Summit

I’m no climate change denier, but I do ask, if global temperatures rise by say ten degrees Fahrenheit: So what?
Humans have adapted to much larger variations in climate over the millennia. It was a lot warmer in England in the middle ages than it is today; evidence the medieval vineyards in York.
We survived the ice age, when coincidentally you could walk from what is now Dover to Calais without getting your feet wet – in other words sea levels were a lot lower.
Cities such as Helsinki thrive with mean temperatures of 40ºF, whilst Singapore manages perfectly well with an annual average of 85ºF.
Here in England thousands more our elderly die of hypothermia in the winter than of heatstroke in the summer.
Before we burden the world’s economy with the crippling costs of decarbonisation, are there not cheaper ways of adapting?

Beckenham Primary Election

Sunday afternoon on a cold December day is not an ideal time to hold a three and a half hour public meeting. Nevertheless the 150 people who did attend the Beckenham primary election today were given a treat.
The time passed quickly, people stayed alert throughout and all five candidates performed well. None of them used any notes, and all spoke authoritatively.
The pre-prepared questions were mundane and predictable, and fortunately the varied answers were more lively.
At the time I reckoned that Col Bob Stewart – who was first up - clinched it after five minutes. He enraptured the audience and went on to win convincingly in only the second ballot.
After the result he was as scared as he’s been in his entire life, and truly humbled. He paid tribute to his fellow contestants from whom he felt he had stolen the honour.
It’s a very tough time to try and become a Tory MP – I should know, I tried.

What’s in a name?

Well as I suspected would happen, Caroline Dinenage romped home in the Gosport primary postal ballot yesterday, and is now their Conservative parliamentary candidate.
She’s not bad, but I wonder if she’d have won so convincingly if she’d not kept her maiden name? (Her father has been prominent on TV since the 1970s, and still appears on the evening news programme across the south).

Rather more mysteriously, the Spelthorne Labour Party have dropped their bright young hopeful, Robert Ferguson. Robert was born and bred in Sunbury and was their parliamentary candidate until last month.
They have replaced him with someone from outside the area, who “commits” to move here, but only once elected!
His name is Adam Tyler-Moore. Surely a double-barrelled mistake?

Tory Toff Campaign Stinks

You’d have thought Labour would have learnt their lesson from the Tory-Toffs campaign, which led to their drubbing in the Crewe & Nantwich by-election last year.
But they’re at it again, accusing the Conservatives’ front bench of being full of old Etonians, when in fact two-fifths of the Labour cabinet went to fee-paying schools.
Diane Abbott says it’s OK to send her son to a fee-paying school, but not for David Cameron to choose from the best educated in the land to form an alternative government.
The number of children who attend fee-paying schools has increased to one in 14, as families sacrifice their standard of living in search of a better quality of education than Labour can offer.

Stanwell SureStart

Locals will know that several regeneration projects in Stanwell have hit snags, many of a legal nature.
Today at long last, groundwork started on new premises for the Stanwell Children’s Centre in Hadrian Way. At the moment nearby Portakabins house the vital service which supports disadvantaged families with young children, mainly as a place where they can turn to in need of help.
SureStart is one of the Labour Government’s few success stories. Contrary to Labour’s propaganda the Conservatives will not slash the scheme. In fact it needs developing so that it is more effective at a local level.
So instead of providing yoga classes for yummy mummies, SureStart should be seeking out the most deprived families in our broken society, and ensure everyone has a fair start in life.

Europe Again v LibDems

Still a hot subject today in the blogosphere, though of little interest to most voters, we read of the disenchantment about the LibDems inconsistency on Europe.
Does their leadership want an “in/out” referendum or not?
Being new to blogging I’ve not yet prepared my blogroll but high up there already was Charlotte Gore (even though my views are diametrically opposed to hers on drugs).
It’s come to a pretty pass when the nation’s top LibDem blogger is severing ties with a party that flip-flops on Europe.
And I didn’t even mention the Mansion Tax.

Europe is Driving Me Nuts

Why are so many Conservative supporters exercised about Europe? It’s bottom on the list of most peoples national concerns.
Yet some Tories are determined to vote UKIP at the next election, in the full knowledge it can do nothing but prop up a discredited Labour Government.
But it is Labour that ratified the Lisbon Treaty. It is Labour that messed up our economy, our health service, our education, the benefit system -- the list goes on.
A Cameron Government would have the strongest mandate on Europe in a generation. He’ll wait for Greece and Italy to implement the directives before we do. He’ll demand the return powers over employment legislation, human rights and criminal justice. And if the other 26 don’t play ball? Stop paying the bill. With the threat of a referendum at the following election.
Europe needs us more than we need them.
I’m having lunch with Daniel Hannan on Friday.

Conservative Camaraderie

All applications are now in to be Spelthorne’s next Conservative parliamentary candidate.
Time to reflect on the research stage. Just as the public’s respect for politicians is at an all time low, I can vouch for the fact that there has never been a group of more worthy people applying to be Conservative MPs, and it’s really sad that so many will be disappointed.
I’ve met quite a few politicians in my time, and there are some charlatans and ambitious back-stabbers out there. Unfortunately a few of them are able to blag their way through both the Parliamentary Assessment Board and the traditional hustings selection meeting.
But we can take comfort in knowing that the vast majority of aspiring Conservative politicians are a conscientious and dedicated bunch -- they really do care.
I was particularly struck by the sheer camaraderie amongst the seasoned campaigners, never hesitating to help each other even at their own expense.
British altruism at its best.

Is Spelthorne Jinxed?

With just 24 hours to the deadline for applying to be Spelthorne’s next Conservative Parliamentary candidate I thought I relate just some of the calamities that have beset them.
One guy’s plans were interrupted by a leaking roof which caused the ceiling of his daughter’s bedroom to collapse, causing significant disruption.
Another candidate had the worry of tending his three-year-old son in hospital for a fortnight, suffering with an abscess on his lung -- fortunately now recovered.
The husband of a third contender suffered from whiplash after being T-boned by a young lady at a roundabout, causing the family car to be written off.
And a fourth hopeful had to abort his visit to the area when he wricked his shoulder.
Surely above average misfortune?

Ashford / Spelthorne College Protest

All day today I observed an impressive Unison inspired protest outside the Ashford Campus of Brooklands College. Unison’s primary concern is to protect the jobs of their union members, rather than the wider interests of the community.

The College has been dealt a hammer blow by Labour’s sudden withdrawal of all funding for the Learning & Skills Council. Responsibility for the education of 16-19 year olds reverts to Surrey County Council next spring.

The original building in Ashford has no future because it cannot be economically refurbished to modern standards. It is to be hoped that the superb Portakabins on the site can be retained, whilst more permanent facilities are found in Spelthorne for the education of our sixth-formers.

Stanwell Club House Wrecked

Without being complacent, Spelthorne doesn’t suffer too badly from the upsurge in crime under this Labour Government.
All the more shocking therefore was the attack on the Long Lane Recreation Ground club house in Stanwell over the weekend.
The place was completely wrecked, with an estimated £40,000 worth of damage. Every internal fixture was ripped apart, the ceilings pulled down and the whole place deliberately flooded.
Usually vandals from outside the area are responsible, but of course it’s local youths who will suffer, losing their changing rooms over the winter.

Gosport Open Primary Election

I’m really excited about the open primary election this week in Gosport constituency. It is only the second occasion in Britain that all electors in their area are being invited by postal ballot to choose their parliamentary candidate.
I believe it is the future, and will alter the political map for good.
Open primaries tend to prevent extremist politicians infiltrating mainstream parties. But more importantly they give everyone a say in choosing their MP even in safe seat, thus eliminating the argument for proportional representation.
We can get back to a proper two-party system, where the political debate is hammered out more clearly.
Gosport is even more exciting because there are only two ways in or out, so the four candidates have a captive audience. They can stand either at the Gosport ferry terminal which links commuters to Portsmouth -- one of my favourite ferry rides -- or alongside the heavily congested A32 main road, come rain or shine!
With just seven days to go the candidates are all blogging, using Facebook and door-to-door leafleting everyone as fast as they can.

North Surrey Bus Service Review

Again we find some campaigners are scaremongering, this time about the review of subsidised bus services in north Surrey.
The County Council spends £11 million on keeping uneconomic routes going, a figure which keeps on rising by about £1million each year which is unsustainable.
Yet some routes are seriously underused, so it is only fair that the network is looked at -- but without sacrificing vital services to vulnerable groups.
In fact Spelthorne Borough has a relatively high level of bus usage and is set to suffer minimally in the drive to save taxpayer money.
The Council is interested in residents’ views, so have your say.

Third Runway: Right or Wrong?

This is a divisive issue, pitching concerns for our prosperity against worries about the environment.
It is a fact that aircraft noise has reduced significantly these last forty years. You only tend to look up when you can hear a plane, and I’ve seen the Airbus A380 only three times, including the time I went and saw the first one land at Heathrow.
People overlook the amount of noise and exhaust emissions over areas like Cobham whilst planes are stacked in the morning rush waiting to land.
The odds are that Heathrow’s third runway will eventually be built, and it’s our job to keep the pollution to a minimum whilst protecting our economic interests.

Spelthorne College Set to Close

In my day it was Ashford County Grammar School, though I did not attend myself. In recent years the College underwent a series of mergers, culminating in becoming a victim of the Labour Government’s financial incompetence.
Cash for vital rebuilding work has simply run out, with the students now housed in Portakabins. The sixth form college is in limbo, because Brooklands College cannot afford to keep their Ashford Campus open.
It is the only one left in Spelthorne, and we have a relatively high number of NEETs.
Let's hope a solution can be found.

Rule Britannia!

Last night I attended a packed concert at St Peter’s Church in Staines performed by the RAF Association President’s brass band, and organised by Staines Rotary in support of DayBreak.
The funds will pay for extending to more than one day a week the service provided to carers and those with long-term illness whom they care for in our community.
I’m not normally into such music, but I couldn’t help feel that some of the military music would go down well in Afghanistan, and instead of our Governments pussy-footing about out there, we’d start winning.
Then came the politically incorrect Land of Hope and Glory, and best of all:
Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves!
Britons never, never, never shall be slaves.
A good tune to be played outside the Parliament building in Brussels.

Beating the Liberals in Cornwall

This week Mark Prisk MP came to speak to the Spelthorne Conservatives.
Here’s a man who made it up through the ranks, starting out as “press officer” for the Young Conservatives in Cornwall, the lowest rung on the ladder. He is now Shadow Minister for Cornwall.
This involves beating the Liberals. They have all five MPs, but the Conservatives won control of the new Cornwall unitary authority this year. Five of the six new Cornwall constituencies are now target seats, with the Liberals likely to hang on only in St Ives at the far tip.
Thanks to Eric Pickles, who shut down the LibDem unit at Central Office, and ever since we stopped attacking them we’ve started winning.

How to become a Tory MP

Well, you’ve got to condense why you want the job into 400 words -- a bit like this blog -- and there’s just a week to go.
Please don’t waste time with a standard CV. Something's got to sparkle. What you’ve done is less important than what you’re going go to -- for the people you’ll represent. So what makes them tick?
People need to know you really want the job, but we hate overt ambition, and oiliness even more.
Find a way to get through to the key-players without hassling them, remembering they might want the job too.
My 100 words are up!

On the Edge

Windsurfing is about being on the edge.
At the coast; on the surface of the sea; balancing on the board; hanging on to the sail; edgeways on to the wind; life or death without precautions against wind, tide and the freezing cold water at this time of year.
Not much sign of the ongoing Conservative Party primary election in Gosport, though I was keen to get to the beach at Lee-on-the-Solent. The radio announced it was too rough for the Isle of Wight hovercraft. So not having been out since July, I was in trepidation.
In the event the wind died down a bit, so it was rather a relaxing day.

Direct Debit Fraud

A recent cash flow glitch at the local Conservative Party led me to check a couple of the less active bank accounts in search of funds. These are the accounts intended only to receive standing order receipts.
So payments from the accounts immediately look suspicious. Further enquiries revealed a whole series of fraudulent direct debit transactions. Charges for pet insurance, mobile phone insurance, magazine subscriptions, RAC breakdown cover, etc.
The accounts details are displayed online via the Party membership subscription forms.
Apparently the banks turn a blind eye to direct debits set up online (without a signature), even if the address does not match. As long as the amount is relatively small -- say under £50 -- all they process is the account number and sort code.
We’re trying to get our money back.

Ashford Hospital

Today I attended the official re-opening of four of the wards at my local Ashford Hospital, following their complete refurbishment.
A total of £850,000 has been spent upgrading the Chaucer, Dickens, Fielding and Wordsworth wards. The principal benefit has been the elimination of mixed sex accommodation -- and each bay can be alternated from all-male to all-female “overnight” if need be.
All rooms now have en suite facilities and meet all the very latest infection control guidelines. Also there is now adequate provision for bariatric patients (those over 18 stone).
In summary these improvements guarantee Ashford Hospital’s future in our community for some considerable time.

Liz Truss

Here’s hoping Liz Truss survives the outrageous attack on her well-earned nomination as Parliamentary Candidate for South West Norfolk at tomorrow night’s meeting (16th November).
To describe her detractors as Neanderthal is a bit harsh, but Conservative Party members who aren't able to Google, nor to consult with people who are computer literate, certainly are antediluvian.
They should not have a decisive say in the selection of parliamentary candidates in the 21st century Conservative Party, and consider the harm they have already done.

UPDATE 9pm on 16th November: Congratulations to Liz Truss on winning the vote (by 132 to 37).
Common sense prevails.

Garden Grabbing

The top issue which the Liberals consistently criticise the Conservatives in the Borough of Spelthorne is for alleged over-development, and in particular “garden grabbing”.
Interesting that over in Kingston -- where they run the council -- the Liberals place the blame squarely on the shoulders of the Labour Government, for rules which encourage developers to buy up people’s back gardens.
But then the Liberals have never been ashamed about saying one thing to one group of people and the opposite to others.

Regeneration

A great thing going on in Ashford and Stanwell at the moment is the major regeneration of tired and outdated housing estates.
However I do take exception to the term “decanting” when referring to the temporary relocation of residents (both tenants and owner-occupiers), whilst their houses are being rebuilt.
You decant wine from a bottle to leave the dregs behind. I accept that overuse by officialdom has allowed dictionaries to include the decanting of people in this context, but I think it treats them like commodities.
So just stick to the term temporarily rehouse.

Another UKIP MEP Jailed for Fraud

To think that earlier this year we Conservatives spent a load of money on extra promotional material across the Borough of Spelthorne, all for a measly 126 extra votes in last June’s elections (as compared with five years before).
In the end too many Tories voted UKIP in the mistaken belief that they were voting for a Party untainted by the MPs’ expenses scandal.
Today former UKIP Member of the European Parliament Tom Wise was jailed for two years for stealing £39,000 worth of parliamentary expenses.
This comes after local UKIP MEP Ashley Mote served a nine-month prison sentence for £67,000 worth of benefit fraud.
It makes you pig sick.

Poverty

How dare people question David Cameron’s integrity on the issue of poverty. The Tories have been tackling poverty since long before the Labour Party came into existence.
Despite Labour’s vast increase in Government spending in the last decade, the gap between rich and poor has at best remained the same over the cycle, and is currently on the increase.
More money now goes out on welfare payments than comes in from income tax alone.
So let the state get of our backs and allow everyone more personal responsibility.

Afghanistan

I was always a bit sceptical about the conflict in Afghanistan, bearing in mind Britain’s chequered history in that country.
At the turn of the century the Taliban regime almost eradicated opium production, but in the last few years it has returned to record levels.
Afghanistan currently produces over 80% of the world’s supply, responsible for 100,000 deaths (far more than have died in the conflict itself). However there are several other poppy growing regions around the world that would take up the slack.
The issue for me is that a lot of the profit from opium production is financing the insurgency. I am no historian, but most wars and conflicts are resolved in the end by economic strength, rather than military might or political will. The loser is often the one for whom the money runs out first.

PS: I very rarely sympathise with Gordon Brown -- in fact the last time was when Osama Bin Laden insulted him -- but he really doesn’t deserve such a hard time for the genuine mistakes in the letter of condolence to Guardsman Jamie Janes’ mother.

Remembrance Sunday

Twelve years ago I was on board Le Truck (a kind of six-wheeled lorry converted into a bus), making it’s way around Moorea, an island in the South Pacific. All of a sudden the thing pulled over and stopped at the roadside.
I checked my watch and it was 11am, and of course it was Tuesday 11th November -- Armistice Day in this French territory. Ever since I have preferred the idea of honouring the fallen on the exact day.
However this Remembrance Sunday there were as many people as ever at the Ashford War Memorial, perhaps 1,500 souls. Far more than could be there on a weekday unless it was a public holiday.
So maybe we have the best of both worlds -- just don't forget to stop for two minutes on Wednesday.

Europe

Seems like the Tory bust up on Europe was a damp squib. You see we really do want to win the Election so much, and Europe is close to the bottom of most people’s priorities.
Funny thing is, we did get some red meat from Cameron, though it was not immediately obvious. Of course a referendum on future treaties is academic because Lisbon allows for greater federalism without the need for any more treaties.
Referenda are only symbolic anyway (except in Switzerland which remains outside the EU), because the result is usually dependent upon the context (i.e. how the question is phrased, and how popular the Government is at the time).
So let’s take heart that a Cameron Government would be the most Eurosceptic since Churchill, and his pledges to return powers over employment legislation, human rights and criminal justice are not empty threats.

Leap of Faith

Whilst I spend this weekend waiting to know if I’m allowed to be a potential parliamentary candidate for the Conservative Party, I reckon there are two types of politicians. Those who work together, supporting each other’s prospects, so that genuinely the best person succeeds, and those who work to trash their rivals in trying to further their own personal ambition.