Nick King 4 Mid Dorset & North Poole Blog

Do we like him? No we certainly do not!

2010-01-06T21:55:00.002Z

Iain Dale is telling this story about a family friend being asked the question "who is the Prime Minister?" To check for dementia upon entering hospital after a stroke.

When Mum had her fall my first question upon reaching her was "Who is the Prime Minister?" to similarly check whether she had suffered a stroke. Her answer was "Gordon Brown".

My follow up question being "Do we like him?".

Her answer: "No, we most certainly do not."

I asked the questions and she answered them every day up until Monday.

Made me smile.

My Mum

2010-01-05T20:58:00.004Z

I'm sorry to say that My Mum passed away early this morning in Salisbury District Hospital from pneumonia. She'd been there for some weeks after having had a fall in early November and had been recovering well until yesterday. Her end was peaceful and pain free, yet that knowledge makes our loss no less devastating.

Isabel King was born in 1929, the third child and second daughter of a farming family in a small village where Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Essex meet. Although the family never had much money her childhood was idyllic, helping her father look after his heavy horses and working with him in the fields. Her background made her a true countrywoman, atune with nature and the seasons. She shared this knowledge and love of the countryside with me and made my childhood as idyllic as hers had been.

Mum worked as a children's nanny before moving to work for the Eastern Electricity Board in their local showroom. She met my Dad at a motorbike scramble on Royston Heath when he let her stand in front of him better to see the race.

Their courtship saw them riding through the Hertfordshire countryside on my Dad's Triumph motorbike. The episode of their running over a neighbouring farmer's cockrel became infamous in our family's folklore.

They married in 1953 and began a partnership that endured for over 56 years. My parents adoration for one another has always been clear for all to see and I can say quite honestly that I never heard them argue.

They shared the same work ethic and together built three different businesses in Hertfordshire, Devon and finally Wiltshire. Her dedication and sense of duty extended beyond our family businesses to charitable and community work. She collected for the NSPCC, loved amateur dramatics and in latter years was active in the Towns Women's Guild, WI and Conservatives.

After waiting almost 13 years for a child I was born in 1965. It goes without saying I was the apple of her eye. She made my childhood and indeed my whole life special. From our long country walks, through our shared love of reading to helping her with her charity collections, Mum instilled in me the many qualities that shone from her and which I can only attempt to emulate: kindness, gentleness, honesty, honour and duty.

Mum could be remarkably stubborn, wonderfully loving and was generous to all with her time, her knowledge and her affection. Her fantastic sense of humour made everyone around her smile, often self depricating she had a superb sense of the ridiculous never better attuned than when scrutinising my Dad and I.

Mum fought hard and long against her incapacity. Her passing has left my dad utterly bereft and yet he has faced the challenges today brought bravely and with enormous dignity. He makes me proud as I am also proud to be my mother's son.

Isabel M King, d. 05.01.10 RIP Mum we love you very much. x

Untitled

2010-01-01T22:47:00.001Z

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince the weakest film so far we thought.

Posted via email from nick4mdnp's posterous

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T11:10:00.000Z

Happy New Year!

I hope 2010 brings you and yours health and happiness.

Iranian Protests

2009-12-30T11:11:00.001Z

I was asked over the Christmas Holiday what I thought of the Iranian Protests by someone on Facebook. I thought it might be interesting to repeat that conversation here:

Nick, I'm interested what your views are on the protester deaths in Iran, not however the typical response of it's awful, but what practically can the UK do? What can we as citizens do. I became aware of the reality of this through a youtube video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW2oy9c5NiM&skipcontrinter=1
talking about the twitter revolution (which really is worth watching) but now it seems to be coming to a head with the bbc reporting between 8 and 10 deaths and opposition leaders being arrested in Tehran. Thanks, J

My response:

Hi J

That's a tough one, and to be honest my answer is 'I don't really know'.

It's very easy, as you say, to jump to a response that says 'it's awful and they should be conforming to western standards of human rights and democracy.' I'm not sure though that that's the right answer.

As an aside, I think one of our fundamental errors in Afghanistan is to try and impose a western style system on a society that is culturally opposed to such a thing. To try and impose an external solution on the situation could be doing a similar thing.

That said, we can not turn a blind eye to a government which is clearly using repression against its own people and you've asked what we can practically do.

Listening to the remenisences marking the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Eastern European dicatorships, I've been struck by the fact that the growth of access to western media, people and influences played a significant role in making the populations of those countries aware of the failings of their regimes.

I'm therefore led to a conclusion that the best thing our Government can do is to support those organisations, like the BBC's Farsi service, who broadcast independent news and information in to Iran. When those broadcasts are jammed we should find ways around that jamming and do what we can to ensure that people have access to an independent news source.

As individuals, the best thing we can do is to do exactly what you have done, ask questions, highlight the Youtube videos, support and encourage those in Iran who are making sure the world is aware of what is going on.

I don't believe we have the right to intervene in Iran and/or to impose our values on them. However we should do all we can to give access to information and an independent perspective to people there and encouragement to those who are fighting for their rights.

Sorry for such a long answer, I hope that helps a little.

All the best

Nick

UKIPs Remembrance Service Shame

2009-11-08T17:52:00.000Z

This morning, as with every Remembrance Sunday since I was elected, I attended the Service of Remembrance in the Lower Gardens.

Each year it becomes more moving as the old soldiers become older yet also become more determined to pay their respects. As their places are replaced by younger men returned from more recent conflicts. And as the crowds grow ever larger around the cenotaph.

This year though there was a difference. A demonstration by members of UKIP holding political placards during at the end of the Service.

I understand they also layed a wreath under their party colours with a similarly political note attached.

That's not jsut direspectful, it's appalling and despicable and is a mark of the people who took part. They should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.

Remembrance Service is not, and must never be, about politics. It's far too important for that.

Abseiling for Cancer Research UK

2009-10-04T21:40:00.000Z

I abseiled from the water tower in Canford Heath this morning. Not as scary as the first time I did it, but still something of an adrenalin rush.

I'm doing it again for another cause in a few weeks time and am splitting the sponsorship between the two causes. At that moment it looks as though each should get around £750.00.

Well done to all the people who were there helping, organising and taking part.

off to speak to disability groups on Canford Heath

2009-09-18T09:37:00.001Z

Posted via email from nick4mdnp's posterous

off to speak with disability groups on Canford Heath

2009-09-18T09:36:00.001Z

Nick King

Parliamentary Spokesman

Mid Dorset and North Poole

2 Westfield Close

Wimborne Minster

Dorset BH21 1ES

t: 01202 884402

m: 07771 727402

e: nick@nick4mdnp.com

w: www.nick4mdnp.com

Facebook: Nick for Mid Dorset and North Poole

Twitter: nickking

Posted via email from nick4mdnp's posterous

is off to Dorset Police Authority today

2009-09-17T07:42:00.001Z

Posted via email from nick4mdnp's posterous

The Cost of EU Membership

2009-08-24T20:59:00.002Z

Next year our membership of the EU will apparently increase by 60% to £6.4 billion.

Apparently we 'should be sharing the burden of membership' with the new countries from Eastern Europe according to the Government.

Hopefully someone will do a cost benefit analysis of this. I for one increasingly wonder whether the cost is worth it. I'm sure there are many others who will be thinking the same this evening.

Wimborne Post Office Petition - Street Stalls

2009-08-08T21:04:00.000Z

We were out collecting signatures for the 'We want our Post Office' back petition in Wimborne this morning.

We set up two street stalls, one by Somerfields and the other in the Square. Both were incredibly busy, with people queueing up to sign the petition. We estimate we collected over 500 signatures this morning alone.

Thanks to the team that took part, and in particular thanks to Robin Cook and Anthony Oliver for sorting the positions out and to Anthony for staying all morning to help out.

MPs Expenses - Sorry

2009-05-25T20:30:00.000Z

I haven't posted anything for almost two months, no excuses really, just very busy running the businesses (the early Summer is often the busiest time of year for us both in relocation and at Rubyz) and also the County Council and European elections have been taking a lot of time too.

An anonymous person made this comment yesterday on the thread following the last post I made, entitled 'Funny and Apt':

Ok now please make a comment about the Tory MPs who have made claims and have been found out.

Whats your views on Sir Peter Viggers and others
I do not think this is a case for political point scoring.Tax payers money was abused by people put in a position of trust and yet they acted like common criminals.
Are you really the right candidate for my area.Have you the maturity,intellect and desire or are you jumping on the gravy train.

You certainly need putting in your place and after this blog it may come back to haunt you as you have lost my vote.

He or she is right. Looking back that post now seems crass and ridiculous.

The post was made on April 1st, an appropriate date for it. Who could have thought that the kind of information we have been seeing over the last few weeks would have come out at that point. I certainly didn't.

The behaviour of MPs from all parties has shamed anyone involved in politics. I'm ashamed now to have made fun of it with that post.

Am I going to remove it? No.

I think it's better to leave it where it is and to make sure those comments remain too to show that there was a point at which the whole thing seemed incredible. And more importantly to show that sometimes you can be wrong and need to say sorry.

In hindsight I shouldn't have published that post. I was wrong and I am sorry.

Funny.... and apt

2009-04-01T19:56:00.001Z

Headless Chickens

2009-01-13T19:06:00.002Z

I was speaking to the landlord of a large number of commercial premises today. He made an interesting comment. In common with virtually everyone in business I know he was bemoaning the Government and their pathetic attempts to revitalise the economy.

What he added was that he felt the worst aspect of all was that the constant emphasis on being seen to be 'doing something' was actually making matters worse. The end result is that, in his eyes Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling are running around like headless chickens.

"Employment Summit today, bank loan guarantees tomorrow, re-announcing plans to encourage apprenticeships, the list goes on and on and gives the impression they have no clue as to what they should be doing."

I have the feeling he may be right!

Drugs? All Bad, full stop

2009-01-04T22:15:00.002Z

The Telegraph has a story saying that Government advisers are recommending that ecstasy should be downgraded from a Class A to a Class B drug.

I'm very glad to read that Jacqui Smith is likely to ignore their advice.

I've seen close up the effect that drug use has. Those effects can be long lasting, slow to show their effect and can manifest themselves in so many ways, always negative.

To my mind there are no drugs that are good, none that are slightly better than others. The effects of all of them from cannabis to heroin are negative. Let's stop kidding ourselves by giving them different designations.

Drugs are all bad. Full stop.

Weatherspoons Drink Promotions

2009-01-04T17:46:00.003Z

The BBC are reporting that JD Weatherspoons are offering beer at 99p a pint under a new promotion. The promotion is apparently 'indefinite'.

On the one hand I should be welcoming the free market offering a less expensive commodity. On the other hand it sends a very poor message about alcohol use.

We all enjoy alcohol and indeed I make part of my living through my business selling it at Rubyz. However, one of the problems with alcohol misuse has become the freedom of its availability.

Supermarkets are already selling it as a loss leader. Now Weatherspoons are offering it at a price that simply can't make a profit for them, their assumption must be that those accompanying the customers buying the cheap beer will spend on their other products that do make a profit.

Alcohol sales need to be regulated, with a minimum per unit price invoked, for both 'on' sales (in pubs, bars and restaurants) and 'off' sales (in supermarkets and shops). That's not going to stop the problem of binge drinking, it will however place a break on the ability to buy very large amounts of cheaply produced liquor for very little money.

Prisoners from Guantanamo Bay

2009-01-01T18:54:00.002Z

Apparently Gordon Brown has agreed to accept prisoners being released from Guantanamo Bay to help President Elect Obama out of a hole.

The thing is, these people will have no link what so ever with the UK.

Presumably they have been held on Cuba becuase they were considered a threat of some kind. They deserve a proper, just, trial and if found not-guilty should be released to where they came from or to make appropriate applications to countries considereing to take them.

So why are we agreeing to take them, apparently without precondition?

Empty Shops and Empty Pockets?

2008-12-31T18:28:00.001Z

Now, some people might think that I'm a bit tight. (I prefer to think of myself as appropriately frugal). Anyway, I went shopping for a Christmas present today for one of my God Sons. We'd agreed not to see them until the New Year and I had, genuinely, not had time to find the present prior to Christmas.

I therefore spent a couple of hours at Castlepoint and the shopping centre on the old bus depot site opposite.

What was astounding was firstly how few people there were about, the car parks were busy but by no means full and the shops were equally busy but there were virtually no queues at the tills.

More surprising for me was the lack of stock on the shelves. Admittedly, we are at the end of a week in which there is little stock coming in to the stores, but even so there was a very limited choice of goods. This wasn't just the case in the electrical stores, but also in the food shops as well.

It's a poor augry for the coming year. Little money to spend, both by consumers and by retailers stocking their shelves will surely have a circular and knock on effect, one thing leading on to the other. It doesn't bode well and it proves how wrong the Government's policy of borrowing wildly to pay for tax cuts that have had little effect and to bail out the banks who continue to refuse to lend is.

Christmas Day

2008-12-25T20:03:00.000Z

James had to go to work this morning, just for a couple of hours to do a ward round. He was met with his first patient, a frail elderly lady, having arrested.

Despite his efforts and those of the team of nurses and doctors present I'm afraid she died.

The staff, particularly the nurses, were very upset. They had called her family, who arrived too late to see her. James had to speak to her daughter to explain what had happened. Her elderly husband was at home.

Christmas is a happy time for so many of us. We spent Christmas with our families, who spent the day with us at our home.

James' experience this morning though provided a timely reminder that Christmas can be a very sad time for some of us. My thoughts and prayers are with you if the festivities provide you with a reminder of sad times.

Labour choose their candidate

2008-11-28T17:18:00.001Z

The Labour party have chosen their candidate for Mid Dorset and North Poole, Chris Thompson.

Chris is also a blogger, his blog can be found here. His first post is a response to the comments I've made about proposals for the BBC to start local internet news services and the threat they pose to local newspapers.

Welcome to the fray Chris!

Cannon Hill quarry proposals

2008-10-31T08:00:00.002Z

Cannon Hill is an area of woodland which runs in to the centre of Colehill.

Dorset County Council have just published their proposals for sites suitable for quarrying over the next 25 years. Cannon Hill is included, proposed as a site for gravel extraction for a period of 15 to 25 years.

The idea is totally bonkers!

The site is completely unsuitable. It's in the middle of the village, access for at least some of the traffic would need to be through Cannon Hill Road, which is adjacent to Colehill First School. There are also significant numbers of properties backing on to the plantation. Not only in Pilford Heath Road and Cannon Hill Gardens, but also in Quarry Road and the roads around Bridle Way.

Complete madness. We'll be circulating letters to help people object in the next few days.

RIP Harry

2008-08-17T18:45:00.002Z

My dog Harry died this morning. He was nearly 17 and if he had lived until the end of the week then we would have been together for 16 years.

I couldn't have had a more faithful and loving friend during that time. I don't mind admitting that I'm heartbroken.

Harry came from Battersea Dog's Home, where he had been re-homed three times before we rescued him on a sunny Friday afternoon in 1992. He was full of character and life; mischievous, obedient and stubborn in equal parts.

He became known throughout Littledown and Iford as he was the mascot in 2005 of the campaign to oppose the green belt development proposed there, appearing on posters in people's windows across the ward.

I loved him very much, and I'll miss him terribly.

When is a tax cut not a tax cut....?

2008-08-12T20:22:00.003Z

You know when you hear something on the radio news and you don't quite believe you heard it so have to make sure you listen to the next bulletin in case you misheard it.

I had one of those moments today listening to the radio 4 news this afternoon.

Yvette Cooper MP, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury was talking about what the Government was doing to help people hit by rising prices.

She told us that they were 'cutting taxes' like 'removing the additional 2p rise in fuel duty on a litre of petrol'.

So that would the Government cutting a tax they haven't imposed yet. You can't cut taxes you haven't imposed, and in this case you shouldn't be imposing a tax in the first place.

The preposterousness (is that a word?) of the Government's justification of the mess they have us in just get worse.

Castleford, empty houses and the RSS

2008-08-11T21:10:00.004Z

What do these three things have in common?

Well, we've just been watching a programme on Channel 4 about the regeneration of Castleford, where there are apparently streets of houses sitting empty amongst other symptoms of urban decay. This appears to have been largely brought about by the demise of the mining and other industries in the area.

It was a good example of why this kind of area deserves more than its fair share of Government funding.

However, it made me ask the question why the Government is forcing us to concrete over huge areas of the Green Belt around Bournemouth and Poole while there are clearly areas of housing standing empty in the north.

This Government's prioritisation of funding for the north has resulted in superior infrastructure for those areas receiving it. Greater funding for local authorities has also resulted in much lower rates of council tax for residents. This has, it would appear, lead to complacency over issues such as recylcing (see here).

Proper regeneration of deprived areas of the country should be lead by private investment. In the 1980's the government encouraged new businesses by offering tax breaks, incentives, pump prime funding and practical assistance to start up businesses prepared to relocate to those areas.

They also prioritized those areas requiring regeneration when they decided where to relocate those government departments and agencies being moved from Central London.

That kind of practical intervention and assistance would begin to bring true regeneration through opportunity to deprived areas, partculalry those in the North. Maybe then there wouldn't be the need for the Government to propose such enormous housing growth here in South East Dorset.

AFC Bournemouth - A question of fairness?

2008-08-07T06:54:00.000Z

Rotherham football club will start the new season with a 17 point deficit as a consequence of their not coming out of administration in a proper manner.

Apparently the same threat hangs over AFC Bournemouth and the fate of the club will be decided by the Football League today.

Deducting points from the club would seem to me to be completely retrograde. They were already relegated last season and if the club is to have any chance of survival, let alone thriving, then success on the pitch is an, if not the, essential component.

Making the team start with a points deficit from which they will find it difficult if not impossible to recover doesn't seem fair to me. More importantly it seems terribly unfair for the players and the fans. They shouldn't be penalised for problems in the boardroom.

Labour's Bin Tax Scheme

2008-07-25T19:56:00.002Z

ConservativeHome.com are reporting that no councils have signed up to Labour's proposed trials of the 'bin tax'.

This would be exactly the kind of scheme that the 'chips in bins' were designed for. I've been opposing the use of this technology and the proposals for this kind of taxation since I was first elected to Bournemouth Council back in 2005.

The removal of refuse from the home is one of the fundamental services provided by local councils. It's one of the services that's been consistently provided by local authorities and it is exactly for this kind of service that local taxation (be it rates, community charge or council tax) has been paid by residents.

If your council doesn't take away your rubbish as part of your local tax, then why have a local tax in the first place?

Good on those councils who have refused to join in the scheme. Let's hope the refusal of local authorities to cooperate with the Government over this will kill the idea for good.

Lib Dem councillor defects to Conservatives

2008-07-24T19:30:00.000Z

Lib Dem Councillor Ian James has defected to the Conservatives on Weymouth and Portland Borough Council.

This is the third defection from the Lib Dems to the Conservatives in Dorset in recent times.

Welcome to the party Ian, and well done to South Dorset Conservatives for showing the leadership in Weymouth that has inspired Ian to cross the floor.

The full story is here.

Future 3000 in trouble

2008-07-23T22:50:00.000Z

Apparently the Wednesday edition of the Daily Echo sold out. This is largely due to the fact that Richard Carr was on the front page of the paper here.

There appears to be a good deal of schadenfreude around Bournemouth and Poole at this news.

I don't share in it. I know from bitter experience how hard anyone in business for themselves has to work in economic times like these. I also know how difficult the decision to take the company in to administration must have been for its directors.

I disagree with Richard Carr about very many things. That's no reason to revel in his troubles, as some are doing. He faces a difficult enough few months ahead attempting to keep his businesses afloat in such uncertain times. As do we all. He deserves our respect for creating a profitable business and our sympathy now that it has run in to problems.

I wish him and all his staff all the best. Let's hope there is a way out of this situation for them.

Regional Spatial Strategy

2008-07-22T12:36:00.001Z

The Regional Spatial Strategy announcment we were expeciting has been published this morning.

I always thought the Government would be cynical in their timing. There's an article on ConservativeHome.com about Ministers 'clearing out the trash', in other words how the Government is getting rid of a number of relatively contentious issues today, the day before the Parliamentary recess.

The consultation period that now begins will last for 12 weeks. The Parliamentary Recess lasts for 11 weeks. That's a coincidence isn't it!

As I've said in my previous posts, these proposals will be disastrous for the whole of South East Dorset. We'll do all we can to make sure everyone is aware of them and that everyone has a chance to make their point of view heard.

Annette becomes a grannie

2008-07-21T11:25:00.000Z

I've heard on the grapevine that our MP, Annette Brooke, is due to become a grandmother for the first time this week.

Congratulations to Annette, Mike and their family. I hope everything goes well.

Susan Jefferies, the RSS and Me

2008-07-14T21:45:00.002Z

Susan Jefferies is the Lib Dem County Councillor for Corfe Mullen and I appear to have upset her.

Now, I've never actually met Susan. I have, of course, heard about her and most of what I have heard has been positive. She represents her community on both the Parish and County councils and she's been consistent in her opposition to the RSS proposals for her area.

She got in to a little bit of trouble last year when she, allegedly, made some rather unfortunate comments about the ladies attending a keep fit class for new mums in Corfe Mullen.

Susan has a web site, and she's a bit upset about last month's meeting to coordinate opposition to the RSS across SE Dorset.

Aparently the guest list 'read like a Tory cocktail party'. Despite the fact that there were councillors there from each of the political parties on Bournemouth Borough Council, two Liberal Democrat Councillors and our own Liberal Democrat MP.

Unfortunately for Susan, there were quite a number of Conservatives, but that simply reflects that each of the authorities in South East Dorset are Conservative controlled. Therefore it's hardly surprising that a meeting to which the leaders of each of the councils were invited should include quite a number of Conservatives.

Susan goes on:

"At this meeting all sorts of protest actions were discussed and agreed and Nick King seems to be hailing himself the lead protester for the RSS.

May we remind the Tories that when the response to the original RSS was debated in March 2006, ...... the Tory administration in Bournemouth ..... supported the proposals for urban extensions into the Green Belt."

What Susan has conveniently forgotten is that the administration in Bournemouth at that time was a Liberal Democrat one. The did indeed support development of the Green Belt and continued to do so up until the elections in May 2007.

I was elected to Bournemouth Council in December 2005 on a clear platform of opposing Green Belt development. Indeed it was the main issue in the by election as the Liberal Democrats were supporting then and continued to support development on green belt sites in my ward. I think it goes some way to explaining how I won the by election, gaining the seat from the Lib Dems, with almost two thirds of the vote and how that majority was increased further in the elections last year.

Everyone has now come on board with opposition to the RSS plans. Some have altered positions they previously held, including Bournemouth's Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives on Dorset County Council.

It's absolutely shameful that Susan is trying to make a party political points out of this. We are all working together to oppose these dreadful plans that threaten to change the character of our area for ever.

Stop playing politics Susan and work with everyone to fight the proposals when the Secretary of State announces them next week.

Post Office Closures Announced

2008-07-12T19:17:00.000Z

The Daily Echo have obtained an advance list of the post offices proposed for closure in Dorset.

We seem to have gotten off very lightly here in Mid Dorset and North Poole. The only post office proposed for closure within the constituency is Sandford. I have been told that the owners of the post office there were not going to be greatly opposed to their being on the list for closure were it to happen.

Ensuring that the local community gets an outreach service will now be all important. Jane Thomas and I will be working with our colleagues on Purbeck District Council to lobby the Post Office for this.

Of more concern are the proposed closures of post offices in East Dorset. There are none in the East Dorset part of the constituency, however there are a number of closures proposed in the rest of the district, around the periphery of Wimborne. The proposed loss of Holt, Stapehill and Longham post offices is a blow to the area as a whole.

Longham is a particular concern. I visited the post office with Bob Walter MP last month.

The Post Master there has only recently rebuilt the post office after a fire damaged the building. They offer a particularly good service to local businesses and are likely to see even more trade as a consequence of the closure of the post offices in Stapehill and Wimborne Road, Ferndown. Let's hope that Bob and his district and county council colleagues for the area can wage a successful campaign to oppose the closure.

David Cameron and the Regional Spatial Strategy

2008-07-04T18:57:00.000Z

David Cameron was in Bournemouth today, to speak at the Local Government Association Conference at the BIC.

I had to pick him up from Bournemouth Airport and take him to the conference centre. I therefore managed to get 20 minutes with him to talk to him about how important the Regional Spatial Strategy is to our area. He was horrified to hear about the proposals from the Examination in Public which would result in enormous incursions on to the Green Belt in East Dorset, Purbeck and Bournemouth.

He agreed entirely with our campaign to ensure that local people, through their local councils decide where, how many, of what type and for whom this housing should take place. He also agreed to confirm that a Conservative Government would overturn these plans if we were elected in time to stop the planning permissions being granted.

When we reached the BIC demonstrators from Lytchett Minster and Lytchett Matravers were already outside the building. I had a chance to talk to them while David Cameron went in to do his speech. It was great to see both Conservative and Liberal Democrat Councillors from Purbeck and the County Councils there demonstrating side by side. They were joined after a little while by people from Bournemouth, Christchurch and East Dorset.

David gave an interview to the Daily Echo, which I understand is going to be front page news tomorrow. He confirmed our position over the RSS in the interview. Good for him.

More importantly he also took a few minutes to meet and speak with the demonstrators outside. Again he emphasised the party's opposition and told the demonstration that if we're elected in time we would over turn the plans. He also confirmed that a Conservative Government would do away with all regional bodies, handing responsibility back to local councils to decide what kind of development should take place in their own areas.

RSS opposition meeting

2008-06-27T21:51:00.001Z

I attended a meeting a Bournemouth Town Hall this afternoon about coordinating opposition to the Regional Spatial Strategy.

The leaders of each of the local authorities covering South East Dorset were invited, along with the local MPs, the Council for the Protection of Rural England, Friends of the Earth and the chair-people of the various action groups set up to oppose the RSS proposals in each of the areas.

I was delighted that we had such a good turn out from everyone.

The meeting was hosted by the Local Development Framework group on Bournemouth Council. The group includes a member from each of the political parties represented on the Council, in Bournemouth it's going to be this group that puts together our submission to the RSS proposals once the announcement of the final scheme has been made by the Secretary of State.

The proposals, if they remain as initially proposed, will change the character of our area for ever. As I've said often enough before.

The purpose of the meeting was for us to coordinate our opposition to the proposals.

We wanted to ensure that the local councils were all on the same page in their opposition to the proposals. That they were sharing their submissions with one another, to ensure commonality in their responses, and that this information was going to be made to the local action groups and other concerned parties to help them with their responses.

I'm very pleased to say that all of these points were agreed.

We then went on to discuss the opportunities for creating events highlighting the opposition in the area to the proposals in order that we can obtain maximum publicity for our opposition. Ideas included creating a human chain from Throop to Lytchett Minster.

We'll be meeting again once the RSS announcement has been made.

CALM

2008-06-22T10:35:00.004Z

Yesterday at the Lytchett Matravers Carnival the local protest group opposing the inclusion of a new development of 2,750 houses between Lytchett Minster and Lytchett Matravers had an exhibition tent.

Community Action for Lytchett Matravers (CALM) did a super job. I was pleased to be able to visit them, buy one of their wristbands and show my support for them. They're doing a great job. Let's hope that the Secretary of State throws out this ridiculous proposal.

Mobile phone mast protest

2008-06-19T21:10:00.002Z

We've been fighting a mobile phone mast application in my ward in Bournemouth. There's an article in the Daily Echo today about it.

The link is here.

The proposal is to build a mast at a busy junction in the middle of a residential area. We've suggested an alternative site, about 800 yds away, which would give similar coverage but would be well away from any local housing and close to the masts built by other companies.

It reminded me of the protests we held last May opposing the mast proposed for The Clump in Broadstone. I was pleased to see some of the people who were involved in those protests last weekend. Permission was of course refused for the mast at The Clump.

Hopefully we'll have the same result in Littledown and Iford. When will the mobile phone companies learn that rather than taking the easy option they should properly consult with local people first to ensure that they are taking their opinions on the site in to account. It would cause them (and us) a whole lot less trouble!

Iain Dale's Civil Partnership

2008-06-15T10:04:00.000Z

Quite possibly the best known political blogger in the UK, Iain Dale, is getting 'hitched' to his long term partner John Simmons at their civil partnership ceremony today.

Congratulations and best wishes to them both.

Ireland says 'No'

2008-06-13T16:11:00.000Z

The BBC are reporting that the Irish have voted 'No' in their referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

Good for them!

Let's hope that buries the plan and allows a new relationship between the countries of the Union to be negotiated. Let's also hope that the negotiation is carried out by a Conservative Government which will stand up for the UK's rights and ensure a repatriation of our eroded sovereignty from the EU.

Strawberry Tea at Kesworth

2008-06-08T21:31:00.003Z

What a lovely day it's been.

This afternoon was the annual Wareham St Martin branch Strawberry Tea at Kesworth House. A super location for a really nice afternoon. Our largest turn out for some time as well, over 70 people there to enjoy the gardens and to catch up with friends and make new acquaintances.

Thanks to everyone who came along and most importantly to Jeremy Drax and his family for their continued support of their local branch and for lending their lovely house to us for the afternoon.

(Luckily this photo doesn't show me filling my face with scones, clotted cream and jam, but believe me I did!)

Tourism Minister can't stand the heat

2008-06-08T10:01:00.003Z

Tourism plays a huge part in Dorset's economy. It's also been totally neglected by this Government.

It would seem that the Minister responsible for the tourist industry has finally been told a few home truths by one of its leading backers. (The Daily Mail has the story here).

About time too. It's a shame that her response, and that of her party has been to attack the comments rather than listen to the cry for help they contain.

Greenridge Action Group Launch

2008-06-06T08:11:00.000Z

The Daily Echo is carrying a report about the Greenridge Action Group's launch in Lytchett Minster and Upton here.

I am Legend?

2008-05-31T22:45:00.003Z

We've just watched 'I am Legend' on the DVD. It was scary (I'm not a fan of scary films - Shrek, Love Actually and the Railway Children are more my type of thing).

I vaguely remember an old Charlton Heston film called, I think, 'The Andromeda Strain', this film appeared to be a remake of that.

In common with many post apocalyptic films of its type, it had a common theme, that he end of civilisation will be caused by a virus caused by genetic experimentation. It may seem fanciful, but to me it would appear to be a salutary lesson in being cautious with allowing genetic experimentation.

Greenridge, Upton - Public Meeting

2008-05-31T10:28:00.000Z

I spoke last night at the public meeting at the Upton Community Centre about the campaign to persuade Hall and Woodhouse to work with the community to provide an acceptable use for the site. The meeting was very well attended with some really good points made.

I had already written to the Lytchett Minster and Upton Community Association (LUCA) about the situation with the pub and this formed the basis of what I said:

The market for the night-time economy and social drinking has been declining for some time. Most people blame the smoking ban. In my opinion, that’s simply an easy answer. In fact it’s been a combination of factors; the increase in mortgage rates from eighteen months ago onwards, the cheap availability of alcohol through supermarkets which has encouraged people to drink at home and the changes in the licensing act making it much easier to obtain alcohol have all played their part. My thoughts on all of this and particularly the availability of ridiculously cheap alcohol are well documented elsewhere.

The one thing we have learnt over the past couple of years is that in order for the business to survive we have had to invest in it. Improve our premises, improve our entertainment and improve the ambience of the venue in general. For Hall and Woodhouse to be giving you the answers they have is, I have to say, something of a cop out. The Greenridge may well be too large a premises to sustain profitably for them. However, to propose the plans for disposal of the site altogether smacks, to me, of their ignoring the potential of the site and following what their marketing people have told them should be their demographic.

Having seen the investment they have put in elsewhere, I am afraid that Upton probably doesn’t match that for them. Trying to get them to change their mind about pulling out is therefore going to be relatively fruitless. Ideally the course should be to suggest they look for a purchaser from the sector who would be happier to trade from the site. It may be that they needed to be persuaded of this course of action by opposition to their various plans for the site. Your campaign to shame them over the loss of such an important local amenity is also an excellent course to take. I firmly believe that once we allow local amenities to disappear, such as pubs, post offices and libraries then we are condemning our communities to sterility and slow decline. A very short sighted approach given that I think economic stringency is likely to force many of us to a much more local view of things in the coming years.

Let's hope Hall and Woodhouse recognise their social responsibility and look for a use for the site that includes some kind of hospitality venue.

Proposed Planning Bill: More Centralisation; More Control Freakery; Less Democracy

2008-05-29T21:49:00.002Z

The BBC are reporting growing opposition amongst Labour MPs to the proposed Planning Bill here.

Good for them! These proposals place decision making powers over 'major' projects in the hands of an unelected commission. Local councils, MPs and even government minsters would have no say in planning proposals referred to the commission.

The proposed commission would presumably be similar to the unelected and unaccountable Planning Inspectorate, deliberating remotely on planning applications without reference to local peoples' views.

We need more accountability, local control over planning decisions and greater transparency in the process. This Bill will result in the exact opposite, more centralisation and less democracy.

The Greenridge Pub, Upton

2008-05-28T22:11:00.002Z

The Greenridge public house has an iconic status in the centre of Upton. It's also the only public house in this town of 6,000 people.

The owners of the property, Hall and Woodhouse closed it some time ago, citing declining trade and anti social behavioural problems with some customers.

They now plan to sell the site, possibly for a care home or alternatively a largely residential development.

We took Theresa May to see the site when she visited Mid Dorset last month.

The Lytchett Minster and Upton Community Association (LUCA) are opposing the plans, hoping to persuade Hall and Woodhouse to retain a pub, restaurant or coffee shop in the middle of the town, there being no other place for people to meet and socialise.

A public meeting to discuss the plans and public opposition will be held on Friday evening (May 30th) at 8pm in the Upton Community Centre. I'll be there to say a few words. Come along if you can.

Nuclear Power Plants

2008-05-28T21:14:00.004Z

Apparently so little attention had been taken to Gordon Brown today, his announcement that the energy crisis is such that we should be considering sites for nuclear power plants in addition to replacing those already built was missed entirely by the media. Only when Downing Street staff pointed it out to journalists was it reported.

I should be very clear, I'm not in favour of nuclear power in its present form. I'm not convinced that it's safe and I'm certainly not convinced that its expansion is desirable. I recognize that the coming energy crisis is going to need radical solutions. I think these need to be environmentally friendly ones.

I welcome the advances that are being made in tidal power sources.

These, to my mind, offer the best solution to the energy shortage. In the short term we may need to rely upon the refurbishment of our current nuclear power stations. This should be a short term solution only, buying us time to develop further a full range of environmentally friendly options.

The subject reminded me of an e-mail I received back in March. The correspondent was asking me how I would deal with a conflict between my party policy and a local issue which was universally opposed by my constituents. The question came on the back of my comments about the EU Referendum vote in the Commons and the example used was a plan to construct a reactor at Winfrith.

I'm afraid I received the e-mail while I was away in Spain and it was lost when my lap top crashed. I'm therefore happy to answer the query here and hope that the gentleman who asked me the question might understand that I wasn't able to answer his original e-mail.

That answer is quite simple. If I'm elected at the election then I will have been elected on a party platform which will be clearly laid out. I'd react to subsequent decisions on the basis of representing the best interests of my constituency. If that mean opposing a decision otherwise backed by my party or the government of which I was part then so be it.

Theresa May MP in Dorset

2008-04-23T22:28:00.000Z

Theresa May MP, the Shadow Leader of the House of Commons was in Dorset today. She joined us at a demonstration in Lytchett Minster against the RSS proposals.

Theresa spoke to a gathering of some 80 people in New Lane and confirmed that a future Conservative Government would overturn the Regional Spatial Strategy and place responsibility for deciding where, how many, what type and for whom new housing should be built in the hands of local councils.

Traffic concerns in Sandford

2008-04-02T12:25:00.002Z

Increased development in Purbeck can only increase traffic on the A351 running through Sandford.

In addition to the proposed developments, a planning application by SITA to increase the size of their quarrying, landfill and recycling facility at Binegar will add further heavy goods traffic on to the road. “The A351 simply can’t take any more traffic,” says Jane Thomas.

The Conservative spokesman for Sandford continues, “I live by the A351 and know the problems caused by the congestion already. I will be pushing for the Sandford by pass to be put back on the agenda.”

Lytchett Minster most under threat

2008-04-02T12:19:00.000Z

Lytchett Minster will shoulder the greatest burden of development under the Government Inspectors’ plans.

With 2,750 extra homes planned around Lytchett Minster the infrastructure overload is of greatest concern.

Town and Purbeck Councillor for Lytchett Minster and Upton West, Paul Johns says: “Our area is under the greatest threat from these plans. Traffic problems at peak periods are all ready chaotic at Upton Cross and on the Blandford, Dorchester & Poole Roads. “

Other infrastructure concerns are around health, education and leisure. Spokesman for Lytchett Minster and Upton East, Simon Williams asks, “where will the extra people go to access doctors and dentists, and where are their children going to go to school? If the development were to go ahead additional funding for local services would be vital.”

Councillor Paul Johns is urging people to ensure their voices are heard over the proposals.

“When the formal consultation process starts in June and July we will be helping people to write in with their comments. In the meantime we would urge local people to become involved in the local Action Groups being set up to oppose the developments and to sign our petition calling for local people to decide on the size and site of the new housing,” says Paul.

Roy calls for affordable homes for local people

2008-04-02T12:13:00.002Z

Chairman of Purbeck District Council, Roy Anderson, is most concerned about the provision of affordable housing for local people.

“These development plans make no provision for ensuring that local people are given preferential consideration when they are built,” says Roy.

The Government inspectors are recommending that 2,400 homes should be built throughout Purbeck in addition to the proposed development between Lytchett Minster and Lytchett Matravers.

“If the profile of buyers for these homes remains similar to those for the new developments in many locations around Purbeck, up to 60% of the purchasers could be people from outside the area looking for a second, holiday, home,” says Roy.

“The Government must ensure that local people are able to decide where these developments are placed, what kind of housing they provide and, most importantly, that incentives can be offered to ensure that they are available to local people.”

What is the Regional Spatial Strategy?

2008-04-02T12:10:00.000Z

We're banging on about it, but what is it?

The Regional Spatial Strategy (or RSS) is the process through which local authorities have to meet Government housing targets.

Organised regionally, the initial proposals were given to and debated by local councils. Their responses were then collated by Government appointed inspectors who made proposals to the Secretary of State.

This is the point the process has now reached. The proposals made by the inspectors have completely ignored the representations made by Purbeck District Council.

The Secretary of State will consider the proposals and publish a final plan for consultation in June, before making her final, binding decision.

Let's work together to oppose over development

2008-03-26T12:08:00.000Z

I'm very pleased that all of our candidates and councillors standing in Mid Dorset for the local elections on May 1st have signed up to a statement confirming we'll work with anyone and everyone to oppose the Regional Spatial Strategy proposals.

Here's the text of the statement:

The Government’s plans for development in Purbeck propose enormous and unsustainable development in Purbeck District. Concern at the proposals crosses political lines.

Purbeck District Council has passed a resolution deploring and condemning the recommendations, which propose the construction of 2,750 houses on the Green Belt between Lytchett Minster and Lytchett Matravers and a further 2,400 throughout Purbeck over the next 20 years.

There has been no proper process underlying these plans. They ignore the wishes of local people. They make no provision for the infrastructure to support the proposed developments. Our local roads are already gridlocked with traffic, our local medical facilities are overstretched and our schools often over-subscribed. It’s imperative we work together to oppose the development.

Both Purbeck District Council and our local MPs have expressed their opposition to these schemes and have confirmed their preference that local people, through their local councils, should decide on the amount and location of development. We agree wholeheartedly with these sentiments and support our local representatives in these aspirations.

Now is not the time to use the issue as a political football. Local, non political, Action Groups are being set up to oppose the recommendations and make sure that Government hears the concerns of local people. We will support these groups, our local Councils and our local MPs in their opposition to the plans and will do all we can to further this cause.

Now is the time to put politics aside over this issue. Now is the time to act. Let’s work together to oppose these developments.

Peter Hain's donations

2008-01-12T22:30:00.000Z

Undoubtedly there is an enormous amount of comment about Peter Hain's undiscolsed donations to his Labour Party Deputy Leadership campaign.

The part of the story that confuses and concerns me most is what on earth he found to spend over £180,000 on.

To put this in context, in the last year we have written over 40,000 letters, printed and delivered over 280,000 pieces of literature and sent tens of thousands of e-mails. All of this campaigning, which has been enhanced with canvassing, setting up street stalls and attending meetings, has been carried out with a budget of less than £20,000.

Addmitedly there are clearly very many more members of the Labour party than there are residents of Mid Dorset and North Poole, however I can't imagine that there are more than nine times that number.

Mr Hain has numerous questions to answer, not least how he managed to expend so much money on an internal party election.

Seasonal Drunkenness

2008-01-07T19:50:00.000Z

I read today that, astonishingly, there were a number of churches who held their midnight mass at 6pm on Christmas Eve.

The reason?

Because of the fear of disruption from drunken people.

This fact was used in the context on a commentary about 24 hour licensing policy.

Undoubtedly the introduction of extended licensing hours has played its part in the increasing problem of drink related anti social behaviour and disruption. However, I do wonder how many of those who attend church on Christmas Eve inebriated have at the very least begun their drinking at home, if not completed it there too.

Until we control the sale of cheap alcohol through supermarkets and off licenses we will be unable to control the problems associated with excess alcohol consumption.

Nostalgia for Hartland

2008-01-03T21:40:00.001Z

I watched part of Sense and Sensibility on BBC1 on New Year's Day. Good, but not as good as the film version on first viewing. That's actually an unfair comment probably, the tv version clearly has neither the budget of the film, nor of course the sublime Emma Thompson.

I thought I recognized the cottage to which the family move and indeed my recollection proved correct with this article in the Daily Telegraph today.

I spent my teenage years living on this part of the North Devon coast. It's near Hartland and made me feel very nostalgic for Summers spent in Westward Ho!, Hartland and Bucks Mills.

Health Inequalities

2008-01-03T20:47:00.000Z

David Cameron's comments about the National Health Service today have been heartening to say the least.

They've served to highlight another issue however. The inequality between the services provided by the NHS in each of the Home Countries. Dr Gill Morgan, who is the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, is reported to have said that devolution has caused even more of a 'post code lottery' in health care.

The Daily Telegraph reports the situation here.

She suggests that there is unlikely to be any 'health migration' within the UK. That comment misses the point to my mind. The fact that there are inequalities in the service provided in each of the home countries is bad enough. What is worse is that the situation remains where MPs from the three nations with devolved powers continue to decide on the health policies of the nation that has no devolved government.

It's time that English MPs voted on English matters. Only then can the health priorities of England be truly, democratically addressed.

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T23:14:00.000Z

A Happy New Year to everyone.

Here's hoping 2008 is a more prosperous, healthy and happy year for us all.

Polly Toynbee

2007-12-31T18:53:00.000Z

Polly Toynbee was on Start the Week on Radio 4 this morning. Andrew Marr was asking his guests to make predictions about the year ahead.

Ms Toynbee made the prediction that we would become wealthier, healthier and safer next year, as we have done in each of the past ten years.

She also predicted that we would also not feel any of these things and as a result moan more than we had in the previous year.

Surely that's the point. It's not whether we are, according to statistics, wealthier, healthier or safe, the salient point is whether we feel that way or not.

National GDP may have risen and the economy may continue to grow, that doesn't mean that I am feeling any wealthier at the end of this year than I did at the end of last. I also know that my taxes have increased, as has my mortgage, as has the cost of running my car.

I also know that the turnover of my business has decreased, that I am facing greater costs as an employer due to increased legislation, taxation and regulation.

We may be living longer yet that doesn't mean I am feeling any healthier or that my family is any better off health wise. I know that my family might be healthy, but also that access to NHS services has not improved and that my mother is still facing a month long wait for an appointment at her local pain relief clinic.

Crime statistics may show that the level of crime is decreasing nationally, however my experience this year has been to have my car broken in to twice, two more times than in any of the previous five years. I hear daily from people that they feel there is no point reporting minor crime because the police are unable to respond quickly and seem unable to offer any prospect that the culprits will be caught.

Isn't it about time that commentators like Ms Toynbee stopped talking about the national statistics and started viewing the everyday experiences of real people? Then she might understand why people are likely to complain more in the coming year.

500 Binge drinkers admitted to hospital every day

2007-12-31T17:11:00.000Z

This story about the number of drink related admissions to hospital made the front page headline in the Daily Telegraph today.

The figures revealed by the Telegraph's investigation are shocking but not surprising.

Their assertion is that the ease of availability and low cost of alcohol have been the main causes of increases in drink related illness. I'm not sure personally whether an increase in the opening hours of licensed premises has had a dramatic effect on the amount alcohol being consumed. I am sure, however, that its availability and cost are a major factor in the growing problem alcohol plays in our society.

I wrote the following article for one of our leaflets back in October:

"Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Mid Dorset and North Poole, Nick King, is putting forward a clear agenda to deal with alcohol fuelled anti social behaviour in the area.

Nick, a member of Dorset Police Authority says: “Much of the problem comes from the inappropriate sale and use of alcohol. Alcohol costs too little and is therefore too freely available, too much ends up in the hands of young people. I’m proposing measures that will tackle the cause of the problem rather than spending money on dealing with the symptoms.”

Nick’s proposals include the following:

Extend the prohibition of alcohol consumption to all unlicensed public spaces.
Give police the power to confiscate alcohol.
Place a levy on town centre bars and clubs to pay for additional policing.
Impose minimum pricing on alcohol sold through shops and supermarkets.

Nick explains: “We have to get away from a culture that says drinking in public is acceptable. We need also to give the police and local authorities powers to control where alcohol is consumed, to make areas alcohol free and allow the use of others at certain times.”

For me the most important part is the last one. Drink is readily available and often sold at a ridiculously low cost. Locally we are lucky that our local authority licensing teams work well with Dorset Police to maintain a standard minimum price per alcohol unit sold through bars and clubs. This stops many of the irresponsible practices that encouraged dangerous drinking, such as the 'one charge for all you can drink' evenings.

This kind of intervention should be rolled out nationally and, more importantly, should be extended to all off sales of alcohol too. There should be no need to increase the taxes charged on alcohol, it should be enough to ensure that the cost per unit is maintained at a reasonable level which prohibits the purchase of enormous quantities.

Success for Parkwood Road

2007-12-07T20:26:00.000Z

News reached us at the end of November that Dorset County Council has agreed to our local campaigners' requests to take positive action along Parkwood Road on behalf of its residents. The road, located near to Rowlands Hill and the Quarterjack Surgery, has been suffering parking problems and vehicle-caused obstructions for some years now. This has resulted in a situation where waste collection lorries, and even emergency vehicles, have been unable to drive along the road because of some residents' rather problematic parking.

However, back in 2005, the chairman of Wimborne Minster Town Council's Planning and Environment Committee, Cllr Michael Hodkinson, raised the issue with Dorset County Council and called for double-yellow lines to be installed along the majority of the road to alleviate these problems. He began to compile evidence and photographs, and then in early 2007 Cllr Richard Booth joined Michael's campaign and began to canvass residents along Parkwood Road to ascertain their levels of support for such a scheme. Nearly everyone backed Michael and Richard's campaign.

This was passed onto Dorset County Council and now action will be taken. The installation of double-yellow lines has been sanctioned and copies of these plans can be found in the Wimborne Minster Town Hall.

I am pleased that this situation will soon be resolved, but in the future I will be ensuring that such processes are handled with more attention and efficiency by Dorset County Council – clearly too much time passed between the issue being identified and positive action being implemented by the County Council.

It really is time for change...

2007-11-29T12:17:00.000Z

Further to my last post, it would seem prudent to emphasise the fact that this Government is smelling of cheap incompetence. As this HMRC scandal deepens – with another six packages unaccounted for and evidence of recorded phone calls being sent on CD to bemused householders across the country – we look back at a Brown premiership that has encompassed an evasive Home Secretary who attempted to cover up the true details of the country's asylum seeker situation. We have also seen the Northern Rock fiasco, a by-product of the credit crunch and of Gordon Brown's haphazard control of the Treasury for over 10 years, and not to mention the latest loans scandal which threatens to undermine further the credibility of senior Labour Party officials.

And, if that wasn't enough, further evidence of Gordon Brown's incompetence can be linked to the aforementioned HMRC scandal. Why did he cut the budget from that agency, thereby minimising the opportunity for proper checks to be carried out to trace data and to ensure that only appropriately-trained staff had access to such data?

Gordon Brown has been prided as a man of strength and of conviction, yet his premiership is derailing fast and it actually seems that he has been a very convincing actor for the past 10 years and a very unconvincing prime minister for the last 5 months.

And in the same way that he has allowed Alistair Darling to remain as Chancellor of the Exchequer, he also found the time to promote Dawn Primarolo from her previous job of Paymaster-General (a post she held from 1999 until June 2007, which exercises direct control over HMRC and made her the de facto minister in charge of that agency) to Minister of State for Public Health. So we have a prime minister who is incompetent, a Chancellor who cannot run his own Treasury, and a minister in charge of our public NHS who has a previous record of laying the (dis)organisational foundations for this HMRC crisis.

Wonderful.

Isn't it time that the citizens of the UK had the chance to vote on this crippled Government? When can we vote for change and for optimism? For real fiscal prudence and free market economics? For sharing the proceeds of growth and cutting stealth taxes? And, above all else, when will Gordon Brown give us the chance to vote for a new Conservative Government that will deliver the fair and just society that Britain desperately needs?

A Matter of Competence

2007-11-20T21:44:00.000Z

No doubt by now commentators elsewhere are highlighting the horror of the loss of 25 million personal records by the Revenue and Customs.

Errors occur in every business. Post goes astray. These kind of things are often unavoidable.

What is avoidable is allowing a 'junior official' the access to so many personal records, the ability to download them and the authority to send them willy nilly to another agency without there being any system to authorise, track or confirm receipt of the information.

It is a matter of competence. Yes, Revenue and Customs are a semi detached agency of the government, but the responsibility for their operation still lies, ultimately, with the Treasury. That means the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

If he has an honour at all he should resign.

Gardeners' Question Time and Council Funding

2007-10-09T20:21:00.000Z

Not normally found together in the same sentence, I fully admit.

I quite enjoy listening to Gardeners' Question Time on Radio 4. Invariably their are questions asked that apply equally to my own gardening experience.

I was listening last week and heard a question from a member of the audience in Durham about what to do with the plastic plant pots she obtained from the garden centre when buying new plants. She complained that her local authority, Durham City Council, did not offer a plastic recycling service and wanted some ideas from the panel as to other uses to which the pots could be put.

The panel comprised members who mostly lived in the South and expressed surprise that Durham didn't offer a plastic recylcing services as all their local councils did.

It dawned on me that this is a symptom of the imbalance in funding for local government which we suffer from so severely here in Dorset.

Presumably, Durham City Council don't have the same cost pressures that our local councils do and therfore have not been 'encouraged' to bring in a wider recycling scheme to cut their land fill waste. The logical conclusion must therefore be that not only is the Government's financial settlement for local authorities unfair, it's also not very green.

Fixing our broken society

2007-09-30T14:35:00.000Z

I have been appalled by the recent headlines which show that gun crime and gangland violence is on the rise. Now some of the victims are not even members of gangs, but innocent bystanders. Nonetheless, gang member or not, these are all children and we must take immediate and committed steps to eradicate this culture of violence from within our society.

When the Conservatives speak of the UK's broken society and how social responsibility is the answer, I tend to agree. But, we must also commit detail and policy examples to these soundbites. For example, there can be no doubt that our society is starting to come apart when violent crime has more than doubled since 1997, which includes gun crime also doubling in the same time. Almost 450,000 more crimes were committed in 2005-06 than in 1998-99 - but just one in four crimes were cleared up by police.

Signs that our society is failing are manifesting themselves in other ways as well. Family breakdown is all too common, social mobility is falling, education is not tailored enough to certain children's needs. For example, why not reform the system to create three tiers of colleges - science-based, arts-based and vocationally-based. That way our children can enjoy self-selection instead of being selected by local education authorities which may neglect individual needs.

To address the problem of crime and antisocial behaviour, we need a two-pronged strategy: judicial punishment and rehabilitation programmes. The former means more police on the streets, more funding for PCSOs, and a system where paperwork and bureaucracy is cut back so the police can actually get on with protecting our communities. After all, statistics show that a police officer only spends an average of 40% of their time on the beat nowadays due to unreasonable amounts of paperwork and hoops to jump through.

Rehabilitation, meanwhile, is more complicated, yet much more rewarding in the long term. We need to really integrate community leaders with those that cause the most trouble, whilst realising that many young drug addicts have a medical condition which must be treated with compassion and with commitment on both sides. Jail is not the only answer, it works hand-in-hand with other forms of treatment.

But how do we reverse the mindsets of thousands and thousands of children who have grown up in a climate of fear and uncertainty? We need to reach out to inner cities and to areas where family breakdown is rife, by launching comprehensive and individually-tailored educational programmes. We need to offer incentives for those who may not be academic, but those who would nonetheless flourish in more vocational professions. All of these activities need to be led by strong leadership figures - perhaps even directly-elected mayors - and more social workers and community leaders, funded by increasing deregulation and sharing the proceeds of growth.

This issue spans decades, not elections. We now need the chance to enact our array of compassionate and comprehensive policies. This is the most important issue facing politicians today - without a society for the future, nothing else can come to true fruition.

Civic honour for former Bournemouth councillor

2007-09-20T13:35:00.000Z

Last week I was one of the few Conservative Councillors who voted in favour of ex councillor Adrian Fudge being made an Alderman of the town. For me the situation is very simple. While I may have disagreed fundamentally with Adrian over his policies and more particularly over those issues effecting the ward for which we were both councillors, Littledown and Iford, I could not fault his commitment to the role of councillor either in terms of time or energy. I believe it’s necessary to divide the personal from the political and that is why I voted the way I did and will do so again if the matter comes before the Council.

While I was disappointed that a majority of my colleagues did not see the situation in the same way, I was more disappointed by the fact that opposition members chose to boycott the subsequent Council meeting after the vote had been taken. We are all elected to represent the residents of our wards. They expect us to carry out the role to which they elected us and for which we are paid. What more fundamental duty is there than to attend a meeting of the full Council? The vote was, after all, democratic. I may not have liked the result any more than my Lib Dem and Independent colleagues, however by choosing to leave the chamber they left their electorates disenfranchised and failed fundamentally in their duty to the people who elected them.

There are far more important issues facing the town than whether an ex councillor is made an Alderman. We politicians are left in a poor light by the affair and I would urge my colleagues of all parties to draw a line under it and move on to concentrate on the important issues they were elected to address.

Congestion

2007-08-11T06:56:00.000Z

It took me over an hour to get from Bournemouth to Wimborne last night. If this goes on much longer the whole area is going to become a car park in the Summer.

We need to get the Highways Agency and the Unitary, District and County Councils to resurrect the road improvement schemes for the area, we need to think outside the box on public transport and we need an MP who'll pull all of this together.

Don't we?

UKIP and the BNP

2007-04-17T08:17:00.000Z

The BNP web site has this comment at the begining of an article about the number of UKIP candidates standing in this year's local elections:

"British National Party activists and members in all parts of Britain are generally on good terms with local members and activists of the UKIP – having so much politically in common."

That says it all really. It certainly confirms the suspiscion I've long held that UKIP are just the more acceptable alternative for those who would otherwise be more at home in the BNP.

Blogging Breakdown

2007-03-18T18:39:00.000Z

I thought an apology was in order. I suddenly realised that it has been over a month since I posted anything on this blog.

Time certainly flies doesn't it.

Collapsing buildings, moving house and a poorly dog are my excuses. Hopefully the next few weeks will see me making up for lost time.

Where our money's gone

2007-03-18T18:30:00.000Z

The Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne has a commentary in today's Sunday Times.

This part of the article stood out for me:

for every extra £100 that Brown has spent since 1997, only £30 has been used to improve frontline public services. Thanks to the way he has run the Treasury, the rest has gone on cost-inflation, bureaucracy and waste.

That says it all about this Government really doesn't it? It also tells you exactly why I am running for Parliament.

The DVLA - nothing better to do?

2007-02-15T18:48:00.000Z

My Dad went to get an MOT for his car today.

He went to a small local garage in a village near where they live. It's run by a father and son and provides an excellent service. The chaps are friendly, do the job while Dad waits and, best of all from Dad's point of view, have a good old chin wag with him while he is there.

It's the kind of personal service that doesn't make anyone astonishingly rich, but does ensure customer loyalty and therefore a regular income in the face of larger and often cheaper competitors.

Except today, when Dad went there he was told very apologetically by the father of the pair, that he couldn't really stop to talk until the MOT inspection was completed. The reason for this was that, at the commencement of the inspection, the garage log in to the VOSA computer. They then have a certain time to complete the inspection. If they take longer than this allotted time, the VOSA ring them up and start quizzing them about why the inspection has take too long and what is wrong the with the car.

What happens if there is an issue which needs discussion? What happens if the person doing the inspection is called away?

The whole thing seems mad to me. What possible benefit is there for the VOSA to insist that an MOT inspection take a certain amount of time? More importantly, who is paying for the person to sit on the end of the phone calling these various garages to enquire why the inspection is taking so long?

Talk about the Nanny state sticking its nose in to everyone's business, this really is an example of bureaucracy gone mad.

Update: Thanks to the person who posted the comment to put me right about the difference between the VOSA and the DVLA and to suggest the garage talk to them. Quite right, I'll get Dad to mention it, however it still seems draconian to me; an intrusion and a waste of resources.

New recycling facility in Upton

2007-02-12T22:31:00.000Z

Lytchett Minster & Upton Councillor Paul Johns has worked with the Town and District Councils to obtain a plastic bottle recycling bank in the Upton Community Centre car park. This is a convenient site for many Upton residents and we hope many of you will find it useful.

The recycling bank was moved, as a temporary measure, from the Upton Oil Company site to the Community Centre and unfortunately it has taken longer to get a replacement unit for the Oil Company site. Therefore if the plastics bank at the Upton Oil Company is full please use the one at the Community Centre.

Bearwood Community Centre - An apology and a correction

2007-02-12T22:20:00.000Z

Back in January I posted this message which involved a reference to the local church being involved in the refurbishment of the Bearwood Community Centre.

I'm very sorry to say that this was wrong. I misunderstood the information I was given about the refurbishment of the centre. For that error I'm very sorry and I'm pleased to correct it publicly here.

Milhams Recycling Site

2007-02-07T21:30:00.000Z

I attended the Environment Scrutiny and Review Panel at Bournemouth Council tonight.

One point that was raised was the exclusion of anyone who isn't a Bournemouth Council Tax payer and lives more than 3 kilometers from Milhams Recycling and Waste Centre.

Undoubtedly this policy has helped Bournemouth's recycling and waste targets, but it has inconvenienced people in the general locality greatly.

Milhams is on the edge of Bournemouth, essentially where Bournemouth, Poole and East Dorset Councils' boundaries meet.

I'll be campaigning for this radius to be widened after the local elections in Bournemouth in May. The site is the closest waste facility for people in Merley, Bearwood, Canford Bottom and Colehill, yet many of these places are more than 3 kilometers from the site. If we are really committed to improving recycling and waste management we should find a formula by which people in the wider area can use the facility.

Wimborne Conservatives

2007-02-06T20:44:00.000Z

Wimborne Conservatives have a new web site. You can take a look here.

Excellent effort from their team.

Conservatives confirm opposition to ID cards

2007-02-05T20:54:00.000Z

The Shadow Home Secretary, David Davis MP, has today written to the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Gus O'Donnell giving formal notice that an incoming Conservative Government would scrap the Government's ID card project.

David has also asked what provision, if any, has been made in the relevant contractual arrangements to protect the Government - and public funds - against the costs that would be incurred as a result of early cancellation of the scheme.

A similar letter has also been sent to the likely major contractors warning them of our intentions.

This is the text of the letter to Sir Gus...

"I am writing to you in relation to the Government's planned roll outof its national identity card scheme, commencing this year. You will be aware that there is a long standing convention that one Parliament may not bind a subsequent Parliament.

As you will also be aware, the Conservative Party has stated publicly that it is our intention to cancel the ID cards project immediately on our being elected to government. You are now formally on notice of our position and fully appraised of the contingent risks and associated liabilities arising from the national identity card scheme.

In light of these risks, I urge you to consider very carefully the government's position, in advance of the roll-out of the scheme later this year. As a matter of financial prudence, it is incumbent upon you to ensure thatpublic money is not wasted, and contractual obligations are not incurred, investing in a scheme with such a high risk of not being implemented. In particular, I would be interested to know what provision, if any has, been made in the relevant contractual arrangements to protect the Government - and public funds - against the costs that would be incurred as a result of earlycancellation of the scheme.

The Conservatives will be a launching campaign against Labour's ID Cards proposals tomorrow."

Hat Tip: Iain Dale

I'm voting, are you?

2007-02-04T20:56:00.000Z

Estonia's General Election is on March 4th. This advert is appearing to encourage people to vote. The people are the well known Estonians in different fields (yes, they do exist).

The message on the shirts means 'I will vote, and you?'.

Perhaps we should organise similar adverts for the next local or general elections. Who would you choose? For me: Johnny Wilkinson, Dame Judy Dench, Cliff Richard, Richard Branson and Lord Coe.

Useless fact and Eurovision Link: Ines (laulja - which means singer) sang the 2000 Estonian Eurovision entry 'Once in a Lifetime', it came fourth.

Family Farms

2007-02-03T22:42:00.000Z

Iain Dale has a great post about how the changes to UK Farming have effected he and his family here. I highly recommend it to you.

My family are remarkably similar, my mother's family were in farming in North Herfordshire on the Essex border and we subsequently moved to North Devon. The changes Iain talks about and, particularly in the Torridge area, Foot and Mouth, have changed farming and the countryside for ever, and not for the better.

BIC Wedding Fayre

2007-02-03T22:25:00.000Z

I spent this afternoon helping man the Rubyz stall at the Wedding Exhibition at the BIC. In fact I didn't need to do that much really, Dame Kitty was a draw in her own right and I was lucky if I could get a word in edgeways!

I never knew that weddings were SUCH a huge business. It's the first time we have exhibited there, this is only the first day of two and we have already taken bookings for over 500 people, filling up what available space we had on Saturday evenings throughout April and May.

The range of services and products on offer is astounding. It's a real testament to the ingenuity and entrepreneurialism of people that they should develop businesses that cover such a diverse range of services.

Talking to other business owners there it was apparent though that everyone is suffering under the burden of extra regulation, both directly and indirectly applied by government.

I heard more than once that people were wondering whether it was worth continuing with their businesses and more often that they were no longer keen to employ people because of the regulation and additional cost concerned.

We must make moves quickly to begin to simplify legislation for businesses, take away some of their tax burden and make it easier and more flexible for them to employ people. Rescinding our introduction of the EU's Social Chapter would be a great start.

The place was packed and the organisation was clearly very professional. It's success is a huge credit to the BIC staff and Bournemouth Borough Council's events team.

This week news broke that the Conservative Party would not be coming to Bournemouth for our conference next year. I have to admit to having known this for a couple of weeks. What is heartening is that we will be returning, and more importantly for the staff of the Council and BIC, I know the party chairman has sent a message to them making it clear that the decision in no way reflects on their service, professionalism and the standard of the venue.

Bournemouth Mobile Phone Mast refused on appeal

2007-02-02T23:27:00.000Z

I've just posted this on my Bournemouth Councillor's blog:

I have received the result of the Inspector’s report about the O2 mast at the back of the houses in Southwick Road.

I’m absolutely delighted to report that it has been turned down and the Inspector has basically told O2 to go and look again at a site on Iford Meadows.

I really thought we might lose this one and can’t tell you how pleased I am that it’s been turned down.

What's remarkable about the decision is that the Inspector based it upon quality of life issues. Our campaign majored on planning grounds, but also highlighted that the stress of having a mast in this location and it not being clear whether there was or was not a health risk effected the local residents quality of life and therefore breached their human rights.

I hope that we might be able to bring the same arguments in to play to help the residents fighting the mast at The Clump in Broadstone and elsewhere in Mid Dorset and North Poole.

Bournemouth Borough Council Post Offices Meeting

2007-02-01T23:09:00.000Z

Straight off the plane this afternoon and down to the Town Hall to attend a meeting of the Developing Communities and Tackling Crime Scrutiny and Review Panel. The meeting was about the Post Office closure programme in Dorset and a number of councillors and members of the public attended.

I'm delighted to report that a motion deploring the closure programme was passed by the panel unanimously. They also called for Bournemouth Council to approach Poole and Christchurch to organise a joint approach to any proposed closures, starting with Bournemouth offering support to Poole over their opposition to the closure of the Post Office at Adastral Square, Canford Heath.

The motion now goes to Bournemouth's Cabinet for their approval and action.

No to ID Cards

2007-01-31T23:20:00.000Z

Averil King (no relation), who is the chairperson of Mid Dorset and North Poole UKIP has a letter in tonight's Daily Echo making some very good points in opposition to the Government's plans for ID cards.

Good for Averil.

I'm opposed to the ID card scheme. It will be a huge intrusion in to our privacy and it wastes money which could be so better spent elsewhere (for example, helping the Home Office keep track of convicted offenders).

No casino for Bournemouth

2007-01-30T20:19:00.000Z

So, the Super Casino is going to Manchester and the South Western casinos are going to be situated in Southampton, Bath and Torbay.

Am I disappointed? Truthfully, No.

As a Bournemouth Councillor, I voted for the application for the casino to proceed largely because I was persuaded of the tourism and employment benefits of the wider development which may accompany it. I remained opposed to it being situated on the corner of Bath Road and Westover Road and being linked to the Pavilion and the news that it won't be going ahead is no real blow.

It would certainly have been a draw, but the social consequences for the area could have been severe and the scheme did not have public approval, despite some councillors and officials trying to spin the opinion soundings differently.

Police Community Support Officers

2007-01-29T12:44:00.000Z

My comments about the Government not funding the increase in Police Community Support Officers promised in their election manifesto has raised some interesting comment, I've recieved a number of e-mails and a couple of comments have been posted here.

These clearly come from people who know more than I do about the issue.

I fully realise that the greatest benefit of the PCSO's is their deterrent effect. The posters seem to be suggesting however that the money would be better spent in funding fewer, but fully trained, police officers. I'd be interested in your comments.

Development in Back Gardens

2007-01-28T14:05:00.000Z

Development in the back gardens of houses is an issue across the two boroughs of Bournemouth and Poole. 'Back filling' as it's known is being encouraged by the Government through their classifying back gardens as brown field sites, thereby making it much more difficult for Councils to reject planning applications on them.

Bournemouth's Conservatives have been fighting this form of development for some time. The Council is currently run by the Liberal Democrats and, reacting to public concern back in July the Council passed this motion:

AT A MEETING OF THE BOROUGH OF BOURNEMOUTH COUNCIL, 25 JULY 2006

c. Residential Development in Bournemouth

Councillor Garratt moved and Councillor Brandwood seconded:

‘That the Council recognises the deep concerns of many residents about the impact on the character of residential areas that redevelopment of house sites as flats may have. The Council further recognises the concerns arising from the loss of back gardens to housing development.

The Council also recognises the similarly deep concerns of many residents that the high cost of housing to buy and rent locally could mean that as their children grow up they will have to move away from Bournemouth in order to afford somewhere to live.

In order to address issues of the loss of character the Council resolves, as part of the preparation of its Local Development Framework, to consider the development of Character Assessment policies.

In order to address the issue of the loss of back gardens the Council resolves to:

1. support calls for garden land to be reclassified as green field land;
2. welcome the commitment of Bournemouth’s MPs towards securing this;
3. express its support for the specific provision within the Local Government and Planning (Parkland and Windfall Development) Bill sponsored by Lorely Burt MP, which would require the Secretary of State to issue guidance to local planning authorities to the effect that ‘the gardens of private houses should be regarded for development control purposes as green field sites.’

In order to address the need, in particular, of local people growing up in Bournemouth to be able to afford a place to live, the Council resolves to confirm that affordable housing both to buy and rent is one of its top priorities.’

The motion was carried, 34 in favour, 6 against, 3 abstentions.

Simply enough, no?

Then why is there an advert in the latest edition of the Council's magazine, delivered monthly to all residents, for a company offering to buy up back gardens in order to develop them?

Why has the Council not vetoed advertisers who specifically advertise services to which we are opposed?

My own business advertises in BH Life, we have been told that there are waiting lists for advertisers in the magazine throughout the Spring as only a certain number of adverts are accepted. The excuse that accepting adverts keeps the cost down and they have to take adverts from whichever source they can therefore doesn't pass muster.

We should be practicing what we preach and ensuring that adverts of this type are not allowed in Council publications.

PCSO's

2007-01-27T15:38:00.000Z

The Government has reneged on its election manifesto pledge to create 24,000 Police Community Support Officers by 2008.

Their plan to roll out the national non emergency number has also been revoked.

I've come across a number of PCSO's in the last few weeks, they undertake an excellent job supporting the local police. People want more uniformed officers on the streets, not less.

Increasingly the attention of the police is centred on Poole and Bournemouth town centres, particularly at the weekend. PCSO's provide a vital service in retaining locally knowledgeable and responsive officers, we should be finding ways to fund more rather than less.

A salutory lesson from the US

2007-01-26T23:07:00.001Z

I have been to Florida before, but never to the part where I am currently staying, which is the coastal strip to the north of Miami. My previous trip was limited to the Keys and Miami itself.

The one thing that has struck me is that there really are no facilities for pedestrians in this area. The communities to the north of Miami create one huge strip of suburbia, strung out along the beaches. The beach fronts themselves are not disimilar to similar areas in Spain or France, however there any similarity ends.

Unless you have a car I can't see how you can reach facilities. It took us some time to find a grocery store yesterday. There are the odd Seven - 11s, however these don't sell fresh fruit, vegetables or bread. Unless you are able to take your car to the local out of town supermarket there are no facilities to buy food. There are of course the ubiquitous malls, however even these have no food shops in them. How do the elderly and vulnerable manage?

The announcement of the closure of the Adastral Square Post Office in Canford Heath this week brings home again how fragile our local services are. If we're not to become like Florida we need to ensure our local communities retain these services.

We announced on Tuesday the extension of our petition to specifically cover the Adastral Square closure, asking the post office to ensure that the service is retained in this area of the Heath. Local facilities have to be fought for these days, I'm determined we'll lead that fight.

A salutory lesson from the US

2007-01-26T23:07:00.000Z

The wonders of wi-fi

2007-01-26T02:32:00.000Z

Oh dear, I fear my New Year's resolution looks like it has been broken, and we're not even out of January. I am afraid that as I post this message, it'll show up as being posted on the 26th January rather than the 25th, because it is just that now in the UK.

I have an excuse however. Oh yes, I always have an excuse as my friends will gladly tell you (well I am a politician).

The hotel's wi-fi (wireless internet service) has been down until now (9pm Eastern Time), so I am officially blogging on Thursday 25th, although it's only Thursday 25th as a result of my time zone.

The fact that I can bring my laptop, just plug it in and happily tap away updating my blog and web site, effortlessly, thousands of miles from home, is truly wondrous.

I was left pondering about this while I was waiting for the system to come back on earlier today. Our ability to access information, details and one another at pretty much any time must, I surmised, play a part in people's increasing desire to ensure that they retain their privacy in their own homes.

Ten years ago the Internet was in its infancy, mobile phones were only just becoming popular and phone signal coverage didn't extend far beyond our towns and cities, laptops were enormous and no one had ever heard of blackberries. Now, even whilst wandering around Fort Lauderdale I can receive texts, phone calls and e-mails from home on my Blackberry, I can respond to them all, I can access the Internet to change my flight arrangements and I can even post to this blog.

Whilst that makes home, my job (Rubyz) and my vocation (politics) completely accessible, it also makes me totally accessible to other people. Sometimes it's nice (and necessary) to get away from all of that. Increasingly that comes when you get home and shut the door on the world. I can fully understand therefore why people should wish to retain their privacy in their own home and why I return to the opinion that privacy is going to be a huge issue in the years to come.

Interviewed by the Miami Herald

2007-01-24T23:00:00.000Z

Having arrived in Florida last night I had the rather bizarre experience of being called this morning by the UK Correspondent of the Miami Herald asking me about the chips in bins issue.

She is writing a piece about the strange contradiction in Britons' attitudes to surveillance in public places and our ambivalence to any intrusion in to our homes. She wanted to use the reaction in Bournemouth to the insertion of the chips in our new 'little' bins to illustrate this.

I explained my point of view, which is that we are happy that we are watched over whilst in public because we rest assured in the (largely mistaken) belief that it brings help or intervention closer to us if we run in to trouble. However, there persists a very strong sense of 'an Englishman's home being his castle' and to this extent any intrusion by the government across that imaginary moat we place around our dwellings is greatly resented and swiftly rebuffed.

I also explained that I felt that most Britons perceive their car to be an extension of this home.

This therefore explains our acceptance of the widest degree of CCTV surveillance anywhere in the world, (and our clamour for even more to be introduced); our strong ambivalence towards micro chips in waste bins and the proposal that cars should carry tracking devices to enable road pricing; and our suspicion about the introduction of ID Cards.

The reporter listened very carefully and then kindly asked whether I had read a book called 'Watching the English' by Kate Fox. I said truthfully that I hadn't. Apparently the views I expressed about our national characteristics are almost identical to those espoused by Ms Fox in her book.

I think there is an important message here, that being that interference by Government (at any level) in our lives is of increasing concern to Britons. I believe it is going to be a huge issue in the coming years, one which will begin to differentiate the parties as clearly as the economic and defence arguments of the 1970's and 80's.

Competition Commissioners and supermarket chains

2007-01-23T06:34:00.000Z

The Competition Commission are carrying out a report in to UK Supermarkets. The initial report is about to be published, a full report is due out next year. The BBC have the full story here.

Publicity is concentrating on the supermarkets holding on to 'land banks'; land they have bought for possible development but that they have not begun building on as yet.

For me a much more important issue is the effect that supermarkets are having on local retail markets. The Commission is looking in to how large supermarkets can effect the economy of their surrounding area, with particular reference to grocery shopping and local shops and shopping centres.

I welcome their investigation, I've blogged before about my concern over the power of out of town stores to neutralise smaller businesses in their surrounding area and local town centres, thereby forming a monopoly.

Support for small town, suburban and village businesses is going to be vital if we are to truly retain and create sustainable and vibrant local communities.

Adastral Square Post Office Closure

2007-01-22T22:11:00.000Z

I've been contacted by a number of very concerned residents of Canford Heath this evening. It appears that the Post Office in Adastral Square has announced it will be closing at the end of next month.

I'm not sure if this is the first of the closures we anticipated as a result of the Government's restructuring announcement last month. I'm attempting to find out more detail at the moment and will keep you abreast of developments.

Youth Crime

2007-01-21T21:30:00.000Z

Attending the Crime Reduction Parnership meeting made me think about one of the common concerns raised there, that of youth crime.

I therefore have spent some time today looking out some information from the party and elsewhere about the issue. The figures are quite astounding. The shocking statistics were obtained by Conservatives under the Freedom of Information Act.

· Across the country, a third of all muggings last year were on 11-16 year olds. They are seen as easy targets by muggers seeking mobile phones and MP3 players. In turn, 11-16 year olds were responsible for 40 per cent of all robberies.

· The Government, despite claiming street crime is a top priority, does not properly monitor the level of youth muggings.

· There were a projected 113,000 robberies on 11 to 16-year-olds last year across England & Wales. This is equivalent to over 600 muggings a day for each of the 195 school days.

· In Dorset 23%, or 55 of 239 personal robberies reported were on 11 to 16 year olds.

These new statistics reveal a worrying area of crime that has gone unrecognised. This is likely to be the tip off the iceberg given how few crimes are actually reported.

Secondary school students and their parents will immediately recognise the picture of life these crime figures paint. Having mobiles and ipods routinely stolen, being marched to the cashpoint, seeing their friends mugged – this is the everyday life for too many of our teenagers. Too often these crimes are carried out by people of their own age.

Youth-on-youth crime could be a serious long-term problem and the Government are not properly monitoring it. I believe young people have a right to expect violent crime against them to be taken seriously by this Government.

For that reason I want to work with our local Crime Reduction Partnerships to identify both the victims and perpetrators of these crimes. We should be offering support to the victims and looking for Community involvement in the identification of those who carry out the attacks.

Upton Crime Reduction Partnership

2007-01-20T20:16:00.000Z

I attended a meeting of the Lytchett Minster and Upton Crime Reduction Partnership this week.

I've mentioned before on the blog how, so often, Conservatives take an unsung lead in local communities. This was a perfect example of this kind of positive action.

Certainly not everyone at the meeting was a Conservative. Indeed, I would suspect that we might have been in a minority, however, Cllr Paul Johns, former Cllr Pam Hindley and Bill Pipe take an active role in the group.

What is apparent is that the group consists of people who are completely committed to their community and its improvement. I have enormous respect for them all and I hope that I might be able to go along to some of their future meetings.

Just being able to sit in and ask questions on occasion gave me a great insight in to the problems facing local people. Most of their issues result from anti social behaviour by young people. Some of the more serious crime is drug related, however the majority consists of vandalism, criminal damage, graffiti and the like.

It has, on occasion, created an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty for some local residents. The volunteers of the Crime Reduction Partnership are making a great contribution to dealing with these issues. They tie local residents groups, youth groups, Purbeck District Council, Dorset County Council, Upton Town Council and local businesses together.

The work of the local youth club and the County's youth workers has been particularly dedicated in dealing with many of these issues.

I spent some time in London on Thursday talking about community involvement and ideas for linking communities in to local improvement initiatives. I think there may well be opportunities to assist the Crime Reduction Partnership by organising community help in, for example, youth mentoring schemes. It's something I'll be looking in to over the coming weeks.

Jade Goody

2007-01-19T22:55:00.000Z

So much has been written about Celebrity Big Brother this week that I hardly feel qualified to comment.

Suffice it to say that I have been on the receiving end of prejudice and discrimination. It isn't pleasant and for me Shilpa Shetty has behaved, from what I have seen, with decorum and dignity. Good for her.

As for Jade Goody, well, I think her comments on hearing she was to be evicted were the most incisive thing she has ever said. "I swear to God, I said it would start here and it would end here."

Let's hope it has, for all our sakes.

Traffic England - what a good idea!

2007-01-18T06:09:00.000Z

I've been alerted to this site by the Dorset Chamber of Commerce.

This Highways Agency site gives you real time traffic information for the major routes in the region. I know the BBC and AA sites also have this kind of map too, but you have to navigate your way through pages to get to them.

Amazing a government site that is easy to use and is of some use! Now, if you're like me and heading out to brave the A31, the M27 and the M3, or even going further afield, you can see exactly what's going on.

Excellent.

Another EU Constitution

2007-01-17T23:12:00.000Z

The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, (right) proposes placing the reintroduction of the EU Constitution at the heart of the German presidency of the EU over the next six months.

Her Europe Minister justified the move on The World at One by saying that while France and the Netherlands had rejected the Constitution in referenda, eighteen countries had ratified it.

From memory, 15 or 16 of these countries, including his own, had ratified the constitution with no public vote nor any real debate. Where the Constitution did come under public scrutiny it was voted down decisively.

The EU Constitution was killed off eighteen months ago, that's where it should stay in my opinion, dead and buried.

A parliament for England?

2007-01-16T22:34:00.000Z

This may be a strange topic to raise on the 300th anniversary of the treaty that lead to the Act of Union. However, my attention was drawn this evening to this report on the BBC.

Apparently Tony Blair believes that an English parliament, in whatever form it might take, is "unworkable" and "unnecessary". The first word that comes to mind reading that is "inequitable". Continuation of the current system is unfair and unless it is dealt with the possibility of dissolution of the Union becomes more rather than less likely.

I'm totally with the Prime Minister when he comments that keeping the Union with Scotland is crucial to both national security and our economy.

However, continuing to allow Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish MPs to vote on matters that only effect England must in the long run be untenable.

I'm not in favour of a separate English Parliament, there are already enough layers of bureaucracy and government. I don't see however why the House of Commons can't sit as an English chamber when it decides purely English policy.

Yes, this may prove problematic on occasions when the UK parliament and the English Chamber have different parties with a majority. The Government, Prime Minister and Cabinet would of course be drawn from the majority party in the UK Parliament. Allowing only English MPs to vote on English issues must however be good for democracy and, ultimately, for the continuation of the Union.

Ashley Mote and the Far Right.

2007-01-15T23:03:00.001Z

I've attended quite a few political meetings in my time. In North Devon the hustings that were traditionally held in Bideford's Panier Market on election eve could be quite robust, even boisterous, but always good hearted and never threatening.

Similarly, I've attended meetings of the Labour Party, Liberals, Liberal Democrats, CND and Green Party, all of whom I disagreed with to varying degrees. I never felt threatened or uncomfortable at any of these either.

Then I went to a UKIP fringe meeting during the 2004 party conference in Bournemouth. For the first time at a political meeting I truly felt uncomfortable. The intolerance and hatred in the room was palpable. Intolerance of anything or anyone that didn't conform to the supporters viewpoint and hatred of the change that was taking society from that comfortable norm the audience wanted to preserve.

The people there were genuinely frightened by the changes in society and their country they were witnessing. Their response was to blame the EU for this shift and to hark back to a country that simply doesn't exist any longer.

To a large degree they are right, the EU has imposed many changes on our country, some for the better, but many more for the worse. We have to reach out to those people who feel this way, reassure them that the pace of change can be altered and that while it's impossible for us to go back, the erosion they perceive of their core values can be reversed.

What makes this task all the more important is the news today that the former UKIP MEP (he was expelled by UKIP for being involved in a court case over alleged housing benefit fraud) has joined the same group in the European Parliament as the French National Front, Allessandra Mussolini's Fascists from Italy and a rag bag of far right parties from Bulgaria and Belgium amongst others. For me this confirms the feeling I had at that meeting two years ago, that it's a very short step from the legitimate concerns many UKIP supporters have to something much much nastier.

The greatest form of flattery....

2007-01-14T23:05:00.000Z

I've spent today updating a lot of the links for this and its sister web site.

I'm amazed at the number of Conservative blogs that have developed in Bournemouth, Poole and the surrounding area since I started my Littledown and Iford blog just a few months ago.

Check out the local Conservative links on the right. They include blogs that cover the Bournemouth wards of Moordown, Queen's Park, Redhill & Northbourne, Wallisdown and Winton West, Westbourne & Westcliff and Winton East.

Richard Booth, one of the Conservative candidates for Wimborne also has a blog, upon which he is running a poll on the desireability of allowing Waitrose to build on Wimborne Cricket Club's ground at Hanham Field. I urge you to take a look at his blog and let your voice be heard in his vote.

Finally I should mention Will Burstow's excellent blog, A Young Conservative. Will is from Ulster, hence the posts about the province and its politics. Will lives in Alderney, which is currently part of Mid Dorset and North Poole but transfers in the boundary changes to Bournemouth West.