Date
The views expressed in this Blog are mine and do not necessarily represent County Council policy or Conservative Party policy
Day twenty-five and I am out in Neithrop with Alyas Ahmed and a strong canvassing team. We canvass a lot of houses in roads close to the candidate's home. I am deeply impressed by Alyas's knowledge of his patch and how well known and supported he is in this Ward. It has become clear to me how hard he has worked his patch since his first election.
Day twenty-three and I am out in Ruscote with Nicola Smith and a strong canvassing team. We discovered there was a football match tonight so pressed on to cover the canvass before when we guessed the match might start. Not sure how successful we were in our timing nor who was playing nor the result of the match! However, we had a good canvass and notched up plenty of Conservative voters.
A glimpse of the real Gordon Brown Here are some links to BBC TV News showing the real Gordon Brown. One minute he is sweet talking a disgruntled Labour supporter and, in the safety of his armour-plated limousine but with an unknown radio mike in his lapel, he is calling her a "bigoted old woman". This feels like the real Gordon Brown, feared and loathed by many who worked close to him.
Brown's bigot moment: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8649042.stm
Brown responds to woman: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8649174.stm
Brown's apology on Radio 2: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8649200.stm
This feels like the beginning of the end!!!!!
27/04/10
Evan Harris features on page 4 of today's Oxford Mail. An Anglican priestess has apparently done some research into Evan's voting record on abortion law, embryo research and his reputation as "one of the most outspoken secularists in Parliament". She is circulating the evidence in a leaflet around Oxford West & Abingdon constituency! Here is a link to the news story: http://www.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/news/8120903.GENERAL_ELECTION__Harris_attacks_leaflet__abuse_/?ref=mr
I will see if I can get my hands on the leaflet that is apparently circulating.
Day twenty-one and I should be out in Ruscote with Nicola Smith at 6:30 pm. Instead I am seated on a train between Oxford and Kings Sutton, going nowhere very fast. Frustratingly, I am too late to get to Ruscote but a 'phone call reassures me they had a good team out and made real progreess.
26/04/10
Day twenty-one and I sent the following Leader's Prayer to my good friend Paul Carter, Leader of Kent County Council. It reads as follows: Lord, please keep Your arm around my shoulders and Your hand over my mouth! Amen.
This followed Paul expressing concern about Conservative proposals to encourage parents and other groups to create Free Schools.
My view is that diversity in educational provision is very welcome. Here in Oxfordshire we have two academies in place and another two in progress. They are state funded, free at the point of delivery.
23/04/10
Day eighteen and I saw Nicola Smith and her team working her Ruscote patch hard to catch the deadline for postal and proxy votes.
Day seventeen and off to Neithrop Ward in Banbury to canvass with Ilyas Ahmed We knock on doors in Portway and Chetwode. This is an interesting estate. It is part of the famous London overspill after the war. The houses are built in small rows up and down the hill. They feel more spacious than the houses Labour's planning rules are giving us today.
What was striking was the care and investment most of the residents had put into their homes. I saw loads of manicured lawns, well clipped hedges, carefully maintained gardens, whether full of flowers and shrubs or meticulously gravelled. There were a lot of cars on the estate but they were not as in-your-face as the estates that the government's density and parking diktats are forcing on us now.
This felt like a secure and strong community and there were plenty of Conservative voters among them. I was delighted to learn how well known Ilyas Ahmed, the current councillor, is in this area. He has clearly been working very hard to address issues.
Day fourteen and off to Neithrop Ward in Banbury to canvass for Ilyas Ahmed while he attends to his duties at the Cherwell District Council meeting. I canvass Gillett Road and Gillett Close and get a good response with a lot of recognition both for our MP, Tony Baldry, and the council candidate, Ilyas. A rewarding evening.
Day thirteen and off to Banbury Town Hall in the evening for an Election Hustings, convened by Banbury Churches.
Five candidates were present: Tony Baldry (Conservative); Sebastian Fairweather (UKIP); David Rundle (Liberal); Les Sibley (Labour) and Alastair White (Green).
The meeting was chaired by a priest or, perhaps, he was a Free Church minister? He did quite well although he twice failed to call Les Sibley to make his contribution. He was reminded by the audience but I can forgive him for possibly thinking Les Sibley had nothing to say but I will return to this theme later.
The debate started with each candidate allowed a minute to make a personal statement.
There were then ten questions, determined in advance by the organisers but not advised to the candidates until the Hustings.
This could never be a meeting of equals:
The Conservative, Tony Baldry, was head and shoulders above the rest but he should be, having had ministerial experience under two Conservative Prime Ministers and having been a MP for 27 years.
The Liberal, David Rundle, struck me as being on the right wing of his Party and closer to the Conservatives than many Liberals. However, the real problem is that Liberals cannot be trusted on policy which will vary from one street corner to the next. In any case, a vote for a Liberal will be a vote that keeps Gordon Brown in power.
The UKIP candidate, Sebastian Fairweather, was plausible. My problem is that he is, essentially a Conservative with a single-issue anti-EU perspective. Strip this away and he had little to offer that any Conservative candidate could not offer. The danger is that a vote for UKIP could help Gordon Brown to cling onto power. None of us want that!
The Green chap, Alastair White, was precisely what you would expect and I don't think I need to add to that. The Greens would close down our economy, requiring men with red flags to walk in front of all motorised vehicles. Greens are generally slightly odd .....
Which brings me to the Labour candidate ..... I was deeply embarrassed by Les Sibley. He simply did not have a clue and, if this is the best the Labour Party can do in Banbury Constituency, God help them. Surely the Labour Party can find a more worthy opponent to our Tony Baldry or is Sibley really the best the Labour Party can offer?
Day twelve and I am out today in Kidlington in the morning and in Abingdon in the afternoon.
In Kidlington, Maurice Billington, Amanda Mclean and I canvassed Moors Lane from one end to the other. There were more Outs than anything else; after that the "Cs" were miles ahead of anyone else; there were the inevitable "haven't made up my minds yet" of whom I suspect a few were too ashamed to say they might vote for Evan Harris! However, there were very few Liberals in evidence and hardly any of those dreadful orange Liberal lozenges.
On to Abingdon for the afternoon with Nicola Blackwood and her personal campaign team, supported by Sandy Lovatt. We canvassed Appleford Drive and Garford Close. Plenty of Conservative voters including numbers coming across from the Liberals and a few from Labour. Again, very few Liberal orange lozenges. The tide is turning. Time to start looking for a new job, Evan Harris.
Day eleven and I am out tonight in Ruscote with Nicola Smith, the candidate and a team of eight. We canvass Edinburgh Way and a number of roads off of it, high up on Bretch Hill and in the Labour heartland of George Parish, the only Banbury Labour councillor left on Cherwell District Council. George has a handful of posters but this part of Banbury is changing. Lots of people are investing in their homes and there are some very up-market 4X4s around.
The great debate Along with millions of others, I watch the three Party leaders slug it out on ITV while I enjoy some supper and a glass of wine. First, Clegg should never have been given equal status with the other two. It gave the Liberals a status they do not deserve. Second, either Brown or Cameron will end up in No 10, Clegg will not. Third, we saw one Party of the centre right last night and two of the left. Fourth, a vote, almost anywhere, for a Liberal will aid Brown's bid to stay in No 10. The country can't afford any more time for Brown to try his Party's failed policies. Fifth, a hung parliament will be a disaster, leading to policy drift, a coalition of the left, more of Labour's failed policies, higher public spending and taxes and a run on the pound. We need strong decisive government that is different to what we have had for the last thirteen years.
Finally, did you hear the wingeing this morning from the Scottish Nationalists, the Welsh Nationalists and the UKIP lot? Thank God the BBC had some sense in excluding these minorities from a mainstream British debate. Just a shame we had to have Clegg with equal standing to the two real contenders!
Day ten and I am out tonight in Kidlington with Nicola Blackwood and her personal team plus Maurice Billington, Kidlington County and District Councillor. I was also delighted to be canvassing with Nathan Sinclair who served on the UK Youth Parliament and who is a pupil at Gosford School. It is good to start campaigning young!!!
13/04/10
Day eight and I am afraid I gave canvassing a miss tonight. John Harper's funeral took a lot out of me and I needed to sit quietly tonight.
Thanks to AF who e-mailed this to me: The old priest lay dying in the hospital. For years he had faithfully served the people of Old London Town. He motioned for his nurse to come near. "Yes, Father?" said the nurse. "I would really like to see Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling before I die," whispered the Priest. "I'll see what I can do, Father," replied the nurse. The nurse sent the request to the Premier's office and waited for a response.
Soon the word arrived that the Prime Minister and Chancellor, devoted Christians both, were delighted to visit the Priest. As they went to the hospital, Gordon commented to Alistair "I don't know why the old Priest wants to see us but it will certainly help our images and might even get us some favourable publicity for our Election Campaign" Alistair agreed that it was a good thing.
When they arrived at the Priest's room, the Priest took Gordon's hand in his right hand and Alistair's hand in his left. There was silence and a look of serenity on the old Priest's face. Finally Gordon spoke. "Father, of all the people you could have chosen, why did you choose us to be with you as you near the end?" The old Priest slowly replied, "I have always tried to pattern my life after our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."
"Amen," said Gordon. "Amen," said Alistair.
The old Priest continued, "Jesus died between two thieves. I would like to do the same!"
Day six and off to Ruscote to canvass Withycombe Drive with Nicola Smith, Cherwell candidate for Ruscote Ward and with Keith Strangwood and a small army of supporters.
Day five is Sunday and is my day at home to catch up on the last week's paper work and to try to get ahead of next week.
Day five finds me in Kennington with Nicola Blackwood, Parliamentary Candidate for Oxford West and Abingdon, Cllr Aresh Fatemian, County Councillor for Kennington & Radley Division and a large team of canvassers. We covered a good chunk of Kennington, knocking on doors and signing up Conservative voters.
Day four and a night off to attend the Cherwell Chairman's Charity Dinner at the Bicester Golf Club at Chesterton. A good evening was had by all; just a shame that the red wine was as chilled as the white wine!
Day three of the General Election Campaign and a change of venue tonight. Out in Neithrop Ward with Ilyas Ahmed, the candidate, plus Nicola Smith from the Ruscote Ward and a strong canvass team. We get a good reception and plenty of voters who can't wait to cast their vote on May 6 for a change at national level.
I have one emerging truth from canvassing in Banbury to date. There are a growing number of households where English is simply not the second nor third language. It is a tongue that is neither spoken nor understood in many Banbury households. How do such citizens secure good, long-term employment and start to contribute to the local economy?
Day two of the General Election Campaign and I am back with Nicola Smith, the Ruscote Ward candidate on Cherwell District Council, for an evening of canvassing. We have the same strong strong team out in Ruscote and there is another one in Neithrop where Alyas Ahmed is defending his seat. Plenty of voters respond well to the question "Will you vote Conservative to be sure to get Gordon Brown out?"
Click here for my Election Campaign Schedule. This is subject to alteration if circumstances change.
The first day of the General Election Campaign and I join Nicola Smith the Ruscote Ward candidate on Cherwell District Council for an evening of canvassing. We have a strong team out in Ruscote and there is another one in Neithrop where Ilyas Ahmed is defending his seat. There is also a substantial county council team out in Abingdon to kick off Nicola Blackwood's campaign against Evan Harris in Oxford West and Abingdon.
The County Council met. I announce my new Cabinet comprising myself (Leader of the Council); David Robertson (Deputy Leader); Jim Couchman (Finance & Property); Louise Chapman (Children, Young People & Families); Michael Waine (School Improvement); Ian Hudspeth (Growth & Infrastructure); Rodney Rose (Transport); Judith Heathcoat (Safer & Stronger Communities); Arash Fatemian (Adult Services) and Kieron Mallon (Policing and Council Policy Coordination)
We take the opportunity to debate Gordon Brown's proposals for Free Personal Care, supporting the principle but condemning the cold political cynicism in loading most of the costs on to local government.