Concentrating on winning in Erith & Thamesmead

I have decided not stand for re-election as a ward Councillor in Bickley so that I can concentrate all my efforts on becoming the MP for Erith & Thamesmead at the next General Election.

In a letter to my branch Chairman, I wrote, ‘I have had eight years pretty much at the top of Bromley politics, it has been an enormous privilege and honour, and I will take away many fond memories of my time as a public servant on Bromley Council.’

As far Erith & Thamesmead is concerned, this is an area that has been taken for granted by Labour. It deserves better, I am hopeful that I will be elected in Erith & Thamesmead so that I can bring change and leadership to an area that badly needs it.

Obviously it will be a massive wrench to say goodbye to Bromley, but I am confident that the team I leave behind will continue to serve the people of Bromley with distinction. I will stand down from all my responsibilities in May 2010.

My good friend Stephen Carr, the Leader of Bromley Council said that he was “gutted” to be losing me, but he recognised that Bromley’s loss was Erith & Thamesmead’s gain.

He said, “Colin has served both Bickley and Bromley with dedication, passion and integrity for nearly eight years. He will be sorely missed. However, he will make a terrific MP and so he goes with the support and affection from his colleagues on Bromley Council.”

Campaigning and Raining in Norwich North

Whilst driving the 150 miles home from the Norwich North by-election it occurred to me that I have got soaked at every Parliamentary by-election since David Cameron has been our Leader!

The two days I spent in Henley on Thames for John Howell were wet, the time I spent in Crewe & Nantwich for Edward Timpson were very wet, and the time I have given Chloe Smith in Norwich North it was raining cats and dogs!

At this rate the next by-election will have wet weather of the kind that would make Noah wave the white flag!

In any event, there was a solid contingent from South East London up there to support the campaign, including Richard Ottaway MP for Croydon South and John Horam MP for Orpington (pictured).

It was good to be there and play a small part in helping Chloe, someone who will make a brilliant MP.

Thamesmead Festival ends early because of violence

Last Saturday I had an exciting and full day, amongst meeting residents, going to a fundraising event, visiting the Belvedere Community Forum I went to the Thamesmead Festival.

The Thamesmead Festival started out as a vibrant and exciting event, but I quickly felt a certain tension in the air which made me think that something bad might happen. Sadly for the overwhelming majority of decent people there, it did.

Today the News Shopper is carrying the report that the festival had to be closed early due to violence. Read it here.

Interestingly the News Shopper devotes most of the article to quotes from the Labour MP John Austin. Maybe one day, they'll ask me for a quote on how badly Labour have let down and taken for granted the people of Erith & Thamesmead!

However, in the meantime we need to consider the response of the Police at this event.

'A stand-off developed between police, who included officers from the Met Police's Territorial Support Group, and about 200 youths, with bottles and bricks thrown at the police.

A police helicopter was also called in.

Eventually the crowds dispersed and the Met said a number of youths were issued with fixed penalty notices for public order offences.'

Oh come on! Is that the best we can do? If people throw bricks and bottles at the Police they should be arrested, charged and punished. Severely.

Obviously since the G20 debacle our Police have been emasculated and have been reduced little more than mobile punch bags that can issue Fixed Penalty Notices for a living. Why doesn't the gutless Home Office just get on with it and rename our hard working and brave coppers Traffic Wardens!

Pathetic.

Using effective aid to tackle poverty

As someone who has devoted significant energy in seeing better healthcare, sanitation, education and social justice in the developing world, I was absolutely delighted when David Cameron and George Osborne announced that despite the reccession, UK spending on supporting places like Africa would not be cut under a Conservative Government.

This video, demonstrates how we Conservative's have the right ideas about how we can not only spend more, but also how we can spend more wisely in helping make our world a more just and better place.

A vote for the Conservative's means a vote for a fairer settlement for the poorest people on earth.

Back with a vengeance

I haven't blogged for a few weeks, sorry.

This has been down to a savage campaigning workload, but I am back with a vengeance now!

It's the poorest that get hurt the most under Labour

The poorest are again squeezed hardest under Labour. On the day that the Government admits that unemployment will stay above 2 million until at least 2016, it is announced that the cost of living is rising at twice the rate of inflation for the poorest in society, according to new research.

A report claims that those who earn little spend most of their money on food, energy bills and public transport - where prices are increasing rapidly.

The study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, a leading social policy research charity, concludes that a single adult needs to earn £13,900 a year to afford a basic standard of living.

This is an increase of 5.3 per cent (about £500) on the figure for 2008, the report claims, while the official rate of inflation that excludes mortgage payments, the Consumer Prices Index, is running at 2.2 per cent.

I am sure that Gordon Brown didn't come into politics to harm people, but it's his policies that have crippled the country and are disproportionately affecting the most needy. If he had a shred of self respect left, he should apologise and clear his desk.

Proper Justice

Cornflakes and milk got splashed all over my table, lap and Daily Telegraph today as I thumped the table with delight.

A 23 year old villain broke into  72 year old Frank Corti's house and threatened the pensioner with a knife. Sadly for the burglar, but happily for the rest of us the man who was more than three times younger than the ex boxer got a right proper bashing, and was restrained until the police arrived.

The picture says it all, but you can read more of this fantastic story here.

The villain got four and a half years (he'll probably only serve half that), and the judge said' "he had got what he deserved!"

As for Frank Corti, he has now been propelled to the top of my heroes league. Look out for him in the next Queen's honours list. A Knighthood for services to the community! The judge sounds like a pretty good sort too...

Cameron attacks "relaunch without a price tag"

David Cameron has criticised Gordon Brown’s attempted relaunch for its “lack of honesty on spending” and “lack of real reform of our public services”.

David pointed to Peter Mandelson’s statement that there will not be a Government spending review before the next election, and stressed that it was a “relaunch without a price tag”.

He said that many of the initiatives announced by the Prime Minister - including the Constitutional Renewal Bill and the simplification of immigration rules – were “rehashed”, and others - including the future fund - were taken from us.

David warned that other proposals amounted to “timid and bureaucratic top-down tinkering” rather than real reform, and stressed:

"The truth about today's statement is it only serves to highlight the decline of this Government. Their money has run out. Their political capital has run out. And now their time is running out."

David also attacked Gordon Brown for delaying the second reading of the Royal Mail bill, and offered to give up the Conservatives' Opposition Day Debate to allow it to be heard.

Ken Clarke, the Shadow Business Secretary, stressed the delay to this “urgent” bill showed that Britain has “a dying government, past its sell-by date and needing to be replaced.”

He said, “I do not believe that this delay is anything to do with a lack of parliamentary time, but if it is we would gladly give up an Opposition Day to make way for the second reading of the bill.”

A thread of dishonesty runs through Brown's Premiership

In his regular press conference, David Cameron attacked Gordon Brown for not being straight with people about Labour’s public spending plans.

He accused the Prime Minister of showing “a lack of respect" for the British public by claiming Labour are going to increase spending on public services when their own figures show it will fall.
David said there was “a thread of dishonesty running through (Gordon Brown's) Premiership” - and warned:

"For all their talk of a fresh start, of openness, and of transparency, of a genuine dialogue between government and people, Labour just cannot relinquish the comfort blanket of spin and deception."

David stressed that he and George Osborne have been honest about the need to sort out Britain's public finances – and he made clear:

“The cupboard is bare; tough decisions must be made; cuts cannot be avoided - whoever wins the next election.”

David also discussed the issue of MPs’ second jobs. He said that from the end of December the Shadow Cabinet will give up their outside interests – but he stressed that these interests can be “a good thing” as they bring additional expertise and experience to the House of Commons.

"Of course it is possible to have outside interests and be a good MP. As long as the public have all the information - and they should - they can judge in each case."

To this end, David announced that he was publishing information about the Shadow Cabinet's current outside interests - and you can read that information here.

Conservative Membership Growing!

David Evennett, the indefatigable MP for Bexleyheath and Crayford sets the standard for being out and about in his Constituency. He is a decent bloke, and a proper Conservative with it!

Over the weekend a number of fundraising events were had across the region where it was lovely to see so many new and returning faces.

Despite the fact that Politics and Politicians have been trashed in recent weeks, it is extremely encouraging to see that in Erith & Thamesmead, Bexley, Greenwich and Bromley our membership is growing, and our supporters are more energised than ever.

People have been so disillusioned by New labour, they feel so let down by Brown and Blair that they are looking to join us to ensure that we are victorious at the next General and Local Elections. So if you want to join us and get involved you can contact me by clicking here.

Bedonwell School's Summer Fayre

On Saturday I had the pleasure of attending the Bedonwell School Summer Fayre. I met with the Head, Deputy Head and some of the Governors. What a great community school!

Here I am pictured with local Ward Councillor John Davey, a man who serves Lesnes Abbey and the Constituency extremely well.

Everyone was smiling, although not as much as the man in the Ice Cream Van who had queues all day long!

Inside Today

If you are a Radio 4 listener in the morning you'll love this.

I particularly like the Evan Davis costumes...

Does he have the balls to tackle Balls?

Is this the first real test of our new Speaker?

On Wednesday the new Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow told MP's that he demanded they give important Government announcements to the House of Commons first. It was absolutely implicit that they were to desist from the pattern of behaviour they have got into of dashing off to the Today Programme's studio before having the courtesy to inform their elected colleagues.

I wrote on my blog then, that I wondered how it would be before this spin addled Government broke this new expectation.

The answer is 36 hours.

This morning and afternoon Ed Balls the School's Minister has been flouncing around the news rooms (and no doubt his people have been briefing the written media) talking about his plan to scrap one of Labour's key school polices; it was going to be announced in a white paper to be publsihed next Tuesday.

Read more here.

So this is Mr. Bercow's first test. He had a very good time at Prime Minister's Questions (PMQ's) on Wednesday, does he have the balls to tackle Balls? I hope so.

Is there a whiff of hypocrisy about the BBC at the moment?

It was reported on the radio this morning that the Director General of the BBC Mark Thompson earns in pay and benefits about £800,000 per year. His monthly income is the same as the annual basic salary of an MP!

In fact, the top hundred earners in the BBC all get paid many many times what an MP earns. I don't know whether the DG and his senior staff are worth that much or not, I have no problem with people being paid well, but it helps get the accusation that MP's all have their noses in the trough in perspective doesn't it?

The BBC and their expenses

Now it's the BBC's turn to have their senior executive's expenses claims exposed for all to see.

Read the full story here.

As I have said before, I have found the past few months quite sickening and extraordinary. The sooner these problems are dealt with and the sooner these issues are cleared up the better it will be for everyone. I'm sure the 2,000 steelworkers laid off yesterday would prefer it if the political classes would concentrate a bit harder on sorting out the mess the whole country is in, not just their own issues.

However, the BBC has made a start but this does not go nearly far enough. Politicians have learned the hard way that there is no point being half-hearted when it comes to disclosing how public money is spent. We need full transparency so that licence fee payers know what their money goes on. We then need the National Audit Office to assess whether this delivers value for money.

Yobs start a fire in Erith

Earlier I wrote about the anti-social hooligans who let off at least ten fire hydrants in Thamesmead last night.

This evening I was in Erith, near the Running Horses Pub when at about 8 pm some idiots thought it would be good sport to start a fire in the bushes. As anyone who knows the area will testify, because of the topography of the town, smoke, odours and smog just hangs in the air and envelopes the place with a choking grip.

Fortunately Erith's excellent Fire Brigade were on site within about 5 minutes and I saw them put the fire out with skill and efficiency. But the smell and smoke lingered for some time.

So well done brave Fire Fighters and shame on the yobs that like to start fires. Some of the locals that I spoke to agreed that Zero Tolerance was the answer.

We need Zero Tolerance on Anti Social Behaviour

These dramatic picture were taken* last night in Thamesmead.

They show the havoc that was wreaked by a gang of anti-social young people who set off at least ten fire hydrants. With water shooting up to 60ft in the sky and the streets running with tens of thousands of gallons of water, these mindless yobs caused fear, anxiety and damage on a community that deserves much better.

The Police say that they can't identify the people involved, even though they were seen by lots of people. These hooligans will have been soaked to the skin, and they will by now be bragging about their exploits. If the Police really wanted to they would have these yobs in the clink by the weekend, let's hope they do!

I've said it before, and when (or if) I get into Parliament I will be saying it even louder, the Police, the Magistrates, the Local Authorities, the Probation Service and the Community need to have a cold, resolute, zero-tolerance approach to crime. Unless there is joined up thinking and a co-ordinated approach to dealing with anti-social behaviour of the kind experienced last night in Thamesmead, things will just get worse for the majority of law abiding decent people.

Read the story here in the News Shopper.

*These photos were taken by Graham Simpson

£1m migrants project 'a scandal'

The BBC are today reporting that £1m has been wasted on a government scheme to help failed asylum seekers and their children return home, it resulted in just one family leaving Britain.

The pilot scheme in Kent, run by the charity Migrant Helpline, was aimed at reducing the number of children locked up in detention centres each year.

Read the full story here.

So the Government has no idea how to stop illegal immigrants, when by chance they do find them, they can't deport them either!

These kind of stories should come under a special heading - YOU COULDN'T MAKE THIS UP!

Gordon Brown caught out telling lies again

Let me know what you think of it.

Great start for new speaker

John Bercow the new Speaker got off to a great start at Prime Minister's Questions (PMQ's) this afternoon.

He was self assured (not something that any of his critics have doubted), fair and firm. The highlight was that he kept the hullabaloo down and made sure that as many questions were asked of Gordon Brown.

After the Prime Minister sat down at the last question, John Bercow read out a brief statement laying down some more of the expectations that he has on MP's from all sides of the chamber. Chief amongst these was that he is demanding that Ministers announce emerging policy, facts and figures and the like to Parliament first, they must not speak to the media first.

Given that this Government spins like Spitfire's propeller, it is going to be a real test of Bercow's authority when one of them breaks this rule. Oh, and they will break it...

I am going to give the new Speaker 8 out of 10, he would have got 10 out of 10 if he had said, "Order, order, the Prime Minister hasn't answered that question, would the Right Honourable Gentleman please answer it!"

Chris Moyles the Radio 1 and Church

A friend has sent me this youtube link, which has cheered me up a bit.

Not being a Radio 1 listener, I don't know much about Chris Moyles, but from this clip he doesn't sound as boorish as I had been led to believe.

But what a church!