Ellee Seymour

Great news, James Tumbridge has made it through to the final round for the Mid-Norfolk selection following his breathtaking transatlantic return home from a long weekend in Canada. The final decision will be made next Saturday.

He will be standing against health campaigner Vicky Ford, businessman George Freeman and political consultant Laura Sandys.

As you can imagine, James, a barrister, is thrilled and has been inundated with calls from well wishers. It’s an incredible achievement, considering he only had 4 hours sleep and was originally standing against 18 A-listers, which did not include him. All the odds were stacked against James, he still has one major hurdle to overcome. And he is the only local candidate.

James told me:

“The local association left a message on my mobile while I was flying over the Atlantic to Canada. When I arrived, I turned my phone on and there was a message saying I was through. I was at the airport with my wife Laura and we had a discussion and she was really good about it, so I came back.

“I’m so thrilled to have got through to the final round. I have been inundated with calls from well wishers, I really appreciate all the support I have had.”

This weekend clearly demonstrated passion and commitment and highlighted the talent James has.

And don’t worry, James didn’t abandon his wife in Canada, they were meeting up with his in-laws, so Laura remained behind in very good hands.

James is thoroughly decent and genuine and would be a great asset to David Cameron’s team.
It’s been going to be a very loooooooooooong week…

Update: 16 October, local press report on the selection.

Update: 18 October, changes to list.

Update: 20 October, Chris Fisher to interview finalists.

With our education system failing so many of our young people, an excellent and affordable alternative is the more personal approach offered by Rudolph Steiner schools.

Steiner believed that education should be designed to meet the changing needs of a child as they develop physically, mentally and emotionally. He believed that education should help a child to reach their full potential,he did not believe in pushing children towards goals that adults, or society in general, believed to be desirable.

In fact, a child is not deemed ready to start learning to read or write until they lose their milk teeth,they are encouraged to play, draw, tell stories, be at home and enjoy nature study. They can enjoy being a child, something we have been told recently is not happening today due to stress and exam pressure.

Unfortunately, the Cambridge Steiner School desperately needs new premises, their present site is very run down and dilapidated and they have lost out on premises they had set their hearts on to a property developer.

They already have more than 100 pupils and know they could attract more with an improved site, which is incredibly difficult to conjure up in a high-tech city like Cambridge at affordable prices.

I am assisting with their Cambridge PR, I am optimistic that by raising their profile in the community, the school will gain extra support, as well attracting more pupils.

I particularly like how the school prepares young people for life by teaching them gardening and growing vegetables, as well as everyday domestic skills, on top of the more formal subjects. They are taught how to be very well rounded young citizens - and are much happier learning in a stress-free environment.

I’m looking forward to the challenges of this project, I know how very important it is to the school and parents, and, as always, I am confident that we will succeed.