Ellee Seymour

Whereas Esther Rantzen could be regarded as a credible political candidate, the same can’t be said for former Dollar singer David Van Day, who has apparently expressed an interest in standing as a parliamentary candidate.

He is particularly keen on contesting mid-Beds which is held by our Nadine Dorries whose blog was sensationally shut down by lawyers acting for the Daily Telegraph. Why do the celebs like the Eastern Region so much?

He plans to visit the constituency and ask the public what they think about the idea before making a decision about standing under the banner of the No Expense Party.

I found him really irritating and loathsome in the celebrity jungle where his fellow contestants described him as “conniving…like a snake in the grass”, “out for himself” and “lazy”. Not the kind of endorsement which will win votes.

This just sounds like a gimmick to me so he can have another five minutes of fame. I wonder if Katie Price or Pete Andre will throw their hat in the ring next…

Share on Facebook

I joined Conservative Eastern Region Euro election candidates Vicky Ford and John Flack on a coastal erosion fact finding visit to Overstrand, Cromer yesterday. On this video, you will hear local campaigners from the Overstrand Shoreline Management Committee expressing their grave concerns and how they are considering a legal challenge under the Human Rights Act, as well the views of Vicky and John.

I’ve long felt that this is an issue that has been totally fudged with different organisations and governments passing the buck. It surely can’t keep being ignored.

Share on Facebook

There is a great Mac cartoon in the Daily Mail today which brilliantly encapsulates the mood of the moment. It shows Gordon Brown taking a phone call and then turning to his wife who is sitting on the sofa reading the Gurkhas story :

“Bad news, Sarah. Joanna Lumley has called a snap election,” he tells her.

With Esther Rantzen also forcing the political hand in Luton South, one wonders who really is running this country…

Update 28 May: Terry Waite may stand as an Independent in Suffolk (he lives near Bury St Edmunds) and columnist Simon Heffer has set his eyes on Sir Alan Haselhurst’s seat.

Share on Facebook

If there were 50 hours in the day, it still wouldn’t be enough for our Conservative European parliamentary candidates to visit everywhere and do everything they wanted covering the six counties in the East of England during the election campaign.

To me, their daily programme seems exhaustive, but they do it because they are 110% committed to meeting as many people as possible. That is even more important now when politicians are tainted as greedy, grasping bad guys as they want to reassure voters that there are many decent, honourable ones out there too.

Inevitably, there are occasions when candidates can’t attend a local hustings because the invitation arrived at short notice or they have already made firm plans and don’t want to let other people down. It means that regrettably, candidates can’t accept every invitation, and I would imagine that is true for all political parties.

This week I was sent an email by a local journalist complaining about our lack of attendance at a couple of hustings, so I forwarded it to our candidates who I know have been working flat out round the clock and asked for their responses. Here is one of the replies from John Flack. I doubt it is humanely possible to do more in a day.

John also makes an excellent suggestion about local newspapers becoming actively involved and getting local candidates on a political platform to debate issues in front of as many voters as possible:

I have gone everywhere that I have been asked to go. In the last couple of weeks I have spoken at meetings in Brentwood (against David Campbell-Bannerman ) Felixstowe, Peterborough and Southend. I (like my fellow team members) have driven thousands of miles criss-crossing the region (all at my own expense) and as per the Party’s pre organised programme have knocked on thousands of doors in dozens of constituencies in all six counties, participated in “walk abouts” through town centres and have attended many “special interest” briefings and meetings.

Last Saturday I spent the morning (along with Claire Strong) on a street stall in Berkhampsted High Street, being seen by hundreds of voters, and yes, many raised the issue of Westminster members expenses.

Yesterday, after the Newmarket launch, I drove all the way to Lancashire to represent the Team at the national launch with David Cameron and I signed the candidates pledge in front of the T.V cameras on behalf of the whole Eastern Candidate Team.

I am working full time every day between now and the election (with the exception of Sunday 24^th) and will be in Peterborough and Cambridge City tomorrow, Rochford, Southend and Billericay the day after and so on. Each day meeting hundreds of voters.

Many of the invitations to “hustings” meetings we have received have been at short notice and/or will be attended by a handful of people, the vast majority of whom have already entrenched political views. If we were to re-arrange our pre planned programme to attend these events, it would mean breaking commitments elsewhere where we meet many more genuinely uncommitted voters.

Perhaps the Eastern Daily Press and the wider Archant Group would like to arrange one or more genuine large hustings  meetings, publicised well in advance in all its papers, so that they might attract a broad cross section of the genuinely interested public, including hopefully some floating voters. That way candidates could debate the real issues and choices that the UK and the East of England face in its relationship with mainland Europe. Hopefully, the papers would also give full coverage in their pages to the debate.  That would be a genuine public service by Archant which other news media organisations could follow.

Pic: From left to right, Geoffrey Van Orden MEP, and our excellent candidates Clare Whelan, Vicky Ford and John Flack.

Share on Facebook

Our Vicky found herself unexpectedly rubbing shoulders with Esther Rantzen today at a school in Luton which she was visiting with Conservative Luton North parliamentary candidate Jeremy Brier.

Esther is considering standing as a candidate in Luton South against disgraced expenses Labour MP Margaret Moran. So today she decided to find out what Luton was really like, accompanied by the media circus.

I can excuse Esther for turning up at the wrong constituency, but I think our Vicky outshone her when they talked about crime and young people, and she asked why politicians didn’t focus on young people’s issues.

It took our Vicky, a Conservative Euro parliamentary candidate for the Eastern Region, to remind everyone that this was was a common feeling for young people around the country, and not just in Luton. Neither is this solely a problem for young people, but the elderly too, said our Vicky.  Bizarrely, Esther’s solution was a pledte to bring her celebrity friends and introduce ballroom dancing to Luton.

I’ve met Esther and I like her and admire her great work supporting charities. I thought she was wonderful in the Celebrity Jungle, only it’s a different kind of jungle in the political world.

These are serious issues which Jeremy and our Luton South parliamentary candidate Nigel Huddleston have been working on tirelessly. These two genuine guys are equally disgusted with the expenses scandal and Margaret Moran. They have both been working their socks off in Luton to show how committed they are to representing the electorate as decent, dedicated, community minded politicians. That could now be at risk for Nigel if Esther stands in Luton South because she will also be standing against Nigel, and not just Moran.

That’s why Nigel warns her that by standing as a candidate in what is already a highly marginal seat, she may risk splitting the anti-Moran vote even more – and ironically risk Labour wining again – which is not what the people of Luton want!

And he also points out Esther’s widely reported concerns could add even more pressure against Moran to stand down, so the chances are she won’t even be competing against her in the next general election. Her mission will have been accomplished.

My message to Esther is try to get to know Nigel and Jeremy and support their determined efforts to oust Moran.

Share on Facebook

Like many other businesses today, the British horse racing industry is struggling from the recession. Living close to Newmarket, it is  something I enjoy from time to time with my family. I find the culture and varied backgrounds of its enthusiasts fascinating.

I didn’t realise that 7,000 local jobs were dependent on this industry, so it was a very appropriate issue for Jeremy Hunt as Shadow Secretary of Culture, Media and Sport to focus on during his visit to Newmarket to launch the Conservative Eastern Region European Campaign launch yesterday.

Along with MEPs Geoffrey Van Orden and Robert Sturdy, and candidate Vicky Ford, he met key figures from the horse racing industry, including trainer Sir Michael Stoute, and Louise Kemble, Chief Executive of the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association.

The horse racing industry is particularly concerned about drastic cuts to BBC coverage which could affect sponsorship. Jeremy can be seen here on video talking about his plans to contact the BBC to plead their case.

This is what he said:

“This is an industry that has six million people every year who go to the races. It employs 80,000 people throughout the country, but the real concern is that without TV coverage, they can’t reach the wider audience that is so critical to the success of British racing.

“Because I cover not just sport, but also the media, this is an issue I will be taking up with the BBC to make sure that they give this really important industry the support that it needs.”

What do you think the odds are on Jeremy being successful?

Share on Facebook

One moment climate change, the economy and Lisbon Treaty were key issues for our European MPs and candidates, but now it is expenses.

Yesterday this issue was also the focus of the launch of the Eastern Region Euro election campaign in Newmarket when they each signed a pledge promising greater transparency.

Jeremy Hunt, Shadow Secretary for Culture, Media and Sport – he is such a great speaker – explained why:

“No Party can hold up its hand and say that it is whiter than white after what has happened in the last week, but I think that the Conservative Party does have a very honourable record in Europe in campaigning for a more open, a more outward looking and a more transparent Europe, and I am going to ask our seven candidates here today to sign a pledge which David Cameron has drawn up for all our European candidates.

“It asks them to commit, if they are elected to the European Parliament, to publish a breakdown of all office costs signed off by a certified accountant, to publish details of all travel, including journeys to Brussels and Strasbourg, and publish the name of all staff and contractors and people engaged by them as part of their parliamentary duties, and continue to oppose the vote against any bailout of the MEP pension fund using public money. We will also publish online all meetings with lobbyists and interest groups, and press for these standards to be applied across the European Parliament.”

In fact, it goes further than that regarding lobbyists, which must be a good thing. The pledge states that any hospitality valued at more than £50 from lobbyists or interest groups has to be listed and Conservative MEPs will not be allowed to accept gifts from lobbyists or interest groups.

But as our lead candidate Geoffrey Van Orden pointed out, only Conservative MEPs publish comprehensive details of their expenses and allowances online and subject them to independent verification. Our “Right to Know” system has been in existence since September last year and has now been reinforced by a further pledge on transparency and ethics, as well as on our political commitments.

I hope the agenda can soon return to the economy, climate change and protecting British interests.

Share on Facebook

With the British political scene in unprecedented turmoil – and yes, I would like to see an early general election so political associations and the electorate can decide who they can trust as their MP – I am delighted to say there is some good news on the political scene.

I’m afraid it does not originate from this country, but from Kuwait, where for the first time ever women have been elected as MPs. This is clearly an astounding achievement.

Women won four seats in Kuwait’s parliament in Saturday’s election, the first to do so in the Gulf Arab state’s history, and a blow to the Islamists who have long dominated the assembly. Sixteen women were among 210 candidates for the 50-seat assembly, including the victorious, smiling Aseel al-Awadh.  Good luck to them, and I hope this is the start of many more to follow.

Meanwhile, if we think things are bad in this country, it is reported here that 150 newly elected MPs in India have criminal cases pending against them, including some of a serious nature. I hope the number of our disgraced MPs will not reach that figure!

I believe the day of reckoning will come for all our politicians. It will be decided by voters at the ballot box. And the sooner the better. Regardless of whether ill-gained money has been paid back, our honourable members cannot be seen to be above the law  or profiteering from their job representing the electorate. A man’s reputation is priceless and has been destroyed for many politicians since the Telegraph began its lurid revelations.

*Tomorrow our Conservative MEPs and candidates launch the Eastern Region European election campaign with Jeremy Hunt, Shadow Secretary for Culture, Media and Sport. I’ve been ringing the local media to inform them and one radio journalist (female) told me:

“Ooooh, I’ve met Jeremy, he’s really lovely. I’m sorry I can’t be there to meet him again, but we are not covering the European election. It’s an admin nightmare because of the rules which state we have to give equal coverage to all the political parties, including the small ones. And with news bulletins only 90 seconds, that doesn’t allow much time and we can’t guarantee following the rules, so we decided it’s better to do nothing until the day of the election, and then we will just say voters have gone to the polls.”

So guys, if you don’t hear or read anything about your European parliamentary candidates, believe me, it is not from lack of trying, it is because of the bureaucracy which the media is embroiled in. Fortunately, local BBC radio is planning debates with lead candidates. We need the regional media to carry informative and impartial reports about candidates, and we value the role of local media to promote the voice of democracy.

*Do sign up for our RSS news feeds if you want to follow the regular news updates about our candidates canvassing in the region which can be found at our Eastern Region election website.

And you can also follow our candidate Vicky’s vivid campaigning reports on her excellent blog. This is her latest thought provoking report on why it is so important to keep knocking on doors, however uncomfortable it might feel.

*I have just had an interesting email from another of our excellent candidates, Jonathan Morgan, about a debate he participated at in Great Yarmouth yesterday against lead candidates, Richard Howitt for Labour, Andrew Duff for Lib Dems, and Rupert Read for the Greens. It was a TUC organised event and only 14 people turned up.

What was interesting was hearing Richard pleading and begging with the 14 unionists in the audience for their vote – not once, but three times during the 2hr session. He didn’t get a particularly warm greeting. Greens are clearly going big time for the Labour protest vote.

So who will the disaffected Labour supporters vote for on 4th June?

Share on Facebook

It was business as usual for David Willetts today when the Shadow Universities Secretary visited Cambridgeshire to support our Euro election candidate Vicky Ford, despite those newspaper headlines.

They met the local principal of a college in Huntingdon who explained her difficulties to plan for redevelopment following the withdrawal of funding from the Learning and Skills Council.

One of the local journalists who arrived used to work as a press officer in the Treasury with David back in the 1980s, and the second one was a face from the past for me too as we both worked on the Cambridge Evening News together. What a small world! Neither of them mentioned the expenses story, they were purely focused on local issues surrounding their college, and I really admired them for that.

A TV crew (one man) turned up at the school to interview and film David about today’s headlines and commented that it made a huge difference if politicians spoke publicly about difficult matters rather than refused to take calls, and that David had been really good during his interview. I think David Cameron has set an excellent example in speaking openly about all this.

David and Vicky later went walkabout on St Ives market where there were a few mutterings about MPs and expenses, but David was large unrecognised.

After Vicky headed off to Great Yarmouth for her next campaigning stint, David met the innovative co-founders of a Cambridge-based company called Ythos in the university city. They believe they have designed a fantastic software product which tracks patients from the earliest stages of risk through to treatment and outcome. They say it means that no patient will fall through the gaps – no child will be exposed to unnecessary health or social risk, no critical care patient will receive poor treatment and no chronic illness will leave a patient without dignity.

You would imagine the NHS and other agencies would be desperate for such a product. But one of the big challenges faced by small businesses, however great the product, is to get a foot in the door and for the NHS and agencies to open up the procurement process. The founders of Ythos, like so many others, are confident that a Conservative government would drive innovation so that it truly benefits the health and wealth of the nation.

Another eventful and interesting day.

Share on Facebook

So unelected ordinary people will tell MPs whether they can claim a loo roll holder on expenses because they can’t be trusted themselves. How distasteful is that? The lack of trust, I mean.

An independent auditing body will now be asked to hold these purse strings, a proposal which will be discussed by MPs tomorrow to help make people trust them more. On top of “smeargate”, it is no surprise that the public find themselves increasingly turned off politics.

Unfortunately, all this undermines the good and the great work which I believe many of our politicians do. It’s the system that stinks, allowing MPs to line their pockets this way, particularly at a time when tens of thousands of decent people in this country are struggling to pay their mortgage and food bills and keep their jobs.

*My heroine of the week was the magnificent Joanna Lumley for refusing to take “No” for an answer from Gordon Brown and Phil Woolas over the Gurkhas. Could anyone else have got done it? Maybe Dawn French.

There are so many disadvantaged groups in desperate need of a fearless figurehead with clout, political acumen, nerves of steel and is loved by the media to help them win their battles too. One that springs to mind is the elderly suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s and caring for their needs.

That was one heck of a week for May…

*My May is hectic as you can imagine with working on the Euro election campaign. I barely manage to get to the gym, practise my clarinet (my lessons are on hold until after 4th June) or spend time in my garden, let alone blogging. But I’m heading out now for dinner with friends, and I know it will be fantastic because Pete is a professional chef. He is the sort of guy who opens your near-empty fridge and can cook a feast from a few odds and ends. And we have promised ourselves an early evening walk too. I’m off now…

Share on Facebook