Copenhagen talks must not stall like Doha

Posted by on Nov 30, 2009 in climate change, Environment | 3 comments I’ve been closely following the Doha trade talks as my MEP Robert Sturdy, who as vice-chairman of the Inter-Parliamentary World Trade Organisation Committee, has played a key role in these negotiations. I know his frustrations only too well as year after year, world leaders fail to reach an agreement. Today we issued another press release voicing concerns that the latest talks this week will...
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How the NHS should clean up its act

Posted by on Nov 29, 2009 in Infection 2009, Politics | 5 comments Today’s alarming report on the Dr Foster Hospital Guide about our under performing NHS trusts – based on a range of indicators including death rates, infection rates and staffing levels – reminded me of something worrying I learnt at the Infection 2009 conference earlier this month. Dr Peter Wilson, consultant microbiologist at University College London Hospital, told me that...
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Have you gatecrashed a party?

Posted by on Nov 27, 2009 in News | 9 comments Appearing confident and dressing the part – as well as being daring – opens any doors, as Michaele and Tariq Salahi discovered when they gatecrashed a presidential dinner at the White House hosted by President Obama and his wife Michelle. “I belong here too,” is the message this clearly picture tells us. The beaming couple do not look like interlopers. But how easy is it to get away...
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Getting to grips with depression

Posted by on Nov 25, 2009 in News | 12 comments Depression is one of those terrible illnesses we handle so badly. Mental illness is sadly still tabooed, and it is only when we hear about those who can no  longer live with their tortured minds and commit suicide, like Germany’s famous goalkeeper Robert Enke, or the beautiful Korean model Daul Kim, that this difficult issue is publicly debated. But what can be done to help those...
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Insanely protective French parents of Zoe

Posted by on Nov 25, 2009 in News | 1 comment I’m a protective mum, but not in the insane way as French parents who are furious that the name Zoe has been chosen by Renault for its new electric car. They regard it as a slur on their daughters called Zoe. Zoe has become one of the most popular names for French baby girls, rising from somewhere over the past five years to become 17th favourite. But some angry parents have launched an...
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Suffolk swedes and apples

Posted by on Nov 24, 2009 in Politics | 8 comments First our Norfolk folk were insultingly dubbed the “Turnip Taliban”. And now Conservatives in the neighbouring county of Suffolk who are selecting a parliamentary candidate this Friday have been mockingly lablled the “Suffolk Swede”. Hey, why does the media keep insulting our residents this way? I am not alone in asking this question. The East Anglian Daily Times’ headline today points...
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Describing life after a head injury

Posted by on Nov 23, 2009 in Headway | 2 comments This is one tragic example of how an acquired head injury can dramatically change your life for ever.  Felicity Aston, the polar adventurer and Antarctica scientist, has described the terrible events which followed after her younger brother Spencer, now 21, was in a car crash while at grammar school and predicted good GCSE grades. This is an extract from her moving account in yesterday’s...
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How can divorce be made fairer for kids?

Posted by on Nov 22, 2009 in News, Politics | 10 comments With the Conservative Party pledging much needed support for families, it is worth remembering that almost half of marriages in England and Wales end in divorce. It is surely these fractured families, with children often torn between bitter, warring parents, who particularly need help and support. The impact of divorce on children can be devastating, as this report highlights, including...
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Defra’s double waste whammy

Posted by on Nov 21, 2009 in Environment | 3 comments   I am a keen recycler, but was astonished to read in the latest PR Week that Defra is paying a PR company £94,000 to launch a recycling campaign for Christmas with the key messages reduce, reuse and recycle. The government already funds a quango called WRAP – the Waste, Resource and Action Programme – to get these messages across, so why is Defra hiring an outside company as well? No...
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Robert Sturdy accuses EU of “a classic fudge” over top two new jobs

Posted by on Nov 20, 2009 in PR client, Robert Sturdy MEP | 8 comments My Eastern Region MEP Robert Sturdy has accused the EU of “a classic fudge” over the appointment of its first president and foreign minister, the two top jobs in Europe. The Belgian Prime Minister, Herman Van Rompuy, is the first president elected by European leaders under the Lisbon Treaty, while Baroness Ashton,  former Trade Commissioner, is the newly appointed High Representative...
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This is an isolation pod for superbugs

Posted by on Nov 19, 2009 in Infection 2009 | 5 comments Hospitals have too few side wards for patients with serious infections, such as MRSA and C.difficile, and one solution is to use a mobile isolation pod, such as the two shown in this video which were displayed at the excellent Infection 2009 conference in Birmingham last week. I was stunned by the technology and thought which has gone into the designs. For example, a patient can lie in bed...
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Advice on being selected a Conservative PPC for Cambridge

Posted by on Nov 18, 2009 in Uncategorized | 6 comments This timely advice comes straight from the words of former Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Cambridge, Richard Normington, who stepped down last month, and offers these words of wisdom and personal insight on his blog: The City of Cambridge Association advertised for my replacement on Friday 13th. The deadline for applications is midday on 30th November. My advice, for what...
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I’m in team Andre

Posted by on Nov 17, 2009 in Personal | 5 comments I caught up with the desperate fame seeking celebs in the jungle last night and couldn’t work out why Jordan had to go all that way to seek “closure”. It was in this jungle that she met Pete Andre and fell in love with him five years ago. They later married and had two lovely children, but earlier this year announced their separation. My wish is that Pete secretly arrives in a helicopter...
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Overtaking Labour’s vote share lead

Posted by on Nov 17, 2009 in Politics | 1 comment Conservatives face a massive challenge at the next general election because the present boundaries give Labour the advantage of an inbuilt majority. They need to win fewer votes in constituencies where they are strongest to secure a victory, while many Conservative strongholds are in spread out rural areas and rely on a higher turnout of supporters at the polls. This video explains it...
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Thetford vicar squares up to Cameron

Posted by on Nov 16, 2009 in News, Politics | 12 comments A Thetford vicar has used strong words to voice concerns about outsiders being selected as parliamentary candidates in his constituency. He also accuses David Cameron of “arrogant interference”. Canon Bob Baker makes no direct reference to Liz Truss, the Conservative candidate selected for South West Norfolk who will need all her inner strength and charm today when she faces a call for her...
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The Sunday Times and Belle de Jour

Posted by on Nov 15, 2009 in News, Social Media | 10 comments As intrigued as I was to learn the true identify of blogger Belle de Jour and her Diary of a London Call Girl – she is revealed as a research scientist by the name of Dr Brooke Magnanti – I am struggling to understand why the story had four pages of coverage in today’s Sunday Times. The story and picture of Brooke had more column inches on its front page than any other news item, as well as...
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Viewing the “Brum Eye”

Posted by on Nov 15, 2009 in Infection 2009 | 10 comments I was fortunate enough to stay in the very comfortable Hyatt Hotel during my stay in Birmingham last week. It has a tunnel linking directly to the ICC where the prestigious Infection 2009 conference was held which I was promoting. After arriving on Tuesday evening, I was invited to join Sir Richard Sykes, the conference president, and other speakers for a pre-conference dinner. As I was dropped...
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BBC Newsround film at Infection 2009

Posted by on Nov 12, 2009 in Infection 2009 | 4 comments A school party who visited Infection 2009 today found themselves thrust in the media spotlight when BBC Newsround heart throb Ricky dropped in to interview them about bugs and sneezes. The pupils from the Arthur Terry School used a “snotgun” and a mask of Homer’s face to fire a sneeze through his nostrils and down a “runway” to demonstrate how far a sneeze travels....
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Government has no idea how many people are dying from hospital infections

Posted by on Nov 10, 2009 in Infection 2009 | 11 comments I find it quite shocking that the government has no idea how many people are dying from hospital infections. The publication today of a report on hospital infections highlights how the NHS’s £12 billion IT system cannot even make a vital linkage between various data on infections. This major report has had national news coverage – stating how 80% of hospital infections are not being...
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Can Conservatives win back Cambridge?

Posted by on Nov 9, 2009 in Politics | 9 comments A generation ago, Conservatives ruled the roost in Cambridge, both in Westminster and on the city council. But support gradually declined until it lost its domination. Local Tories are now hoping that success is within reach again following the surprise decision by Lib Dem MP David Howarth not to seek re-election next year. This could be a golden opportunity for the Conservatives candidate who is...
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Time to review interns’ pay in Westminster

Posted by on Nov 8, 2009 in Politics | 9 comments   Now Sir Christopher Kelly has made his far reaching recommendations on MPs’ expenses, I hope he will turn his attention to the pay of interns who help grease the machinery of Westminster village. This is also a flawed system which continues to operate with MPs acknowledging it is unfair, but turning a blind eye to its full implications as their daily lives get swallowed up by daily...
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Climate change and swine flu

Posted by on Nov 7, 2009 in Infection 2009 | 12 comments It’s more like September than November today. There is no thick morning mist across the flat Fenland landscape, and no need to wrap up in scarves and gloves. People are still going out in tee-shirts, and even shorts. Normally around Bonfire Night, you can see your breath in the cold, damp air when you blow out, but it’s still too warm for that. Yet many people I know have had colds, sore...
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European Commission plans to end cash refunds on shoddy goods

Posted by on Nov 5, 2009 in Robert Sturdy MEP | 0 comments It seems we could lose our right to a cash refund on shoddy goods as there are plans afoot to harmonise EU legislation as refunds are not offered in other European countries. My MEP Robert Sturdy has objected to European Commission plans which would abolish consumers’ rights to a refund for faulty goods, bringing legislation in line with other EU countries. The EU’s Consumer Rights...
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Store bans staff from wearing poppy

Posted by on Nov 4, 2009 in News | 10 comments I was appalled to read about the store in Wigan which has banned its staff from wearing a poppy, and even threatened disciplinary action if its wishes were ignored. This kind of insensitivity is impossible to understand, particularly following reports that five of our soldiers have just been slaughtered in Afghanistan. It shows appalling judgement. I hope that owners of the toiletries store...
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Epidemic Intelligence, Twitter and the 2012 Olympics

Posted by on Nov 3, 2009 in Infection 2009 | 9 comments I’m really looking forward to attending the Infection 2009 conference in Birmingham next week as its press officer, a major scientific conference which is debating superbugs like swine flu, as well as epidemics and pandemics. One of the studies which will be featured includes the results of a unique report by research scientists who are using social network sites like Twitter for Epidemic...
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