Our leaders’ debate and volcanic ash

Posted by on Apr 16, 2010 in 2010 general election, Environment | 8 comments I missed the ITV leaders’ debate last night due to a social engagement in Cambridge, but caught up with the tail-end of it and saw Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg all standing poised in their party-colour co-ordinated ties. I enjoyed watching how the audience response was tracked – what a clever political intelligence indicator. I was stunned to read this morning about...
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Grazia and our glossy women candidates

Posted by on Apr 14, 2010 in 2010 general election | 2 comments The glossy Grazia magazine has added a political twist to its latest issue by featuring six aspiring female parliamentarians from Conservative and Labour and five alluring Liberal Democrats. Of course, they are all glamorous and impeccable dressed for their photo-shoot, and risk exposing themselves to being judged for their appearance rather than their abilities. I expect they are tough enough to...
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What are your views of the Conservative manifesto?

Posted by on Apr 13, 2010 in 2010 general election | 10 comments The Conservatives have launched the manifesto their supporters hope will return them to power after 13 years in opposition. Here are its key points from the BBC website, with some of my thoughts added: IN A NUTSHELL Sticking to the theme of “Big Society”, rather than big government, the Conservatives call on the UK electorate to play a part in changing the country. (the public has in...
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The virtuous candidate’s spouse

Posted by on Apr 11, 2010 in 2010 general election | 1 comment Sandra Howard can enjoy a well earned rest this time round after serving as a political spouse during the last six general elections. She dismisses jibes about being regarded as “window dressing” in this report in The Times: “Didn’t you feel like just a bit of window dressing? Isn’t it demeaning, being seen and not heard, expected to drop everything and look like Mrs average ...
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A Lib Dem vote will only help Gordon Brown

Posted by on Apr 11, 2010 in 2010 general election, video | 2 comments Robert Sturdy MEP and Trevor Ivory, Conservative parliamentary candidate for North Norfolk, explain why a Lib Dem vote is a vote for Gordon Brown. Vote for change, vote Trevor...
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A day of sun, sea and election campaigning

Posted by on Apr 9, 2010 in 2010 general election | 4 comments The message is clear in Cromer - voters can choose between Conservative parliamentary candidate Trevor Ivory or Gordon Brown. Trevor puts it even better: “Vote Ivory, go blue. Vote Lamb, go Brown.” My MEP Robert Sturdy joined Trevor today to support his election campaign in North Norfolk, visiting a local business and farm, and later hosting a meeting for farmers. It’s hard to...
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Spare a thought for our candidates who can’t win a seat

Posted by on Apr 8, 2010 in 2010 general election | 10 comments The media’s perception of our women candidates is woefully lacking. Today’s Daily Mail’s headline asks, “Have Cameron’s Cuties really got what it takes to transform politics?” Just reading those two terms, “Cameron’s Cuties”, makes me squirm because it is so belittling of the immense talent these women have, and, of course, their desire...
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Nigel Adams’ election launch video

Posted by on Apr 8, 2010 in 2010 general election | 2 comments Here is a video I made of Nigel Adams when he launched his election campaign in Selby this week. I feel it gives a real sense of great optimism, how voters are desperate for change, and the terrific support Nigel has in his community. He is joined by Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, our impressive Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion and Social Action, who was in Yorkshire and also visited Harrogate...
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Welcoming the election campaign in Yorkshire – no squeak from Labour or Lib Dem candidates

Posted by on Apr 6, 2010 in 2010 general election | 14 comments Nigel Adams drove into Selby this morning in his Quattro – surely the must-have car this spring which he coincidentally owned – to launch his Conservative election campaign supported by an army of eager activists ready for action. With blue balloons adding a festive touch and a cheering roar from his supporters, Nigel announced his delight at the election call and declared his...
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Harriet Harman has a point

Posted by on Apr 5, 2010 in 2010 general election | 6 comments Ever since she was elected deputy Labour leader, Harriet Harman has been sidelined by Gordon Brown who failed to make her deputy Prime Minister.  She warns her party that Labour’s election line-up is too male dominated; she has to stand by while unelected Peter Mandelson takes control of Labour for the duration of the election campaign. What does this tell us about the way Labour views...
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Are you too turned off politics to vote Labour or Conservative?

Posted by on Mar 29, 2010 in 2010 general election | 12 comments I’ve just read this comment on Michael Fabricant’s Facebook and feel it sums up how other undecided voters might be thinking right now: “Always voted labour, but not anymore ….will never vote conservative, so who do you vote for? what a dilemma. I feel there will be a lot of protest votes, eg. bnp UKIP, maybe not such a bad thing.” Is that how you feel too? What is...
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UKIP’S immigration poster defaced in Cambridge

Posted by on Mar 26, 2010 in 2010 general election | 4 comments There is no racial tension in Cambridge. When I go to Toastmasters, I am always impressed at the way in which half its members make fluent presentations in their second language. It’s the last place one would expect to find a UKIP poster promoting its strong immigration line stating, “5,000 New People Settle Here Every Week, Say No To Mass Immigration”. It has deliberately been...
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My latest election campaign videos

Posted by on Mar 20, 2010 in 2010 general election | 5 comments I’ve been making election campaign videos for Conservative parliamentary candidates and experimenting with new formats to make them visually more appealing, to add a new dimension. Here’s a couple I have just produced for Rob Halfon, who is standing in Harlow; one has a movie feel about it, and the second is presented as a book, with Rob’s story unfolding. If you play the first video for a...
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Julian Sturdy, campaigning for back pain injections

Posted by on Mar 19, 2010 in 2010 general election | 4 comments Should people today be expected to live with chronic pain if it can be eased by an injection? Ask those who have been stopped from having them, and the answer is a resounding ‘no’. NHS North Yorkshire and York has decided against routinely funding spinal injections for back pain, saying it must focus on buying services giving the best possible clinical outcomes to ensure value for money....
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The Telegraph and Political Boll**ks

Posted by on Mar 19, 2010 in 2010 general election | 3 comments I’ve been enjoying my friend Richard Havers’ latest timely book, Political Boll**ks which takes a sideways look at some of the amusing/sublime/ridiculous things our politicians say. I like this quote from John Prescott: “I’m told some Tory MPs believe ethics is a county near Middlesex.” Hmmmm……he can talk about ethics, he’s the one who somehow got lost – and blindly...
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Nick Hillman welcomes Caroline Spelman to Cambridge

Posted by on Mar 16, 2010 in 2010 general election | 3 comments It’s a great coup for a parliamentary candidate to get a shadow minister to visit them if they are not in a target seat, so very well done to Nick Hillman for persuading Caroline Spelman to support him while she was in Cambridge. Caroline is Shadow Secretary for Communities and Local Government and she called in at an old NatWest bank which is now being used by beginspace, a scheme which...
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The day I met Anna, the Lib Dem porn candidate

Posted by on Mar 13, 2010 in 2010 general election | 10 comments I met Anna Arrowsmith last Monday at the House of Lords. It was International Women’s Day and we both attended an event entitled “Achieving Equality in Parliament.” During question time, Anna’s hand shot up. “I’m the first ever parliamentary candidate from the porn industry. I’ve just been selected for the Liberal Democrats.” There was a stunned silence as everyone turned to look...
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My day in Harlow with Rob Halfon

Posted by on Mar 13, 2010 in 2010 general election | 0 comments There are one of two places I would like to  be on election night – Harlow or Luton South. It’s impossible not to be blown away by the impressive support and high regard which our Conservative candidate Robert Halfon has earned from the Essex community. I spent yesterday with him in Harlow and met a woman in her 60s who was voting for the first time ever – for Rob. I met a Labour...
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Election 2010 and Sam v Sarah

Posted by on Mar 11, 2010 in 2010 general election | 6 comments What’s he like to live with? What are his annoying habits? Does he wear Y-fronts or  boxers? Can he really be trusted to run the country? What makes him cry? These are some questions which the wives of our political leaders might have to answer soon. With both David Cameron and Gordon Brown both desperately needing to convince  undecided voters that their party should run the country,...
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Who is Gordon Brown?

Posted by on Feb 21, 2010 in 2010 general election, Politics | 11 comments Working for a bully is a terrifying experience and totally demoralising. It makes going to work each day a nerve wracking ordeal and such allegations should fully investigated. These allegations today point a finger at our Prime Minister. BBC’s Nick Robinson gives a well reasoned response on his blog about whether Gordon Brown is a bully or not, and is worth a read. There have now been...
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Modern Thatcherism

Posted by on Feb 8, 2010 in 2010 general election | 11 comments Congratulations to Therese Coffey who was given “a prolonged standing ovation” after becoming the Conservative parliamentary candidate in Suffolk Coastal to replace John Gummer. Her victory was outstanding. Jonathan Isaby, co-editor of ConservativeHome who chaired the selection meeting, said it was unheard of for a candidate on a six-person shortlist to win on the first ballot, and  praised...
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Dinner with three gorgeous Tory PPCs

Posted by on Feb 1, 2010 in 2010 general election | 12 comments I hosted a dinner party for three Conservative PPCs last night, North West Durham candidate Michelle Tempest, Liz Truss who is standing in nearby South West Norfolk, and author Louise Bagshawe, who is hoping to turn Corby blue. I bet you would have liked to have been a fly on the wall, but Chatham House rules prevailed. Suffice it to say that there was only one topic of conversation all evening...
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A question about telephone election canvassing

Posted by on Jan 22, 2010 in 2010 general election | 9 comments Thousands of people, myself included, have opted not to receive cold calls from double glazing salesmen by registering with the Telephone Preference Service. However, I wonder how many householders realise that by doing this, it also means they cannot be called by political parties. In the run-up to an election, and with all to fight for in marginal seats, there are hundreds of telephone...
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Conservative candidates’ policy priorities

Posted by on Jan 18, 2010 in 2010 general election | 8 comments I was fascinated to read the results of the ConservativeHome survey of Tory candidates regarding their policy priorities. Disappointingly, they placed reducing Britain’s footprint at the bottom of the list, an issue close to David Cameron’s heart, and I hope it remains so, though he seems to have failed to have got the message across about this. It’s no surprise that during our economic...
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Increasing disabled parliamentarians

Posted by on Jan 16, 2010 in 2010 general election | 4 comments The Speaker’s Conference is actively seeking to promote more disabled parliamentary candidates, as well as more women MPs. Immediately after its recommendations were published this week, Conservatives  pledged a £1 million four year fund to help more disabled people become MPs, councillors and civil servants.  ConservativeHome has written about it here. Tory spokesman on disability...
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