Liam Byrne’s tasteless words – no money left, good luck!

Posted by on May 18, 2010 in Politics, updates | 4 comments Quote of the day: On April 6th, the day that Gordon Brown called the election, Liam Byrne,  wrote this email for his successor in the Treasury: “Dear Chief Secretary, I’m afraid there is no money. Kind regards – and good luck! Liam.” He might regard those tasteless words as a joke, but his crass sentiment sums up the arrogance of Labour and why the country faces £6...
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Will Liz Jones take up those kind offers to bail her out of debt?

Posted by on May 17, 2010 in News, updates | 6 comments I too am amazed at the kindness of 4,100 readers who wrote to columnist Liz Jones offering her cash and accommodation after she wrote about her debts and depression. The generosity bestowed on this woman who is employed by the Daily Mail and makes a living by rubbishing her husband (now an ex-husband) and the rural community where she lives (she believes her home was shot at for barbed comments...
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Who has blocked my YouTube account?

Posted by on Apr 29, 2010 in updates | 6 comments I’ve had problems uploading videos on my iMac and spent much of last night and this morning speaking to Apple support who have concluded that due to the political content of my videos, and having exhausted their usual list of technical  solutions, YouTube has blocked my account, most likely following a complaint for some reason. Does anyone have any idea who to contact at YouTube to...
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Andrew Lansley supports Julian Sturdy and Nigel Adams

Posted by on Apr 21, 2010 in updates | 2 comments Andrew Lansley, Shadow Health Minister, arrived in Yorkshire in his distinctive “NH Yes” battle bus yesterday to discuss local health issues with voters. He was supporting our York Outer candidate Julian Sturdy and Nigel Adams, who is contesting nearby Selby & Ainsty. This is a video I made of the...
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On the road with James

Posted by on Apr 14, 2010 in Personal, updates | 8 comments I’m teaching my youngest son James to drive and must admit it is not nearly as painful an experience as first time round. When David first put his L plates on my car, we could barely speak to each other when we returned home; he was furious with me for yanking up the handbrake saying I had over-reacted, and I felt a bag of nerves at his casual approach when reaching a junction. We...
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Walking the Devil’s Dyke

Posted by on Mar 28, 2010 in Personal, Ramblers, updates | 4 comments I met up with my friend Audrie today to walk along Devil’s Dyke from the picturesque villages of Reach to Woodditton. When I meet up with my usual stalwart ramblers, they are equipped in sturdy boots and Berghaus walking gear. I had to blink when I saw Audrie arrive in her purple velvet tunic dress over denim jeans. Audrie is a free spirited walker who adds a welcome touch of panache to us...
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Loving my new iMac

Posted by on Mar 25, 2010 in updates | 7 comments I wish you could see me right now. I’m like a very excited kid with a new toy. And my new toy is an Apple iMac. Someone told me last week that I was like a man because of my love of gadgets. I’m actually a very feminine woman, but I just love being creative and continuously learning, discovering new and interesting people which the internet facilitates, as well as enjoying the latest...
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Does anyone look good on Botox?

Posted by on Mar 16, 2010 in updates | 10 comments I feel sorry for Carla Bruni if she feels so insecure about her once radiant looks that she had to resort to Botox. I hadn’t noticed her features becoming deep set with wrinkles. Does she hope that a taut expression will make her appear fresh faced, younger and more appealing for her reported new lover? Or is she hoping it might stop her craggy faced husband from tempting to stray? Nicolas...
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Wisbech’s migrant workers

Posted by on Feb 24, 2010 in updates | 10 comments I come from Wisbech where agriculture plays a key role in the local economy. It is famed for its black fertile soil – and its thousands of migrant workers who have been accused of taking jobs once held by locals. I really like the idea of this programme on BBC 1 this evening with Evan Davis. Since 2004 this once prosperous market town has received up to 9,000 immigrants seeking work –...
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Another day in Westminster

Posted by on Feb 3, 2010 in Personal, updates | 5 comments I’m back in Westminster today researching a project I am working on, and look forward to meeting the inspirational Lesley Abdela who I first met at a Conservative Women’s conference a couple of years ago. Last year Lesley won the UK Woman Political Journalist of the Year Award. She is a highly regarded international women’s rights campaigner and has worked for more than 25 years...
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A blind barrister, MPs’ chief of staff and four stunning women shortlisted by Cambridge Conservatives

Posted by on Dec 7, 2009 in updates | 17 comments I am planning to be in Yorkshire this weekend and hugely disappointed that I will miss the Conservative selection for the Cambridge parliamentary candidate which ConservativeHome has highlighted. These are the six hopeful candidates who have been shortlisted and it will be decided by an Open Primary. Any Cambridge resident wanting to attend the meeting must register through this link at the...
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Robert Sturdy, dairy subsidies and over production

Posted by on Oct 20, 2009 in PR client, Robert Sturdy MEP, updates | 3 comments Have you been following the latest news about thousands of protesting dairy farmers marching to Luxembourg where EU farm ministers were meeting? Their concerns were based on the low price of milk, saying it costs more to produce than they can sell it for. Most of the EU’s member states have been pressing for financial aid after the global economic downturn reduced demand, and this has just...
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Conservative Health Minister pledges boost to Alzheimer’s funding

Posted by on Oct 12, 2009 in Conservative Party Conference, updates | 5 comments Shadow Health  Minister Stephen O’Brien‘s words were music to the ears of Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, when he pledged increased proportional funding for dementia research. He disclosed to the packed audience at a fringe meeting at the Conservative Party Conference that his mother-in-law suffered from the degenerative disease, and described...
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The Tories and The Times

Posted by on Oct 11, 2009 in Conservative Party Conference, updates | 1 comment Perhaps the editor of The Times had further damaging revelations about MPs expenses in mind when he refused to back the Tories in the same way as The Sun. There were whisperings all week at the Conservative conference about another expenses scandal which was going to break. During a fringe meeting which Times editor James Harding chaired, he was asked when his paper would do the “decent...
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Fixing our broken society

Posted by on Oct 10, 2009 in Conservative Party Conference, updates | 9 comments I was totally bowled over by this powerful video at the opening of the Conservative Party conference. What a great build up for Eric Pickles to walk on stage and address his “chums”. It encapsulates everything that is wrong with our society today and why change is desperately needed. And just watch – and enjoy – the terrific, creative graphics when Gordon Brown’s...
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My YouTube of Guido on Cameron’s speech

Posted by on Oct 9, 2009 in Conservative Party Conference, updates | 4 comments I spotted Guido Fawkes – the man who claimed the scalps of Derek Draper and Damien McBride in the Smeargate scandal – as he left the Conservative conference  and asked his views about David Cameron’s speech. I finished by asking whether he would vote Conservative. You will have to play the video to find out his reply...
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“We are all in this together”

Posted by on Oct 6, 2009 in Conservative Party Conference, updates | 17 comments Trying to convince a nation that “we are all in this together” – the catch prase of George Osborne’s key conference speech today – is going to be hard work as countless people who were faultless find their lives ruined by today’s economic downturn due to the actions of our banks and government. The conference hall was packed, so I watched the announcememnt in a...
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The Times and Tory support

Posted by on Oct 5, 2009 in Conservative Party Conference, updates | 8 comments A hiss could be heard when The Editor of The Times, James Harding, refused to pledge his paper’s support to the Conservative Party for the next election. He was asked today at a fringe meeting whether he would follow the lead of The Sun, but he made it clear that he was not yet convinced. In fairness, neither did he pledge his support for New Labour as in the previous two elections. He said...
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A dramatic conference eve

Posted by on Oct 5, 2009 in Conservative Party Conference, updates | 4 comments I am one of 12,100 Conservatives here in Manchester for the party conference which promises to be packed with policy announcements and optimism. And there have been a couple of dramatic events before I even stepped foot in the heavily policed secure zone. As I arrivedd at my hotel last night, David Cameron walked down the steps and into a waiting car; maybe he had popped his head into the...
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Counting the minutes to E-Day

Posted by on Jun 3, 2009 in Euro election, updates | 3 comments Here is a video I made of the Shadow Minister for Europe Mark Francois talking about The Sun’s support for the Conservative Party for the first time in 12 years for tomorrow’s Euro Election. In the past, this kind of endorsement has been priceless for political parties, and we are hoping for the same tomorrow. Mark met up with our MEPs Geoffrey Van Orden and Robert Sturdy in Ipswich...
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Reminding Charles Clarke of the Lisbon Treaty

Posted by on May 6, 2009 in updates | 3 comments Following a two-page report in the Eastern Daily Press after Charles Clarke announced he was ashamed to be a Labour MP, our Eastern Region MEP Geoffrey Van Orden penned this reply which was published on the EDP’s letters’ page today reminding Mr Clarke about the Lisbon Treaty. In your issue of 4th May, Charles Clarke gives nearly 2,000 words of explanation for Labour’s dismal...
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Why “Smeargate” will run and run…

Posted by on Apr 14, 2009 in Politics, updates | 5 comments Here is one good reason why “Smeargate will run, and run… Just wait till Iain gets his response for FOI information about whether a smear campaign was also being planned against him. This is what he wrote on his blog a few days ago: “Two weeks ago, on 27 March, I wrote THIS post in which I outlined my suspicions that Damian McBride, Gordon Brown’s chief political, advisor...
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"Our young will die early"

Posted by on Mar 31, 2009 in updates | 5 comments Is there such a thing as a wonder drug? I was interested to read about Polypill, a cheap five-in-one pill which it is claimed can protect against heart attacks and stroke. It seems to be targeted at the over 55s. But how many of our young people today will reach that age? During a recent visit to my doctor for a routine blood test, I was also screened for diabetes. I was told by the practice...
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My King’s Cross assignation and Toastmasters

Posted by on Nov 11, 2008 in Toastmasters, updates | 7 comments I am meeting a strange woman at King’s Cross Station, London today – strange in the sense that she is unknown to me – to research another hopefully gripping instalment of a book I am writing. All will be revealed in due course. I’m hoping we can find somewhere quiet and discreet to conduct our interview with my MP3 recorder. Her story is tragic, heartbreaking and totally...
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Go John, go

Posted by on Nov 10, 2008 in News, updates | 12 comments The Beeb’s latest upset is the huge popularity of genial journalist John Sargeant as he clumsily trots his way around the dance floor on Strictly Come Dancing. Who can blame him for his huge grin as his stunning dance partner Kristina Rihanoff snuggles against his chest seductively and is using all her kittenish, beguiling charms to help him win votes too. If BBC programme makers are not...
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