Archive for January, 2008

New Walkden Conservatives Website

Published on January 13, 2008 in Site News and Walkden. 0 Comments

After a bit of a sabbatical - initially caused by the same hosting problems that pole-axed this blog for a while - I have now restarted the Walkden Conservatives website.

You’ll notice it has a familiar look; I’ve opted once again for the ease-of-use of WordPress over Joomla, which was the Content Management System I used for the old Walkden Conservatives site.

Obviously the content will build up over time, but if you have any comments or suggestions about the site - or indeed this blog and the Salford Conservatives site - please do let me know!

Athens Drive Walkabout

Published on January 12, 2008 in Walkden. 0 Comments

New Prospect have organised a neighbourhood walkabout for the Athens Drive area this coming Monday, 14th January, starting at 10am. The walkabout will include ward Councillors and representatives from New Prospect, the Council and the local Police.

If you live in the local area and have any problems or concerns, please do not hesitate to come out and let us know your views. I am particularly interested in meeting local residents in Oracle Court to find out how successful the new fencing has been in deterring anti-social behaviour.

Cameron In Salford - On Video

Published on January 11, 2008 in Salford. 1 Comment

Two videos from yesterday for your perusal.

The first is David Cameron’s keynote speech held in the Civic Centre in Salford from Conservatives TV. Those of you who follow local politics in Salford might recognise the backs of some heads in the audience!

The second is the Channel M report on Cameron’s visit. I did mention this yesterday but thought it was well worth flagging up properly.

Enjoy!

Salford Labour - Cuts and Hypocrisy

Published on January 10, 2008 in National Comment and Salford. 0 Comments

I can only cringe at the hypocrisy of the Salford Labour activists who decided to picket David Cameron’s visit to Salford Lads Club this afternoon - see the BBC News Online story and David Ottewell’s blog.

Those Labour activists would do well to remember these three things:

  • It is a Labour Government who have decided to close the much-needed maternity and neo-natal services at Salford Royal (Hope) Hospital, whilst the Labour-run Salford City Council has now stood by and cravenly surrended any hope of reversing that decision
  • It is our Labour Council who have taken the decision to close St George’s RC High School, which is oversubscribed and provides an outstanding service to pupils from some of the most deprived areas of the City.
  • It is the Labour Government that has provided Salford City Council with it’s worst formula grant settlement for decades. Even worse, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in Hazel Blears, Labour MP for Salford.

The stench of Labour hypocrisy and sheer bloody cheek is so strong it has drifted all the way from Ordsall to here in Walkden as I type this out.

Update: The Channel M video of the visit is very telling.

David Cameron In Salford - Review

Published on January 10, 2008 in National Comment and Salford. 0 Comments

I was delighted that David Cameron - along with Shadow Home Secretary David Davis - was able to take the time to visit Salford today, as well as making a keynote speech on crime and anti-social behaviour. You can read the speech in full here.

Personally I was very pleased with the robust message on both violent crime and on anti-social behaviour which can often escalate into more serious crime. I thought David Cameron struck exactly the right tone, with a sober and honest assessment of some of the problems facing communities across the country together with a genuine message of hope and commitment that these problems can and will be tackled in the future.

I was very pleased that both Davids took the time to answer some questions after the speech and also to meet with the Conservative Councillors. With 30% of the vote across the City in 2007, and our Council group membership increasing, Conservatives in Salford have shown that the Conservative Party can make a big impact in the urban north of England.

David Cameron in Salford

Published on January 10, 2008 in Salford. 2 Comments

Off now to greet David Cameron, who is making a keynote speech here in Salford. Much more later!

Being Counterproductive

Published on January 9, 2008 in National Comment. 0 Comments

A quick memo to whichever anonymous Liberal Democrat or Labour activists who mailed me a photocopy of the Hansard record of Gordon Prentice’s rather pathetic Parliamentary rant about the defection of Sajjad Karim MEP. If they think that sending it to Conservative activists is going to do anything other than motivate them further, they are very sadly mistaken.

Prentice is the Labour MP for Pendle and sitting on a very precarious majority. The Conservative candidate is Andy Stephenson who I know will make an exceptional Member of Parliament. I’ve been up to Pendle to help Andy campaign on a number of occasions and sending Prentice’s speech - the rant of a man who knows he is in trouble and likely to lose at the next election - will only make sure I make some more trips up to Nelson to campaign.

I’m Backing Boris

Published on January 7, 2008 in National Comment. 4 Comments

As a Salford Councillor I don’t tend to blog about local politics in London unless there’s a local angle to it. Today, however, I will make a brief exception.

Our candidate for London Mayor, Boris Johnson, has just launched a new website to support his campaign, and to be perfectly frank it is one of the best political websites I have ever seen. It is exceptionally well-designed, clear, concise, attractive and easy to navigate. A great job - hats off to the designers!

Of course, Boris has a strong history of using new technology well. He was the first Conservative MP to start a blog, after all.

BSF Feature In The Telegraph

Published on January 7, 2008 in National Comment and Walkden. 0 Comments

Today’s Telegraph includees an article and a feature on the effect of the Government’s Building Schools for the Future programme. Both articles mention Labour’s appalling decision to close St George’s High School:

Popular Schools Face Closure In £45bn Scheme

The Battle Of The Badge

Not An Increase

Published on January 6, 2008 in National Comment. 0 Comments

I’m getting quite tired of the Labour Government talking about “pay increases” when they are nothing of the sort. The police and nurses have been offered real-terms pay cuts, and in the case of the police, they were offered a pay cut and then the Government decided to make the pay cut even bigger.