Archive for the 'National Comment' Category

Success Should Be Encouraged

Published on May 11, 2008 in National Comment. 0 Comments

I spent a sunny Sunday today in Crewe & Nantwich, where I continue to both amazed and appalled by the contemptible content of the Labour Party literature.

For a brief period in the mid-nineties - before my time alas - the Labour Party tried and managed to pass itself off as a Party that believed in aspiration, a Party that believed in fulfilling our potential as individuals, as communities and as a country. It’s been slipping for a long time, but as the power and popularity drains away from our failed Labour Government the mask has well and truly come off.

The Timpson family built their company from one small shoe shop not far from here in north Manchester. They are a true northern success story - a company and a family that should be held up as a shining example. Instead, the Labour Party denigrate that success as they desperately flail around as their electoral air begins to run out.

A few years ago I worked two summers at Salford Young People’s University, and it was a real privilege to play a small part in opening up the eyes of some of those children who attended that summer school to the potential that they had and the heights that they could achieve.

It’s a real contrast between that and the way in which many (although not all) of our local Labour politicians in Salford talk down to, patronise and take for granted local residents and communities who have placed their trust in Labour. The Labour campaign in Crewe & Nantwich has sunk far lower than I could ever have imagined. I hope they learn a very severe lesson on Thursday 22nd May.

Strictly Come Doorknocking

Published on May 10, 2008 in National Comment. 1 Comment

Vince Cable MP is about as close as the Liberal Democrats get to a political heavyweight. He’s a long-serving MP, LibDem Deputy Leader and Treasury spokesman, took a high-profile role after Sir Menzies Campbell was knifed as LibDem Leader (and during the Northern Rock debacle) and before entering Parliament he spent many years in a senior role in the private sector.

Yet, here is how the Crewe & Nantwich Liberal Democrats introduce him:

UPDATE: I was going to make a post about Labour’s leaflets as well, but it seems I’ve been beaten to it.

Crewe & Nantwich

Published on May 7, 2008 in National Comment. 1 Comment

I made a flying visit to Crewe yesterday evening to support our excellent local by-election candidate Edward Timpson, who I’ve just noticed has a blog on the Crewe & Nantwich Conservative website.

Morale is high and the campaign seems to be exceptionally well organised. I’ll be back in Cheshire later this week - not today unfortunately as I have commitments here - and I’d urge all Conservatives reading this post to do just the same!

Is a Post Office near you closing?

Published on May 4, 2008 in National Comment and Salford. 3 Comments

On 10th June, the Post Office announces “Network Change” proposals for Greater Manchester. In real English that means “Post Office closures”. I’ll be taking a close interest in the proposals for Salford, as I’m sure will local residents across the City.

It’s interesting to look at the consultation programme on the Post Office website. With the solitary exception of Merseyside, all the English metropolitan areas have had the announcements on Post Office closures scheduled for this summer, after the local elections. What do all the metropolitan areas have in common? They all had local elections last week.

Doesn’t that tell you all you need to know about our spineless Labour Government?

Liberal Democrats - Patronising Here!

Published on May 3, 2008 in National Comment and Salford. 1 Comment

Interesting to listen to Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg trying to spin the results yesterday - he talked about the Conservatives making no progress in (I paraphrase, I’ve been trying to find the video and haven’t yet succeeded) the “big important northern cities”.

Clearly the Liberal Democrat leadership do not feel that Salford, where we gained 3 seats and polled as many votes as Labour across the City, is an important northern City. Presumably the Liberal Democrats are happy to talk down to other northern Cities like Wakefield (7 Conservative gains) and Sunderland (5 Conservative gains).

The Salford Liberal Democrats had a decent night on Thursday, gaining 2 seats from Labour and holding on to the 2 wards they were defending, so it must be a real kick in the teeth to hear how dismissive their Party Leader is about the City in which we all live.

Happy News From Elsewhere

Published on May 3, 2008 in National Comment. 0 Comments

I’m delighted by the results from across the country, but I’d particularly pleased that three friends and colleagues have been elected.

In Chester, a friend of mine from University Tom Parry was elected to the City ward of the new Cheshire West authority. Tom missed out on election to Chester City Council by a handful of votes last year and I’m delighted that he has been successful this time.

Closer to home, some excellent news from Wigan. James Grundy has been elected to the Lowton East ward on an unbelievable swing, and Sean Ell has been elected as the new Conservative Councillor for nearby Astley Mosley Common. James and Sean are the first Conservative Councillors in east Wigan (Leigh and Tyldesley) for three decades and I am absolutely over the moon that their hard work has paid off. Fantastic.

Congratulations to all our successful Conservative candidates across the country.

In The Spectator

Published on April 26, 2008 in National Comment and Salford. 0 Comments

On Tuesday, Fraser Nelson from the Spectator spent some time in Salford and Bury with Chris Grayling MP (Shadow Secretary of State for Work & Pensions) and local activists. This was Chris’s second visit to Salford this year, and although he’s a southern MP I believe his father used to work for Bridgewater Estates and he knows Salford and the surrounding area very well.

His article makes for an interesting read - you can view it in full on the Spectator website.

Slow On The Uptake

Published on April 17, 2008 in National Comment. 1 Comment

Labour MP and junior Minister Angela Smith announced she was resigning over the abolition of the 10p tax rate… and then changed her mind and decided she quite liked the ministerial salary after all.

Quite aside from the bizarre dithering, Ms Smith is a Treasury Minister (PPS to Yvette Cooper, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury) and yet it appears to have taken her a whole year to realise that abolishing the lowest tax band means those on the lowest incomes pay more - the changes were announced by Gordon Brown in his last budget in 2007. What sort of people do we have running the country now?

Incidentally, a number of people have raised the 10p band on the doorstep. Labour have taken their core voters for granted since they got into Government, and now they are hitting them where it hurts in the pocket. Labour voters who have been let down have the chance to send a message to Gordon Brown on 1st May - by voting Conservative and evicting their hopeless Labour Councillors.

Conservatives Field More Candidates

Published on April 9, 2008 in National Comment and Salford. 0 Comments

An encouraging post on ConservativeHome - there will be more Conservative candidates than Labour or Liberal Democrat candidates in the elections on 1st May. This is a real boost and makes a mockery of the line peddled by Labour and the Liberal Democrats about Conservative strength in the north - a huge chunk of the elections this year are in the Metropolitan Boroughs and Wales, and comparatively few in rural district councils.

It is very telling that in most of our areas of electoral weakness, we as Conservatives still give the electorate the opportunity to vote for us. There are one or two areas where we are not quite there, but our candidate base is increasing year on year. By contrast, in their weakest areas, Labour and the Liberal Democrats can’t even be bothered to put candidates up. Only the Conservatives are a truly national party at these local elections and indeed at previous local elections.

Here in Salford we are running a full slate of candidates for the third successive year. You can view a full list of Salford Conservative candidates here. We have an excellent set of candidates representing all strands of Salfordians. They will make excellent Councillors and I hope that local residents will support them on polling day.

Labour’s Tax On Those Who Can Least Afford It

Published on April 6, 2008 in National Comment. 2 Comments

As from today, thousands of hard-working taxpayers on lower incomes in Salford and across the country will be paying more income tax, thanks to Gordon Brown’s decision to abolish the 10p tax band. On top of the soaring cost of living under Labour, anyone earning £18000 or under - 5 million families across the country - will be paying more income tax from today.

This is just the latest in a long series of examples of Labour badly letting down those people they claim to represent. Locally and nationally, the Labour Party have taken local residents in Salford for granted. It’s time for a change.