Tracey Crouch

It has been so busy at work that I have been at my desk by 7.45am all but one day this week. The reason was partly to do with the Chancellor’s Pre-Budget Report on Wednesday. Big business had read the speculation in the run up to the Statement with some trepidation but as one commentator said the day after the City responded with a collective shrug of the shoulders. But having now examined the so-called Green Book it is clear that the rest of us will suffer as this Government has basically run out of ideas to fix the mess that Gordon Brown got us in.

The Government’s proposals include:
· National Insurance hikes on workers meaning a smaller pay packet for anyone earning £20,000 or more.
· National Insurance hikes on local firms, making it more expensive to pay staff.
· Higher income tax, pushing more middle income earners into the 40 per cent higher rate.
· Inheritance tax rises by stealth, taxing people more as house prices start to rise.
· Higher stamp duty, meaning the average first time buyer will now pay £1,475 in stamp duty.
· A new telephone tax on anyone with a phone or fax line.
· Forcing councils to make more cuts to rubbish collections and pushing up council tax.

The only impact the Pre-Budget will have is to hike up taxes for the hard working families across Chatham & Aylesford. There was a suggestion that there would be an early Election because the Chancellor and Prime Minister would not want to hold another Budget – good – bring it on because this Labour Government will not doing anything to sort out the worst debt crisis this Country has ever faced.

This morning I joined Conservative Councillors Tashi Bhutia and David Wildey and Independent Councillors Tony & Val Goulden at an event to unveil the new display in Luton Library for a Book of Memorial remembering those from Luton who died during the World Wars. The Book was previously hidden away but with help from Cllr Tony Goulden a wonderful display has been built so that the whole community can share the memories. Local resident Don Phillips, who has campaigned for and then practically built the Luton Memorial Meadow, led a minutes silence today for our fallen heroes in all conflicts including Afghanistan and Iraq. It was a touching event and I hope people will make the most of the Book being in the library.

Official Government figures have revealed that just ninety pupils across the Country were expelled last year for school bullying, despite a new survey finding half of all 14-year-old children have been bullied.

Across Kent, 10 pupils were expelled last year from all state schools. In over two-thirds of local authorities across England, including Medway, not a single child was expelled for bullying. However in Kent 260 pupils and in Medway 40 pupils were suspended from state schools – meaning the disruptive students returned to the school where they caused misery and fear for their classmates.

Since 1997, Labour Government rules have deliberately made it more difficult for schools to expel pupils, undermining the authority of head teachers and meaning bullies end up back at the same school as their victims.

Bullying makes far too many children’s lives a misery – I have been contacted by parents whose children have been bullied, including being physically beaten up! But the Government’s own figures show that in the vast majority of cases bullies are returned to the same school as their victims after a short punishment, rather than being expelled. I firmly believe that the key to tackling bullying is giving our teachers the powers they need to crack down on bad behaviour. Schools need the power to take a zero tolerance approach towards serious offences such as bullying so that they can maintain discipline in the classroom before it spirals out of control.

After an early morning campaign meeting and a quick delivery of newsletters in Larkfield, I went to see two residents who had requested to meet me. The meeting lasted two hours and was fascinating, demonstrated by the fact that 24 hours later I am still thinking about much of what we discussed.

Much of the conversation concentrated on religion and in particular Christianity. I consider myself to be a Christian, although I don’t go to church very often, and I would never justify my politics through my religious beliefs like Tony Blair and George Bush often did – not least because, as I explained to the residents, my views on social issues are somewhat liberal and therefore contradictory to more conservative Christian views. Our discussion about the unintended impact on religious thought/practices of political and legislative change was very thought provoking. I am glad I took the time to do the meeting – I am sure it will stand me in good stead in the future.

Santa visited Snodland this evening, accompanied by the Mayor of Tonbridge & Malling, and the local children (and parents!) had a great time. There must of been at least 200 people singing carols before the sleigh arrived and after the Mayor had finished her rock star moment of waving the mic when the music stopped, conducting the crowd to the rest of “I wish it could be Christmas everyday…” she began the countdown to the switch on of the lights. Santa delayed the departure of the sleigh by insisting on shaking the hands of every small person within an arms length of the sleigh before precariously balancing on a ledge worrying Mrs Claus, who was standing next to me as she watched it return to the Town Hall! Thankfully the rain held off until the fun had finished and all the little children left even more excited about Christmas. I think it is fair to say that Santa loves Snodland, and Snodland most definitely loves Santa!!!

The Aylesford Youth Club is going from strength to strength and last night was a demonstration of how successful it has become. Thanks to the hard work of the volunteers and the generosity of Buckmore Park Kart Club, 32 youngsters enjoyed a go-karting session and the internationally successful Kart track. Both Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button won competitions at the track owned by motor racing legend John Surtees and I think many of the youngsters, both boys and girls, were wondering after if they were going to be a future Formula 1 champion!

The Medway photographer “Monaxle” who was arrested earlier in the year under terrorism legislation for basically taking photos has published a post on his website giving an update on the matter. By the looks of it we are about to see some common sense prevail…You can read Alex’s post HERE.

I have had an excellent 24 hours. I visited Kingfisher primary school in Princes Park yesterday morning and was very impressed by the hard working and dedicated Headmistress and her team. The foundation class is exactly what early years should be about – play and social integration. The school also has a tiny but much needed Sure Start centre and following an afternoon meeting with several Cabinet members of Medway Council, I was able to confirm to the Headmistress that despite the delay on the original timetable, it will be extended early in the New Year.

The meeting with portfolio holders was interesting. It is always useful to get an update on some of the current and future issues affecting Medway. Schools were obviously top of the agenda!

This morning I had a meeting with a resident about issues in Chatham – it was a very informative meeting and there is lots for me to follow up on with the Council and other organisations. Although whilst getting my car parking ticket I noticed several rats scurrying through piles of litter and food waste and immediately reported it so that it can come and get cleared up and the rats dealt with.



And now I’ve just come back from the inaugural meeting of the Aylesford Active Retirement Association. There were over 90 people in the Capel Morris Centre and it looks like from the opening meeting that it is going to be a well supported group. I rather am rather envious of all the activities they have planned! Now I am about to get into my jeans and head up to Buckmore Park with the Youth Club for an afternoon of go-karting. Watch out the Stig!!

Am off from work (Aviva) this week so am spending the week meeting people and organisations that I don’t get to see when campaigning is limited to the weekend. Today I met with a gentleman who is lobbying for a Hindu temple/community centre and I have to say he made a very compelling case! After a good lunch in Chimi Changas, I headed off to the Medway Maritime for a meeting with the Chief Executive of the Kent Mental Health Trust followed by an update meeting with the Chairman and Interim Chief Executive of the Medway Maritime Hospital. Both were hugely helpful and am really pleased I blocked out the afternoon to spend time learning more about the challenges facing the local health services.

Tomorrow, down to Folkestone for an interview followed by carpet fitters, telecanvassing and dinner with my neighbour!

I was alarmed to learn that the small print of Labour’s plans to create a National Care Service reveals they will scrap Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance for pensioners to pay for it.

An average £3,400 a year will be snatched away from 2.4 million pensioners – equivalent to a quarter of the average pensioner’s income. In Chatham & Aylesford this would affect a shocking 2,670 pensioners. Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance are based on need; they are not means tested and are intended to cover the extra costs arising from the impact the disability has on the life of the disabled person. The key feature of these benefits is that they can be spent by disabled people how they wish, without restrictions, to best support their individual care needs.

It is clear that Gordon Brown has chosen to penalise one of the most vulnerable groups in our society for the sake of another of his eye-catching announcements. As with every Labour initiative, someone has to pay and, as with many of them, it is once again those who are least able to afford it who are hit by Brown. These benefits provide vital support for disabled pensioners, giving them the chance to lead an independent life with the freedom to tailor their care to their needs. Of course, we need to do more to help people with their care costs, but it is completely wrong to do so at the expense of disabled pensioners.

David Cameron has made it clear that the Conservatives will protect Chatham & Aylesford’s pensioners and fight against Gordon Brown’s plan to scrap benefits for the disabled.

This week has been incredibly busy starting with a dinner on Monday to celebrate the retirement of John Blundell, the Director of the Institute of Economic Affairs. David Davis MP and journalist Simon Heffer spoke well about the policies that John has advocated over the years and the impact they have had on global economics. I was lucky enough to be sitting next to two Sky journalists and the future Director, a former Lib Dem staffer, who I think was rather daunted at the task ahead by the end of the evening. Amusingly I was accused of not being a free marketeer after questioning the amount and value of money in football – i.e. was Ronaldo really worth £80m?

On Tuesday, I joined the team at the phone bank for some telephone canvassing. My sheet was Larkfield and I had a really positive response, as did my colleagues telephoning in other areas. One chap called me an angel but a huge number of people said “we gotta get this lot out”! The team came away feeling positive and looking forward to next week’s session.

Watching the Queen open Parliament on Wednesday, I felt embarrassed for her. The State Opening of Parliament is a major constitutional function and yet it felt like it was all about the Labour Party saving itself, not serving the country. Gordon Brown has nothing to offer except a series of half-measures aimed at partisan point-scoring – even Cabinet Ministers admit that their programme is about playing politics not improving people’s lives. There was nothing in the Queen’s Speech for the hard working man, woman or family in Chatham & Aylesford. A point, Sir John Stanley MP made as well on Thursday when I went to speak to his Executive Association. I had (have) a dreadful cough and rather rudely disrupted the proceedings with my spluttering before croaking my way through my own speech! Having tweaked my hamstring at training on Wednesday, I felt a tad crocked!!

The hamstring isn’t feeling too great tonight after delivering our latest newsletter with Tashi to probably the longest road in the constituency – Churchill – before going up to help in Blue Bell Hill. I am however getting lots of sympathy at home so have my feet up watching my sister’s best friend from school, captain the England Ladies Rugby team against New Zealand at a rainy Twickerham.

Tonight, Chatham & Aylesford Conservatives had its annual dinner at the Larkfield Priory Hotel and we were honoured to have the Conservative Party Chairman Eric Pickles as our guest speaker. Eric gave a thought provoking and inspiring speech about what we need to do to win the next General Election – returning a Conservative MP for Chatham & Aylesford is an essential step on that road to victory.

It was a wonderful evening – the food was delicious, the company excellent and we raised vital funds for the campaign ahead.

At training last night it was announced that Meridian Girls had won, for the second year running, the silver medal at the Medway Sports Club of the Year awards. The club, and especially the management, deserve nothing less as they all put in hours of voluntary time to make sure that everything runs smoothly. In the meantime my girls are third in the league with a game in hand – we have a crunch game on Sunday against Bearsted…I am not sure it will decide the outcome of the league but it is pretty important!!

After training, I went to a charity Rugby match at the Aylesford Bulls between a President’s XV and an Army team. The “Poppy Day Match” was played in aid of Help for Heroes and was extremely well attended by supporters of the Club, the Royal British Legion, the Parish Council and local residents. I only managed to get to the last 30 minutes but at least I saw an Aylesford try! I don’t know how much the game raised for Help for Heroes but with very persuasive army personnel collecting money from the supporters I imagine it will be a significant sum.

I went to two different but very moving Remembrance Services today. This morning I attended the Service at St Peter & St Paul Church where the vicar had invited a serving soldier to address the congregation. The soldier from the Royal Engineers spoke about his time in Iraq and Afghanistan and the loss of two soldiers in his regiment; he then took questions from the children attending the service which ranged from how high had he parachuted from through to did he think there would be a World War III. It was poignant how interested the young children were in him, his uniform and his medals – I saw a beautiful young girl staring in awe at him from her mum’s lap and it reminded me of the photographs you see of youngsters looking up at World War II veterans and wondered if today’s brave soldiers will be similarly respected in 50 years time.

This afternoon I attended the Service at the Royal British Legion Village. Sadly, there were fewer men marching this year but I was told later by Edwin Boorman, President of the local British Legion that there were 250 people at the ceremony. I sat next to some veterans who were shivering as they braved the cold wind in just their jackets with their medals proudly pinned to their chests. It was clear that this Remembrance Service meant more because many had fought in World War II and had lost friends and colleagues. You could hear their voices break when they repeated the words “we will never forget”.

The sombre ceremony was broken by Squadron Leader Des Butters loudly asking everyone who returned from laying their wreath if they were going for a cup of tea after – Janet, who read a poem during the service, and I found this so surreal that we started to chuckle into our scarves and coats. Des, who wears hearing aids in both ears, was totally oblivious to what he had started.

After a Friday night at the Snodland Quiz, it was fabulous to get out in the Saturday winter sunshine to go litter picking in Luton with Tashi and the team. We were planning on meeting at Christchurch and heading up Luton Road, Upper Luton Road and Beacon Road but when we arrived we started speaking to the church steward Dave Boss and decided to concentrate our efforts around the church grounds and its local environment. Within an hour we had filled 10 black bags! I found £10 in a bush which I donated to the church box and Tashi stood in for Tony Goulden who hadn’t arrived for his surgery when someone turned up to see him. So all in all it was a good morning!

Last night, Rehman Chishti, the PPC for Gillingham, and I were invited to speak to some law students at the University of Kent. Although I read law at University, I never went into practice despite my then-held ambition to become an international maritime lawyer! Instead I was more interested in the constitutional and philosophical side of law and so my political journey began. Reh on the other hand is a practicing barrister so whilst he was able to give them a lengthy insight into what it is like to stand up in front of a judge and what the law and Conservatism have in common, I focused my speech on the time, as Chief of Staff to the then Home Secretary David Davis, I watched a legal and constitutional nightmare unfold – i.e. the passage of the Prevention of Terrorism Bill through Parliament. I spoke of how it felt to be sitting discussing legislation that could have stripped away centuries of civil liberties, enshrined in the Magna Carta, in order to detain suspected terrorists that under legislation would effectively be put under house arrest on the say of a politician not a judge.

Preparing for the speech reminded me of the all night sitting, the tension between the Commons and the Lords, the fear from all sides that we were about to ancient freedoms, that a draconian Bill would be introduced with no prospect of any future review – it was an extraordinary 3 weeks, dominated entirely by this piece of emergency legislation introduced not because of an act of terrorism, but by a Law Lords ruling on the incompatibility of previous legislation with the European Convention on Human Rights. By talking about the Bill I hoped to demonstrate the brilliance of our system of checks and balances – the Executive were held to account by a mutinous Parliament, and then the Act when passed was considered by an independent judiciary. In this case, the emergency legislation proved (as all rushed legislation tends to be) bad legislation and so the process began again with a new Bill…

Anyway I am sure the law students found it more interesting to hear about how to address a judge but I certainly enjoyed talking to them and hope that I bought the constitutional law that they are currently studying to life.

I am absolutely disgusted by the story on the Medway Messenger website regarding outrageous defacing of the Poppy Appeal posters by anti-war protesters. The Poppy Appeal not only raises much needed funding to support current servicemen, women and their families but it reminds us of the heroism of those who fought and died during two World Wars to defend the very freedom that allows people to protest in this country!

There is a time and a place for a protest but the defacement of a charity poster to make a political point is not it and I find I am sickened by the disrespectful and thoughtlessness of this act.

I hope they are caught and that the guilty party/parties are made to stand alongside veterans on Chatham, Gillingham and Rochester High Streets and made to collect for the Poppy Appeal from now until Remembrance Day.

I have just returned home from the inaugural meeting of our new Luton & Wayfield branch! It is absolutely fabulous to have a branch up and running in what until recently had been a safe Labour ward, which of course returned its first Conservative councillor in decades in the September by-election. In all my time, and those of other political oldies at the meeting, I have never seen so many people actively involved in a branch – even in solid Conservative areas – so I feel very excited tonight by the enthusiasm and interest shown by new and old members alike to ensure the branch successfully contributes to the association and to my campaign.

Good luck Luton & Wayfield branch and welcome to the team!

Danyl in a sing off with Miss Frank.

John & Edward survive.

The world has gone mad!

Shocking news buried in the unemployment figures released earlier this week for workers in Chatham & Aylesford. This time last year there were 1361 claiming Jobseekers Allowance but now there are a massive 2681 Jobseekers and increase of 97%. But there are only 189 jobs available meaning that there are 14 applicants for every vacancy. As stock markets recover and bankers bonuses return many are predicting an early end to the recession but it is clear that unemployment levels are still rising and that local workers are going to continue to find it very difficult to make ends meet.

Unreported from Conference, the Conservatives outlined detailed new plans, to simplify Labour’s numerous and piecemeal work programmes into a single back-to-work programme for everyone on out-of-work benefits. This would be backed up with new and additional work pairings, apprenticeships, further education college places and vocational education for young people. There would also be programmes to support self-employment, work clubs and volunteering opportunities to help people prepare for work and find jobs.

Unfortunately it is likely to be six months before Gordon Brown finally calls an election and with national debt rising quickly it looks like it is going to be a rough ride especially for those struggling without a job. The sooner we get rid of this failing Government, the better.

Why oh why did Gordon Brown need to take 24 hours to decide what his favourite biscuit is? Asked by mumsnet to name his preferred biscuit, he ignored the question despite being asked a Paxman-esque 12 times! Cameron and Clegg answered with oatcakes (are they biscuits?) and Rich Tea/Hob Nobs but clearly Brown needed to ask his advisers or appeal to focus groups before coming back with “anything with a bit of chocolate”. OK, I appreciate that this is not the biggest problem on the Prime Minister’s plate but it does show that he is unable to make a decision without dithering first. First he bottled an election and now he has crumbled over a shortbread but what next? The mum’s weren’t impressed, unsurprisingly.

For information my favourite biscuits are pink wafers. I have no idea what that tells you about me but with one of those in my hands I am not sure I would really care!!

I have had a quiet weekend politically but a busy one personally! Finally, after months and months of building work, I started moving things into my new house in Aylesford. The painters are still in, the bathroom needs to be tiled and the phone line connected – so it is not all perfect just yet but I have a bed, sofa, kettle, pasta strainer and wine glasses…a few more trips to Ikea and B&Q will no doubt take place over the coming months but I cannot wait to finally put my feet up in front of the TV in the new pad!

Following football training tonight, I dashed down to Aylesford Community Centre to catch the last 40 minutes of a public meeting on proposals to defend Aylesford from flooding hosted by the Environment Agency and in conjunction with the County, Borough and Parish Councils.

The meeting follows one I organised earlier in the year and it was great to see that the EA have made some progress on proposals to prevent the Aylesford stream flooding again. However the downside is that by the time it takes to get approval, funding, contractors and then the work finished probably means that local residents will be worried every rain storm for a good few years yet! Mind you the Village is some way forward from where we were at the beginning of 2009 and we now have a flood plan which is a very good start and can be found HERE.

I have been sent a rather nice poem about Coney Banks. Sadly it is not signed which is a shame because I like it and can’t reply to say thank you. So instead I shall showcase it here:



UPDATE: I’ve since been told that this poem was written by local poet Jim Bell.

The BBC is reporting that tomorrow Gordon Brown will announce the sale of UK assets in order to raise £16bn to plug the Treasury black hole. This sale will crucially include the Dartford Crossing; if a private company or investor is going to be interested in buying the assets it will obviously want to make a profit.

So if the Dartford Crossing is sold, Kent’s commuters crossing the Bridge will continue paying the tolls that should have finished in 2002. Charges were introduced in 1963 to finance building the tunnels and latterly the bridge but were due to end once the debts had been paid off – this happened nearly 7 years ago and instead of the tolls ending, they went up! The proposed sale of the Crossing signals that the charges will now never end and the cash strapped motorist trying to get to work will be the ones that get penalised again.

It was great after a month or so of delivering newspapers to get back on the doorsteps canvassing today. Ten of us met in Snodland this morning and spent 2 hours talking to people about their local and national concerns. I love canvassing and think that senior politicians and their advisers should do more door knocking in order to find out what people are really thinking!

We didn’t find anyone who confessed they were going to vote Labour next time; we did find some (including a former senior Labour activist) who were not going to vote Labour on polling day. I spoke to several public servants who had heard George Osborne and David Cameron’s speeches on freezing public sector pay and both recognised that whilst they weren’t over the moon at the idea of a pay freeze, they would much rather have a job in a year’s time. They did also say that they believed that whichever party won the next election their pay would have been frozen so they thought the openness and honesty of David and George was refreshing.

People are still angry about the MP expenses scandal and it seems that the more affected they have been by the recession the more cross they are – and who can blame them? It certainly hasn’t been Westminster’s finest hour.

Immigration is still a hot topic of conversation and the perceived inequity, from housing allocation through to job seeker centres, is still prevalent. A number of people also raised with me the amount of bureaucracy in place today – as one chap said, “how many people do you need to make sure my bin gets collected”?

After the week in Manchester with the leadership sending out strong honest messages about how tough the next few years are going to be, it was good to go out in Snodland and be welcomed so warmly; one chap said when I introduced myself as a Conservative “that’s alright then luv, I want to belt the other lot” – his chance will come soon enough…at the ballot box in a few months time!

My apologies for the blogging break – I am indeed still alive…just!

Since I am still working full time for me the political party conference season is about more than just my own party’s conference and therefore through work have attended the Liberal Democrat and Labour conferences too, hence the lull in posts.

However over the past few weeks I managed to also fit in a wonderful evening speaking to Strood Conservatives, kept up to date with my correspondence and telephone calls, had several meetings with key charities and organisations, finished delivering my latest newsletter, and managed the girls to a 3-1 victory in our second league match of the season!

Now that I am back in my routine, normal blogging will resume…

I took today off work and joined Conservative colleagues from across Medway for Freshers Fayre. Today was sports club day and our stand was positioned in between the hockey and cricket stand and across from the netball. There was a lot of ball play going on between the stands and although it was fun trying to dodge cricket balls it was also quite interesting talking to the students. Most would say they aren’t interested in politics but once you ask them what they think of the bus service, or crime, or litter they soon realise that they are very interested in politics but just hadn’t labelled it as such before. The strangest moment of the day was when Communities Minister Shahid Malik was being shown around the Fayre and the organisers stopped to explain something to him right by our stand. Shahid was very cool and came over to shake my hand but his advisers looked very nervous and were desperate to get the Minister away as soon as possible!

After leaving Medway campus I had a meeting with Cllr Nick Chard at Kent County Council about, amongst other things, trying to resolve the problem of traffic on Lower Lunsford Lane. I hope we will get some kind of closure on this issue soon.

Thank goodness for Saturday night TV! Am sitting watching Strictly Come Dancing with my feet up drinking a cold glass of wine after an excellent delivery session this morning in Lordswood. We had a small team of 6 out today but still managed to get over 1500 houses delivered before lunch (thanks guys for the help). I don’t know what I am going to do in 10 minutes when the X Factor starts…

It is deeply regrettable that Medway Council today decided to close St John’s and Ridge Meadow Schools in Chatham. The consultation was as a consequence of Government legislation which forces a review of schools who have falling rolls and both St John’s and Ridge Meadow fell into this category. Nevertheless both schools achieve good results and were contributing to educational excellence across Medway: it is therefore a shame that this decision has been made.

I am not the kind of person that likes to play party politics with a child’s education and so I have always made my representation on these proposals in private. I had made it very clear to the portfolio holder that I believe both St John’s and Ridge Meadow to be good schools with a strong community base, something that is often under-estimated and devalued in our current education system. I firmly believe that if we don’t get primary education right, then we end up playing catch up throughout the rest of a child’s education. This is not only unsatisfactory from a learning perspective but also costly.

I was also concerned that these proposals are being considered at a time when Government spending on capital projects is being examined in detail and as we know from leaked documents earlier this week that spending could potentially be frozen in light of the huge national debt that this Labour administration has built up. I remain extremely worried that the schools will be closed on a financial promise to invest in other schools which may then not happen. If this were to occur, our children will end up being educated in over-subscribed schools with an infrastructure unable to cope with the demand.

I am deeply passionate about ensuring that children across Chatham are given the best chance in life and fundamentally believe that the way to do this is to provide first class facilities, the best teachers, and an environment where they can thrive. Both St John’s and Ridge Meadow, in my view, have provided such a base and so I am not going to pretend I am anything other than disappointed with the decision today.

The new football season kicked off for Meridian Girls today. I am now manager/coach of the Under 12s having started as coach with many of the same players in the Under 10s – oh how time flies.

As you progress through the age groups the game development begins, so this season we play 11-a-side instead of 7, on bigger pitches with larger goals and for a longer time each way. Today we had an away game and an early kick off which was a bit of a shock to the system for those of us who have enjoyed their Sunday morning lie in during the summer break!

Our 10 girls (yes we were one short) battled hard against Gravesham and only really lost it in the last 5 minutes when the team understandably began to tire. No points but a happy manager, some very proud parents, and 10 exhausted girls who will no doubt sleep very well tonight!!

I am delighted to see that at the next General Election the votes for the Chatham & Aylesford Parliamentary constituency will be counted on the Thursday night and not on the Friday like some other areas. General Election night is sadly under threat which is bad news for voters, politicians and broadcasters alike. You can join the Facebook Campaign to save General Election night HERE.

It was obviously a real honour to be given such a gift and Andrew was momentarily speechless – however, I think the next campaign he runs people will think twice about refusing to go out delivering leaflets in the pouring rain!! Anyway it was a wonderful event and one that Tashi, Andrew and the team thoroughly deserved.

Now that I have done two suitcases of washing and hung it all out on the line, cleaned the fridge after finding something that once resembled an onion, unpacked the food shopping and popped out to buy a raffle prize for a fundraising event in Aylesford tomorrow, I can sit down and reflect on what has been happening whilst I’ve been away.

Obviously the first thing to do is to say congratulations to Tashi on his fabulous by-election win on Thursday. Luton & Wayfield has not had a Conservative Councillor for over 40 years and so it was a historic victory and one that I do not think local residents will regret. I went canvassing with Tashi a few times before I headed off to France and I genuinely believe that if he applies the energy and enthusiasm to being a councillor as he did on the doorsteps then we will see some pretty swift improvements in the area. Tashi has said he will work closely with Cllrs Tony and Val Goulden, two former Labour Councillors who I like and have previously worked with on a local issue and who now sit as Independents after being cast aside by the local Labour Party. Local Tory blogger Alan Collins carried a post on their resignation but the most interesting part of the post is the comment from Tony and Val’s daughter giving the real story. When I heard the news about the Gouldens I rang and left a message on their answer machine – not to gloat or to dig further but simply to check they were ok. Leaving a party you’ve fought blood, sweat and tears for must be an extremely difficult thing to do and Michelle’s comments make it clear how hard it has been for the whole family. So now Luton & Wayfield has a Conservative Councillor ready to work hard and will no doubt get a huge cheer when he enters Gun Wharf next week.

Speaking of Gun Wharf, the excellent “Tales from…” blog by Alan Watkins has returned after a short break (no pun intended) after being ordered to rest after he broke his leg. His misfortune led to one of the funniest out of office messages I have ever read: I am currently signed off until August 24 due to a slight contratemps with a carpet, a doorway, a carrot and (subsequently) a surgeon. The mind boggles…

Now I’ve blogged, drunk my coffee and checked out the local news it is time to turn my attention to the 350 emails blinking at me in my inbox – and these are candidate related ones – I daren’t turn on my work blackberry! Think I need another cup of coffee…

There is an excellent article on the BBC website about photographers finding it harder to take pictures in public spaces and the various campaigns launched as a consequence. I was slightly amused when I tried to open the link on the page to look at the “I am not a Terrorist” gallery and a big warning sign popped up saying “Internet Explorer cannot open this page…Operation Aborted!” and then closed everything down – kind of made the point of the story!! If you can open the gallery, let me know what the pictures are like…

I have a new niece! Hannah Sophia was born on Sunday morning in Wellington, New Zealand weighing a healthy 7lbs 3oz. My brother Steve is over the moon with his first baby and I can’t wait to meet her when they hopefully return to the UK for a visit over Christmas.

Next Saturday, a photo walk will take place as part of a peaceful event to highlight the absurd arrest of local photographer Monaxle under s44 of the Terrorist Act which outlaws people taking photographs of policemen. I can’t be there as I head off for my summer break that day but I have sent a message of support and colleagues from Medway Conservatives will be there.

The Facebook event page can be found HERE but below for ease of reference is the background information to the event:

We had 32 people helping Tashi today – surely that must be some sort of council by-election record! As a result we delivered a leaflet to the whole ward and still had enough people left over to do some canvassing in Wayfield. As we regrouped over lunch it was clear that the reception towards Tashi on the doorstep is very positive but we’ve still got four more weeks canvassing to go.

After lunch I went with my sister, younger nephew and niece to see the brilliant and hilarious Ice Age 3 – they had been kicked out because my older nephew was building a hovercraft as part of his summer homework! I don’t remember my homework being that fun?

Medway Council have approved the budget for a variable message sign for Magpie Hall Road after residents signed my petition for traffic calming measures. The traffic speeds along the top of Magpie Hall Road and several accidents have been reported as a result. The residents raised this issue with me during a canvass session so I am delighted that we’ve finally got a result as these signs are proven to slow down traffic and reduce the likelihood of accidents. The new sign should be installed within the next two months.

Our Save Capstone Valley petitions have now received nearly 20,000 signatures and it remains one of the top issues raised with us on the doorstep as we continue to canvass in Luton & Wayfield. Tashi and I met local Luton residents at a coffee morning yesterday and it is clear that there is already genuine concern about traffic, school and hospital capacity so a further 9,200 houses is going to have a massive impact on the local infrastructure. So we need to keep the pressure up and make sure that the planning officials know the strength of local feeling against Medway Magna’s proposals to build in the Capstone Valley. If you have not yet signed the petition you can do so HERE.

When I was young and still able to play a 90 minute game of football without my knees or ankles clicking, I used to dream of headlines of headlines like THIS. To celebrate Crouch’s signing, and my birthday last week, I have just mocked up my new shirt for the season…you better not let me down now Peter!!

We’ve had in the schedule for some time today’s canvass session in Luton so it was rather coincidental that earlier this week it was announced that one of Luton’s Labour councillor’s has resigned his seat, forcing a by-election. I have heard rumours as to why Cllr McFarlane has stepped down, and if true then rightly so, but it was interesting to hear what the general public were thinking of Labour in one of their safest wards!

It was a good session although I was desperately sad to knock on the door of a much needed maths teacher who said he was leaving the UK to live in South Africa – it seems he has just had enough and it was easier for him to go there than his lawyer girlfriend coming here! Immigration was mentioned to me more than once on the doorstep this morning and it is quite clear that the longer the issue is ignored by Government, the stronger the anger gets.

We went to the Robin Hood for lunch where a wedding party turned up half way through lunch in a fabulous old car. We slipped away quickly and quietly, not wanting to get in the way of the bride and groom’s special day.

Having been at a 40th birthday party last night, I am off to a 30th birthday party this evening. After an extremely busy week at work, I’m exhausted and would love to spend the night in with my feet up but I am going to pop by to give her my best wishes. However, my other half has made his excuses and plans to watch the golf/cricket instead!

I have failed to do any of my domestic chores this afternoon having sat and watched England cling on for a draw in the first Test of the Ashes. Paul Collingwood has to be crowned hero of the day having put in a brilliant, all day performance for the team. As for Monty…it is no wonder he is the crowd’s favourite! I fear my domestic duties are going to suffer quite heavily as the series progresses…

We took time out from our own campaign in Chatham & Aylesford this morning to help colleagues in Rochester & Strood deliver their latest In Touch. It was nice to lend them a hand since they often provide us with help, especially if we have a big delivery, but boy were we hot afterwards. The landlady of the house designated as today’s HQ clearly didn’t know what had hit her when we all arrived back gasping for cold water, juice and mugs of builders’ tea! However, the sandwiches, sausage rolls and mini pork pies all went down very well after our morning of hard work – we’ll come back with service like that!

The day started with the opening of the Aylesford Village Festival and ended with the Red Arrows. Words can’t describe how brilliant the air and sea display was on and over the River Medway to celebrate the first Armed Forces Day so instead here is a photo montage of my day.