The last couple of days have brought the first real warm and sunny weather of the summer and it has been a pleasant change to be out campaigning without having to worry about taking a raincoat along. This morning I was out helping colleagues from Bury South where there is a local Council by election in Radcliffe West on Thursday. We received a generally positive response and it will, I think, be a close result on Thursday.
Archive for May, 2009
Yesterday, speaking at the Open University in Milton Keynes David Cameron spoke at some length about the ways a Conservative Government will change the way politics operates. You can watch the speech and read the text in full here.
Premiership – already!?
Published May 26, 2009 People , Politics Leave a CommentTags: BBC, David Cameron MP
David Cameron MP
Read the first sentence after the sub-heading Text alerts.
Ramsbottom. Tottington and North Manor Local Area Partnership
Published May 23, 2009 General 2 CommentsTags: Ramsbottom, Tottington and North Manor Local Area Partnership
On Thursday evening I attended a meeting of the Ramsbottom, Tottington and North Manor Local Area Partnership (LAP). These bodies used to be called Area Boards and whilst I agree with the principle of devolving power down to the most local unit possible unfortunately I have to say that the way Labour have forced the Area Board’s to be renamed and reorganised has not been a great success in terms of increasing local involvement. Despite the valiant efforts of all those involved in the meetings, especially the LAP Chairmen and Managers, the attendance by members of the public is woefully low. Only when a local issue raises the political temperature does attendance increase. Attendance used to be better under the previous Area Board system and whilst the idea of LAP’s may soung good in theory in practice I, for one, remain to be convinced.
The meeting on Thursday was held at Ramsbottom Fire Station and the highlight was undoubtedly a display by the fire cadets who are raising money to travel to the Czech Republic to represent the Country in a competition against other Cadets from across Europe. They performed with great skill and organisation and I hope they perform as well when they have their chance on the international stage.
O2
Published May 20, 2009 General Leave a CommentTags: Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, Mark Prisk MP
On Monday, together with my colleague Councillor Michelle Wiseman the Prospective Conservative MP for Bury South I accompanied the Shadow Minister for Business Mark Prisk MP on a visit to O2. We met with staff and then toured the call centre. It is the largest employer in Bury provding employment for over 1400 once contractors are taken into account.
After the visit we then attended a meeting with over 50 businessmen and women from Bury and surrounding areas organised jointly by the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and Conservative Business Relations. After a brief speech from Mark Prisk we had a question and answer session where topics ranged from the level of taxation to the difficulty in obtaining finance.
