TREVELYAN TALKS

Cumbrian MP overcomes the Pennines to dazzle Northumberland

noreply@blogger.com (Anne-Marie) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:23:00 +0000

I have spent a fascinating evening in the company of Hexham Conservatives and having the opportunity to listen to the erudite & eccentric (by his own definition) MP Rory Stewart.

Mr Stewart wanted to know how we Northumbrians view Cumbria - wet, I said. What I didn't add was that it always seems very sparsely populated somehow, great spaces with solitary farmsteads. I also failed to give him credit for being the MP who represents the Penrith Toffee Shop, creators of the best fudge in the world. But I'm sure he knows that already.

To listen to a lecture on the values of the present political system, rolled into a campaign speech championing the merits of the British Army, whilst crushing the prescriptive, domineering & overbearing state was a true pleasure. And if even half Mr Stewart's exquisite rhetoric reflects a real determination to change our excessive state, to take on the gargantuan challenge of restoring a truly world class civil service, then he has my admiration. Perhaps, more than that, his words recharge batteries worn down by the hard grind of daily campaigning, where only voluntary action is fighting established bureaucracies. If the spirit is sound, the goal one's neighbours benefit and community's development, then all is possible.

Let us hope that this Army trained, Afghan exploring, Harvard educated MP can find a way through the ever-present government red tape & obfuscation to carve a path for clarity in our politics. There are many looking for such a person to follow.

Why socalism will always fail - hard workers need to get their reward.

noreply@blogger.com (Anne-Marie) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:32:00 +0000

I have just been sent this very clever story to explain why socialism always fails. I've heard it before, but it never hurts to remind ourselves exactly why Ed Miliband and his self-righteous band of opposition MPs never seem to get the basics of human economics. The story goes like this:

An economics professor had a class of students who insisted that socialism worked and that the world could be equalized with no-one being poor and no-one being rich. The professor challenged his students to prove this theory. He told them that all their grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade.

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who had studied hard were upset and the students who had studied little were thrilled. For the second test, the students who had studied little studied even less and the ones who had studied hard decided they wanted a free ride so they too studied little.

The second test result averaged out was a D. So all the students were cross. When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F. As the tests proceeded, the scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no-one would study for the benefit of anyone else.

To their great surprise, all the students failed at the end of the year. Their professor told them that socialism would always ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great, but when Government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed. Could not be any simpler than that.

Remember these basic rules:

1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.

2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.

3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.

4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.

5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.

Break up DECC and make Energy Policy which gives us energy when we need it.

noreply@blogger.com (Anne-Marie) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:24:00 +0000

Nigel Lawson, the former Chancellor and a former energy secretary, has called on the Government to break up the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). He believes the time has come to put responsibility for climate policy back into the environment department, and to put energy policy into the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

In a letter to the Financial Times yesterday, he said: "I would like, as a former energy secretary, to wish Ed Davey, the new Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the best of luck in his new job. He has the opportunity to enter the history books as the only minister to use his position to abolish it for the wider public good." Lord Lawson criticises what he describes as "the yoking together of energy and climate change" which "has given this country the worst energy policy for a generation - bad for the economy, bad for industry, bad for the taxpayer and bad for the consumer".

This is the sort of challenge that I hope our Prime Minister would look favourably upon. It should not upset the Lib Dems to see energy policy - which is what is affecting our businesses' ability to function - tied in with all other business decision-making. For instance, the impending closure of Alcan in Northumberland, with the loss of over 500 direct jobs, and up to 2,000 more in the wider business network, is simply down to DECC & Chris Huhne refusing to listen to the business's needs on how to convert to biomass to meet new EU directive demands as far back as 2010 when it became clear that some support would be required to help the business transition to lower carbon impact technology. But the old leadersip at DECC seemed so fixated by only investing in "green" renewables that Alcan's proposals were not seriously considered. The costs were high, but the long term loss of an excellent employer in a high unemployment area will be much greater.

I dearly hope that under Ed Davey's leadership, DECC will become - and quickly - a department which works WITH the Treasury and the Department for Business to make the renewables revolution economic and effective. Onshore wind meets a target, but doesnt generate electricity when its needed. Its -5 degrees outside here today, with sheet ice everywhere, but not a breath of wind. So not a turbine is turning in Northumberland today.

We need an energy policy which works. Over to you Mr Davey.

How about removing a barrier to growth, Minister?

noreply@blogger.com (Anne-Marie) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:51:00 +0000

Chris Grayling MP, Minister for Employment, was in Northumberland today, leading discussions at a Jobs Summit co-ordinated by Guy Opperman MP, our Hexham MP. It was a most interesting gathering of business leaders, bankers, school heads, local politicians from town council and county hall, along with local Prudhoe community leaders.

The discussion was wide-ranging, with the Minister setting out all the policies which he is rolling out with the DWP to encourage businesses to take on the young unemployed, alongside work on reducing red tape where EU regulation limits allow. I did wonder just how much of that EU driven rulebook we are going to overturn - there is so much that slows our businesses down which requires not the endless box ticking, but rather sensible and thought out action where appropriate by business leaders taking responsibility for their work forces. Delegates raised a number of concerns with the minister, alongside some suggestions on what could be done more effectively if Government would only free up the legislation.

I raised with Mr Grayling the issue which I have been working on for some time with local businesses - that of raising the VAT threshold for businesses to £100,000.

By raising the entry threshold, for businesses which are labour intensive and therefore have little VAT inputs to reclaim, the sudden impact of having to pay 20% on all outputs to the Exchequer is a huge pressure on cashflow as well as a disincentive to expanding business. I am seeing more and more small businesses of 2 or three people just stopping at the threshold. So I am asking the Chancellor of the Exchequer to consider raising the threshold, so that employers can take on one more member of staff, to generate more (un-VAT-able) income. And then to look at a tapering system from £100-150/200,000 so that these labour based businesses do not have to have this sudden impact cashflow hit which happens at present.

The Minister was polite enough to ask me to send in the details of my proposal to him, so that he can talk to the Treasury about my idea. Like all things to do with tax, it will only be considered if it isn't going to create a loss of income - which is fair enough. I believe that this proposal has the potential to give businesses a real cashflow boost, and offer the chance to take on a new employee. Replicated across the country by hundreds of thousands of small businesses, this could have a dramatic positive impact on our unemployment numbers. Over 60% of all businesses in the UK have less than 5 employees after all.

Let's hope the Minister is willing to go into bat with this idea. The North East would certainly benefit, and I believe the whole country would see extra growth presently stifled by the harsh concrete ceiling of the £73,000 VAT threshold.

Morpeth will get its defences

noreply@blogger.com (Anne-Marie) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:15:00 +0000

I met up with the Environment Minister Richard Benyon MP yesterday. He was in Morpeth see for himself the plans for the Morpeth Flood Defences, for which the community hopes that funding is imminently to be confirmed. This has been a long time coming for the community who have battled firstly with the dramatic and devastating floods of 2008, then with insurance companies who wouldn't pay out, and for the last three years with Government to get a commitment to build the flood alleviation system so vital to protect our ancient town from future weather disasters.

The Morpeth flood alleviation scheme is seen as an example of good practice because of county council's agreement to contribute up to £12m of the cost from its capital programme. This will be a key investment to ensure the future safety and development of homes & businesses in out thriving market town. Let us hope that on Thursday the Environment Agency sign on the dotted line and that work can begin on the dam up stream of the town.

I will never forget that day in 2008 when we were out rescuing stranded cars and livestock from fields, and watching helplesslessly as sheep were washed away out of the fields. I can only imagine the feelings of devastation of which I have heard so many stories in the last few years, as peoples' homes were completely destroyed by the power and destruction of the water.

Now the remaining hurdle will be to persuade the insurance industry that some sort of levy system can be brought into place to support families like those in Morpeth who are affected by floods in the future where there has been inadequate insurance for repairs. Morpeth has until mid 2013 to be protected by the new flood defences - before the insurance companies turn off the taps, in terms of flood insurance cover. So whilst the start of allievation works will be a huge step forwards, the war is not yet won for residents. But it is exciting to see that the garguantuan efforts of Morpeth people working together to lobby local and National Government has been successful thus far. It gives hope to those who battle for their local town or village that perseverance is rewarded.

Lets hope that whilst the sheep on our local fields did not escape the waters in 2008, the future for all of us will be more secure in the future, whatever the weather might throw at us.

Dualling the A1 - My Lords, please get your facts right

noreply@blogger.com (Anne-Marie) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:12:00 +0000

On Monday, in the House of Lords, a question was asked by Lord Walton of Detchant about when the Government was going to get round to dualling the A1 to the Scottish Border. The man charged with replying was the Earl Attlee, the Government's spokesman on transport in the Lords.

Perhaps it is my own failing for not having made contact with him myself before now, but I was horrified by his reply to Lord Detchant, which basically said that there was a perfectly good road from Newcastle along the A69 to Carlisle and north into Scotland that way, so what was all the fuss about and no, the Government weren't planning on dualling it.

Well not only is this a shocking dismissal of the North East as a region, a key player in the future profitability of UK plc, the only region with a positive balance of trade, exports up each quarter. But it also showed up the attitude of civil servants in the Department for Transport who have sidelined Transport Infrastructure investment in the North East to the point where the south east received £2,731 per head, but the North East only £5 per head (Data from IPPR North) last year.

It is necessary for our government not only to talk about rebalancing the economy across the country, but also to enact that worthy ideal by getting civil servants to follow through on projects which will actually help to do that. HS2 (a huge investment over 20 years) will help reach those central towns of Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester - but contrary to popular belief in London, there is a whole further stretch of England North of Leeds through Teesside, Tyne & Wear, Cumbria & Northumberland which have enormous potential but have been starved of critical infrastructure.

I have invited Lord Attlee to come to the North East and see and hear for himself just what its all about, this "dualling the A1" thing. I have policemen lining up to offer him a guided tour of the route in question, I have campaigners who have lost loved ones clamouring to talk to him directly, and I have countless businesses willing to explain to him exactly what this investment COULD do for the economy of UK plc and rebalancing the nation's dependence away from the South East and into Northern manufacturing and new private sector service industries.

A Voice of Reason from the man who keeps our lights on

noreply@blogger.com (Anne-Marie) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:05:00 +0000

George Wood, the retired head of Technical and Economics, Balancing Services, at the National Grid has written a brilliant piece about why the Government's obsession with inefficient wind turbines is madness. Its so sensible I wanted to share it with you. He writes:

"This crazy dash for development of inefficient wind-turbines and other renewables both in Scotland and England and Wales requires the upgrade of National Grid £17.6-billion and Scottish Power £7.6-billion plus interconnectors by undersea cables to many countries in Europe.

We must looking at transmission and distribution upgrades in total of over £40-billion pounds to deliver energy that is intermittent and requires the equivalent capacity to operate as regulating and standby reserves.

The intermittency is causing very efficient gas-turbine generators to operate more frequently at reduced outputs thereby lowering their load factors and decreasing their overall operating efficiencies causing more carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.

The transmission losses of the network must be another significant factor, of the order 10% to 15% between Scotland and England. We are heating up our atmosphere by these transmission losses and surely this is additive to global warming, plus the manufacturing and construction carbon footprints of these new transmission connections. These effects should all be loaded against the wind turbines and other renewables because they are so very remote.

On top of this the off-shore wind turbines receive 12p/kWh subsidies and on-shore currently 6p/kWh. Additionally to this, the balancing costs caused by the necessary standby and operating reserves operations (on conventional generators) are increasing.

All of these increased carbon emissions and cost increases should be factored against the renewable generation developments because they are causing these changes.
It is very unlikely that there will be any beneficial reduction in carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the government induced ‘so-termed’ renewable energy developments.

The total increased costs must be in the order of £100-billion or more which amounts to £3,300 per household which will relate to an increase in electricity bills of £330 per household per year ad infinitum. I have offered Chris Huhne and DECC to set up a team to honestly and rigorously evaluate all of these pollutant effects and cost differentials but they have declined even to answer me.

This resultant cost increase will be devastating for the end consumers for what appears to be no overall reduction in green-house gases. On top of this we will all be encouraged/forced to accept the roll-out of smart electricity meters at a DECC quoted cost of £11.1-billion which in the final costings is likely to be twice this that would cost at least £34 per household per year ad infinitum. Why are we doing this?

The developments of shale gas extraction off our shores and new efficient gas-turbine power station implementations would in reality reduce carbon dioxide emissions by a greater extent and we would not require these exhorbitant transmission infrastructure costs.

I simply do not understand this madness, its as though there has been a brain disconnect by our politicians not asking if there are any real carbon dioxide reduction savings from the deployment of vast swathes of wind turbines destroying our beautiful landscapes and seascapes.

If Chris Huhne, as the LibDem's voice on energy in Government, refuses to listen to the wisdom of such as George Wood, is it time to rise up against his Department's intrangigence?

The Battle Continues..

noreply@blogger.com (Anne-Marie) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 10:15:00 +0000

Whilst London newspapers run stories about the potential charges to be brought or not against Chris Huhne, the coalition's Secretary of State for energy & Climate Change,those of us who are battling to protect rural Northumberland from the invasion of investment companies' building of giant industrial turbines continue to make tiny steps towards a clearer and fairer renewables agenda for the whole of our country. It seems that there are more and more MPs in Parliament who are starting to understand just how the present energy policy of subsidising onshore wind is affecting their constituents weekly budget.

The first wind turbine battle which I was involved in was against the proposed turbines just north of Alnwick, on Wandylaw, some five years ago now. Despite a huge campaign from local people, opposition from councillors at, and rejection by, Alnwick District Council, the application went to appeal and the Secretary of State at the time, Hazel Blears, overturned the decision and approved the scheme, subject to some work to be done on removing the threat to RAF flight training and radar impacts. It seems that this has now been achieved and the bulldozers are rolling in over untouched rural countryside in the months ahead.

Those of us who have been campaigning for many years against inappropriately sited giant wind turbines, know that this is at best an inefficient form of green energy which no businessman would invest in without Government funding, and at worst a destructive industry which destroys precious landscapes, and blights the lives of those families who have to live near them. The cost of the Government subsidy ends up on the bills of all electricity users, meaning that the poorest families in Britain are paying for a few investors to grow rich on the back of their rising bills. And all this for a technology that is so unpredictable, the National Grid cannot rely upon it for energy and therefore continues to demand coal or nuclear powered energy which is reliable and controllable.

Last winter for instance, when the temperature hardly rose above freezing for weeks at a time, there was almost no wind. And in the last few months, where there have been good windy days & nights as far as the turbine operators are concerned, the Grid has been unable to take on that power because there was too much at once. What happened? The Grid has to pay the turbine owners a fee to STOP THEM from generating power at a rate of up to 10 times what it would normally pay for electricity. Ludicrous and costing those least able to afford it the most.

We shall continue to campaign and raise awareness at the highest levels of just how damaging, for health and wealth, these uneconomic monsters are. There are other technologies which can be relied upon to generate regular power, such as offshore turbines and solar power, to name but two. If you would like to help us with our campaigns in Northumberland, please contact me on anne-marie@dualthea1.com.

The New Year Brings New Challenges

noreply@blogger.com (Anne-Marie) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:26:00 +0000

A new year always brings new challenges. It offers a new start – a determination to diet, giving up smoking or taking up an impossibly difficult new activity! New Year draws a line in the sand, one that many relish for the chance to start afresh.

Last week I watched a screening of the Iron Lady & realised that what any New Year never brings is an excuse to avoid hard work if we want to take on those new challenges. Love her or hate her, Lady Thatcher never shied away from doing what she thought was right, doing it with all her heart & soul, and to the very best of her ability and judgement.

Watching this extraordinary (in good & bad ways) film made me pause for a moment to catch up on what we have achieved in our campaigns in 2011, and think about where we want to go in the coming year.

In so many ways 2011 was not the easiest of years. Internationally we had to send troops to help Libya, we have faced (and continue to face) the Euro crisis and we are battling to find effective ways to get the UK back onto a financially even keel. I lost my 35 year old beloved cousin to cancer, and have struggled to help family members overcome various illnesses. But my kids bring me joy and pride every day, as they grow into passionate young adults.

2012 brings new horizons and possibilities: Boris's re-election in May if we all campaign really hard for him, The Golden Jubilee in June, the Olympics in August, government reforms to transform the way we go about our daily lives, and the year that my son goes to secondary school! When did I get to be the mother of a teenager?

Locally 2011 proved to be a good campaigning year. Northumberland is one of the most beautiful places in the world,but its topography has made it the subject of seemingly endless wind farm applications. These industrial monsters are inefficient, uneconomic and destroyers of our unique unspoilt landscapes. But 2011 brought a Big Society response to these (mostly foreign) investor applications looking to guarantee themselves 25 year cash cows on the back of trashing our landscape. Applications at Elsdon, Wingates, Belford, Whittingham and the rural countryside around Morpeth have been met with rising voices of dissent from local people. We can be proud of our small communities, of individuals willing to give up their precious family time to lead groups which will present the case against industrialisation of our countryside for no meaningful benefit.

These battles have not been easy – it required a collective and hard working approach but we are ready to tackle any application that threatens Northumberland's future or the long-term health of its small villages, their residents & wildlife.

I promise that as we go into 2012 I will continue do all I can to change Government policy for onshore wind turbines. This cash cow for investors leaves our poorest citizens across the country picking up the bill in electricity price hikes.

Many of our rural population feel alienated and unconnected to the fast-moving urban world. It is for this reason that I know that getting superfast rural broadband is so important in the next year. In 2011 I met with a huge number of people, including Jeremy Hunt (the Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport in charge of broadband roll-out), and we gathered substantial survey results on local views. Getting effective fast broadband is vital - it allows businesses to thrive, children to work online and everyone to live the life that 2012 can offer. I will be continuing to push for 100% cover across the county as our Council starts to roll out their plans. I don’t just think this as important, it is imperative.

As 2011 came to an end I looked back and saw too many serious and fatal accidents on our stretch of the A1. This is a dangerous road, both in safety terms, and to our future of our region. This stretch of farm track is preventing us from reaching our economic potential. In 2011 I made the case to Ministers, and brought the new Secretary of State for Transport Justine Greening (photo) up to Northumberland to see for herself how shocking a state our road is in. As a result of our campaigning, 2012 will bring the opportunity for detailed discussions with civil servants to progress the business case review we need to be prepared for funding when it is available.

There is no shortage of campaigning to be done in 2012, and I hope that we shall be able to look back and see real progress in these key infrastructure issues by this time next year.

What Has This Coalition Done for Us?

noreply@blogger.com (Anne-Marie) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:24:00 +0000

I'm asked regularly by those who are not natural supporters of the Conservatives "What has the Coalition done for us?" As we all battle through these tough financial times with the uncertainties which come with EU financial chaos & economic slowdowns, the Coalition is continuing to make real changes to the UK through strong leadership. I thought I would try to answer this question to help those who ask me what has been done. This is pretty impressive list of achievements.

Top achievements in 2011:

1. Steering Britain through the global debt storm.
The Government’s credible deficit reduction plan has ensured UK market interest rates on government debt have fallen to record lows and below Germany’s for the first time in years. Our country is a safe haven in the sovereign debt storm, keeping interest rates low for businesses, homeowners and families.

2. Cutting income tax for 25 million people.
On top of the rise in the personal allowance from April this year, the personal allowance for under 65s will increase by a further £630 to £8,105 in 2012-13. The combined impact of this increase and the increase announced at last year’s Budget, will benefit 25 million individuals by up to £326 a year in cash terms and means that a total of 1.1 million people will be lifted out of income tax altogether (HM Treasury, Budget 2011, 23 March 2011).

3. Freezing Council tax for the second year running.
Following the council tax freeze in 2011-12, the Government will provide one-off funding to local authorities to help them freeze council tax again in 2012-13 (HM Treasury, Press Release, 3 October 2011).

4. Biggest increase in the State Pension since 1948.
In April 2011, the Government introduced its triple lock which ensures that State Pensions will be uprated by earnings, prices or 2.5 per cent – whichever is highest. This means that from April next year, the basic state pension will rise by £5.30 per week – the biggest cash rise since 1948.

5. Cutting fuel duty, saving 10p per litre compared to Labour.
We are cancelling the planned 3p duty increase for January and ensuring fuel duty from August 2012 will be only 3p higher than it is now. Together with the cut in fuel duty at the last Budget and the scrapping of Labour’s fuel duty escalator, this means that from April 2011 fuel duty will be 10p per litre lower than it would have been under Labour (HM Treasury, Autumn Statement, 29 November 2011).

6. Introducing a permanent levy on the banks.
On 1 January 2011 the Government imposed a levy on the balance sheets of UK banks and building societies, and to the UK operations of banks from abroad. It is expected to raise £10 billion over the lifetime of this parliament, raising £2.5 billion a year – more than Labour’s one-off bonus tax (HM Treasury, Press Release, 1 January 2011;March Budget, 23 March 2011).

7. Getting credit flowing to small businesses and creating Enterprise Zones.
At the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced the Government’s credit easing policy to get £20 billion of cheaper funding to small businesses. The Government’s Merlin agreement with the banks will increase bank lending to small businesses by 15 per cent this year (HM Treasury, Autumn Statement, 29 November 2011). The Government has also introduced 24 new Enterprise Zones across the country, including in areas affected by potential job losses at BAE which will benefit from up to 100 per cent business rate discount, simplified planning regulations, new superfast broadband, allowing business rates growth to be retained by the local authority and reinvested in the local area, and the potential to use enhanced capital allowances with a strong focus on manufacturing.

8. More doctors, fewer managers, less bureaucracy.
Since the General Election, there are now 3,500 more doctors and 5,500 fewer managers working in the NHS (NHS Information Centre, Provisional Monthly NHS Hospital and Community Health Service Workforce Statistics in England, 22 November 2011). We are cutting NHS bureaucracy by £4.5 billion over the course of this Parliament and reinvesting every penny into frontline patient services (Department of Health, Health Bill Impact Assessment, 8 September 2011).

9. Better access to cancer drugs.
We have introduced a £200 million per year Cancer Drugs Fund which has already given over 5,000 patients access to the life-extending cancer drugs they need (Department of Health, Press Release, 27 October 2010).

10. Capping Housing Benefit.
We have taken steps to end Labour’s something for nothing culture by capping Housing Benefit from April this year. This stops the abuse under Labour where one family alone could get over £100,000 in Housing Benefit to live in areas that the hardworking families paying these bills could not afford themselves (HM Treasury, June Budget 2010).

11. Cutting billions in Whitehall waste.
In 2010-11 we cut £3.75 billion of central government waste - £550 million more than expected - including reducing spending on consultancy; on temporary staff; on marketing and advertising; on IT projects; on renting property; on major projects; and by renegotiating contracts with key suppliers (Cabinet Office, Press Release, 1 August 2011).

12. Bringing back the weekly bin collection.
A £250 million fund is being provided to help support councils deliver a weekly collection of household waste and enable councils to invest in schemes and projects that will benefit the environment (DCLG, Press Release, 30 September 2011).

13. The largest ever increase in the Child Tax Credit.
In April this year the Child Tax Credit increased by £225 – the largest increase ever. Next April it will go up by 5.2 per cent, a further increase of £135 (HM Treasury, Autumn Statement, 29 November 2011).

14. New directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners.
The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act creates directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners. These will ensure that the police are held to account
democratically at the ballot box, not bureaucratically by Whitehall. The taxpayer
will see better value for money as Commissioners, responsible for precept, will
focus relentlessly on driving up efficiency and shedding bureaucracy. Commissioners will reinforce the police’s link to the people they serve without interfering with their operational independence.

15. Many more good school places.
The first ever Free Schools – 24 of them – opened just 16 months after we came to power and by December more than a thousand schools had become Academies (DfE, Press Releases, 28 August 2011 and 4 October 2011).

16. Tough new powers on school discipline.
The Education Act, which received Royal Assent in November 2011, will help teachers raise standards and gives them new legal powers to root out poor behaviour. This includes a power for schools to search pupils without consent for any dangerous or banned items and the removal of restrictions that prevent schools from issuing detentions to pupils without providing 24 hours notice (DfE Press Release, 15 November 2011).

17. New Housing programme to get people onto the ladder and get Britain building.
In November 2011, the Government launched its ambitious Housing Strategy to break the cycle in which the lenders won’t lend, the builders can’t build and the buyers can’t buy. This will allow those hard-working families who play by the rules to own a decent home of their own. The Strategy will receive £400 million of funding and will target those schemes that have stalled through lack of development finance. This will help to unlock the construction of 16,000 homes and support up to 32,000 jobs (DCLG Press Release, 21 November 2011).

18. Standing up for Britain in Europe.
The Prime Minister was clear before the EU summit on 8-9 December that he would protect the national interest. He said we could only agree a new treaty if certain modest, reasonable and relevant safeguards were obtained. We couldn’t get those safeguards. A treaty within a treaty without safeguards wasn’t right for Britain, so we said no.

19. Introduced an EU Referendum Lock.
Our European Union Act ensures that in future the British people will have their say on any proposed transfer of powers from the UK to the EU. If in the future a change to the EU treaties that moves powers or areas of policy from the UK to the EU is proposed, the Government will have to get the British people’s consent in a national referendum before it can be agreed.

20. Leading international efforts to support the Libyan people in their hour of
need, preventing the massacre of thousands of innocent civilians by Colonel
Gaddafi and his troops and supporting their wish to elect their own, democratic
government (FCO Website).

I hope that this impressive summary gives a clear picture of the hard work and strong leadership which David Cameron and the coalition are giving for our country through these hard times.

Energy Summits

noreply@blogger.com (Anne-Marie) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:51:00 +0000

Energy Summit

I welcome calls for more action from the Government's Energy Summit yesterday. It feels like a small step towards some radical change in the energy market. The energy summit should provide consumers with some relief before the winter sets in, with many suppliers pledging to freeze prices and offer additional help.All the major suppliers attended the energy summit, along with consumer groups such as Which?, government ministers including the Prime Minister, and the regulator, Ofgem.

There are several strands to getting our energy systems working better and cost effectively for everyone:
1. to make energy more affordable. We need to tackle confusing and unfair energy tariffs and find out what complicated energy stories are happening to real people across the UK. This includes ensuring that people are not forced into direct debit payment methods which can be more expensive for consumers, as they are based on estimates.

2. Remind people about how to keep their bills down. The government has launched a campaign to encourage people to 'Check, switch and insulate to save' – offering help and advice that could help them lower their energy bills in time for winter.

3. Ensure that Warm Front grants reach those most in need of wall cavity insulation or new efficient boilers installed to reduce bills.

I have been tackling the Warm Front funding for several years, and whilst it is an excellent scheme, I remain unconvinced as to whether it is really reaching many of those in the North East, and particularly in rural areas, where dependence on oil has seen dramatic rises in fuel poverty in the last 2 years.

The Green Deal which the Department for Energy & Climate Change is rolling out will start to reverse years of wasted opportunity to create fuel & heat-efficient homes. The Government are talking about reaching all 26 million homes in the country, which would be excellent. Making the homes of those least able to cope with the financial pressures more sustainable through lower bills has to be the starting point. I will be watching for the detail from DECC in the weeks ahead. Another winter with no prospect of lower bills is going to leave many of those in rural Northumberland on fixed incomes with the impossible and unacceptable choice of whether to eat or heat.

Broadband 4 Northumberland

noreply@blogger.com (Anne-Marie) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 12:29:00 +0000

The weather has definitely turned, and autumn is upon us. According to forecasters, by mid-November we will be deep in snow. Northumberland will take it all in its stride. Our natural optimism and resilience see us through most things.

But we are still being left behind in so many ways - in transport infrastructure investment, in technology investment, in supportive policies to encourage our great NE entrepreneurial spirit, even in our share of funding per child in our schools. So I have been continuing to lobby on all these fronts on behalf of Northumbrians.

The latest campaign is now being launched.... To help secure government funding for investment in broadband infrastructure.
Our website for the campaign is now up and running here and we are asking as many as possible, young and old, businesses and individuals, schools, clubs, homeworkers, to complete the survey. We have a short timescale in which to gather the views and needs of as many of our 270,000 population as possible. Armed with real messages we will prove to government just how vital investing in broadband is to ensure the rural Northumberland the world adores is not left behind in the technology revolution.

The Website above is hyperlinked; but its full address is www.broadband4northumberland.com

10 years since the terrorist attacks

noreply@blogger.com (Anne-Marie) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 17:11:00 +0000

There is so much discussion on the radio, TV and in all the papers about the tenth anniversary of the atrocities of 9/11. It seems a long time ago in some respects, and just like yesterday in others. My son was just two years old at the time, and as I sat glued to the TV as the repeating CNN news reel showed the plane flying into the tower block over and over again, I was unaware that my son was watching these horrific images too. The following morning I found this two year old toddler building great big towers out of building blocks, and ramming them with his little toy aeroplane, a toy he had never played with until that moment. I will never believe anyone who tells me that children are not affected by the images they see through screens.

Amidst the remembrance, its been a busy week of campaigning in Northumberland, with the start of the next phase of my Dual The A1 Campaign now that I have received confirmation from the Department for Transport about the areas we need to gather evidence. You can sign the e-petition to support the campaign here. We will also be keeping the Dual the A1 website updated as we progress with the next stage.

I have been talking with Elsdon residents about a new wind factory application trying to destroy pristine and untouched rural moorland landscapes.
It feels like there is an interminable line of developers seeking to benefit from the Government subsidy on these onshore giant turbine factories, who are queuing up to trash Northumbrian landscapes, because of a "wind" map drawn up several years ago, which targetted low population density areas as "good wind" sites. Those of us who believe that this rush to wind energy is no more than a cash cow for businessmen building their pension pots, or energy companies just trying to meet EU targets, are spending our time battling to ensure that local decision makers have all the facts before determining the future of our countryside. I wonder, is the Secretary of State for Energy, Mr Chris Huhne MP, pushing to encourage giant onshore wind turbines in his part of beautiful Hampshire? I am sure that the wind must blow as well in the southern reaches of England as in the most North Easterly corner of the same country? Would this ancient battle site with the Winters Gibbet standing tall in open skies be the right place to grow 127 metre wind turbines? No-one would consider putting a power station or factory on this site, and the turbine is nothing less than a wind factory.

We are also starting to work on the matter of getting superfast broadband to every corner of Northumberland, as the Government has now committed £7 million towards our infrastructure. I had a meeting at County Hall this week with the team charged with submitting the bid to BDUK, and I will be working with local communities in the weeks ahead to find out who has and who has NOT got any broadband, and how business, education and personal use would be affected by the arrival of this technology. If we dont get it soon, we will be left behind in too many arenas to name. This is not an option, so gathering people's views and experiences is vital. I will be meeting with BDUK civil servants this week to discuss the details of what they need from us to help them support Northumberland County Council's bid at the end of the year.

Energy Battles Heating Up.

noreply@blogger.com (Anne-Marie) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 11:18:00 +0000

I was encouraged to read over the weekend that No.10's Policy Unit has gained a new voice of reason on the subject of our energy supply, and the benefits or otherwise of certain renewables. A wider view with some critique is at last being presented to the Prime Minister about some of the policy issues being pushed by the Department of Energy & climate Change (DECC), led by Chris Huhne.

I have been battling with this Department since the general election to try and get meetings to speak with them about wind farms and the Warm Front Scheme. These two issues go hand in hand, since if Mr Huhne is determined to put up wind turbines across the country, then households will need to find ways to hold down their rapidly rising energy bills. The energy companies buying the wind turbine energy (erratic and unproductive as it is), are putting up their prices to consumers as a result at a fierce rate.

For those many, and growing number of, families already in fuel poverty (over 10% of income spent on fuel costs) there is the Warm Front Scheme - an excellent scheme which provides grants to do loft insulation & put in modern, cost-effective boilers. This would be great if more people could access the scheme, but those in housing association homes and many private residents cannot take on the extra charges often being incurred. The scheme is not working as well as it should be, and will leave far too many families in growing fuel poverty. I am continuing to battle with the department to find ways to resolve this serious issue, which I fear will become critical if we get another cold winter.

I hope that the new man at No.10 will be able to get through the rose tinted glasses which Chris Huhne has forced upon previously sensible politicians, and clear a way for the voices of those who believe that onshore wind turbines are not the answer to all our prayers - they are expensive, damaging to rural landscapes and communities, and generate little effective power when it is needed.

In the meantime, a new wind factory threat is looming on the horizon for North Northumberland, with the small, isolated village of Elsdon under fire from developers who view the wind turbine bubble as an opportunity to take government subsidy for the benefit of pension fund investment. Elsdon is on the edge of the National Park, and has a key historic monument in the Winters Gibbet right next to the proposed site for these turbine monstrosities.

I am certain that this cannot be what Mr Cameron intended. We must find ways to get through to our political leaders that DECC is failing to support those most affected and struggling, as a result of the wind turbine gold rush.

Back to the blogosphere

noreply@blogger.com (Anne-Marie) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 18:03:00 +0000

The last six months have been jam-packed with the referendum for the Alternative Vote for which I was co-ordinating the North East's NO campaign, along with more Dual The A1 campaigning and for the last few weeks, the summer holidays with my husband suffering from Bells Palsy.

I am pleased to report that (in this order) John is just about recovered, which is fantastic, we won the NO2AV campaign in the North East with the highest regional NO result in the country at 72%, and the Dual the A1 Campaign has achieved its first target of getting the A1 from Morpeth to the Scottish Border reclassified to the National Road Network. So despite setbacks - just life's normal pattern I suppose - progress on these fronts has been excellent. And now the autumn seems to be appearing, the beech tree in my garden is turning yellow, and its not even September.

The coming weeks are going to bring new and old campaign issues to the fore once again - the next stage of the Dual The A1 Campaign is going to be getting underway, I will be reaching out to constituents & local businesses about broadband, and my post bag continues to bring in issues on a wide variety of concerns, from abortion to rent arrears.

Please do keep in touch through Facebook or Twitter (@annietrev) and keep me posted on any issues or events taking place near you.

Solving our problems - is it this easy?

noreply@blogger.com (Anne-Marie) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 19:33:00 +0000

I've been away with my children for half-term, which was a lovely break from the 24/7 political world. Mind you, earthquakes in NZ and Gadaffi chaos in Libya makes it through on the Italian radios as well as on UK media, so we were not completely cut off from the continuing dramatic events taking place at the moment.

Whilst working my way through all those e-mails I had not looked at for a week, one had me sit up in my chair and think "would that really work?". So tell me what you think of this suggestion from a frustrated, middle-aged UK taxpayer.

Our suggestion for fixing Britain's economy.

Instead of giving billions of pounds to banks that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan. You can call it the Patriotic Retirement Plan:

There are about 10 million people over 50 in the work force. Pay them £1 million each severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:

1) They MUST retire. Ten million job openings - Unemployment fixed

2) They MUST buy a new British car. Ten million cars ordered - Car Industry fixed

3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage. Housing Crisis fixed

4) They MUST send their kids to school/college/university. Crime rate fixed

5) They MUST buy £100 WORTH of alcohol/tobacco a week. There's your money back in duty & tax

6) Instead of stuffing around with the carbon emissions trading scheme that makes us pay for the major polluters, tell the greedy so and so's to reduce their pollution emissions by 75% within 5 years or we shut them down. It can't get any easier than that!

Yours sincerely,

The Taxpayer.

NO2AV campaigning

noreply@blogger.com (Anne-Marie) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 00:06:00 +0000

Where has the last month gone? It seems like only a few days ago that we were in Oldham campaigning with Kashif Ali. Since then my time seemsto have been taken up with a variety of campaigning issues, alongside professional client work for tax matters.. The dreaded 31st january deadline for paying our taxes to the Treasury. Is it any less painful to hand over hard earned money to the taxman now that he is a Conservative? Not really!

Beadnell Harbour:
The Beadnell issue of the long term future of fhe Harbour is rumbling on. I have been meeting with more residents who have concerns about the risks to the harbour of a planning application in process right now. It is heartening to see Big Society attitudes alive and kicking in our small community on the coast. For anyone who says they dont understand David Cameron's Big Society, come to northumberland and see the community spirit which IS the heart of the way DC wants to see our country work. Less central government, more local responsibility and practical leadership on the ground.

NO2AV Campaign:
I'm working with the national No2AV campaign as the north east regional co-ordinator (www.no2av.org). We have just a few weeks to get information out to the voters who will be responaible for potentially altering our electoral system for ever on 5th May. We have thousands of leaflets to get out across Durham, Northumberland, Newcastle, Sunderland and Teesside.

I believe that voting YES would lead to weaker governments which are led by minority parties acting as kingmakers. Coalitions make decisions based on smoked filled room meetings, not on the manifestos they fought on as individual parties. It is the voter who loses out most with this system.

Amble Braid:
I have been approached by residents from Amble who have concerns about the impact of the proposed supermarket plans on the village. It is too easy to avoid getting involved with local matters because someone will throw at me "you've taken sides". That is never the case, but I will always be there to listen to the concerns of any group of residents and help them to be heard by those whose role it is to make decisions on local matters. No-one should feel left out in the cold and without a voice.

Broadband for all?
The prospect of broadband becoming available to every household is a little bit closer. BDUK, the government's new body charged with ensuring that every household in Britain should have access to at least 2mB is now in existence. I have been in discussions with potential providers, consultants and many local rural communities about how this might actually roll out for Northumberland. I am hoping to meet with the new staff brought in to our County Council who are charged with putting out tenders for the work which will be needed.

I want to ensure that we get a cost-effective plan which ensures every rural community gets its broadband. We must not allow the urban areas to skew the data and pretend that almost everywhere by population is adequate. Each and every household is entitled to broadband and we must keep up the pressure until we get it.

Local constituency problems continue to cross my desk. No two issues are the same, but many are related to housing stock or lack thereof. Families struggling to find larger housing, elderly wanting to move to smaller and more urban base for access to services. The casework continues.

Old & Sad By-Election

noreply@blogger.com (Anne-Marie) — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 10:56:00 +0000

Driving to the Oldham by-election on Thursday, the M62 was submerged by driving rain and an extraordinary rainbow. Was it a sign, or just encouragement to go and fight for the Conservative Cause, perhaps knowing that the challenge we faced was too difficult? On the upside, Kashif Ali is a local candidate, a lawyer, well educated and passionate about his patch of our great country. Standing up for it, wanting to represent all of the people who live there,to try and give them the voice that they need to suceed. The rainbow was inspirational and it reminded me that nature is still in charge, and in the UK we are blessed with a temperate climate. But it's not weather or climate change which bothered people on the doorstep.

The issues were about jobs, about the cost of the weekly shop, and whether the local school will teach their kids what they need to know. I was at Durham University thsi week, talking to the Vice Chancellor about the huge surge in admissions before the tuition fees go up in 2012. I was also talking to a young professor who has a toddler for whom he is seeking the right first school, and he has to look at league-table positions to try to make the right decision. It is as difficult trying to make the right choice for your 3 year old's educational start in life as it is for an 18 year old wondering whether to take up a University education. Is a degree worth having if it leaves a young person with debt for 30 years?

Older voters were concerned that the Conservative Party has parked issues on Europe under pressure from the Lib Dems. But interestingly, many of those were therefore going to vote Lib Dem instead. They told me over and over again that if their vote had made no difference to national policy decisions, they would use their vote for a local change. Both Conservatives and Lib Dems seemed to be in agreement that the local Labour party was communist in its views and they should use their votes tactically to try and get rid of them.

In Oldham the challenge was to get people to use their vote - bi-elections are notorious for low turnout. I believe wholeheartedly that if you don't use your vote you are not entitled to whinge about what goes on in Government. And I was surprised to find on the doorstep that it looked like 1 in 2 voters really were going to go out and be heard. The stats proved me right on that instinct, with a 48% turnout in the end - an excellent turnout for a by-election. Perhaps we are managing to engage with voters once again and seeing them voice their views more firmly. This is a encouraging sign, even if in this instance, it was not in favour of the Conservative Candidate.

As I drove home from Oldham East & Saddleworth (unkindly shortened to Old & Sad by journalists) my journey took me over the spectacular rugged landscape of the moors,towering above the old mill town still looking for a new identity. The adrenaline and excitement of election day never fails to affect me. Canvassing and knocking up the voters on election day, encouraging people to vote, and waiting to see who they voted for. In the end, it seems that many Conservatives did do as they had told me they would, and voted Lib Dem to try and get rid of Labour. But at the other end of the Lib Dem group, those left wing LibDems who are disillusioned by Clegg's coalition choices have reverted to Labour. The Labour Candidate, Debbie Abrahams, won the day and the seat. I met her briefly in a Saddleworth leafy suburb on election day, and I have no doubt she will be a loyal voice to her constituents. I just hope that she can help direct her party leadership to actually set out their view on how to fix the financial chaos left behind by Gordon Brown. Her new constituents are struggling with rising prices for everyday items, lack of housing for their families and the chance of jobs for their kids when they leave school.

Its the Conservatives driving forward a radical agenda for change which will restore our financial stability as a nation so that we can all take up the challenge of being part of the future succes of UK plc.

A New Year and Much to Do

noreply@blogger.com (Anne-Marie) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 23:20:00 +0000

Christmas and New Year bring with them innumerable opportunities for people to tell jokes, most of them un-funny, many rude and told at inappopriate times with the wrong audience! However, just occasionally a story is recounted which is both funny and thought-provoking. Just such reached me this yuletide season, and it goes like this:

I asked a friend's daughter what she wanted to be when she grows up. She said she wanted to be Prime Minister some day.

Both her parents, Labour supporters, were standing there, so I asked her, "If you were Prime Minister what would be the first thing you would do?" She replied, "I'd give food and houses to all the homeless people." Her parents beamed, and said, "Welcome to the Labour Party!" "Wow...what a worthy goal!" I told her.

I continued, "But you don't have to wait until you're Prime Minister to do that. You can come over to my house, mow the lawn, pull up weeds, sweep my drive and I'll pay you £25. Then I'll take you over to the shop where the homeless bloke sits outside. You can give him the £25 to use toward food."

She thought that over for a few seconds, then she looked me straight in the eye and asked, "Why doesn't the homeless bloke come over and do the work and you can just pay him the £25?" I smiled and said, "Welcome to the Conservative Party." Her parents still aren't speaking to me...........

Well it seems that our Prime Minister heard this one too over Christmas, as he has today launched what The Sun is calling "Maggie's Enterprise Allowances". This nickname will not endear itself to some, but the project is exactly what is needed to help those with a bright idea and a bit of get-up-and-go to take charge of their futures by trying to start up a small business.

There will initially be funding for 40,000 people who have been unemployed for six months to be offered mentoring and £2,000 of financial assistance to help turn an idea into the reality of a new small business. This alongside the 75,000 new apprenticeships to be funded in this Parliament are practical, effective and direct ways to help those young people wanting to start a business or trade to actually do it.

There is a lot more that still needs to be done to help our economy to thrive once again. We need the work started by Lord Young on reducing the burdens of bureaucracy on businesses, big and small, and the excessive Health & Safety burdens which add no tangible value to growth, rolled out and actually implemented in legislative reduction.

At present much of these legislative demands all but stop entrepreneurs and business leaders making the best use of their assets to generate growth, so vital if tax receipts are to go up and help George Osborne bring down the gigantic deficit and debt burden which Gordon Brown so recklessly left this country under.

So its just the start of 2011, but so far I'm pleased to hear David Cameron offering real, practical steps to help those who want to be part of the recovery of our country, helping to put the Great back into Britain.

Snow-vember in Northumberland.

noreply@blogger.com (Anne-Marie) — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 20:29:00 +0000

My attention was caught today by a fascinating article (below) about the ever-present issue of climate change. As a sceptic by nature, and as someone presently surrounded by nearly 2 foot of drifting snow outside my door, I am hearing all too clearly the weathermen on the radio telling me that this is the coldest November on record, that temperatures in the North East are colder than at the North Pole, and that this "cold snap" is due to last for a fortnight.

With all these thoughts at the front of my mind, this article by Research Professor Bob Carter, from James Cook University (Queensland), palaeontologist, stratigrapher, marine geologist and environmental scientist, has captured my interest.

"An alternative view has emerged regarding the most cost-effective way in which to deal with the undoubted hazards of climate change. This view points towards setting a policy of preparation for, and adaptation to, change as it occurs, which is distinctly different from the emphasis given by most western parliaments to the mitigation of global warming by curbing carbon dioxide emissions. Ultimately, the rationale for choosing between policies of mitigation or adaptation must lie with an analysis of the underlying scientific evidence about climate change.

The vigorous public debate over possibly dangerous human-caused global warming is bedevilled by two things. First, an inadequacy of the historical temperature measurements that are used to reconstruct the average global temperature statistic. And second, fuelled by lobbyists and media interests, an unfortunate tribal emotionalism that has arisen between groups of persons who are depicted as either climate “alarmists” or climate “deniers”. In reality, the great majority of scientists fit into neither of these categories, but rather hold balanced and non-extreme views about the complex issue of climate change.

In this context, all competent scientists accept (i) that global climate has always changed, and always will; (ii) that human activities (not just carbon dioxide emissions) definitely affect local climate, and have the potential, summed, to measurably affect global climate; and (iii) that carbon dioxide is a mild greenhouse gas. The true scientific debate, then, is about none of these issues, but rather about the sign and magnitude of any global human effect, and its likely significance when considered in the context of natural climate change.

For many different reasons, which include various types of bias and unaccounted for artefacts, the thermometer record provides only an indicative history of average global temperature (AGT) over the last c.150 years. The 1979-2009 satellite MSU record is our only acceptably accurate estimate of AGT, yet being but 30 years in length it represents just one climate data point. The second most reliable estimate of AGT, collected by radiosondes on weather balloons, extends back to 1958, and the portion that overlaps with the MSU record matches it well. Taken together, these two records indicate that no significant warming has occurred since 1958, though both exhibit a 0.2 deg. C step increase in AGT across the strong 1998 El Nino. In addition, the currently quiet sun, and the lack of warming over the last 10 years or more, indicates that cooling may be the greatest climate hazard over the next few decades.

Climate change takes place over geological time scales of thousands through millions of years, yet unfortunately geological datasets do not provide direct measurements, least of all of AGT. Instead, they comprise local or regional proxy records of climate change of varying quality.

Nonetheless, numerous high quality palaeo-climate records, and especially those from ice cores and deep-sea mud cores, demonstrate that no unusual or untoward changes in climate occurred during the 20th and early 21st century. Despite an estimated spend of more than $100 billion since 1990 looking for a human global temperature signal, assessed against geological reality no compelling empirical evidence yet exists for a measurable, let alone worrisome, human impact on AGT.

A key issue on which all scientists agree is that natural climate-related events and change are real, and exact very real human and environmental costs. These hazards include storms, floods, droughts, bushfires, and temperature steps and longer term cooling or warming trends. It is certain that these natural climate-related events and change will continue, and that from time to time human and environmental damage will be wrought.

Extreme weather events (and their consequences) are natural disasters of similar character to earthquakes, tsunami and volcanic eruptions, in that in our present state of knowledge they can neither be predicted far ahead nor prevented once underway. The matter of dealing with future climate change, therefore, is primarily one of risk appraisal and minimization, and that for natural risks which vary from place to place around the globe.

The difficulties encountered around the world in implementing carbon dioxide trading or taxation partly reflects that such mechanisms are able to be depicted as expensive, disruptive and ineffectual – and that even should warming soon resume, let alone if cooling occurs. Carbon dioxide reduction is therefore neither an adequate national climate policy nor necessarily even a desirable part of one. Climate change as a natural hazard is as much a geological as it is a meteorological issue. Thus it needs to be managed in the same way as other geohazards, i.e., by monitoring for the onset of dangerous events and by having a civil defense response plan to deal with events as and when they happen.

Policymakers need to abandon the illusory goal of “preventing global warming” by reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Instead, dealing with climate reality as it unfolds represents the most prudent, practical and cost-effective solution to the global warming/climate change issue. Such a policy of adaptation is also strongly precautionary against any possibly dangerous, human-caused climate trends that might emerge in future."

Broadband not working for you?

noreply@blogger.com (Anne-Marie) — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 20:07:00 +0000

It was so cold in Northumberland today that the only thing to do was to get out and start delivering leaflets. Either thats the fact that campaigning has gone to my head or that I've had so many constituents complaining about the state of their broadband connection that there is nothing else to do but to get out to all those communities who are struggling to get a decent broadband connection.

So today we were in Rothbury, delivering a leaflet inviting people to join up to the Race to Infinity BT challenge. We had a great response, and lots of people were really pleased to see us and to have the chance to join in and to perhaps make the difference. We need 75% of each community to sign up so that BT will notice us. We're getting there - we've got teams out in Hartburn, Netherwitton, Rothbury and many others. We are hoping to knock on doors in Berwick in the next week or two so hopefully BT will take seriously the complaints that we've been making for some time now, that North Northumberland just doesn't have an adequate decent speed broadband connection for people trying to run small businesses, for kids trying to do their homework and for just doing those daily jobs which the modern world assumes everyone has access to a computer for.

After a very restorative cup of tea, I headed down to county hall where I spent a couple of hours listening to our local Neighborhood Watch teams and the Superintendent for Northumberland talking about our policing, specifically rural crime issues, although fortunately these are not as huge in terms of numbers than town crimes. Issues such as diesel and scrap metal theft and even sheep theft again (which we hadn't seen for some time) and theft of farm equipment, such as quad bikes are still going on. The team was very helpful and talking about the various networking systems in place, through farmwatch and community messaging, and they were talking about how helpful these schemes are at getting to the scene of a crime quickly and being able to follow and catch criminals.

We have a great Police Team, Our Alnwick based chief is one of the most inspiring policemen I have ever met, and if the work that she has done in building community relationships across North Northumberland were recreated across the country I think we would see communities much less anxious about crime and the fear of crime.

---

PLEASE JOIN NORTH NORTHUMBERLAND'S RACE TO INFINITY, HERE or at www.racetoinfinity.bt.com

Happiness!

noreply@blogger.com (Anne-Marie) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 13:13:00 +0000

I was just reading in the leader column of the Times this morning that David Cameron has decided to include a happiness category in the official stats to be recorded across the country on a regular basis. This struck me as a slightly odd statistic to be recording until I thought about it further and realized that this can alter dramatically the dynamic and economic activity within the country. As a girl who supports Newcastle United, I know that on a monday morning, if we've lost our match at the weekend, the economic capacity of workers in Newcastle falls through the floor and you see a workforce dejected and unable to get on with the work the need to do.

Similarly, if Newcastle beat Sunderland, the economic activity is twice as effective, and I imagine in Sunderland that they get the depression. So maybe, David Cameron's idea isn't as odd as it first seemed. Our sole purpose for driving economic prosperity is not merely for us all to have more money in our pockets. It is to ensure the well being of those we seek to represent and it is also therefore going to impact on how we feel about ourselves as individuals, as members of our communities and as part of our National Identity.

The radio has just informed me that Prince William has proposed to Kate and that they are to get married next year and put a smile on my face! If there was a happiness rating after the news-reels today, I bet that it would go through the roof. That kind of news just makes people smile because we are British and because we love our Royal Family in a strange, unexplainable way. They are the rock on which so much of what we all fight for is based on. I am definitely going to be calling for a national day of celebration, so that we can all have parties in our streets or in our villages and raise a glass to them. They are the next generation too and at every level we want the next generation to get out there and stand up for Britain and make sure we are heard in the world.

Remembering....

noreply@blogger.com (Anne-Marie) — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 23:52:00 +0000

Ever since I was a little girl, I have been passionate about Remembrance Sunday. I think the belief in, and respect for, our armed forces comes from my wonderful Granny, whose father was part of the training team for our Spitfire pilots in the Battle of Britain. She had an ancient gramaphone on which she would play military marching bands music of an evening, and I have continued her passion for all of that. The prospect of being able to take my children to see the Royal Tournament in years to come gives me a sense of pride in our troops which is heart-warming.

And so today we will be remembering long lists of names, of soldiers, sailors and airmen, who have given their lives in the service of their country. Their names are read out in villages and towns across the country. In our little village of Netherwitton, the list is the same every year, the names on the war memorial. Thank goodness there have been no more recent additions from the Iraq & Afghan Wars - but there are many places where those old war memorial lists of names have been added to by ongoing conflicts. The thought that some of the lads in our little village might one day join up and go to war, and that - even with modern warfare technology - some might lose their lives, makes it all very real and stomach churning. The loss of young life is somehow incomprehensible.

When I meet up with our troops, often the Air Force men & women from RAF Boulmer, I am conscious that the issues of greatest importance to them are not their body armour, rations, fear of the Taliban. They are most concerned about their families back home whilst they are on duty. Housing, debts, the local school for their kids - that is what worries them - not the terrifying exploits of war which they experience.

The Military Covenant, our unwritten contract between us as citizens and those we ask to protect us from harm and enemies, should ensure that we show the greatest concern for those troops' families. Liam Fox's commitment to restoring that Covenant is of the utmost importance. Whatever cuts and realignments there must be as we redress the nation's finances, we must never allow this Covenant with our troops to be breached.

The Loss of a Friend

noreply@blogger.com (Anne-Marie) — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 23:18:00 +0000

A dear friend of mine died ten days ago, after a short battle with cancer. It was her funeral today, and it took all my strength to try to remember all the joy and laughter she brought to my life, and to stop my tears. Jane was an extraordinary woman, a passionate and devoted mum & wife, a woman still in the prime of her life. My dad died when he was only 41, and people always used to say to me "only the good die young".... perhaps that is the case, perhaps. But it doesn't make it any easier for those of us who have to carry on without those loved ones.

But of course we must. The finality of death reminds me more often than I would like that we do not know how long our lives are going to be, and we must always try to live each day to the full, to love those around us, to do our best at whatever we have been called to, and to try to make a difference. A vicar stood up in a pulpit (he seemed a very long way up and rather frightening I remember) when I was about 8 years old, and declared that if you could not feed 1,000 people, not to do nothing, but to try to feed just one.

Years later this profound statement started to make sense - we do not know how our daily lives will affect others, and it doesn't matter how small our words or actions may sometimes seem, but so often it can be the little things that can make the difference.

In the case of the wonderful Jane, it was the text messages when she'd heard me doing a radio show, or she saw me on the news reels - "well done AM!" or "great pink jacket". I knew she was listening, and that she genuinely cared for me and our causes. And those little moments were of greater support and encouragement to me than all the grand gestures in the world. It was the giggles we would have over the fact that our sons' feet were now bigger than our own... It was the short sandwich moments taken between my meetings - she would change her plans so that we could have a half hour catch up.

A real friend, thinking of me (and so many others) before herself. We shall all struggle on without her - my life will be a little less bright.

Remembering....

noreply@blogger.com (Anne-Marie) — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 23:04:00 +0000