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M.P. For All

Its hard to remember a more exciting time politically, nor a General Election which was harder to predict. In 1997, even I had to admit that the Tories were tired and split, and Mr Blair’s honeymoon (on the back of Ken Clarke’s buoyant economy) rather surprisingly lasted through 2001 and 2005. The polls of course show the Tory lead diminishing slightly in recent months, and with 117 seats required to win an overall majority, we would be the first to admit that we have a pretty big mountain to climb. There’s a great deal of talk of a hung Parliament of one sort or another, which would in my view be the worst possible of all outcomes, producing weak government, and potentially giving disproportionate power to the parties who secured the fewest votes! The count nationally (which has been confirmed for election night) will, for the first time in 20 years, be truly exciting, and justify some good election night parties.

All of that will be against a background of a General Election Budget, which in any normal times would be a “give-away” one, although Mr Darling’s handouts may have to constrained this time because of the historically massive borrowing; its against a background of a continuing war in Afghanistan, and the tragic sight of the Wootton Bassett Repatriations; its against a background of renewed strikes and Union power, the like of which we have not seen for 20 years; and its against a background of general disaffection or apathy with regard to our political system. All of that makes for a toxic political mix, the outcome of which is anything but certain.

13 years of work for this local area convinces me that local people here are not terribly party political.(and nor, I have to admit, am I) They care about their local communities, local services. They are looking for decency, honour, common sense values. All of those things were very much on show at two events I attended this week. The Methodist Ladies Friendship group in Wootton Bassett belied their rather staid sounding title by being extremely lively and interesting in their questioning, which was nearly all about local and ethical type matters. And what a wonderful celebration of the hundredth anniversary of the 1^st Wootton Bassett Scouts Group I attended on Saturday. For 100 years Scout leaders have given willingly of their time and energy to get young people off their sofas, into the fresh air, instilling in them the ancient virtues of hard work, honesty, practicality and good fun. What a great job they have done.

I pride myself not on being the “Conservative MP for North Wilts,” but “the MP for North Wilts”, (who happens to take the Conservative whip in parliament.) I am the MP for all, no matter what their personal political allegiances, or lack of them. And events like these two remind me of it.

Canals, Railways And Motorbikes

I am a great admirer and supporter of those self-help projects which one comes across from time to time. You know the sort of thing – a visionary and dynamic chairman raising funds, inspiring volunteers, overcoming hurdles, making things happen without a whinge, and without a single penny of Government money. The Wilts and Berks canal – which will eventually link the Kennet and Avon through to the Cotswold canals- will take a lot of work and a great deal of voluntarily raised money. It may well take 20 or 50 years. But sooner or later a longboat will chug from Devizes to Abingdon.

I visited the Swindon to Cricklade railway on Friday, and was immensely impressed by all I saw. The bed of the old track is still mainly there, and with a little further push there could easily be a train service from the Gloucester line right through to Cricklade. There is a series of splendid old locomotives and carriages under restoration, or actually working (I drove an old diesel myself – Health and safety would no doubt have something to say about that!) And it’s not a few railway cranks and loco spotters. It’s a thoroughly professional and visionary project which will in the end bring great benefits to local people and the economy. The tourism potential is huge. Imagine catching a steam train from Swindon station to Cricklade (or maybe even Cirencester eventually?), transferring to a narrow boat for the return journey. Pubs and cafes along the way.  It won’t happen easily, but the people I met on Friday strike me as being just the sort who will make it happen sooner or later. And with no help nor money from HMG. Self-help entrepreneurialship at its best.

And what a fantastic example of self-starting, patriotic, devil-may-care, socially wonderful, if unattractive to the politically correct fundraising and tribute-paying was that magnificent ride by at least 15,000 motorbikes from Hullavington through Brinkworth and then of course up Wootton Bassett High Street on Sunday? So many of us are well used to the High Street being packed on the weekly sombre occasions of Repatriations. How great it was to see the huge crowds on a lovely sunny day, celebrating and being happy. Hundreds of people remembering our servicemen, honouring and helping those injured by warfare, paying tribute to the people of Bassett whose simple little ceremonies have for three years now warmed the hearts of the world and of our servicemen. And just having such a lot of fun doing it. The noise was containable, the traffic management absolutely fine. And my feeling from talking to people up and down the High Street that day, and at the Repatriation the previous Thursday, was that the town was strongly supportive of the initiative which will raise £100,000 for the superb charity, Afghan Heroes.

The canal, the railway, the bike ride have a great deal in common. They are organised by enthusiasts, enjoying their own passion but bringing benefits to others in doing it; overcoming substantial obstacles, not least opposition from some quarters. All three things and so many others are symptoms of the strong community spirit which we still enjoy in this area. People getting out and about and doing things to help each other and help the community. And having a good laugh at the same time.

I salute them all.

Voting Responsibilities

There’s a tired old refrain about no-one being interested in/ trusting/ respecting politics/politicians/Parliament/people in authority. And I wholly accept that people are angry and upset with so much in Britain and the World today. Our Broken Society, our broken economy, and our broken politics, all need urgent action, alongside so much else. But I just do not accept that that has led to apathy, cynicism and disillusion. My experience is the opposite. People seem to me to be more involved, interested and aerated about politics than they have been for many years, and my prediction is that we will see a record large turnout at the forthcoming General Election.

Just think of what’s been happening in the last week or so. The Tories’ poll lead has narrowed, which, if nothing else will sharply focus the voters’ minds. Can they afford to waste their vote by abstaining or voting for a minority party? I think not. People are increasingly realising that in this election their vote counts more than ever. I personally may be disappointed at the poll gap narrowing. But I welcome it as a stimulus to electoral excitement and democratic vibrancy.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s evidence to the Chilcott Enquiry was eclipsed by the retired military chiefs being astonishingly public the following day that he was being economical with the truth in saying that he had fully funded recent military adventures. Mr Brown may have missed those stories, since he was at that moment hotfoot to a photo opportunity with said well equipped soldiers in Afghanistan. His announcement of 200 armoured vehicles to replace the Snatch Landrovers was initially welcomed until it was discovered to be a rehash of an ancient announcement of 400 such vehicles.

Simultaneous tragic violence in Baghdad surrounded the elections there, at least leading some of us to wonder whether or not there really is any kind of fragile democracy emerging. Was it really all worthwhile? Will the Afghan experience be better or worse, and why is so much Afghanistan money being exported to the Gulf countries in apparent expectation of a collapse of the corrupt Karsai Government?

At home, questions were being asked, and mud slung about Lord Ashcroft, Lord Paul and Michael White, each of whom made substantial donations to the three main parties. (The third, of course, being a convicted fraudster who gave £2 million to the Liberal Democrats.) The Lord Chancellor is on the mat over whether or not he should have said more about the reasoning behind the re-incarceration of the murderer of Jamie Bulger. Was it right to leave it to the tabloids to leak it? The economy and housing market are failing to match the green shoots of early Spring; our hospitals are, or have been, shut down through MRSA and C difficile; immigration, law and order, education, long-term care. All are fully in the public eye.

Well with all of that and so much more happening in Britain and around the World, and with the crucial British Elections looking uncomfortably close, anyone who I meet on doorsteps who says they will not vote because they can’t be bothered will meet a withering stare if not worse. People around the world are losing their lives to get the vote; and it’s only a generation or so ago that women achieved universal suffrage here. The worlds in a mess; Britain’s a shambles. Lets all start to put it right by taking our voting responsibilities seriously.

Funny Old Business

The pace of the run-up to the General Election, the stress for all concerned, and the possibility of drama increases by the day. Locally, candidates of all parties are in frenetic last-minute planning – drafting leaflets, ordering posters, planning the campaign itself. Interest groups are worrying about whether or not to hold hustings meetings, the Council is worried about postal votes, military electoral registration, and where (and when) to hold the count.

Nationally, what at one time looked like a pretty comfortable lead in the polls for David Cameron’s Conservatives seems to have narrowed to a possible hung parliament, with quite possibly Labour being the largest party. Mr Cameron’s dramatic (and unscripted) 45 minute speech in Brighton last weekend seems to have gone down well in most quarters, and may well lead to a renewed improvement in the polls. It had echoes of Margaret Thatcher’s “You turn if you want to, the lady’s not for turning” speech which, by coincidence was also heard in Brighton. In particular, David set his face against any panicky “lurch to the right” which many on the dinner party circuit enjoin us all to do. “Its all about the EU, immigration, law and order,” they declaim, urging the Tories to go to lengths to knock spots of the Labour Government.

That approach is to ignore the polling realities that in order to form a Government, the Tories have to appeal to a very wide swathe of people, many of whom will not have voted Conservative for a long time, some of whom never. My experience on doorsteps is that they are not at all concerned about the EU and immigration. They are worried about their jobs and the economy; they are worried about their family and the health, education, long-term care and other services they need: and they are worried about ‘Politics’ not just Parliamentary sleaze, but also such things as the relationship between Parliament and Government, voting systems, the role of the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments, the power of the media and so on. The people want radical solutions to the problems in the economy; they want decent services for their families at an affordable tax rate; and they want honesty, far-sightedness and transparency in our political machinery. David Cameron is intent on delivering those things, even if that is to the disappointment of some who would much rather see us take the fight to the enemy on good old battle grounds such as immigration and law and order.

From a personal standpoint, I have always found in the four general elections I have fought as a candidate, that no matter what the circumstances, stress mounts for the last month or two. Not only are the candidate and his volunteers and helpers increasingly under pressure to get things organised and seek to maximise their vote, which inevitably leads to stresses and strains and disagreements over tactics; but as a candidate there is a very strange personal stress too. Of course I hope that my party will win the election and form a Government. Of course I hope that the people of North Wiltshire will prove overall to have been relatively satisfied with what I have done on their behalf over 13 years. It would of course be a personal disappointment if not. But more than all of that, the incumbent at least, is fighting to save his job. It is an odd thought that at least theoretically one might find oneself without an occupation a month or two from now, at least in some cases through no fault of the candidate’s own. It’s a funny old business, politics.

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