Debates showcase future local talent

Spent the morning at King’s School in Ely where I judged the final of the junior and senior school debates.  Struck by the very high standard - well researched content, all the speakers kept good eye content, and some quite wonderful touches of humour and quick wit. 

To speak in front of a full hall is a big challenge, and even more so when it is before all your school friends who will no doubt have fun if you make a mistake.  So it was really uplifting to see the students speak so well.  The debates were fiercely contested with the teams having come through two earlier rounds.  The first debate was on whether to decriminalise drugs, with Wilkinson House winning.  The senior debate focussed on whether cultural and religious tolerance was a threat to Britain, and Torfrida House took the honours.

Pictured are the winning teams from the junior and senior debates.
In the afternoon I headed over to Wisbech, where I visited Ladbrokes for a briefing about the current state of the gaming industry which employs a number of people locally.  Whilst there I was also invited to place a charity bet - a £50 stake which I place on behalf of the East of England Air Ambulance. 

Am struck at the meeting, not for the first time, by what a small world it is.  At Labrokes the meeting was with Ric Royal who is a friend from my days living in Lancaster.  Rick now works for Ladbrokes nationally and has a detailed knowledge of the gaming industry.  It made for a good discussion about onshore and offshore tax issues, creating more jobs in the gaming industry, and he even helped out with tip for what horse I should back (not something I have a clue about).  We finished off with a sneak preview of the latest political betting for a few parliamentary seats and likely parliamentary majorities. 

Chatting with those in the store, one of the issues which will influence the election was clear - immigration.  There is a strong sense in Wisbech that the Labour Government has let local people down on immigration and not played fair.  Those who stick to the rules and work hard are being hit by higher bills, whilst others are seen to get special treatment with extra benefits.  If I am elected as MP, this is an issue I want to tackle.  We need to stop the current abuse of our benefits system and control immigration much better.  It is not a race issue to talk about immigration - it is an issue of fairness that people locally feel passionately about.   

Photo with Mr Rick Royal of Ladbrokes

This entry was posted on 18/12/2009 at 06:30 pm and is filed under Ely, Wisbech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.