Campaigning Near & Far

18/07/2009 by Steve Barclay.

Up to Norwich early to help with the by-election following the decision by Labour MP Dr Ian Gibson to step down over his expenses. I was already planning on a trip up to help but lunch last week with the Party Chairman meant it was not an option to fail to pitch up. Good to see lots of posters for our excellent candidate Chloe Smith on the Yarmouth Road as I approach the sector office. I must have spent all of 90 seconds in the office as a pile of leaflets and individually addressed letters were ready for collection - ideal organisation.

Then in the afternoon I travel to Huntingdon for a meeting with Cambridgeshire Chief Fire Officer Graham Stagg and Fenland Road Safety Campaigner Graham Chappell. Two hours of constructive discussion with a clear desire from all sides to get action to improve safety on our rural roads. Cars are at risk of going into the Fen drains which run alongside the roads.  Really positive to hear about the new dry suits that the Fire Service intends to issue to Fenland crews together with the ice inflatable pathways, both of which will help with shallow water rescue.  Crews can be trained for wading rescue and deep water rescue - at the moment Fenland crews are not trained to go into water however shallow.  The sad reality is that if a car is fully submerged then it is unlikely any rescue crew could get there in time given how cold the water is.  However Graham and I are working to improve the rescue capacity if cars are partially submerged, and to help prevent accidents in the first place.

There was also good discussion on prevention, specifically on the budget front regarding the potential for action on barriers. These need to go at the highest risk sites to help prevent accidents, in conjuction with the work the council is doing to reduce speeding. See the campaigns section for more info. Torrential ran provided a noisy backdrop throughout the meeting and I was almost wading back to the car afterwards.

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