21/02/2010 by Steve Barclay.

Out on Saturday night in Wisbech at a quiz organised by our Conservative Future team, and it has left me feeling really upbeat.  They organised the whole event, with a mix of regular quiz questions, fun ad hoc challenges, and hot two course meal.   It was an excellent night.  There was a real buzz in the room, and a wide mix of ages from late teens to too old to ask.  If young people organising such events and working together is the future of our party locally, then it is brighter than I could have hoped.

After my abject failure at answering questions at the last quiz I attended organised by Wisbech County Councillor Steve Tierney, at least this time I managed to get a few questions right.  Unfortunately my effors at one of the challenges - building a bridge from straws and paper - will take some living down.  The bridge lasted all of one second under the weight test (the worst of the lot!), and was accompanied by a chorus of don’t give up the day job!  Well done to all the CF team on a great job last night.

Friday night was a different type of evening, with a trip out to Chatteris Working Men’s Club for the Mayors Ball.  Cllr Peter and Angela Murphy were perfect hosts, and it was particularly pleasing to see so many other Mayors attending from both within and outside North East Cambridgeshire.  It reminded me of how many charity evenings local mayors support across Cambridgeshire, and what a valued role they play in our civic life.

Posted in Conservative Future, Chatteris, Wisbech | No Comments »

06/05/2008 by Steve Barclay.

Pizza, Politics and questions about ice cream were all part of a night in March with a large group of first time and younger voters.

The event was organised by our Conservative Future team (under 30s) and aimed to encourage young people to find out more about politics and vote.  We met at the Town Hall and it was great to see a large turn out - clearly much work had been done in local schools in getting the message out - or perhaps it was just the prospect of free pizza?!  Malcolm Moss kicked proceedings off with a chat about his role as Member of Parliament, covering both the important issues together with some lighter moments.  This was then followed by a debate about the merits of internet file sharing, with some passionately held beliefs clearly evident.  After the two speakers on either side had spoken for and against the motion, we had an impressive array of contributions from the floor (all of whom seemed to know far more about file sharing than I did) before a vote.

There was then a question and answer session for Malcolm and myself as MP and Parliamentary Candidate, although very wisely Lucy arranged the break for pizza just beforehand to ensure the audience was in good spirits!  Questions raised ranged from key local issues (such as the lack of government funding for the Fens), to national and international issues (how we address the cost of oil) to the fun (what is our favourite ice cream).  For the record mine is mint chocolate chip…..  Tonight was perhaps my most enjoyable night since being selected as candidate.  An event organised by and for young constituents, interested and engaged in their community, and who had a wide range of thoughtful comments and views.  It bodes well for the future.  Leave feeling really upbeat.

Posted in March, Conservative Future | No Comments »

13/03/2008 by Steve Barclay.

Coffee and more coffee today - anyone who knows me will know I am a tea and coffee fan! To the Whittlesey Conservative Club for a coffee morning organised by Cllrs Ken and Kay Mayor.  Lots of work had been put in which was reflected in some great raffle prizes.  Ken and Kay are perfect hosts and made it easy for me to meet everyone there. 

Then it was off to Murrow Village Hall for another coffee and a chat with our local council by-election candidate Phil Wait.  Phil lives in the ward and is well known locally, both from his current job as a driving instructor and previously managing one of the biggest stores in Wisbech. He has bundles of energy and a real desire to help people - he will make a great councillor here. After chatting with people in Murrow Village Hall, and buying some jam in the chapel (it is not just the Conservative Party who have fundraising events!) Phil and I join some of our Conservative Future team to canvass Murrow.  It is too early to predict the by-election result, but on today’s doorstep responses it looks really promising.  A lot of ground covered before we round off with a quick team drink together in the pub.

Steve with council by-election candidate Phil Wait in Murrow
Left2right : Jamie Edwards, Steve Barclay, Phil Wait, Steve Tierney

Posted in Conservative Future, Murrow, Whittlesey | No Comments »

12/03/2008 by Steve Barclay.

Standing out from the crowd was not difficult today - I was the only guy present. This was because I was lucky enough to be invited to the splendid surroundings of Cobham Hall as the first ever male speaker to the Wisbech Ladies luncheon.

It is quite intimidating being the only man present in a room of 60+ ladies!  Fortunately host Janet Stott immediately put me at my ease and the lunch proved great fun.

Chatting with guests before speaking, I asked one if there were any topics that she would like me to cover. “Just keep your speech short” was the clear advice. Well it is always good to take the hint - and hopefully I managed to get the balance right.

After lunch, I visited Father John Doman and the trustees of the Rosmini Community Centre in Wisbech. An interesting discussion about the plans for the Rosmini Centre which will be a huge boost to the community.  Concerning however to learn from Father John about serious problems of homelessness. They have a number of cases at the moment which were literally dropped at his doorstep. I will not set these out now, but clearly this needs to be looked into further.  I promised him that I will do so - I will report back in the future.

Later in the evening I head off to a meeting with our Conservative Future (CF) group. CF is open to anyone who wants to get involved with the Conservative Party and who is under 30 years of age. I used to chair my local CF group and am really keen to get more young people involved in politics.  We had an interesting debate on the motion “should the government intervene on Northern Rock” and the quality of the contributions was impressive.  A really positive note on which to end the day.

Posted in Homelessness, Conservative Future | No Comments »