29/04/2010 by Steve Barclay.

Do you think 25% of buses are unsafe?  Do you expect 20% to fail their MOT.  That is the assumption being made by this Government, who have given the Vehicle Operating Service Agency a prohibition target of failing 25% of the buses they inspect.  The result is yet more interference for local firms who are already paying the high cost of fuel and a significant hike in business rates.

A visit today to one of our local bus firms who provide buses for schools and short breaks.  One was recently stopped and inspected, but nothing could be found.  So a second inspection was undertaken, and a prohibition applied for a so called side movement of the handbrake, helping the inspectors hit their target. Is it any wonder that local firms feel that this Government is out to hinder rather than help them.  The Government’s stance is also causing problems for our firms in Europe. The high failure rate here has resulted in other countries targeting British coaches.  A coach driving in Belgium which does not have the drivers reflector jacket on display will get an on the spot fine.  We need to get our economy moving and protect local jobs, not hinder firms with interference from top down targets. 

One success story locally is the golf club and holiday homes at Tydd St Giles  where I met up with manager Adrian Hurst.  It shows what can happen when Government gets out of the way and entrepreneurs drive forward business.  The very competitive membership price and high quality facilities mean the car park is constantly busy, and this week was no exception. 

Steve with Adrian Hurst, manager of Tydd St Gyles Golf Club

Posted in Labour Failure, Tydd St. Giles | No Comments »

28/04/2010 by Steve Barclay.

Increased business rates across North East Cambs are putting many local independent shops out of business.  So what is going on?

The business rates are based on a valuation of the commercial property.  This valuation is made not by the local council, but by the Valuation Office Agency which is a Government agency.  Every five years they conduct a re-valuation, and they have just done a new five year valuation.  The Government then set the rate for how many pence in the pound firms will pay, known as the nantional non domestic rate.  It is not Fenland Council that has increased the business rate - it is the Labour Government.

The role of the council is simply to send out the bills to collect the business rates for the Government.  Fenland District Council last year collected £20.4 million in business rates which goes to the Government, with the formula returning just £8.4 million back to Fenland as part of an overall council grant settlement of £9.6 million.  So we are collecting twice as much from local firms to give to Government than we get back from the Government.

Many shops locally are on very tight margins as they struggle to survive in the tough economic climate.  There is no scope to absorb the increased cost of these business rates, which is why towns like Chatteris are losing so many shops.  If when you work past empty shops in our towns you feel angry, then go and vote.  Labour’s tax hikes are killing our town centres with higher rates putting shops out of business.  It is a clear sign of why we need change.

Posted in Fenland District Council, Labour Failure, Chatteris | No Comments »

19/04/2010 by Steve Barclay.

Start the day with a visit to the Murrow and District Children’s Centre where Cllr Robert Scrimshaw and I meet with Hillary Keeley and other members of staff.  There have been false claims made by Labour and it is an opportunity to set the record straight about the Conservatives support for Sure Start centres.  Children attend the centre from the ages of 2 years and 9 months until starting school.  It is an excellent facility, but as so often I hear that Ofsted are hitting them with more form filling.   For example much of the paperwork is now self assessment, with the main annual report taking them up to 3 months to prepare (previously Ofsted themselves did more of the paperwork).  They also have to complete daily observation forms e.g. on the day I visited a child poured milk for the first time which needs to be put on to a form. 

On top of this there is also a new form introduced as a trail this year which will become compulsory next year for a Learning & Development record which a child takes to their new school.  Each one is a couple of hours to complete, and anecdotal evidence suggests schools do not make us of it.  Children with special needs have additional forms on top.  Alongside the form filling there are also challenges with the government’s requirements on governance and with funding.  The view was that the forms could be cut by 50%.  It will be my job if elected as MP to put pressure on the Government to help them by streaming all this administration. 

We took the opportunity whilst there to check the speed bumps and cracks in nearby property which has been an issue for residents and the primary school.  Lorries travelling for example from Lincolnshire to Ely with straw for the paper factory are causing damage.  We then headed over to see Alan Carr of ABC Market Butchers at Hooks Drove in Murrow.  The place is spotless, and it is no surprise to hear that they recently won a 5 star rating from Fenland DC.  No doubt also what the main issue is for them as a successful local business - Labour’s ever increasing tax bill.  Great to get their support.

The rest of the morning involved visits to one of our local haulage firms Bretts Transport to meet with Roger Fowler, and to Play 2 Day at Guyhirn where the high cost of rates is an issue. 

We then spent the afternoon in Newton.  Rural crime is a growing problem across the constituency with diesel thefts in particular.  I met with farmer Roger Skippey who last week was subject to a theft.  Whilst the thieves only took a couple of hundred pounds worth of copper, the damage to his cold fruit store is likely to be around £25,000 to put it right.  Even a neighbour who has a building yard which backs on to the police station had been robbed.  Labour has failed to be tough on crimes like this.  As for the Lib Dems, their daft policy that no one can go to jail for less than 6 months means that burglars across rural constituencies like this will face even less punishment.

I joined the team including County Cllr Steve Tierney and our new County Cllr Sam Hoy who were already out doorstep canvassing in Newton, before returning the association office in March where some helpers had already made a start on some telephone canvassing.

Steve Barclay and Cllr Robert Scrimshaw inspect the
speed bumps which have caused cracks to nearby property
including the local school in Murrow

Cracks in the school building caused from lorry traffic over the
speed bumps.

Steve discussing issues affecting the haulage industry with
Roger Fowler at Bretts Transport Ltd

Visiting Play 2 Day at Guyhirn
Steve pictured with successful local businessman and butcher
Allan Carr in Murrow

Posted in Guyhirn, Newton, Labour Failure, Murrow, My Campaign | No Comments »

01/04/2010 by Steve Barclay.

For all the talk of this being the first on-line General Election, with twitter feeds, blogs, you tube and the rest, the reality as this week-end has shown is that less fancy hard work gets the best reaction.

The week-end for me started early with Thursday evening spent at St Augustine’s Church in Wisbech, for a couple of hours conversation hosted by Rev Neil Gardener over coffee and biscuits. A wide range of political persuasions discussed how we can strengthen our local community, and it was heartening to hear the positive and constructive points made.  It was also very good to hear some who had previously been against the Conservative Party expressing interest in the work of Iain Duncan Smith and the Centre for Policy Studies.  Iain’s work is shaping Conservative policy on our broken society, and this had clearly registered with them.

Friday evening I attended a business forum in Ely, with representatives from the East of England Development Agency, the local council, our local MPs and Barclays Bank.  No surprise to discover that the East of England gets less funding than any other development agency in the country, with Labour shifting the funds to their own backyard.  A key issue for many businesses is not just access to capital, but the cost of that capital given the wide spread between the Bank of England base rate and the lending rate.

Saturday morning we were out early with a team in Little Downham including local councillor for the village Anna Bailey.  We covered the entire village before I headed over for one of my weekly coffee meetings, this time in Elm Close in March, with a group of ladies I had not met before.  These meetings are kindly hosted locally by a resident who invites ten people I have not met before for a chat.  It quickly emerged that those were involved in a host of key public services and community groups, which meant I left with helpful insights into what is happening at a practical level on the ground.

After the coffee meeting I travelled up to Wisbech to join our by-election team for some canvassing.  We have three excellent candidates standing for Wisbech Town, District and County following the sad death of our well respected councillor Les Simms.  All three candidates - Steve Brunton for town, Steve Tierney for District, and Sam Hoy for County all live in Wisbech, work in Wisbech, and are all under 45.  It is heartening that they were all part of our Conservative Future team and are now progressing to more senior roles within the party.  They will bring fresh blood, energy and ideas to our local government and be a great success, so please get out and vote on 15th April.  On the doorstep canvassing, I think I received as many votes for the fact that we were out canvassing in the rain as for anything I was saying, which shows that people do appreciate you being the first person to visit them for a while even if many are also fed up with the scandals of politicians in London.

After a quick return home to change (and catch the first half of the England v France six nations rugby match), I spent Saturday evening at the Whittlesey Conservative Club catching up with members.  The members always make me really welcome, and the views expressed about Gordon Brown left me in now doubt of their desire for change. 

Sunday lunchtime I headed over to Chatteris Conservative Club to meet the Mayor Cllr Pete Murphy.  I also met my eldest supporter Eric. At 101 years old, Eric was in the club for his lunchtime beer (the club voted to give him free beer for life for his 100th birthday).  It was great to chat with Eric who told me that he bought his house in Chatteris which he is still living in as long ago as 1924. It cost £400 with a £175 loan from the co-op.  He worked hard delivering coal around the Fens for many years, and he and his wife were from two families totally 26 children of which he is the last one.  Listening to Eric and seeing his smile and support was a great way to round off the week-end. 

Posted in Iain Duncan Smith, Local Elections, Ely, Little Downham, Whittlesey, Labour Failure, Wisbech | No Comments »

16/03/2010 by Steve Barclay.

Has the civil service been muzzled, or are they deliberately letting Gordon’s daft ideas see the light of day?

Another week, another daft idea for a new tax.  This week it is the Government consultation proposing all dog owners pay a compulsory levy for their dog.  Whilst introduced under the guise of clamping down on dangerous dogs, it has the crazy logic that owners of poodles and chihuahuas would pay the tax but owners of fighting dogs like pitbulls would not (as they are already banned and so not subject to the levy).

It reminds me of watching Yes Minister, only Sir Humphrey has not bothered to intervene.  Gordon has pushed on regardless. Does he really think thugs using a dog as a weapon is really going pay this levy?

There are over 600,000 homes with dogs in the East of England alone.  Even Darcy, the trainee guide dog for the blind would be subject to a levy.  This will not stop the 100 cases every week in England of people sent to hospital because of dog attacks.

We should give the police and councils powers to tackle dangerous dogs through Dog Control Notices, so we target the minority who behave badly, not the quiet majority who are responsible.  This tax will instead disproportionately target the majority of responsible dog owners.  As ever, Gordon Brown sees tax as the solution to every problem.

Posted in Cats & Dogs, Labour Failure | No Comments »

15/03/2010 by Steve Barclay.

The Conservatives have taken a lot of flack over Lord Ashcroft, and the Lib Dems have still not paid back the £2.4 million from the convicted fraudster Michael Brown who used to be their biggest donor.  But the extent of the trade union funding and influence over Labour is now deeply disturbing, and questions how independently they will be able to act if elected.

The facts speak for themselves:

- £11 million in donations to Labour from the Unite trade union over the last four years, a quarter of all Labour funds;
- More than 100 Labour MPs are members of Unite;
- 59 Labour Parliamentary Candidates are members of Unite, including 8 who were Unite staff or officers;
- 25 Labour Peers are members of Unite;
- Unite’s Political Director is Gordon Brown’s ex spin doctor.

Many  senior Labour people themselves are now concerned at the extent of this influence.  Former Labour General Secretary Peter Watt has recently said: “It is fair to describe the Labour Party as the political wing of Unite”.

Even the Labour Parliamentary Candidate in North East Cambridgeshire is a member of Unite.  I suspect those in the Labour Party outside the grip of the trade unions will be feeling pretty isolated.  So farewell to New Labour.

Posted in Trade Unions, Labour Failure | No Comments »

12/03/2010 by Steve Barclay.

Building on the day spent with Marc Hedding, who as Chairman of the Wimblington Internal Drainage Board gave me a hands-on insight on drainage issues a fortnight ago, I spent most of the day today with Russell Wright who is the Clerk to no less than five internal drainage boards at the Whittlesey end of the constituency.  Whittlesey Internal Drainage Board alone covers over 100 miles of water courses, which gives you a sense of why I regard this issue as so important to our community.

Russell was fascinating to listen to, with a deep practical knowledge of how we best protect this area from the risk of flooding.  The Government’s obsession with one size fits all means they are trying to merge drainage boards so they have at least £500,000 income, pay for an office staffed 9am to 5.30pm (as if flooding only happens in office hours), a chief executive with a legal or finance qualification, a finance director, and a whole load of other costs like a computerised rating (although no one seems to know what this is!).  By contrast, Russell works part time from home, has no office costs, is on call at any time including week-ends when there is heavy rainfall, and works in tandem with local farmers who volunteer their time for free.

Once again Labour are seeking to add regulation and cost to a system that works well now.  It might be that some of the internal drainage boards should and will merge, but in my view this should be organic and driven from the boards themselves, rather than imposed from Whitehall in a top down process. The admin costs of the smaller internal drainage boards are often around 12% in non election years, lower than the admin costs of some large boards (one board with an
income over £1 million currently runs at over 20% admin due to their office costs).  So the government position that a larger board “is a robust indicator of…..required management and technical capacity” is misplaced.

Not all that the current government has done on this issue is bad.  The Pitt Review recommendation of an asset register strikes me as a positive step forward.  One of the problems I have found in the past, such as with the flooding to homes in Delph ward, is the lack of up to date records as to who is responsible for what between Anglia Water, Fenland District Council, County Council Highways, the Environment Agency, and the Middle Level Commission.  However I am concerned whether the County Council will have the resources to lead effectively given the resource pressures from the Government’s underfunding, and the demands in other areas like child protection.  Will the Environment Agency release funding to County Councils?

It also is surprising that planning permission continues to be given so that building work starts before adequate drainage is agreed.  Drainage boards are not consultees on planning, even if they do comment.  My fear is that with a building then complete, the pressure is increased for a fudge on drainage, rather than getting the right solution before building work begins. For example planning went ahead on Gaul Road in March for 135 houses even though this was opposed by the Middle Level Commission.

Increased development is clearly putting extra pressure on the system, and so too are environmental concerns.  There is the reluctance to dredge rivers in certain areas because of environmental concerns, such as to protect voles.  The drainage boards themselves have issues to address, such as succession planning and cover for key staff.

Notwithstanding these challenges, none of the areas of the UK with internal drainage boards flooded last year, in contrast to many other parts of the country.  The Middle Level is unique, as the only part of the country which pumps water twice.  Internal Drainage Boards play a key role in protecting the Fen landscape.  They are staffed by people with practical experience on the ground not stuck behind desks.  Labour should leave them alone.

Posted in Drainage Board, Wimblington, Labour Failure, Whittlesey | No Comments »

10/03/2010 by Steve Barclay.

The Labour Government’s top down approach to planning risks serious traffic problems in Whittlesey.  A plan has just been submitted for 460 homes on Feldale fields as you come into Whittlesey from Eastrea.  We need significant improvements to the transport infastruture of Whittlesey before another major housing development is considered. 

This proposed scheme would mean up to a thousand extra cars, most of which will travel into Peterborough along the A605.  This road is already congested at peak times.  Some cars will also travel onto Drybread Road and past the Alderman Jacobs school. Few trains stop at Whittlesea station with most passing straight through, and Network Rail has no plans to extend the platform and encourage more trains to stop locally.

Whittlesey also has issues with flooding, and such a major development will put further pressure even without the potentially added risks we hear about from climate scientists.

Cllr Martin Curtis is leading the fight against this development, and has set up a facebook site to gather local views.  If you agree that this planning development would be bad news for Whittlesey, please add your support at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=384643594767

Posted in Labour Failure, Whittlesey | No Comments »

08/03/2010 by Steve Barclay.

On the 25th September I blogged that the Labour Government would sign a number of contracts at the 11th hour, which would prove to be poor value.  “I suspect we will see a surge in last minute Government contracts being signed early next year before the General Election”.  So it is little surprise to hear today their announcement of £11 billion of new IT contracts.  As David Blackburn writes in the Spectator online:

“An £11bn bender is irresponsible in this climate, plus Labour has a baleful record on IT contracts. It has bungled a staggering £26bn on flawed IT systems, many of which were introduced without pilot schemes. Ever the optimist, I’d hoped the government might become responsible; yet again I’ve been mugged by the reality of Brown. Rushing implementation is a concern. These latest programmes are for the most part extensions of the failed NHS and MoD super-computer systems; will they be any more effective than their predecessors?

But this episode speaks more of the government’s mindset. Whatever the question, Brown’s answer is to throw good money after bad. It is scarcely credible that he can reduce the deficit within four years.

After years of wasteful spending (which Labour spin calls prudent investment), Gordon Brown cannot give up his addiction to spending our cash. Do you believe rushed contracts on IT systems, most of which have a disastrous track record, are going to be a good way of spending money we do not have (paid for with extra borrowing?).  For those who say they will not bother to vote, or indulge in a protest vote, are you happy to go on like this for another five years with Gordon Brown wasting our cash?

Posted in Labour Failure | No Comments »

20/02/2010 by Steve Barclay.

… or a second longer Mr Brown, your record is crystal clear!

On the day another book comes out describing Mr Brown as an abusive bully to his staff, he asks you to take a second look.  At what?  Is it at his decision to send toops into two wars whilst cutting the helicopter budget?  His cynical promise of British jobs for British workers whilst encouraging massive immigration?  Or perhaps his manifesto pledge of a referedum on the Lisbon treaty which he betrayed and is now part of our law?

Alternatively we could have a second look at his economic record.  Grabbing vast sums from our pensions, selling our nations gold reserves on the cheap, or saying he had ended boom and bust before the longest and deepest recession since records began.  Or we could look at the pledge to be tough on law and order, only to let over 80,000 prisoners out of jail early.

What about a second look locally?  Building a Fire HQ costing millions where the computers don’t work, which now stands empty costing a further £117,000 a month.  Scrapping our new College of West Anglia a month before building, whilst allowing 13 to go ahead all of which just happened to be in Labour constituencies.  Or giving extra funding to his own constituents in Scotland who get more per head than those in North East Cambridgeshire.

As for the banal slogan - “a Britain fair for all” - is there any politician in any party who does not want fairness? What about treating his own staff fairly rather than bullying them.  Is it fair that the gap between rich and poor has grown since Labour came to power?

New Labour has been defined by spin.  Today’s campaign launch is a classic.

Posted in Labour Failure | No Comments »