22/05/2010 by Steve Barclay.

A great evening on Friday watching The Anglian Players at the March Community Centre present See how they run.  It was a brilliant performance and their excellent acting and comic timing shows you do not need to head to the West End for a night of quality theatre.  Wendy Hart as Miss Skillon and Theresa Winslow as Penelope Toop were superb, and I really enjoyed their interplay with Steve Tittensor and Alan Hooks, not to mention Nicole Oliver as the maid Ida who all brought this farce to life.  The whole cast were excellent and it is fantastic to see such high quality theate produced locally.  I really enjoyed having the chance to pop backstage afterwards for a chat with them.

Saturday morning was a chance to visit the historic All Saints church in Elm to see the beautiful flower displays.  Each had a theme, and special credit goes to the Alton Towers display of the brownies with their log flume.  There was however a Yorkshire display but no Lancashire one - perhaps it is a challenge for me for next year!  The church looked stunning and it makes me look forward all the more to the Rose Fair in Wisbech. 

In the village shop in Friday Bridge later it was good to see high quality locally produced food being sold, and proving so popular.  The strawberries travel less than 2 miles and tasted so much better than those in the supermarket.

Saturday evening we headed to the March Golf Club for their annual ball and a fun night out.   Plenty of familiar faces and a chance to catch up with people in a lovely relaxed setting.

The photo shows the brownies log flume display at the Elm Flower Show

Posted in Friday Bridge, Elm, March | No Comments »

09/05/2010 by Steve Barclay.

The first thing after the announcement at the Hudson Leisure Centre in Wisbech and speeches from each of the main party candidates, was to be given an envelope by the returning officer.  This contained a leaflet for new MPs and an introductory note to take to Parliament on the first day.
 
It was after 4am by the time I got back home to March having been up since 6am the day before, but you do not feel like sleeping with the excitement of the result. Together with my agent and friends we watched some further results coming in from around the country.  Then a couple of hours sleep before getting up at 8am for a radio interview on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.  A chat with Malcolm Moss who kindly telephoned to congratulate me on the result and offer his best wishes, before popping into association office - a constituent had called at 9am to book in their appointment for my first constituency surgery.  Then headed back over to Wisbech for the appointment of the new Mayor and Deputy Mayor at noon. 
 
On Saturday the weather was not great, but I went into the market in March for some shopping and discovered the wonderful sight and sound of the pipes and drums of the Peterborough Highland Band.  They were out playing in the rain and cold to help raise funds for St Mary’s Church, Westry after it was destroyed by fire.  It is one of the many ways our community is coming together to help raise money for this good cause.  Seeing the community working together like this struck me as a great note on which to start my first full day as MP. I did have a photo with the band but unfortunately it did not come out (clearly I need to have a word with Brian Purdy of the Cambs Times for some tips!)

Posted in March, Wisbech | No Comments »

18/04/2010 by Steve Barclay.

A great success in March for organisers of the St George’s Day Fayre on Sunday.  The event goes from strength to strength and it was fun to catch up with people and have a day off from the campaign. Local Rotarians had some stocks and I stuck my head in - fortunately nothing was being thrown which in the current anti-politics mood meant I got off lightly. 

Posted in St George's Day, March | No Comments »

17/04/2010 by Steve Barclay.

A busy and varied week, which has ranged from speaking to sixth form students in Wisbech, shop keepers in Whittlesey, and large firms like JDR Cable Systems in Littleport.  JDR Cable Systems employ just under 200 people here in their head office and R&D facility, producing underwater cables for the oil and gas industry and for offshore wind farms.  It is a successful local manufacturing firm which is well placed to benefit from the green economy.  I am keen to find out from those working at the heart of our firms how I can support them if I become the MP, so was grateful to Operations Director Colin Taylor who gave me an insightful tour of their plant on the Littleport Innovation Park. 

The week was rounded off today with over 30 people out in March for the first of our General Election campaign action days.   It was perfect weather, and with many helpers out it meant we could cover the ground much quicker.  So we had a good the excuse for a lunch time pint at the Rose and Crown, before finishing at 4pm and heading over to the Ship.  A good response on the doorstep, followed by a beer sat in the sun.  A great note on which to finish the week.

Pictured are some of the team enjoying the sun (and a beer)
at the Rose & Crown in March

Posted in Campaigning, General Election, March, Littleport, Whittlesey | No Comments »

10/04/2010 by Steve Barclay.

Two Conservative teams out today with campaigning going on in both Wisbech and March.  I joined our Wisbech team out canvassing this morning building on the work we did there yesterday.  Then my wonderful agent Debbie Clark and I headed over to March to join our team there to chat with shoppers in the centre of March. 
 
Living in March means I recognized plenty of familiar faces, and for those I do not know they almost always know one of our March councillors who were out in force to give me their support.  Cllr John Clark was even out early to undertake his regular litter collection along the river bank (people are often quick to criticise all politicians but ignore the work people like John put in for the good of the local community). 
 
Throughout the day we have had great weather - if only it was always like this when campaigning.  No question however as to who was the star of the show today (see our mascot with me at bottom photo below!)

Steve & “The Mascot”.

Out campaigning in the centre of March

March Cllr John Clark out collecting litter on the riverbank

Steve with part of the Wisbech North campaign team.

Posted in March, Wisbech | No Comments »

08/04/2010 by Steve Barclay.

Clear today out on the campaign that the endorsement from national business leaders of the Conservative Party position against increases in national insurance is shared locally by leading businessmen.

In Gorefield this afternoon I was chatting with Edward Newling (pictured) who farms 178 acres of apples and pears supplying Sainsburys.  He has 6 full time staff, 10 agency staff and 40 fruit pickers with a combined tax bill each year to the Treasury of over £300,000.  As Edward said this tax rise would be a disaster, and it will mean he will be reluctant to take on extra workers.

It was the same message in March this evening.  Another successful local businessman Adam Triggs was equally explicit.  Adam has just landed a new contract to put the signage on 200 vans in London.  He said it is a straight forward business decision.  If the Conservatives win, he will probably be putting an ad in the local paper shortly afterwards for two extra jobs to help with this contract and a growing order book.  If Labour get in and increase National Insurance, he expects he will simply sub-contract the work to a firm in London, rather than hiring staff locally.

People sometimes says political parties are too alike.  On National Insurance there is a clear difference.  Jobs are on the line locally.  Businessmen nationally, and now locally, are making it clear that they back the Conservative policy.

It build on the best day I have ever had on the campaign trail in over 15 years of grassroots campaigning.  Canvassing in Elm this morning, one of my helpers had to pop back to the association office to collect some more posters as we ran out of those we had taken.  It is fair to say Gordon Brown is an electoral negative for the Labour party and a plus for us.  There is still a long way to go and a lot of work to be done, but today marks positive progress.  We finished off with a pint at the Ship pub in March which has just been refurbished.  What a fantastic job Paul has done - it looks fabulous inside and I will certainly be going back.

Posted in National Insurance, General Election, Gorefield, March, Conservative Party | No Comments »

08/04/2010 by Steve Barclay.

Clear today out on the campaign that the endorsement from national business leaders of the Conservative Party position against increases in national insurance is shared locally by leading businessmen.

In Gorefield this afternoon I was chatting with Edward Newling (pictured) who farms 178 acres of apples and pears supplying Sainsburys.  He has 6 full time staff, 10 agency staff and 40 fruit pickers with a combined tax bill each year to the Treasury of over £300,000.  As Edward said this tax rise would be a disaster, and it will mean he will be reluctant to take on extra workers.

It was the same message in March this evening.  Another successful local businessman Adam Triggs was equally explicit.  Adam has just landed a new contract to put the signage on 200 vans in London.  He said it is a straight forward business decision.  If the Conservatives win, he will probably be putting an ad in the local paper shortly afterwards for two extra jobs to help with this contract and a growing order book.  If Labour get in and increase National Insurance, he expects he will simply sub-contract the work to a firm in London, rather than hiring staff locally.

People sometimes says political parties are too alike.  On National Insurance there is a clear difference.  Jobs are on the line locally.  Businessmen nationally, and now locally, are making it clear that they back the Conservative policy.

It build on the best day I have ever had on the campaign trail in over 15 years of grassroots campaigning.  Canvassing in Elm this morning, one of my helpers had to pop back to the association office to collect some more posters as we ran out of those we had taken.  It is fair to say Gordon Brown is an electoral negative for the Labour party and a plus for us.  There is still a long way to go and a lot of work to be done, but today marks positive progress.  We finished off with a pint at the Ship pub in March which has just been refurbished.  What a fantastic job Paul has done - it looks fabulous inside and I will certainly be going back.

Posted in Gorefield, March, Conservative Party | No Comments »

14/11/2009 by Steve Barclay.

A great night at the Braza Club in March last night with our annual Conservative Ball sold out.  It was especially pleasing to see so many new faces, and a real buzz and upbeat atmosphere. 

Thanks to Debbie and Charlie for organising such a fantastic evening.  There was lots of speculation as to when the General Election will be - whether 25th March or 6th May.  For what it is worth, I am sure the Prime Minister has not decided yet (and he dithers at the best of times).  Given that he dislikes elections, and would not even allow one for the Labour leadership, I suspect he will cling on as long as possible.  If so, the budget will make for interesting reading in March next year - not least hearing about the over £1 billion a week being spent just to pay the interest on the debt he has run up.  £1 billion a week would pay the salaries of a lot of extra teachers, doctors and nurses.

Posted in March, Conservative Party | No Comments »

02/11/2009 by Steve Barclay.

People sometimes say that they only hear from politicians at election time.  I do not want this said in North East Cambridgeshire.  That is why we have been running our regular programme of coffee meetings across the constituency on Saturdays, chatting with a wide range of residents about the issues that matter to them.  It is why after being selected we put out 30,000 introductory leaflets.  It is also why a wide variety of local issues have been followed up over recent months, whether across the constituency on issues like the Fenland Road Safety Campaign and the lack of access to speech therapy, or on issues impacting specific areas - flooding in  Whittlesey and Coates, paramedic cover in Littleport, tourism in Wisbech, vandalism and anti-social behaviour in March, and leisure in Chatteris to name just a few.

This week I thought it would be helpful to report back on the last 18 months since being selected at the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate.  So we are putting out 48,000 newspapers, in five local editions to reflect the different issues impacting in different towns.  I still have a full time job which pays the bills so politics has to fit around this in my spare time in evenings and week-ends.  Hopefully the newspaper will be of interest to you, and shows that we are working hard all year round in North East Cambridgeshire.

To read the newspaper please click on the link to the relevant edition for you:

Wisbech
March
Chatteris
Whittlesey
East Cambridgeshire

This week-end I will be speaking at the NFU dinner at Chatteris on Friday evening, holding a coffee meeting on Saturday in Wisbech, and laying the remembrance wreath on behalf of Malcolm Moss MP in both Whttlesey and March on Sunday.

I hope the Prime Minister will reflect, as he stands before the cenotaph on Sunday, on the shameful news just from the last 7 days.  His proposed £20 million Territorial Army cuts which even his own backbench MPs described as shameful, the leaked email from Lt Colonel Rupert Throneloe warning that the lack of helicopters was forcing him to take unnecessary road trips risking lives (which tragically included his own and a teenage private after £2.4 billion was cut in the helicopter budget in 2004 by Gordon Brown), the inquest into the 14 deaths in the faulty Nimrod showing a catalogue of errors, and the 7 deaths from ignoring safety warnings behind the fatal helicopter collision in Iraq.  Tony Blair was quick to send the army to war but Gordon Brown has always refused to pay the costs.  Lives have been lost as a result.  I hope he reflects on this on Sunday. Make do and mend is not an adequate strategy for our armed forces.

Posted in March, Chatteris, Whittlesey, Wisbech | No Comments »

26/10/2009 by Steve Barclay.

Out and about in March and Manea this week-end.  Give the after dinner speech at our March branch Harvest Supper on Friday evening, followed on Saturday by one of my regular coffee meetings held in Manea, and then pop over to March Rugby Club on Sunday morning to watch March Under 17s play a local derby match against Thorney.

The Harvest Supper was held against the backdrop of yet more worrying economic news.  It is now the longest and deepest recession since records began with the sixth quarter of decline.  Despite Labour spending like there is no tomorrow, printing money, and cutting VAT, the economy has still fallen again.  France and Germany are now out of recession - so much for Gordon Brown‘s ridiculous claims that the UK was best placed to weather the storm.  The drastic fall in sterling shows how false his claims are.

The coffee cluster in Manea highlights a range of issues.  It is frustrating that whilst the local GP made a saving of £36,000 last year he only received £8,000 of this to spend in the village.  The rest of the money disappeared once again into the PCT central pot - to be spent in the more affluent areas of South Cambridgeshire.  When are we locally going to get a fair share of health spending? 

Fenland has the highest number of teenage pregnancies, diabetics - especially in March, and heart disease in the County, yet we still receive less funding per head than South Cambridgeshire.  It is typical of the top down command approach of Labour that when savings are made locally we are not rewarded by keeping this money.  Last year of 42 dieticians in the County, only 3 of them were in Fenland and East Cambridgeshire.  Such figures highlight the poor deal residents here receive.  The PCT needs to move much quicker to address health imbalances between the North and South of the county.

Posted in March, Manea | No Comments »