16/06/2009 by Steve Barclay.

Allowing high levels of immigration into Britain was not a policy in the Labour Government’s election manifesto.  The British people have not voted for such levels of immigration.  It highlights the growing sense that the Left wing elite act in a way removed from the wishes of the public they claim to serve.

We now have seven people attending the British Cabinet who are unelected.  The House of Lords is unelected.  The cabinet of Europe, all 27 commissioners, is unelected.  Scottish MPs vote on laws for England when they are not elected to decide the same laws in Scotland.  Quangos of unelected officials increasingly decide policy.  And even Labour’s manifesto commitments, of a referendum on the European Constitution and not to increase income tax, have been broken.  Is it any wonder that people increasingly question what difference their vote makes?

The public frustration with this Government was shown in the recent County and European elections.  Labour are divided and hopelessly out of touch

With unemployment continuing to rise rapidly, Labour still insist on issuing huge numbers of foreign work permits.  When someone who has worked continuously for more than 10 years loses their job, they receive only the same Job Seeker’s Allowance as someone who has never worked.

Huge sums of money are still being wasted on large state run schemes.  Labour’s New Deal has cost £75 billion but has failed to deliver its intended outcomes. The training offered is often unsuitable for the needs of the person being trained or for the jobs each community needs.  It should be replaced with local programmes run by people sized organisations which fit the needs of each locality.

The Labour Government is also running up massive debts, to be paid in the future by those who have no say today.  We are currently borrowing £500 million each day. Future generations will face higher tax to pay the interest on this debt.

Labour is even printing money to help pay for their spending.  Savers who have been hit today through interest rate cuts face the risk of inflation in the future wiping out any savings they have left.

The public did not ask for this Government to sell off our gold reserves on the cheap, to raid our pensions, or impose a host of stealth taxes.

The next Conservative Government will respond to what the public are saying - with stronger border controls, a fairer benefits system, and better help when people lose their job. We also need to ensure that those taking decisions on behalf of the public are accountable directly to the public.

This Government is on the wrong path.  It is time for change.  We need a General Election.

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27/02/2008 by Steve Barclay.

Getting to grips with the local issues began today with my first constituency surgery with Malcolm Moss MP.  It is a great opportunity to find out about the issues affecting constituents, and to learn from Malcolm’s experience with over 20 years as the local MP.

Useful to see the practical advice given and Malcolm agrees to take up a number of specific points up with the relevant authorities.  Constituents are clearly pleased with the outcome, and it shows what I will need to do if I become the next MP. Whilst in the office we also take the opportunity for a catch up after the hectic period of the selection, with a meeting with Robert Sears (Association chairman) and Cllr Geoffrey Harper (Leader of Fenland District Council).   A productive meeting - not least as I leave with a full diary of events to attend in the weeks ahead!

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23/01/2008 by Steve Barclay.

Lunch with a difference today as BBC Cambridgeshire had been in touch and wanted to conduct an interview on the phone.  So instead of the usual sandwich at my desk, I found myself chatting to listeners across Cambridgeshire about Saturday’s selection.

The BBC had heard that the Party had thrown open the doors to anyone from the area who wanted to attend and vote.  It did not matter if they were Conservative members or even Conservative voters. It is a new approach in UK politics - and a good one in my view (and not just because I was selected!) Everyone in the community had the opportunity to come along, ask a question, and vote for a candidate - rather than choosing only between political parties at the General Election. As a Conservative I think more choice is a good thing, and it is great to see this in action. After chatting on the radio about the process of becoming a candidate, and what tricky questions we were all asked, it is back to the day job.

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20/01/2008 by Steve Barclay.

Success - and near disaster yesterday - and all within the space of an hour! Yesterday was the final round of selection to become the Parliamentary Candidate for North East Cambridgeshire. The day started at 9.30am at the Sir Harry Smith Community College in Whittlesey with the candidates arriving to be briefed before the doors opened at 10am.

After picking tickets for the order of speaking, I found out I would be the last of 6 candidates to speak. So a nerve racking day of waiting then followed. During the morning break for tea and coffee all I could hear were members of the audience commenting on how good the other candidates so far had been - not the ideal warm up to calm the nerves! A further wait over lunch and the afternoon tea break, and then my chance came. I just hoped the audience were not totally fed up of speeches by now!

The time in the hall flies by, and before long the final question was being asked by the host for the day, local editor John Elworthy. Fortunately my reply managed to get a bit of laughter which was a good way to round things off. Then more waiting as the ballot was conducted. At last Robert Sears, the Association Chairman, came in to the candidates room and came straight over to shake my hand. Delight as I realise I had been selected. Not much time to dwell on the news though as I need to quickly gather my thoughts for an acceptance speech, before heading back into the hall.

Still on a high, we set off back to Wisbech where we were staying. As we approached the town a car with no lights on shot out from a garage to our right, straight across the road, and with tyres screeching disappeared at speed down a side street. Fortunately we managed to just hit the brakes to shudder to a stop in time - but only just. For the rest of the evening the thought kept playing through my mind of what my Association Chairman would have made of the news that his new candidate was in a road crash less than an hour after being selected!  Fortunately the rest of the journey was uneventful, save for the much happier sound of text messages beeping on my mobile from friends who had heard about the selection.

Posted in My Campaign, Whittlesey, Wisbech | No Comments »