Had an interesting meeting at the Guildhall this evening on the future of the hospital. The Chief Executive of the hospital went through their development plans for the next few years and talked about the investment in capital that is going into the site. Inevitably when it came to questions they tended to focus on cleanliness and infection control. I have two councillors I know who have recently been into the hospital and were very unhappy about the cleanliness of the hospital. I visited one of them and was struck by the overwhelming smell of urine on the ward as you stepped out of the lift.
There is no doubt that the hospital staff do an excellent job in very difficult circumstances. I also sometimes wonder whether the cleanliness issue is not also tied up in the general condition of the buildings at the hospital, which are in parts tatty and at worse look unhygienic even if they are not.
Other issues that emerged were the pressure being put on the maternity unit and the significant numbers they turn away monthly. Couple this with the current pans to close Epsom Hospital and we must all worry about the impact that this will have on our hospital. I am glad that the Conservative MP in Epsom and Ewell, Chris Grayling, is mounting a very vocal campaign against closure.
Monday, February 28, 2005
Sunday, February 27, 2005
Action for Older People
LOWER COUNCIL TAX BILLS. BIGGER STATE PENSIONS. BETTER LONG-TERM CARE. ENCOURAGING SAVING. CLEANER HOSPITALS. MORE POLICE. RESPECT, DIGNITY AND SECURITY.
We have launched our policies for the elderly.
I read in the press that there are some that believe that policies that are directed at the elderly is about chasing votes. I reject this accusation. The elderly are after all a significant and growing proportion of our population and in fact any policy is about winning votes. I suppose it depends whether people believe you will have the chance to implement them that matters.
We have discussed Council Tax and the various alternatives before on this blog. You can see them here.
Death Duties
Tax and Spend
I believe that the basic premise of a property tax is right. Until this Labour Government there were few complaints about Council Tax. It has been the way the Government has manipulated the tax and thereby attacked the low earning, mainly elderly, on fixed incomes. The choice is lowering the tax or devising a wider selection of benefits. As I believe in not just lower tax but simpler tax I am not sure more multiple bands of discount is the answer. However, a simple discount to pensioner households is both straightforward and achievable. As for Local Income Tax? One elderly lady said she would be opposed to anything that made her pay less and inflicted more on her children, precisely what Local Income Tax would do. In Kingston it would be punitive taxation for those who have to pay it.
We have launched our policies for the elderly.
I read in the press that there are some that believe that policies that are directed at the elderly is about chasing votes. I reject this accusation. The elderly are after all a significant and growing proportion of our population and in fact any policy is about winning votes. I suppose it depends whether people believe you will have the chance to implement them that matters.
We have discussed Council Tax and the various alternatives before on this blog. You can see them here.
Death Duties
Tax and Spend
I believe that the basic premise of a property tax is right. Until this Labour Government there were few complaints about Council Tax. It has been the way the Government has manipulated the tax and thereby attacked the low earning, mainly elderly, on fixed incomes. The choice is lowering the tax or devising a wider selection of benefits. As I believe in not just lower tax but simpler tax I am not sure more multiple bands of discount is the answer. However, a simple discount to pensioner households is both straightforward and achievable. As for Local Income Tax? One elderly lady said she would be opposed to anything that made her pay less and inflicted more on her children, precisely what Local Income Tax would do. In Kingston it would be punitive taxation for those who have to pay it.
Saturday, February 26, 2005
Raeburn recycling revisited
Some of you might remember this debacle from August 2004 and January 2005. Two months down the line the residents are still waiting for something to happen and I had a meeting on Saturday with a very unhappy resident.
What is the future of the recycling sites in residential areas? Technically with the advent of doorstep glass collections one would have thought the usage would decline. But even standing there on Saturday afternoon for fifteen minutes it was clear they are also being used for commercial dumping, especially restaurants disposing of bottles.
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Old Malden
Met a group of residents in Old Malden this morning for coffee. Surprisingly animated about the coming General Election.
There appears to be a big problem in Old Malden at present concerning a road traffic scheme. The residents appear happy to accept the bits the consultation revealed they wanted but are less unhappy about having forced on them the bits the consultation revealed were less supported. We still have a problem with consultations in Kingston, they certainly do not appear to satisfy residents.
Anyway I gather the residents have a petition to call the decision in and I will be seeing something more of this issue next week.
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
New work
It has been a busy week this week. I am trying to set up a new not for profit business in the education field and currently have a heavy workload to get it off the ground. Had a busy campaigning week. We have been tackling parts of Norbiton this week and some canvassing in Berrylands.
There are continuing problems concerning a telephone mast in Raeburn Avenue that I have been helping the residents on. In fact the resident have set up a website about it on www.berrylands.net
My wife is away in Geneva at the moment so I am having to hold the fort.
Monday, February 21, 2005
Action on Health
Chapter 3...................
CLEANER HOSPITALS. SHORTER WAITING LISTS. LESS BUREAUCRACY. DOCTORS FREE FROM WHITEHALL INTERFERENCE. MORE CHOICE FOR PATIENTS. SUPPORT FOR FAMILY DOCTORS. HELP FOR PEOPLE WITH LONG TERM CONDITIONS.
Eight years after Mr Blair promised to save the NHS, Labour are spending record amounts of taxpayers’ money on healthcare. Yet a million people are waiting for treatment, and average waiting times have increased. More people are dying each year from infections they pick up in dirty hospitals than the number who die on our roads.
I found this statistic hard to believe ut it is true. We spend millions of traffic calming and yet more people die from MRSA than die in traffic accidents.
There is a common themes running through these polcies of "freedom to do your job". This is something we all cry out for when constained by the limits of our brief.
Regular readers of this blog will know about my frustration with the health service on the occsions I have used it. The story we hear that Kingston hosiptal has run out of money and stopped peforming routine surgery is a disgrace that out MP should be doing something about.
Figures have shown that the last Conservative Government increased Kingston Hospitals budget by an average of 5.4% per year, yet since 2000, despite massive tax hikes and spending increasing in the NHS of 10.7%, Kingston Hospitals budget has gone up by 6.9%!
Kingston Hospital is clearly not getting its fair share of health spending. We have paid our taxes but where is our service?
CLEANER HOSPITALS. SHORTER WAITING LISTS. LESS BUREAUCRACY. DOCTORS FREE FROM WHITEHALL INTERFERENCE. MORE CHOICE FOR PATIENTS. SUPPORT FOR FAMILY DOCTORS. HELP FOR PEOPLE WITH LONG TERM CONDITIONS.
Eight years after Mr Blair promised to save the NHS, Labour are spending record amounts of taxpayers’ money on healthcare. Yet a million people are waiting for treatment, and average waiting times have increased. More people are dying each year from infections they pick up in dirty hospitals than the number who die on our roads.
I found this statistic hard to believe ut it is true. We spend millions of traffic calming and yet more people die from MRSA than die in traffic accidents.
There is a common themes running through these polcies of "freedom to do your job". This is something we all cry out for when constained by the limits of our brief.
Regular readers of this blog will know about my frustration with the health service on the occsions I have used it. The story we hear that Kingston hosiptal has run out of money and stopped peforming routine surgery is a disgrace that out MP should be doing something about.
Figures have shown that the last Conservative Government increased Kingston Hospitals budget by an average of 5.4% per year, yet since 2000, despite massive tax hikes and spending increasing in the NHS of 10.7%, Kingston Hospitals budget has gone up by 6.9%!
Kingston Hospital is clearly not getting its fair share of health spending. We have paid our taxes but where is our service?
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Action on Crime
Chapter 2 of our manifesto.......
More Police. Less paperwork and political correctness. More rehab places for addicts. Tougher sentences for career criminals. Prisoners to serve their sentences in full.
“The Conservatives have pledged to increase the number of Police nationally by 40,000 officers. Kingston has the lowest number of Police officers and PCSO’s in London. If there is nothing else that demonstrates we need a Conservative MP who will deliver then this issue is it! Interestingly the shopkeeper near me tells me the PCSO's are useless because they are not around in the evening to fend off the young people who try to illegally buy alcohol from him.
Crime is a key concern for us all. Crime has risen by 16 per cent since Labour came to office. Violent crime is up by 80%. Crime in London, especially serious crime, is rising fast and we need Police on our streets to act as a deterrent. As with much of the current Government we need to cut police bureaucracy and move police officers out of the office and onto the streets.
My Father was a Police officer and one of the reasons he took early retirement was because of the rising tide of bureaucracy and form filling he was seeing. He wanted to be out on the streets but the police service wanted him to fill out forms. He was so frustrated the only answer he had was to get out.
I also think the policy of having sentenced criminals serve tier full sentence is a sensible one. On one I speak to understand how a sentence gets passed and yet so little of it gets served.
More Police. Less paperwork and political correctness. More rehab places for addicts. Tougher sentences for career criminals. Prisoners to serve their sentences in full.
“The Conservatives have pledged to increase the number of Police nationally by 40,000 officers. Kingston has the lowest number of Police officers and PCSO’s in London. If there is nothing else that demonstrates we need a Conservative MP who will deliver then this issue is it! Interestingly the shopkeeper near me tells me the PCSO's are useless because they are not around in the evening to fend off the young people who try to illegally buy alcohol from him.
Crime is a key concern for us all. Crime has risen by 16 per cent since Labour came to office. Violent crime is up by 80%. Crime in London, especially serious crime, is rising fast and we need Police on our streets to act as a deterrent. As with much of the current Government we need to cut police bureaucracy and move police officers out of the office and onto the streets.
My Father was a Police officer and one of the reasons he took early retirement was because of the rising tide of bureaucracy and form filling he was seeing. He wanted to be out on the streets but the police service wanted him to fill out forms. He was so frustrated the only answer he had was to get out.
I also think the policy of having sentenced criminals serve tier full sentence is a sensible one. On one I speak to understand how a sentence gets passed and yet so little of it gets served.
The Liberal Democrats are soft on crime.
They do not believe in jail as a deterrent. ("I'm absolutely convinced that prison is a complete and utter waste of time." Mark Oaten Lib Dem Home Office Spokesman, November 2003)
They do not want to jail first time burglars.
They want to legalise cannabis and downgrade ecstasy.
They want rapists and paedophiles to have the write to vote from their jail cells. They would scrap the mandatory life sentence for murder.
Yet more choice for Kingston and Surbiton!
Saturday, February 19, 2005
Action on Education
We have had a series of policy announcements over the last week. It has been fascinating how for the first time in a long time the Conservatives have been leading the field and setting the agenda and the Government has had to play catch up. As ever the Lib Dems have disappeared off the radar as the two main parties trade the policies of the next Government.
On education we have promised to:
Restore discipline in the classroom so that the minority of pupils do not ruin the education of the majority; Give parents the right to choose the best school for their children; Invest more in education so there are more good local schools; and scrap university fees so that young people do not start their careers burdened with debt.
Click above and it will take you to the full document.
The fact that a million children play truant every year is something this Government should be ashamed of. I recognise there are some who will never go to school because of their own family commitments but there are many who are alienated from school because the stridently dominant academic agenda of schools does not suit them.
The idea that we should be able to have choice is a good one. Actually in Kingston there is a good deal of choice, unless you have a son in North Kingston. Even in that area there are some good choices in Richmond. Kingston has mixed, single sex, religious schools, selection, partial selection, specialist schools. The one area we lack is a Church of England secondary school. What the real choice agenda is about is allowing successful schools to expand and this could be through federation rather than closure.
Finally on university fees. There clearly needs to come a point where education is no longer free. The judgment is when is that. I believe that a university education becoming a more common occurrence than it was 20 years ago has led it to be a bigger part of the 'formal' education process. A such it is essential that it be free. I understand the issue surrounding the funding of Universities and this is a valid aspect and one Government must address. Maybe the time has come for those who receive a University education to consider the post graduate giving that we see prevalent in the USA?
On education we have promised to:
Restore discipline in the classroom so that the minority of pupils do not ruin the education of the majority; Give parents the right to choose the best school for their children; Invest more in education so there are more good local schools; and scrap university fees so that young people do not start their careers burdened with debt.
Click above and it will take you to the full document.
The fact that a million children play truant every year is something this Government should be ashamed of. I recognise there are some who will never go to school because of their own family commitments but there are many who are alienated from school because the stridently dominant academic agenda of schools does not suit them.
The idea that we should be able to have choice is a good one. Actually in Kingston there is a good deal of choice, unless you have a son in North Kingston. Even in that area there are some good choices in Richmond. Kingston has mixed, single sex, religious schools, selection, partial selection, specialist schools. The one area we lack is a Church of England secondary school. What the real choice agenda is about is allowing successful schools to expand and this could be through federation rather than closure.
Finally on university fees. There clearly needs to come a point where education is no longer free. The judgment is when is that. I believe that a university education becoming a more common occurrence than it was 20 years ago has led it to be a bigger part of the 'formal' education process. A such it is essential that it be free. I understand the issue surrounding the funding of Universities and this is a valid aspect and one Government must address. Maybe the time has come for those who receive a University education to consider the post graduate giving that we see prevalent in the USA?
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Blog away
Not blogged much in the last week as it is half term and iI have ben up a ladder trying to wallpaper and paint the dining room. Quite busy delivering in Old Malden and finishing Alexandra Ward. Have the University team out at the weekend.
Normal service will be resumed soon.
Normal service will be resumed soon.
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Cyberlove Ends In A Shock
I was sent this amusing story by a colleague but it is a useful reminder that you never know who you are communicating with when you are online!
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
I am going to reference the Guardian
For obvious reasons I am not a typical Guardian reader but I thought this article from Polly Toynbee on the incompetence of the Labour electoral machine over the last few days. It makes interesting reading for those who might write off a Conservative win in May.
Vote 2005
For those who like this sort of thing this is an interesting website of message boards around the election.
Saturday, February 05, 2005
Fundraising gala
Hectic today!
In morning had campaign meeting to finalise the schedule for the general election, whenever it gets called. All pretty geared up whenever it happens, even if called early, which there are constant rumours about. Great team have come together to run this campaign. Some delivering in Alexandra ward up to lunchtime.
The rest of the day was given over to the rehearsal and performance of a theatrical review to raise funds for Kingston Parish Church, who have a rather large amount of repairs to undertake to the only grade I listed building in Kingston.
Great event but exhausted by end of evening....and so to bed....
In morning had campaign meeting to finalise the schedule for the general election, whenever it gets called. All pretty geared up whenever it happens, even if called early, which there are constant rumours about. Great team have come together to run this campaign. Some delivering in Alexandra ward up to lunchtime.
The rest of the day was given over to the rehearsal and performance of a theatrical review to raise funds for Kingston Parish Church, who have a rather large amount of repairs to undertake to the only grade I listed building in Kingston.
Great event but exhausted by end of evening....and so to bed....
Friday, February 04, 2005
Another busy week
It has been another busy week. Tuesday had a meeting discussing transport in the Borough and the budget the council is allocatin this year from road repairs and yet more traffic calming schemes.
Wednesday was out delivering leaflets in the evening in Tolworth followed by a Berrylands ward meeting. Thursday a bit more delivering and the first evening at home for quite a while.
Today had some interesting meetings. One of them was with the academics from Napier university on epetitioning. We get quite a lot pf petitions in Kingston and not all got up by political parties. The trouble with the epetition aspect is that it takes away the interaction between the person collecting the signature and the person signing. Until they can personalise some aspects of it I am not convinced it will take off. Still, they might find ways of improving it.
Wednesday was out delivering leaflets in the evening in Tolworth followed by a Berrylands ward meeting. Thursday a bit more delivering and the first evening at home for quite a while.
Today had some interesting meetings. One of them was with the academics from Napier university on epetitioning. We get quite a lot pf petitions in Kingston and not all got up by political parties. The trouble with the epetition aspect is that it takes away the interaction between the person collecting the signature and the person signing. Until they can personalise some aspects of it I am not convinced it will take off. Still, they might find ways of improving it.
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Parties get tough on unruly pupils
This is a fascinating piece from the three parties about school discipline. I have seen school discipline and it can be a mess.
There are only two quotes that I really agree with on this. One is the Lib Dem spokesman who says: "Labour has had nearly eight years to tackle school discipline and this latest piece of empty rhetoric will do little to solve the problem". The other is Michael Howard saying: "Our whole education system lacks ambition."
The fact is that much of the rhetoric of Government is about control and bullying...."We will remove disruptive pupils and put them in local authority controlled centres....We will enforce parenting orders...." The fact is that were schools to be given the flexibility and the freedom to engage pupils and interest them in learning then they might have a better chance. Yes, you need to enforce discipline and have control over disruptive pupils but whacking them on the head and chucking them out of the class does not always help. (NB I stress "not always")
Surely it is better to make the school responsible for those that are disruptive. Surely it is better to give the school the control to decide who remains and who is helped, not some bureaucrat in the town hall. Why not give the schools the tools to control and eradicate their behaviour by using CCTV and if you need them drugs tests and metal detectors. At least these tools will remove the weapons and the instigators of bad behaviour. I accept that parents have a role to play in this but, as ever with this Government, they believe that another piece of bureaucracy will sort the problem out. We all know that "parenting orders" will require a "parenting orders" co-ordinator. There are 150 Local Education Authorities in England; in one stroke we have added 150 more bureaucrats and £4.5m of spending!!
So Labour policy is: more bureaucrats, more bureaucracy, smack the parents around the head and who cares for the child.
Conservative policy: no more bureaucrats, give the school control and let them decide how best to deal with the child and parents.
Where are the Liberals? They are arguing for smaller class sizes, reducing teacher workload and improvements to the secondary curriculum. Good vote winning stuff except that:
Smaller class sizes are now proven not to improve educational attainment. Not me saying it but a leading University from a study they have done. In fact they have proven that at year 6 pupils in larger class sizes did better than those in small class sizes. What this proved is that poverty has a more direct link to attainment than anything else. This study is also on the Department for Education website.
Reducing teacher workload? Of course they do not spell out what they mean. If this is a matter of freeing teacher time to spend more time teaching disruptive pupils then I am not sure teachers would thank them. In any case work force reforms have been started under Labour.
Improvements to the curriculum? Not sure anybody is arguing there should not be changes so nothing distinctive here!
Anyway this is a big issue. With truancy reaching 1,000,000 pupils action needs to be taken.
There are only two quotes that I really agree with on this. One is the Lib Dem spokesman who says: "Labour has had nearly eight years to tackle school discipline and this latest piece of empty rhetoric will do little to solve the problem". The other is Michael Howard saying: "Our whole education system lacks ambition."
The fact is that much of the rhetoric of Government is about control and bullying...."We will remove disruptive pupils and put them in local authority controlled centres....We will enforce parenting orders...." The fact is that were schools to be given the flexibility and the freedom to engage pupils and interest them in learning then they might have a better chance. Yes, you need to enforce discipline and have control over disruptive pupils but whacking them on the head and chucking them out of the class does not always help. (NB I stress "not always")
Surely it is better to make the school responsible for those that are disruptive. Surely it is better to give the school the control to decide who remains and who is helped, not some bureaucrat in the town hall. Why not give the schools the tools to control and eradicate their behaviour by using CCTV and if you need them drugs tests and metal detectors. At least these tools will remove the weapons and the instigators of bad behaviour. I accept that parents have a role to play in this but, as ever with this Government, they believe that another piece of bureaucracy will sort the problem out. We all know that "parenting orders" will require a "parenting orders" co-ordinator. There are 150 Local Education Authorities in England; in one stroke we have added 150 more bureaucrats and £4.5m of spending!!
So Labour policy is: more bureaucrats, more bureaucracy, smack the parents around the head and who cares for the child.
Conservative policy: no more bureaucrats, give the school control and let them decide how best to deal with the child and parents.
Where are the Liberals? They are arguing for smaller class sizes, reducing teacher workload and improvements to the secondary curriculum. Good vote winning stuff except that:
Smaller class sizes are now proven not to improve educational attainment. Not me saying it but a leading University from a study they have done. In fact they have proven that at year 6 pupils in larger class sizes did better than those in small class sizes. What this proved is that poverty has a more direct link to attainment than anything else. This study is also on the Department for Education website.
Reducing teacher workload? Of course they do not spell out what they mean. If this is a matter of freeing teacher time to spend more time teaching disruptive pupils then I am not sure teachers would thank them. In any case work force reforms have been started under Labour.
Improvements to the curriculum? Not sure anybody is arguing there should not be changes so nothing distinctive here!
Anyway this is a big issue. With truancy reaching 1,000,000 pupils action needs to be taken.
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