GE2010: Oh Dear! Past and Future Cross Paths in Lincoln

Yesterday activists from the Conservative Party's youth movement - Conservative Future - met at the White Hart Hotel in the Bailgate, Lincoln.

Right: Young Conservatives enjoy lunch at the Grille resturant in the White Hart Hotel, Lincoln.

Chairmen from the various branches that constitute Lincolnshire Conservative Future met with the Area Officer team: Area Chairman Mr. Reza Shah, Area Vice-Chairman Mr. Simon Cavalier-Jones, who is also Conservative Future - East Midlands Deputy Regional Chairman and Area Vice Chairman Mr. Giles McNeill and disscussed successes in recent months and how moving forward, towards a general election, how Lincolnshire Conservative Future can best support Conservative candidates.

Mr. David Cameron MP, Leader of the Conservative Party, sent a personal note of support. Mr. Hamish Stewart, Regional Chairman of Conservative Future - East Midlands was in attendance. Cllr. Mrs. Rachel Hubbard, Conservative (Lincoln Bracebridge Division), Deputy Chairman (Political) of the Lincolnshire County Committee also attended.

Regional Campaign Director, Mr. David Surtees, gave a positive vision of how in the next thirteen weeks Conservative Future activists had their unique role to play.

Mr. Karl McCartney, Conservative, Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Lincoln made a brief stop around lunchtime at the meeting; between a busy day of canvassing in the morning and leafleting in the afternoon. His incumbent opponent must be in a more relaxed mood about her prospects as Ms Gillian Merron MP, Labour (Lincoln) was in the bar at the White Hart from around three o'clock for a good hour that afternoon; if her opponent is working so hard, has she simply given up?

Conservative Future is the movement for under 30s, including all members of the Conservative Party of this age. Conservative Future is the largest youth political organisation in the UK.

The organisation is all about involving young people in politics and addressing the issues that matter to them.

With over 15,000 members across the country, Conservative Future runs a range of events and activities, from policy discussions to social gatherings. Many of these are organised by individual branches, which are based in cities, constituencies and on campuses. Members of Conservative Future also have the opportunity to get involved in campaign activity – supporting and standing as Conservative candidates in elections at all levels, from student politics to Westminster.

Not a Disaster, Just a Catastrophe!

Had we joined the euro, the British economy would now be a catastrophe according to David Davis MP, Conservative (Haltemprice & Howden), who wrote in yesterday's Evening Standard, speculating about the economic state in which we would find ourselves, had Britain signed up to the Euro. He wrote:

"Our already damaged economy would have been crippled by a fixed exchange rate set by the so-called 'successes' of the financial sector. Instead, when our financial sector collapsed, the pound fell. Outside the euro, sterling has been trading at a competitive level in global currency markets. British exports remained at attractive prices while euro-denominated goods raced to all-time highs against the pound and the dollar in 2009. This is the main reason we had a record manufacturing upturn in January, and without the beginnings of that upturn we would have still been in recession. In Greece, Ireland and Spain, all in the eurozone, manufacturing is struggling. The biggest of these, Spain, is unlikely to see an economic recovery this year.

"So managing our own currency is critical to our ability to compete. Giving up our currency would also have meant giving up to the European Central Bank our ability to control interest rates. The ECB has kept interest rates significantly higher than rates in the UK. The Bank of England has kept our rates low and pumped money into the economy, allowing companies to absorb the shock of recession and start to recover. None of this would have been possible had we joined the euro."

It should not be forgotten that whilst the 1990s were not the Conservative Party's finest hour electorally, the party's campaign against British membership of the Euro was utterly in tune with the view of the British public, at a time when both Labour and the Liberal Democrats would have ditched the Pound if they thought they could have got away with it. Without the Conservative Party's determined opposition to the Euro during William Hague's time as leader of the party, Tony Blair would have been able to abolish our currency and the consequences would have been dire.

Specials Out In Force

Lincolnshire's Special Constabulary will be out in force this weekend as part of the National Specials Weekend. The aim of the nationwide event is to raise awareness of the vital work carried out by volunteer police officers.

This year, the theme of the weekend is roads policing initiatives. Special Constabulary officers will be carrying out enforcement and educational activity, aimed at enhancing the police's operational delivery.
Lincolnshire Police currently has one hundred and fifty Special Constabulary officers spread across the three divisional areas. It is understood that the force is keen to increase this number to 250 by the end of this year by recruiting more people to join up.

Specials Constables are part of local Neighbourhood Policing Teams and voluntarily work alongside officers of the regular force with other experienced Specials. Training on appointment involves seven weekends at the Force Headquarters in Nettleham, followed by an ongoing training programme delivered on a local basis.

Video Blog #11 - Linelands Care Home Consultation

The Lincolnshire Echo is today reporting that campaigners who are trying to prevent council care home changes in Lincolnshire have made a 'Save Our Services' rallying call.

The impassioned plea was made as residents in Nettleham, north of Lincoln, met yesterday in protest at the county council's plans to replace eight care homes with privately-run provisions.

Linelands, in Nettleham, is one of the facilities which would be affected by the authority's proposals but people who use the service within the village say turning day care and respite centres into state-of-the-art residential care homes is unnecessary.

The authority's executive is expected to vote on the proposals in April, when feedback from public consultations to be considered.

Mrs. Elaine Smith, from Ashby-de-la-Launde, south of Lincoln said she was hopeful the meeting at the Black Horse pub, in Nettleham, would be the first step in allowing campaign groups from across the county to join together against the proposed redevelopment. Her mother, Mrs. Lilian Smithson, needs regular care, is quoted in the paper as saying:

"There have been public meetings and the council has come round and given its spiel about what the plans are, but there has been a lot of opposition to what the council is saying."

Lincolnshire County Council executive member for adult social care, Cllr Graham Marsh, is quoted saying:

"These are exciting plans which will change the type of support available for those using our services and provide people with better options."

Have your say on the consultation at http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/shapingcare.

Free Car Parking on Saturday Afternoons

Shoppers in Gainsborough are to enjoy free parking on Saturday afternoons starting this week.
All the town centre car parks are covered by the scheme which is designed to support shops and market traders during the £3,000,000 refurbisment of the Market Place.

Chairman of West Lindsey District Council's Economic and Regeneration Committee, Cllr, Malcolm Parish, Conservative (Welton Ward) said:

"The new-look town centre will be a fantastic improvement for Gainsborough which will be enjoyed by local people and be an added attraction for visitors.

"But in the short-term there will inevitably be some disruption and we feel that by making parking free from 1pm on Saturdays we are going some way towards helping traders in what is already a difficult economic time."

The refurbishment work is scheduled to last until June, and the free parking concession is expected to cost the Council between £3,000 and £4,000 in lost revenue.

Cllr. Parish added: "

The car parks which will be free after 1pm on Saturdays are: North Street, Ship Court, Roseway, Bridge Street and the multi-storey in Beaumont Street.

"Clear signage is being put up to stress when payment is not necessary and I am sure people will take advantage of the opportunity to shop without having to pay to park."

The town centre refurbishment scheme is already underway and will provide a new-look Market Place with something for everyone.

New features will include designated seating areas, access to wifi and a space for entertainment by performance groups.

Cllr Parish said:

"Since Marshall's Yard opened in 2007 more and more people have been visiting Gainsborough. Now we want to bring the rest of the town up to the same standard and really show what we have on offer."

The project will initially focus on Market Place, Silver Street and Lord Street and further work will take place in Market Street and Church Street subject to funding.

No Circus For Nettleham

Update to 'Is The Circus Coming To Town?'.

At last night's Nettleham Parish Council the meeting was informed that the request to place a circus at Mulsanne Park had been withdawn.

Cllr. McNeill said:

"The poll on this site, while having only a very small number of votes cast showed a relatively even spit between those in favour (7 votes) and those against (9 votes). There will obviously be people who are disappointed and those who are pleased, but the decision was taken out of our hands."