Hello again,

I was in Kimberley last Monday evening in what I call a “proper pub”. We caught the end of the Forest game which almost spoilt the night, however a few pints later and spirits were restored.

I was in Greasley the following night with local Conservatives for their annual general meeting and attended Bramcote and Stapleford’s AGM on Friday evening.

The highlight of my political week was Andrew Lansley’s visit to the constituency on Thursday (see below). My mother spent her long working life as an NHS radiographer/radio therapist and one of my brothers works at the QMC. I’ve some understanding of the NHS as both a patient, (I’ve never had a bad experience) and through my family’s long service. I am a firm supporter of the NHS and am proud the Conservative Party has made it our number 1 priority.

Changing the subject we’ve been getting some interesting feedback on school terms. County Councillor Philip Owen is calling for a re-think on the length and number of terms (this Spring term has been just 9 weeks long). Please keep sending us your views and don’t forget to check out the web site.

 
Council Tax up by 3.75%; Reserves Raided by LibDems and Labour

The Lib Dems who control Broxtowe Borough Council with the Labour party have put up your Council tax by 3.75% (just a week after the Labour run County Council put up their bill by 3%).

The Borough Council received an increase in money from the Government of 3.4% (the highest in the county) but it still put up Council tax way above the rate of inflation. To make matters worse, the LibDem/Labour coalition is raiding the Borough’s reserves and if they keep up the current rate there will be little left in the pot. There is currently £3million in reserve; £890,000 will be taken in 2007/8 and a further £631,000 will go in 2008/9. By 2011 there will be little under a million pounds left to maintain the high spending levels set by the LibDems and Labour. Maybe they foresee the Conservatives winning that years Borough Council elections and have decided to “spend, spend, spend” leaving the Tories to sort out the financial mess and for you the council tax payer to pick up a truly whopping bill.

LibDem Crisis

I have a lot of time for people who vote LibDem, especially in local elections. The LibDems usually stand well meaning hard working candidates who mainly do a good job for their community. But once their elected representatives are in a position where decisions have to be made they either bottle it or make a terrible hash of things.

 

We saw some of that at a national level last week. The LibDem leader, Nick Clegg, is undoubtedly a highly intelligent and genial man but as a leader of a credible party he was found sadly lacking. All three parties promised in their manifestos to give the people a referendum on the EU Constitution. Everyone sensible agrees the EU (Lisbon) Treaty is the constitution in another guise. But when Parliament voted whether to hold a referendum on the Treaty the LibDems abstained- doh! As if that wasn’t bad enough for the beleaguered Nick Clegg, one third of his MP’s disobeyed his three line whip and three front bench spokesmen resigned.

 

At a local level I’m afraid we see much of the same. The LibDems and Labour control the Council in coalition, though the LibDems have far more Councillors than Labour. On the threat to the Borough’s Green belt the LibDem leader of the Council has been accused of complacency and now they have forced through a council tax rise of 3.75% and have raided the Boroughs’ reserves.
 
Andrew Lansley

Shadow Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley visited a GP surgery in Stapleford to see ground breaking work to speed up waiting times.

Andrew met Dr John Doddy and his colleagues and later joined a question and answer session with doctors, patients and NHS workers at the City Hospital.

Dr. Doddy has been trained to use a mobile ultrasound scanning machine on patients at his Stapleford surgery. Instead of a trip to hospital, patients can be examined by John who can either diagnose and treat a problem himself or refer the patient onto the hospital. The results of the scan will be sent to the doctor at the hospital making for greater efficiency and saving time and trouble for both the patient and the doctor.

In particular John is using the equipment to detect and monitor  abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in older men. If it is not detected and treated the condition is a killer and given sufferers have no symptoms, screening really can save lives. John gave Andrew a demonstration on a patient who has AAA and then spent time with us talking about a variety of subjects.

Andrew and John Doddy had a long talk about the problems GP’s face; there was much discussion of opening hours and the need for more freedom for GP surgeries to set their own hours. Andrew also explained how the next Conservative Government will give GP’s more control over their budgets and free them from bureaucracy and targets.

I have known John Doddy and his wife Dorinda, since our children were very young and at school together. In the middle of the talk of the state of the NHS there was suddenly a break to receive and send texts and calls to our children to find out their A and A/S results. It’s obviously decades ago, but I remember when I was about to sit my A levels everyone said they were the toughest and most important exams I’d ever sit. They were right and I think I have just about convinced my oldest of the same.

 

Anyway, it was a really interesting morning in Stapleford and Andrew Lansley went away much imporessed by what he saw and heard.

In the afternoon Andrew did a question and answer session with NHS professionals and patients at the City Hospital.

There were a number of questions about how a Tory Government will fund and manage the NHS.
Andrew explained that a Conservative Government will match Labours spending plans for the NHS and will give control of the majority of the NHS budget to frontline clinicians working in primary care, including GPs and multidisciplinary teams of GPs, nurses and other health professionals working jointly in a primary care practice.

 

There was universal agreement that Governments targets are a bad thing. (Gordon Brown has imposed 64 targets which has resulted in Ministers demanding 250,000 data returns a year from NHS organizations) It was also pointed out that waiting time targets result in perverse outcomes, because they target only one element of patient care: the wait to first treatment. Whenever any patient requires follow-up treatment, this is left untargeted. One example Andrew gave is that waiting times for post-operative radiotherapy – which is crucial to the treatment of breast cancer – have lengthened since Labour came to power.

I know, you will expect me to say this but I am a big fan of Andrew Lansley. He’s been the Shadow Sec of State for Health for well over four years and really knows his stuff. I have no doubt that is because, aside from being a bright and able man, he takes considerable time and trouble to listen and learn from people who work in the NHS.

Prisons

Nottingham Prison released 253 prisoners between June 2007 and January of this year as part of the Governments early release scheme. That’s 253 criminals who should have been in prison but were let out early because of the Governments incompetence. As I know from my work, our prisons and young offenders institutions are full to bursting. The chronic over crowding is a direct consequence of the Governments refusal to build more prisons to house the growing numbers of criminals sent to jail.

The Conservative Party has announced our policy on prisons which is posted on the party website, click here to view it. There’s little I disagree with and particularly believe more foreign national prisoners should be deported, an end of the early release scheme and more rehab courses in prison.

Now I appreciate that most people have no time for criminals especially those who have committed the most serious of crimes. I also know that there’s a widespread perception that prisons are nothing more than state run free hotels. I have heard many a story that confirms that view. I know of one young offenders institution with better equipped and more luxurious “cells” than my daughters’ bedrooms and with good reason I have re-named North Sea Camp near Boston “North Sea Holiday Camp” (it also set free 253 prisoners on the early release scheme but are rather less keen to reveal how many simply walked out).

But equally I know prisoners who want rehab courses which they can’t get because of overcrowding and I know prisoners who want to spend their days somewhat more productively than spending 23 hours a day in their cell. Prison can and should work. By taking away a persons liberty you punish them for the wrong they have done but at the same time prison should be a place which does everything possible to make sure that man or woman, on release, is a better person who will not re-offend.

 

As ever