This week Iain Dale's Diary reached a bit of a milestone. I posted my 5,000th blogpost! Just thought you'd like to know. I hope to reach 10,000 by the middle of next month...
I had a very pleasant evening with West Worcestershire Conservatives last night. I met a lady who had been at school with Ann Widdecombe in Singapore, who rather disappointingly dried up with her anecdotes when she realised I knew Ann! I met a Falklands veteran who was, shall we say, rather forthright in his views on government defence policy. After doing a shortish speech I then took part in an Any Questions type session which turned out to be great fun.
One thing which I was quite shocked by is the number of people in the area who are still homeless after the July floods. In West Worcestershire there are still 2,000 people affected and they think they have been forgotten. Many local businesses in places like Upton on Severn have still not been able to reopen. Many areas haven't seen a penny of the government aid which was promised. In these circumstances people look to their government for help - and when it doesn't arrive they lose confidence in the entire system and think they have been forgotten. Yet more reasons to abolish DEFRA and start again.
10 comments:
lets not forget Hull, Doncaster and Sheffield. There is people in the north as well which was just as badly effected and still are by the flooding.
Try "Blogposts" rather than "blogosts"!
Iain,
Perhaps you should contact Central Office. Surely this is something Cameron should go out and about in Hull. Doncaster. Sheffield. Worcester and Gloucester.
He should give a good day for each City/Town and get 'into' the problem. Then make a major speech giving HIS and the Conservative Party's views on how they would be dealing with it.
strapworld,
Brilliant suggestion, it should be made a priority. If the government won't help their own people, maybe the conservatives can embarrass them into action.
Though I'm starting to think that they know no shame.
Iain - DCLG are responsible for post-flood support not Defra. Defra give the Environment Agency money for flood defences (inc in this area).
It's easy to say things should be abolished without offering any sensible alternatives...
Ann Widdecombe returned from Singapore to the UK when she was quite young - a school girl, in fact. So your informant would not have had much in the way of anecdotes, I'd guess. Unless, of course, she maintained contact afterwards.
As you're standing as a candidate in Maidstone you may well find many veterans and serving military in the area. 36 Regiment was based there although much of the military infrastructure has gone or been quietly sold off by MoD. And there are the nearby associations of Canterbury and Chatham.
As you know, there are very few headlines in the ongoing rehousing of those people affected by the floods so, naturally, Ministers have moved on - leaving destruction, half-truths and false promises in their wake.
DEFRA is a complete waste of space and should have been wound up immediately after the major foot-and-mouth shambles. Even now, years on, they have not dealt with all the cases of hardship arising from that. Doesn't look too good for the poor people of West Worcestershire, then.
fatboyslimming - repeat after me "There are people in the north"..."There are people in the north".
You people from the north really do let the side down rather. Presumably it's because it's grim up there.
Perhaps Iain didn't mention people affected by floods in the North and East of England was because he was in the West of England yesterday?
Perhaps the good but sodden folks of Hull could try complaining to that oaf Prescott, who just happens to have been their MP for decades, and was at the top of this disastrous Govt for the past 10 years?
Well Ian, you obviously have a lot more time on your hands than I do!!
"only joking!!"
keep up the good work in exposing Labour.. for what they are!!
Very Kind Regards
Richard
Northants British National Party
Definitely abolish DEFRA. The main story on regional news prog. 'About Anglia' concerned DEFRA officials being put up at a £300 a night per room hotel whilst they sorted out the avian flu outbreak.Still, it's only the taxpayer picking up the tab, so why worry.
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