A Day in the Office

It's not generally known that candidates have to keep the wolf from the door just like anyone else. We don't get paid, we don't get expenses - just for the record! So today was spent at the office working. No politics, no campaigning... well, perhaps just a little. Had a bit of a gossip with various people about the South West Norfolk parliamentary selection. It's now down to the final 6, of whom I personally know three. Having been through it myself I really feel for them.

Rebecca House

Apologies for the length of this press release, but please do persevere to the end. I hope my anger comes across.

Iain Dale, Conservative Candidate for North Norfolk, today organised and chaired a meeting for relatives of Rebecca House patients to discuss their plans to campaign against its closure. The meeting was also attended by Norman Lamb MP and Labour candidate Phil Harris. Following this, Iain Dale and Norman Lamb accompanied the 30 or so relatives to a meeting with the Mental Health Trust at Rebecca House.

Iain says he was "shocked and dismayed" that no senior representative from the Mental Health Trust had bothered to attend this important meeting. He says: "I expected to see either Chief Executive Pat Holman or the Chairman Maggie Wheeler there, or at the very least Policy Director Kathy Chapman. I think a number of the relatives were quite insulted that they didn't turn up."

There was also a bid to gag Iain Dale and Norman Lamb, who were told they could not particiapte in the meeting, merely observe. The relatives made clear that they had asked both Dale and Lamb to be their voice and both participated fully in the proceedings. Iain says: "It is outrageous that they tried to gag us. Who do these people think they are? All we are doing is trying to protect the interests of the patients at Rebecca House and their relatives. I'm not going to be gagged by anyone."

Alison Leathers, the project manager for the Mental Health Trust then told the meeting that there will be a 12 week public consultation on their plans to close Rebecca House, Cygnet House and part of Ellacombe, at a stroke abolishing 100 beds and replacing them with a new 28 bed acute unit at the Julian Hospital in Norwich. At the moment 60 of these beds are in use. At the Julian there will be 20 full time beds with 8 for respite care. This means that some 40 patients, two thirds of those currently in NHS care, will be forced to find alternative accomodation. At the moment no such beds exist.

Iain says: "The authorities are putting the cart before the horse. They know the beds aren't out there so why proceed with these plans when they have no way of implementing them? They have given no thought at all yet to the need for respite care and how that can be provided and there is no way that dementia sufferers can be put in normal residential care homes, even if there were free beds, which there aren't."

Alison Leathers explained to the meeting that some patients would be transferred from Rebecca House to Hellesdon Hospital pending the building of the new Julian unit. This breaks a pledge she and Kathy Chapman made to Iain Dale in March where they specifically ruled out Hellesdon as an option. Iain says: "It is a disgrace that they have shifted their position on Hellesdon when they told me in March that it was not an appropriate setting for dementia care. Either I was misled or they knew all along this was what they intended to do. Either way it is a pretty shabby way for a public authority to behave and I will be asking Maggie Wheeler for a public apology.

Iain accused the Labour Government of creating continuing care criteria which "do not stand up to either clinical examonation or any judgement of common sense".

Rebecca House was only built 10 years ago, as a specialist dementia care unit. It's closure is described by Iain as a "criminal and negligent act which we should hold Dr John Reid personally responsible for".

Iain Dale and Norman Lamb committed themselves to campaigning for Rebecca House to remain open for specialist dementia care. Iain says: "If the Mental Health Trust abandon their responsibilites at Rebecca House we must see whether there are any other options, such as the Primary Care Trust taking it over, or for a private sector carer to opeate it. Whatever happens, North Norfolk cannot afford to lose such a wonderful facility.

In conclusion Iain comments: "I am angry - very angry that good and honest people have been treated in this way. The only thing they want is for their relatives to be cared for and not treated as statistics. The Mental Health Trust should examine their consciences. It's not too late for them to admit they are wrong and that Rebecca House should stay open."

The Politics Show

Just got back from Norwich after appearing on the BBC's Politics Show. I had four 40 second soundbites - not exactly a lot to develop an argument! I commented on Rebecca House, Gillian Shephard's retirement, Conservative prospects and immigration. I think I did OK. Someone has commented that I seemed to lose control of my right hand (steady on!) but I am a great admirer of the Andrew Marr school of gesticulation!

On the TV on Sunday

I'm going to be on the BBC Politics Show tomorrow (Sunday) lunchtime talking about Rebecca House and Gillian Shephard.

Rebecca House

Here's a press release I issued this morning...

"North Norfolk Conservative Candidate Iain Dale has organised a meeting of relatives of patients who receive permanent and respite care at Rebecca House in North Walsham to take place at North Walsham Community Centre at noon on Monday 11 October. Iain Dale will chair the meeting and has invited North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb and North Norfolk Labour Party Candidate Phil Harris to the meeting and both have accepted. They will discuss the Mental Health Trust's plans to close the dementia care unit.

Iain says: "I am pleased that Norman and Phil have accepted my invitation to attend as it shows everyone is united in their opposition to these ill thought out plans. We very much hope that Norman will be able to raise the issue in Parliament. Relatives are angry not only at the Mental Health Trust's plans but the outrageous way in which they advised the press of the closure before contacting the relatives. I have been to three meetings with the relatives at Rebecca House over the last six months and they have all been very emotional. The purpose of this pre-meeting is to talk about what the relatives want to get out of the meeting later in the afternoon with the Trust.

Editor's Note: The pre-meeting will take place at 12 noon at North Walsham Community Centre. The relatives will then meet the MHT at 1.30pm at Rebecca House with Iain Dale.

This is the first time the three main party candidates have met on the same platform.

Will there be a Green Candidate?

I was asked today by someone if there will be a Green Party candidate in North Norfolk. Anyone care to shed any light on this? I hear rumours that RESPECT will put someone up.

If ever I needed cheering up...

Today is the day I have wanted to see for a long time. It's the day which told me I will win the election. You had to be with me to believe it. I was out in Wells this morning and Wicken Green this afternoon. The number of people who told me they were really impressed by our conference was astonishing. And they were normal people, not political obsessives. We got a dozen new poster sites today too. I can't tell you how optimistic I feel. Now, after three...

CLEANER HOSPITALS, MORE POLICE, CONTROLLED IMMIGRATION, LOWER TAXES, SCHOOL DISCIPLINE AND.... ACCOUNTABILITY. GOT IT?!

On the Telly

To all my adoring fans (if only...) you can see me on the Politics Show this Sunday... but only in the eastern region! I was also on the Today programme this morning, which went quite well. I had to do it down the line but Stephen Pound and Sarah Teather were both in the studio. It was all about leaders' speeches at party conferences. Sarah Teather even managed to get a mention of the Hartlepool by election in, which was quite skilful of her. My sotto voce sigh of 'Oh God' raised a titter with Ed Stourton.

I had several potential candidates for South West Norfolk ring me today for advice. The interviews are this weekend. It brings back memories. I know several of the candidates. But I'd better not be indiscreet... (spoilsport!)

Debating Europe in Fakenham

What a fantastic evening. Fakenham Chamber of Commerce invited me to take part in a debate on the European Constitution with the Labour Candidate Phil Harris and LibDem MEP Andrew Duff. I had a fantastic time and really enjoyed myself. Phil Harris is a very nice chap and the debate was good. Andrew Duff is a complete federalist and quite happy to say so. I can respect anyone who nails their colours to the mast even if I don't agree with them. The audience was receptive and there were a clear majority on my side of the argument. The probable UKIP candidate Stuart Agnew was very put out that he had not been asked to speak, but he made up for it by asking 4 questions. Unfortunately Mr Agnew is so obsessed by this one issue that he can't quite get the fact that if you vote anything other Conservative in the General Election you are more likely to end up with a Labour Government which will continue to sell this country down the river, supported by their Federalist LibDem friends.

Tomorrow I'm out in Wells and Wicken Green.

Let's Get Going

A superb end to a great week. I left Bournemouth today completely reinvigorated for the battles ahead. I don't think anyone could deny we have had a good week in Bournemouth. There is a real self belief about the Party now which I haven't seen for some time. I've come away with some great new innovative campaigning ideas which I'll be deploying over the next few months. It's a sobering thought that by the time of next year's Party Conference my life will have completely changed - one way or the other. Now it's up to me to ensure that I meet the expectations of all those who have placed their trust in me.

Tuesday's Conference Update

Yesterday:-

1. Spoke at media fringe meeting on who controls the political agenda - politicians or the media. Other speakers were Ann Widdecombe, David Yelland, Matthew d'Ancona and Polly Billington. Went really well and I much enjkoyed it despite leaving all my notes behind. I'm better when I wing it!

2. Did an interview with the BBC World Service which was terminated after I accused Blair of lieing over the Iraq war. A disgrace. I shall be making a formal complaint.

3. Great speech from Michael Howard. Inspirational and deeply personal.

4. Office just had a call from a UKIP voter who saw me speaking yesterday and is now going to vote for me. Hopefully he won't be alone.

Quick one

Am v knackered and it's only 7.30 on day one of the conference. I'm just heading off to the Eastern Area reception and I then have to deputise for Simon Hoggart at the Spectator/Policy Exchange quiz. And if Boris Johnson doesn't shopw up I will have to chair it. God help me. Just done interviews with News 24 and Newsnight on Oliver Letwin's speech today. I spoke in the debate and urged us to promise to scrap Inheritance Tax which I regard as a deeply unjust tax in dieing. The rich avoid it by employing expensive lawyers and it is now beginning to hit people who cannot conceiveably be described as rich. Had a v good fringe meeting with William Hague who spoke about his book on Pitt. More tomorrow (hopefully!)

Off to Bournemouth

Just off to the Party Conference in Bournemouth. It's going to be a very busy week. This is my schedule for Monday...

9am-12.30 Politico's stand
12.30-2 Target seat briefing
2-4.00 Take part in Tax & Economy Forum on Platform
4-5pm William Hague Booksigning
5.30pm Co-chair Conservative istory Group Fringe meeting with William Hague
7pm Attend London Olympics Reception
7.30pm Attend Eastern Area Conservatives Reception
10pm Attend Policy Exchange/Spectator Quiz
11pm Attend Absolutely Equal Party

I'll try to keep you up to date with the conference as often as I can.

Iain Wins Fight to Restore Roughton Road Bus Service

Here's a Press Release I just issued.

North Norfolk Conservative Candidate Iain Dale has persuaded Norfolk
County Council and Sanders Coaches to reinstate bus services to the
Roughton Road area of Cromer. The 44 service was withdrawn in July, but after receiving several letters from local residents Iain Dale and
Conservative District Councillor Sue Arnold took up their case. Iain Dale learnt today that from Monday 4 October the 16 & 18 services will now stop at Roughton Road in addition to their normal route. Iain Dale comments: "I was concerned that Roughton Road residents were being cut off after losing their service. Many people relied on the 44 bus. While there is a railway station at Roughton Road, many elderly
residents cannot climb the several dozen steps up to the platform. I am
delighted that Sue Arnold and I have persuaded the County Council and Sanders to provide new services to the Roughton Road area. I am grateful to the County Council for listening to us and acting on our representations." Local resident Pearl Paice said: "This is great news and we're all delighted. I'm so grateful to Iain and Sue for their hard work."

Editor's Note: The 16 service runs from North Walsham to Holt on Tuesdays and Fridays. The 18 service runs from North Walsham to Sheringham on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Radio 5 Live Tonight - Listen!

I'm going to be on 5 Live for 2 hours tonight from 11pm to 1am. So if you want to hear my lame excuses for the Hartlepool by-election (I have none) tune in! 909 or 693AM, digital radio or Channel 855 on Satellite. Believe it or not my mother always listens to me on satellite TV so she can video it!

Unimpressive

I'm watching the US presidential debate at the moment. If this is the best John Kerry can do then he is in big trouble. Deeply unimpressive. Rather like our result in the Hartlepool by-election.

Calm before the Storm

My company is running the bookshop at the Conservative Conference next week so it's a bit of a busy time. However, even this doesn't stop your ever hardworking candidate from doing a spot of political telephoning. I've been calling a random selection of people who have returned my local residents survey. Almost always they seem to find it difficult to believe that a politician would actually bother to find out what they think. I've never actually phoned someone and then thought it was a waste of time. Had a fascinating conversation with a home carer. She had written me a really heart wrenching letter about her life as a carer. The woman deserves a medal. What she actually gets is £6.08 an hour.

Is the LibDem Council doing a good job?

The excellent North Norfolk Radio are carrying an online poll this week on whether the Liberal Democrat controlled North Norfolk Council is doing a good job. I hear on the grapevine that all council staff have been asked to vote to say how good the council is!

To register your vote
CLICK HERE.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is the first anniversary of my selection as Conservative Candidate in North Norfolk. It's been quite a year one way or another.

The EDP carries an article today about the likely runners and riders to succeed Gillian Shephard in South West Norfolk. They name David Prior, Marion Rix, Andrew French and Jonathan Morgan as likely applicants. I suspect there will be about 400 people applying and the roads of the constituency will be rather busy this weekend with wannabe MPs researching the area. It's a relief I don't have to take part!

King Size Nanny State

Is New Labour's attempt to turn us into a Nanny State now complete? I ask this because I read today that the Government has persuaded the makers of Kit Kat and Mars bars to discontinue their King Size versions. Dear oh dear. Are we really not capable of deciding for ourselves what we should eat? I shall go out tomorrow and devour three King Size Kit Kats as a protest. Just kidding. I think.

Today I published details of a ward closure at Benjamin Court Hospital in Cromer and commented on the clsoure of the Rebecca House Hospital in North Walsham. Both of these moves are deeply worrying. My releases are too long to add to the Blog but you can read the Banjamin Court one by CLICKING HERE and the one of Rebecca House by CLICKING HERE. I am growing very concerned at the number of residential and daycare units in North Norfolk which are being either closed down or run down in some way by the relevant healthcare or social services authority. On each occasion the explanation always given is that it is important that care be provided in the patient’s home where possible. In theory there is nothing wrong with this aim, but I worry that this policy is being driven by financial necessity rather than clinical or medical reason. The situation at Rebecca House Dementia Care Unit in North Walsham is a classic example. The closure of the day unit at Kelling for motor neurone patients and a Day Centre in Holt for people with learning difficulties are others.

My day was lightened when I was told by North Norfolk Radio that the Council's refuse collectors were refusing to empty wheelie bins at some houses where the owners were known to be gay. I thought this was a wind-up first of all, but it seems not. The Council have now promised to discipline those responsible. And quite right too.

Dirty War

Just watched the Dirty War drama on BBC1 about a dirty bomb going off in London. Frightening stuff.

Yesterday I spent the day out on the stump in Stalham and Mundesley. Today I have been preparing a speech on the European Constitution and catching up with correspondence and phone calls.

Amazing stuff in the papers about Gordon Brown and Tony Blair. I can't help thinking that their relationship is going the same way as that of Margaret Thatcher and Nigel Lawson.

Very funny clip on the BBC Politics Show at lunchtime. They showed Norman Lamb at an Eastern Region fringe meeting at the LibDem conference trying to do his pantomime audience whipping up. "We're going to win lots of seats of Labour, aren't we?" he shrieked. "I think so" came a rather pathetic voice from the back. Hilarious.

Cheers Charles!

It's not often I open the Eastern Daily Press and am left open-mouthed. But today it happened. Their political editor Chris Fisher interviewed Charles Clarke (Labour MP for Norwich South and Secretary of State for Education) in advance of the Labour conference. This is what he said in response to a question about Norman Lamb's boasting about the LibDems winning Norwich South at the next election...

"Norman Lamb should concentrate on trying to keep his own seat. There is a very good Tory candidate standing against him"

Chris Fisher continued... "Not for the first time I concluded that there will be no tears from Mr Clarke if Iain Dale regains North Norfolk for the Conservatives."

I always liked Charles Clarke!

Pass the sickbag...

This is positively the last anti LibDem posting for a while, but you have to forgive me. Their conference has been so smug and nauseating I keep having to reach for the sick bag. Here's Norman Lamb's comments to the Guardian on Charles Kennedy's oration (if you can call it that - it was one of the most appallingly delivered leader's speeches I have ever heard)...

"Charles has come of age. There's a self-confidence about the man which is just growing every day. It all goes back to the budget [which he missed]. Yes, that was a wake-up call but ever since then he's just been superb and played a blinder ... I thought the most impressive thing about the speech was that he didn't spend any time slagging off Blair or Howard. It was entirely positive"

I know it's the role of a PPS to grease up to his leader, but I must have been listening to a different speech. Kennedy did little else but slag off Blair and Howard. Yet another example of LibDem hypocrisy.

In a vain attempt to be kewl

Having exposed myself to shame and humiliation last week on Radio 5 Live when I made the startling confession to owning every CD Jason Donovan has ever released, I now wish to demonstrate that I am seriously 'kewl' as I have just bought a fantastic CD by a popular music beat combo called Maroon 5. Highly recommended.

Go on My Sun

I'm going to make an admission now. Are you sitting down? I buy The Sun every day. Shock horror. Admittedly it's mainly because it has the best sports gossip. Oops, I meant sports coverage. But it's also read by 5 million people and I reckon that if you're serious about politics you need to know what 5 million people are reading. CLICK HERE to see what Sun readers were treated to yesterday. Readers of a nervous disposition should click away now.

Arf Arf

This is hilarious. In my constituency survey we ask people who they would vote for, and then if they say 'don't know', which two parties are they choosing between. Congratulations to to Mr G of Weybourne who answered: An Xmas Party and Blair's leaving do.

Boris, Burnt Feet and Boring LibDems

Terribly excited about getting a link from Boris Johnson's new blog which you can view by CLICKING HERE. Coincidentally I finished a review of Boris's new novel SEVENTY TWO VIRGINS today for the EDP. I think it's going in on Saturday so I'll post it to the website when it appears.

A hectic day at work today preparing for our bookstand at the Conservative Party Conference. Had a long conversation with a lady from Stibbard about the playschool there which needs to raise money for a new building. Stibbard is getting a brand spanking new primary school building but the play school might be left homeless so I'm going to see what I can do to help. I was asked if I might like to do a skydive. I'm up for most things but as a friend of mine was killed doing that this year I declined with thanks. A few days ago a North Norfolk charity suggested I might like to walk over hot coals for them. I've heard of getting my fingers burnt but I draw the line at my feet! Anyone would think I was desperate for publicity... talking of which, the EDP printed a very truncated version of my letter (see below) today...Replete with picture of Norman Lamb. The Eastern Evening News quoted me talking about more Police for Norfolk and paying Special Constables.

Tomorrow I have a day in London. It starts with a meeting at POLICY EXCHANGE. This is a centre right think tank and I'm a trustee. I'm then going to listen to a Michael Howard speech on asylum and immigration and then by way of contrast going to talk to my theatrical agent (don't laugh) about getting more dates for my theatre show with Ann Widdecombe.

I could bore you to death about how boring the LibDem conference is, but I suspect if I'm bored with it dear reader, then so are you. And so to bed.

PS I just did a spellcheck (yes, I do sometimes!) and LibDem came up as an unrecognised word. The suggestion for its replacement was "lividness".

Delusions Delusions

Here's a letter I sent to the EDP today. Their political editor Chris Fisher wrote a very revealing article on the LibDems and Norman Lamb's plans to conquer the rest of Norfolk. I'm told that Norman Lamb believes the LibDems "won" the Easton by-election in South Norfolk last week even though we won it with a 4% swing to us! Quite astonishing. I think even the EDP are getting rather weary of their daily 'Lambograms'.

Chris Fisher's article (20 Sept) on the LibDems' plans to conquer Norfolk highlights their main weakness - which is that no one quite knows what they stand for, apart from wishing to be all things to all people. For instance, all their rural MPs voted against the Hunting Bill, yet their urban MPs voted in favour. Are they in favour of privatising the Post Office, as their Treasury spokesman says, or are they not? The truth is that their are promising the earth without having the faintest idea of how to pay for their ever growing wishlist.

The LibDems are proving to be the wheelie bins of British politics - receptacles filled with protest votes.

It is interesting that Norman Lamb thinks the LibDems are going to sweep Norfolk at the next election. He would do better worrying about retaining his own seat in North Norfolk. Rather than harp on about how well the LibDems are doing why doesn't he tell us what they actually stand for? Maybe he has forgotten that last week the LibDems were trounced by the Conservatives in a local government by-election in South Norfolk (Easton) at which they threw everything bar the kitchen sink. We won with a 4% swing from the LibDems to us.

Nowhere in his interview with Chris Fisher did he tell us about a single LibDem policy. Perhaps this is because he knows that a Local Income Tax will mean that a working couple in North Walsham will pay £650 more tax, that his fence sitting on Europe is no longer sustainable, that his Party's policy on legalising soft drugs and reclassifying hard drugs will be an electoral disaster and his Party's policy of imposing 40 new taxes on a population which is heartily sick of tax rises under Tony Blair, will guarantee that the LibDems remain the third party of British Politics. It is a sad reflection on the state of politics that Mr Lamb has refused to debate any of these issues with me in advance of a General Election campaign - a campaign in which I shall not only explain how a Conservative government will benefit North Norfolk but will also expose the hypocrisy underlying Liberal Democrat policies.

Gillian Shephard

I was very sad to learn last night that my friend Gillian Shephard has decided not to contest the next election. She has been a superb MP for South West Norfolk and the House of Commons will be a poorer place without her.

Yesterday we had a literary lunch at Fakenham Racecourse, which was addressed by Sir Bernard Ingham and Jo-Anne Nadler, author of Too Nice to be a Tory. In the evening I went to Kelling Parish Council and then drove down to Barnham Broom to do a bit of last minute knocking up in a local council by-election. I'm delighted to say we trounced the LibDems.

LibDem Utopia

Today's Daily Telegraph editorial is headlined LibDem Utopia. I think any comment from me is superfluous...

Oh, what an earthly paradise this land will be when the Liberal Democrats sweep to power after the next general election! There will be free personal care for everyone who needs it, young and old. For students, there will no more tuition fees (never mind top-up fees).

More investment will be made in the very young. The over-75s will be given an extra £25 a week, and a million pensioners will be relieved of the indignity of means-testing.

To restore and preserve law and order, there will be 10,000 extra police on the streets. Pollution and congestion will be cut, while more and more of our needs will be met by renewable energy. There will be free off-peak travel for pensioners and the disabled.

And never again will anybody have to sell a house to pay for long-term nursing.

The great thing about all this is that absolutely nobody will have to pay for it. All right, almost nobody. For the great majority of British families, taxes will be cut. Council tax will be abolished altogether, and replaced by a "fair and affordable" local income tax.

Only the "very rich" will have to pay extra, and even they will be asked for just "a little" more.

This was the glorious vision of a Lib Dem Utopia, described yesterday in the party's draft manifesto. All that was missing was a promise that under Charles Kennedy's benign rule, chocolate truffles would sprout from every tree, and elves and fairies would bring us our breakfast in bed.

It is all fantasy, of course, but it is clever fantasy, and not to be dismissed lightly by the other parties. The Lib Dems, with their flair for electioneering, have identified the aggrieved and disaffected groups most likely to tip the balance in their most winnable seats, and have lavished their most tempting bribes upon them.

Meanwhile, they hope to go on cashing in on their old reputation as the cuddly party in the middle - a harmless refuge for disillusioned supporters of Labour and the Tories.

The trouble is that the new-look Lib Dems are not in the least bit harmless. Nor are they in the middle. The policies outlined by Mr Kennedy yesterday amount to nothing less than the old socialist recipe for national economic failure, tested to destruction by every Labour government of the last century.

It is beyond belief that only the very rich would have to pay more for Mr Kennedy's over-regulated, redistributive, Brussels-led Britain. For every middle-income taxpayer in the land, a protest vote for the Lib Dems next time will be very dangerous indeed.

But, as always when economies go wrong, it will be the poor, the old and the vulnerable who suffer most.

If there was one thing you could do...

One of the questions in my constituency wide survey is "What single thing would you suggest to improve the quality of life in your area?"

Here are a random selection of some we received today...

"A rethink on traffic management in Cromer. It was very badly thought out and does not make sense"

"Provide more activities for children to do instead of hanging around the streets."

"Environmental payment to farmers replacing present CAP payments"

"Less wastage of public funds to improve all public services. Bring in Common Sense please!"

"More social housing"

"Better weather" (!)"The same amount of investment for Norfolk as is being invsted in the North East and Yorkshire."

And my own personal favourite...

"A Tory Government and a Tory MP in North Norfolk!" Boom boom!

Go to sleep with my dulcet tones....

I'll be on Radio 5 Live for three hours on Tuesday night from 10pm till 1am. 909 or 693 MW, on digital radio and online. It's a mixture of political chat and light hearted sport and celebrity gossip. Join me!

Catching up

It's been a busy few days. On Friday I took Rosalie Monbiot, the County Council Cabinet Member for Education to four primary/infants schools. We went to Suffield park, North Walsham, Worstead and Horning - all very different but also impressive. North Walsham has just come out of special measures so it was good to see the enthusiasm among the teachers and kids. In the evening I went to see someone to talk about pensions before attending a Conservative Policy Forum meeting in Cromer on how to encourage people to save. On Saturday I spent the day in Fakenham and Briston with a great group of people delivering our surveys and knocking on people's doors. Again, a great reaction. I drove to Kent on Saturday night to attend my partner's parents' golden wedding anniversary. Today I had to go to London to a book fair and to talk about a new book idea I have. There, that's caught up!

LibDems need to get a grip

Here's a press release I issued today in the continuing North Norfolk wheelie bin shambles...

The North Norfolk Wheelie Bin saga has yet again descended in to farce after the Council admitted to North Norfolk Conservative Candidate Iain Dale that it is discouraging residents from recycling garden waste.

After a complaint from a local Cromer resident Iain Dale wrote to the Council to seek clarification on the Council’s policy. He accused the Council of doubling the price of garden waste refuse sacks to £1.50 a bag pending the introduction of the garden waste wheelie bins in March 2005 – 6 months later than originally promised.

In a letter to Iain Dale, Nick Baker, Head of Enviromental Health wrote: “You are quite correct to say that the service will not be available for some time. The reason why the price [of the garden refuse sacks] was increased was to ensure we did not receive large amounts of trade waste in the sacks for garden waste and the garden waste sacks were increased to the same price as trade waste. I ACCEPT THE CRITICISM THAT IN THE SHORT TERM WE HAVE TO A CERTAIN EXTENT DISCOURAGED PEOPLE TO USE THE GARDEN WASTE SERVICE… We will not be reducing the price of the sacks as the Council has made a policy decision on this and we know full well that there would be an enormous amount of trade waste issues arising from such a reduction.”

Iain says: “If the LibDems on the Council are serious about recycling and meeting the government imposed targets, why are they putting a barrier in the way of local people who want to recycle garden waste? They are fleecing local residents by doubling the charge of the garden refuse sacks. I am calling on them to cut the price back to where it was before they admitted they wouldn’t be able to introduce the garden waste scheme on time. The time to put the price of the sacks up is when the Garden Waste bins are ready to be delivered and NOT before.

“It is becoming clear that the introduction of the whole wheelie bin scheme has been a disaster. It has lacked proper planning and local people are completely fed up with it. Council officers have been highhanded and insensitive to the feelings of local people and it’s about time the ruling LibDem group got to grips with the mounting chaos that this scheme has brought.

Cromer resident Mr Maurice Snelson of Compit Hills, who originally brought the issue to Iain Dale’s attention says: “I am furious that I am paying Council tax for my rubbish to be collected and yet the Council want to rob me of another £1.50 per bag for garden waste. I want it to be recycled but people in this area cannot afford this ridiculous price. I hope the Council will listen to what Iain Dale is saying.”

Back to School

Tomorrow I am visiting four - yes four - primary schools with the Norfolk County Council Cabinet Member for Education, Rosalie Monbiot.

All Change

The Boundary Commission announced its findings today on the future shape ofthe Norfolk Parliamentary constituencies. Because of the population growth we get an extra seat. North Norfolk now has 83,000 voters, whereas it should have around 68,000. As a consequence, after the election we lose a slice off the western end which means that the Fakenham and Walsingham areas become part of one of the new seats. I have to say I rather regret that in many ways, but in the end something had to give. I doubt whether there will many champagne corks popping in Norman Lamb's office tonight as the LibDems wanted the other end of the constituency to go.

Managing a Crisis

Went to lunch in Burnham Market. Superb journey. Roof down. Sun blazing. What a day. Spent this evening catching up on yet more correspondence and watching an interactive crisis management programme on BBC2. It concerned a plague outbreak in Liverpool. They had people pretending to be Ministers deciding on how to react. On screen you could make decisions on how to handle the crisis. Glad to say I got 4 out 5 right. So the good people of North Norfolk can sleep easy in their beds tonight!

Having a quiet evening in...

What a wonderful day. It's days like this I feel I am the luckiest candidate in the Conservative Party. There's no better place to be in the country than North Norfolk when the sun's out, the birds are singing and combines are in the fields. Had a slight change of plan and spent the morning in the Erpingham area and the afternoon in Tunstead and Weybourne. I've always liked Weybourne, and not just because John Major lives there. Having a quiet evening in watching England v Austria and catching up on emails. 1-0 at half time. Not a very good game. Tomorrow off to lunch in Burnham Market with Keith & Pepi Simpson and others.

From Erpingham to Exit

Tomorrow morning I'm out and about around Erpingham, Aldborough and Alby and will then spend the afternoon on the doorknocker in North Walsham. It's been a great week weather-wise, and it's not often I could have said that in recent times. It's also been quite a good week for George W Bush. Having watched a lot of the Republican Convention on the BBC Parliament Channel I have to say some of it left me slightly queasy. I thought Guiliani and Schwarzenegger were good, but Elizabeth Dole was terrible - and to think, I supported her for the Presidency once! Her constant religious moralising really grated. I think it's very dangerous when politicians start acting as if they were quasi-priests. Equally, I don't particularly like it when sermons become political speeches. I remember sitting through a sermon once debating whether to walk out of the church. In the end I decided not to but of course afterwards wished I had. Not quite sure how I got from Erpingham to a religious walkout, but that's the beauty of blogging!

You Know You're a Conservative When...

I spent yesterday night watching some of the Republican Convention in New York. I can't say it inspired me very much. I am fascinated by American politics but it seems to me that any speaker only had to say "I love America" and they were guaranteed a standing ovation. Not a sign of any real policy anywhere. Now I never thought I'd say this, but it was only when Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke that the event came to life. It was still quite schmalzy, but there was one passage which I thought was excellent. Just delete the word Republican and insert Conservative...

My fellow immigrants, my fellow Americans how do you know if you are a Republican? I'll tell you how. If you believe that government should be accountable to the people, not the people to the government...then you are a Republican! If you believe a person should be treated as an individual, not as a member of an interest group... then you are a Republican! If you believe your family knows how to spend your money better than the government does... then you are a Republican! If you believe our educational system should be held accountable for the progress of our children ... then you are a Republican! If you believe this country, not the United Nations, is the best hope of democracy in the world then you are a Republican! And, ladies and gentlemen ...if you believe we must be fierce and relentless and terminate terrorism ... then you are a Republican!

If you want to read Arnie's entire speech CLICK HERE

Harvest, Holkham & Holt

Whay a typical dingy bank holiday weekend. I'm off to see my parents near Saffron Walden today to help my Dad with the harvest. Weather permitting of course. I'm looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the combine for the first time this year. This weekend in Norfolk has been a bit of washout. I never did get to Holkham but we took the dog to a beach near Mundesley instead. Gio had never seen the sea before and didn't quite know what to make of it. Not sure he liked it, especially when he didn't get out of the way of a wave! Politics has taken a back seat over the last few days. The only thing I have done is attend a Holt Conservative coffee morning and catch up on some overdue correspondence, much of which concerns the dreaded wheelie bins. The Council really are acting in such a high handed manner over the introduction of these bins. Some of the language in letters to residents has to be seen to be believed. One or two of the Council officials ought to bear in mind that it is the residents who are their employers.

Damp Days

Spent a damp morning in Felmingham. I'm supposed to he on holiday this weekend but it seems a candidate never entirely escapes! I'm going over to Holkham this afternoon to take my Jack Russell Gio for a walk along the beach. I suppose the odd ray of sunshine is a bit too much to hope for!

Letter in the EDP

My letter about phone masts was in the EDP today. They had a surprisingly good editorial on Tuesday about David Davis's attack on the compensation culture and Human Rights Act. Indeed, they were effusive in their praise until they said we should have gone further and said we should withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights. But still they added for good measure that we were being opportunistic. Is there no satisfying some people?! It must be nice being a newspaper leader writer. They can say what they like without any fear of ever being held accountable for what they say. They should try politics sometime...

Those naughty LibDems

Nick Cohen, a left of centre columnist for the Observer, has an interesting column in today's Observer about the use of racist tactics in by-elections. In July I sparked off an interesting debate with a regular reader of this Blog about a LibDem leaflet in Leicester South which in Asian areas called the candidate Parmjit Singh Gill and in predominantly white areas left out the Singh. I described this as overtly racist and was amused to see the tortuous defence mounted on behalf this LibDem tactic. Nick Cohen goes one step further. Here's a quote from his article...

The Liberal Democrats often provoke their opponents into going over the top. They pose as saints while fighting campaigns which are as dirty as anything Labour or the Tories can manage - often dirtier. They shift their shape depending on which constituency they're contesting. Are they right or left? Pro-privatisation or anti? For the overthrow of Saddam Hussein if the weapons inspectors had been given more time, or against? Answers to these questions have more to do with geography than ideology. For the duration of a campaign, the Liberal Democrats are whatever a contested constituency wants them to be. Thus in Hodge Hill, a Lib Dem leaflet sent to predominantly Muslim wards featured a picture of Charles Kennedy surrounded by Asians. The same leaflet was pushed through the doors of predominantly white wards, but only after a quick bout of ethnic cleansing at the printers had removed all trace of the brown faces.

For more LibDem campaign tactics visit LibDemWatch.

On the Radio

I'll be on the radio for three hours Friday night from 10pm to 1pm on the Brian Hayes Show on 5 Live. 909 & 693 AM or on digital radio. It's a god mix of politics, sport and humour. Just my thing! If you tune in let me know what you think.

Holt Youth Centre

I've just come back from the opening of a new Youth Centre in Holt. What an uplifting evening - a real display of a community coming together to achieve something real. Well done to everyone involved. It's cost more than £150,000 and all raised locally. Needless to say there was nothing from the lottery. If this wasn't deserving of a lottery grant then God knows what is.

Buck up EDP

I banged off a letter to the EDP about their ridiculous editorial yesterday. I honestly despair of them sometimes. Why is it that they sneer at anything a political party proposes, calling it "opportunistic" or horror of horrors "populist". Far be it from a politician to propose something popular which also happens to be right. They were slagging off our new proposals to give local people and councils proper powers over the siting of mobile phone masts. Funny that the EDP itself has campaigned for this. It's at times like this that I really do think the media are just as much to blame for our political malaise as politicians. They forster a culture of cynicism. The end. Well almost. Here's the letter...

Your editorial today (18 August) displays what is wrong with journalism today. You sneer at new Conservative policies on phone masts and transport as "populist" and "opportunistic vote-seeking". I assume this means you think we've hit on policies which might be popular with voters. What a mistake for a political party to make! We believe that local decisions are best taken by local people and their representatives so the slogan (You decide where they go) on Phone Masts is not misleading at all. Local councillors will be given greater powers to decide the siting of phone masts. I thought this was something the EDP had been campaigning for. Strange. You properly record the fact that West Suffolk MP Richard Spring has been leading the campaign against phone masts in rural areas so for us to take this up as an issue can hardly be called opportunistic.

Cromer on Steve Wright!

Steve Wright on Radio 2 has Cromer Pier as his webcam of the day. CLICK HERE!

Cromer Gridlock

I sent out a press release last night on traffic problems in Cromer. I did interviews about it on North Norfolk Radio & Radio Norfolk today...

Conservative Parliamentary Candidate Iain Dale has called for urgent action to be taken over Cromer's growing roads paralysis.

Iain says: "Gridlock affects everyone - local residents, holidaymakers, local businesses, buses and taxis alike. But it is threatening to ruin local livelihoods, especially among local taxi drivers. A normal journey of 3-4 minutes from Safeways to the Doctors Surgery on Overstrand Road is taking on average 23 minutes. One day last week it took a particular taxi driver 42 minutes to cover that journey. The last thing we want is for anyone to steer clear of Cromer because of traffic jams."

Iain describes the traffic jams in the town as "environmental madness". He says: "More that £2.5 million has been spent on the regeneration of Cromer yet the result of the changes in traffic management has been stationary cars spewing out tons of pollutants. We need to get Cromer moving again. One of the main problems is the pedestrian crossing outside Woolworths, which clearly needs to be reset."

Iain is urging anyone with ideas to solve the gridlock in Cromer to contact him. "I will be discussing this issue with my district and county council colleagues to see what can be done."

Violence, Blunkett & Cherie

Made a speech to Stalham Conservatives on our crime initiatives at lunchtime today. Violet crime has gone up 88% in North Norfolk since 1999 - a frightening figure. I've also just sent out a press release on traffic gridlock in Cromer. People are getting very frustrated indeed. I'll add the press releases to the website in the next 24 hours.

So David Blunkett is having an affair with a married woman. Isn't it odd that the BBC hasn't mentioned it on any of their news bulletins? I suspect it might have been different if it had been a Conservative politician. And why on earth isn't there a national outcry against Cherie Blair's £30,000 a time speeches in America. Just imagine the media frenzy if Denis Thatcher or Norma Major had done it. She ought to be ashamed of herself. Still, I suppose she'll be writing the speeches while she is sunning herself at Berlusconi's palace in Italy. What a national embarrassment she is becoming.

Violent Crime up 88% in North Norfolk

I've just issued this press release...

Iain Dale, Conservative Candidate for North Norfolk this weekend supported new Conservative proposals to tackle soaring levels of alcohol-related violence and yob behaviour in village and town centres across North Norfolk. Analysis of Home Office crime statistics has revealed that the number of offences of ‘violence against the person’ across North Norfolk have soared by a massive 88% per cent since 1999, up from 545 to 1022 a year – with alcohol a key cause. Iain Dale explained in a speech on Sunday to Stalham Conservatives: “I am all in favour of people having a good time out. But in Sheringham, Cromer and Fakenham, like in towns and cities across Britain today, we are creating not a café culture, but a yob culture. The right to have a drink brings with it a responsibility – the responsibility not to ruin everyone else’s evening. I have lost count of the times that hard working, law abiding couples have told me they’d rather stay in now than run the gauntlet of the binge drinkers who have taken over their town and feel intimidated by the growing levels of yob behaviour.” Under the new policies proposed by Conservatives local councils will have greater discretion over licensing hours, rather than having to follow Whitehall diktats. This will mean local residents will have a greater say. There should be stronger powers to control late licences to prevent ‘disorder hotspots’ where they are too many bars or pubs in a vicinity. Councils should have the ability to prohibit ‘all you can drink’ promotions, where young people are encourage to binge drink on free drinks after paying a one-off entrance fee. Iain Dale continued: “Binge drinking and under-age drinking has a direct link to soaring levels of violent crime – no wonder that violent attacks across North Norfolk have soared by 88% per cent since 1999. This is not just due to statistical manipulation – the face of North Norfolk has changed. It is time to reclaim our streets and make them safer for everyone at night.”

A Busy Weekend

Just got back from the Cley Branch seafood supper at which my old friend Sir Alan Haselhurst was the guest speaker. We had a turnout of more than 100 which was excellent. I've known Alan since I was a 15 year old school kid in Saffron Walden. Interestingly there were quite a few ex residents of Saffron Walden there tonight.

Earlier in the day I was at Rebecca House Dementia Care Unit in North Walsham to hear the latest from the Mental Health Trust on their plans for the home. It was quite an emotional meeting with several of the patients' relatives expressing their deep concerns about the future. They are right to be worried and I have got to think very carefully about the next move. It's quite clear to me that government policy is to blame for this situation and that the Mental Health Trust's policies are being drive directly from Whitehall.

This afternoon I visited a homeless project in Cromer where I met a fascinating group of people who run a hostel for homeless people.

Tomorrow I start the first of my village tours. I am going to Aylmerton, Gresham, West Beckham and Bodham, before going over to Hempton and Sculthorpe in the afternoon. Then it's off to a do in Southrepps in the evening.

RAF Coltishall

Keith Simpson has been keeping me informed of developments regarding the future of Coltishall. There was a well attended public meeting in Coltishall village tonight which Keith spoke at. People are afraid of the unknown and it's now we've all got to make our views heard. I see the way forward ideally as keeping the base for a military use, but it's early days. Until we find out what the MoD are thinking this air of uncertainty will continue. I am glad the County Council are taking this extremely seriously and I have had several exchanges with the Head of Economic Development.

This weekend

What a gorgeous day. I've spent much of it delivering surveys to the villagers of Swanton Abbott. This evening I'm off for dinner at a friend's house in Drayton. Yesterday I went over to Swanton Novers and later in the afternoon spent a very enjoyable couple of hours on the Broads with Keith & Pepi Simpson. Went for dinner at the Walpole Arms at Itteringham.

Bits & Pieces

On Thursday I went to Upper Sheringham Parish Council, where I learnt that the cost of maintaining and insuring 7 lampposts has increased from £100 to £800 a year in twelve months. Ridiculous. How on earth are Parish Councils supposed to come up with that sort of money? Many people do not know this but Parish Councils have a very small budget, mostly only about £2,000. I would like to see them strengthened. At the moment they have few powers, and little influence.

Yesterday I visited the Muckleburgh Collection at Kelling. It's a sort of mini Duxford with a wonderful collection of old second world war vehicles, including a tanks, jeeps, guns etc. Their most recent acquisition is a Swiss army tank, which has recently been decommissioned. Can't think it saw much active service!

Yesterday afternoon I spent visiting several old people's homes and in the evening drove over to Fakenham to see someone who had responded to my newspaper. Had a very interesting discussion about education and international aid. Talking of the latter, I have invited our Shadow International Aid Spokesman John Bercow to come to North Norfolk on 21 October, so if anyone interested in the subject would like to meet him, do get in touch.

Today I'm out on the streets this morning and then later on we're going out on the Broads with my friends Keith & Pepi Simpson to celebrate her XXth birthday - oops, the keyboard got stuck there...

On the Radio

I much enjoyed the radio show on Wednesday night. Matthew Bannister was away so it was hosted by Anita Arnand, who's a lot like Fi Glover, with whom I used to present Sunday Service on 5 Live. Highlight of the evening was when we asked listeners to come up with 10 Sporting Commandments. I thought I'd be helpful to Sven and came up with "Thou shalt not covet thy secretary's ass". Cue raucous laughter. Wonder if I'll be invited back? Actually, I already have been - on 20 August. 10pm-1am. Put it in your diary!

I'm going to be on 5 Live tonight from 10pm to 1am on the Matthew Bannister Programme. Tune in on 909 or 693 medium wave or 855 on Sky Digital.
 

Good God...

Amazing, I've finally worked out how to upload photos onto the Blog. There's no stopping me now... You have been warned.

With Michael Howard and 'George' outside Icarus Hines butchers in Cromer. 

Here, There..

I spent most of Sunday in Fakenham visiting people who has responded to my latest newspaper and attending a lunch held by Fakenham Conservatives. Lovely weather and a brilliant turnout of more than 70 people. Yesterday I visited a major fruitgrower in the constituency and spoke at a dinner at the Feathers in Holt. Today it was back to earning a living...

Catching Up

Spent the morning in Blakeney then drove all the way down to Horning to speak at a lunch on public services. This afternoon I visited the Worstead Festival. Spent a very exciting Saturday evening catching up on email correspondence. I know to live, don't I? Yesterday evening went to my favourite restaurant in Norfolk - and indeed the whole country - Jacque. It's in Garden Street in Cromer. Superb food, great service. Try it out. You won't be disappointed. To visit their website click HERE. Tomorrow it's off to Fakenham for the day.

Police Funding Crisis

Commenting on tonight's breaking news that Norfolk and Suffolk Police
forces are facing a funding crisis, North Norfolk Conservative
Parliamentary Spokesman Iain Dale will say tomorrow (Saturday) in a
speech in Horning:-

"We face the real prospect of a cut in policemen in Norfolk and the
fault lies squarely at the door of David Blunkett. He talks tough but
has shackled the Police at every opportunity by imposing ridiculous
amounts of bureaucracy and paperpushing. These extra burdens are
unfunded and he expects local council tax payers to do his dirty work
for him. We learnt this week that the Norfolk Norwich Hospital is £15
million in the red and that local schools are about to lay off 100
teachers. Now we learn that police are under threat too as a £7.8
million black hole has been discovered in Norfolk Police funding. This
is too much of a coincidence and demonstrates clearly that Labour are
underfunding our public services while at the same time spinning that
things have got better. Norfolk people can see clearly with their own
eyes what is happening and no amount of spin from David Blunkett can
hide the fact that our Police are facing a mounting funding crisis.

School Funding

The EDP carried a story today saying that Norfolk schools will lose 104 staff in the next year. Isn't it incredible that the government trumpet the extra money they have put into schools, yet teachers tell you that it has made not the slightest difference in the way they are able to do their job. This is because it has all gone on extra National Insurance contributions and pensions - very little has been seen at the chalkface. Small wonder with all the missives fired off to head teachers every day imposing yet more bureaucracy on schools. I would like to see schools get block funding which the head teacher and governor spend as they see fit according to their local circumstances. That's what will happen under a Conservative Government.

LibDem Watch & Another Mention in The Grauniad

I feel duty bound to share with you the delights of LibDem Watch, a prime example of what blogging is all about. Click HERE to be educated on the true face of Britain's third party.

Incidentally, this Blog is featured again in The Guardian today, although they have rathwer irritatingly told their readers I am the candidate in Norwich North. Click HERE to read their feature on political blogs.

Notting Hill? I Prefer Swanton Abbott!

You can always tell when political journalists have nothing better to do when they start writing ridiculous stories about political groups who carry 'influence'. This week has seen an outbreak of this journalistic disease with copious articles in Her Majesty's Daily Telegraph about the Notting Hill Tory set. Click HERE to read the Guardian's take on it today. I have to break the sad news that while one or two of these people are friends of mine I have never knowingly been to Notting Hill. It all started with an article by Alice Thomson who identified these people as the future of the Tory Party - it just so happened that every person she mentioned in the article was a personal friend of hers! And so a story was born... Personally I prefer to be part of the Swanton Abbott Set!

Stranger and stranger, said Alice...

For some reason a couple of my recent entries have been deleted. Most perplexing...

Lazy Lazy

I have just realised to my horror that it is nearly a week since I posted a message on here. Shame on me. This week we've been busy delivering the second issue of my newspaper, North Norfolk Matters, all over the constituency. I've had loads of phone calls and emails as a result. And we've even had some people offer to deliver the next issue in their area. Much of the last week has been dominated by thoughts about the future of RAF Coltishall. I hope it won't descend into a parrty political spat. From what Norman Lamb has said I suspect he and I think along the same lines on this...well it had to happen sooner or later. The one thing people want now is some certainty, especially the local businesses. I'm glad to see the County Council has responded so positively. More on this later in the week.

Going, going...

Tomorrow is crunch day. Some think our beloved PM may choose the tenth anniversary of his accession to the Labour leadership to resign. I guess it would appeal to his vanity. Others think he's going to have a Cabinet reshuffle. If he does that he'll definitely be there for the next election. Word on the street is that Peter Mandelson may make another phoenix like comeback either as European commissioner or Cabinet Minister. Wouldn't it be funny if Blair offered Brown the Foreign Office and he refused? What a way to run a railway... Talking of which, Labour announced their 10 year Transport Plan today. Strange that. They did the same thing 4 years ago. I imagine they'll soon announce the creation of a Transport Czar - then we'll really know they are in trouble. The main plank of this 10 Year Plan is to charge people for using the roads. Amazing. I thought we did that already through our taxes. I have no objection to the principle of 'the user pays' but I somehow doubt there would be a commensurate reduction in tax.

And also today they announced a review of Council Tax. It seems they want to not only increase the number of bands but also to introduce a local income tax. This really could do for Labour in the same way that the Poll Tax did for Mrs T.

Blog Fame

This Blog has been featured in the Hansard Society publication Political Blogs: Craze or Convention. They picked 8 different blogs to analysie - an MP's, journalists, presure groups etc and they picked mine as an example of a candidate's blog. I have to say the report is a bit anodyne but it's nice to be included! If you'd like to download the report - it's only 14 pages - Click Here.

Ladies Day

Today I made a speech at the European Union of Women lunch at Crostwick and this afternoon I paid a visit to the Anglican nuns in Walsingham. They're a feisty lot! Tomorrow it's out on the campaign trail in the eastern part of the constituency. We're delivering my new newspaper and doing some doorstep canvassing.
 
The two by-elections last night were not exactly a success. It certainly wasn't due to a lack of effort, but there's no doubt about it, we should have done better. Mind you, how John Reid kept a straight face when he called the results a score draw I do not know. The LibDems are understandably feeling smug, but I suspect it will be shortlived. Two surefire certainties on election night: Brent East and Leicester South: Labour Gains. Oh, and another one. North Norfolk, Conservative Gain!

Apparently I am "much respected"

Just got home from the Conservative Summer Fair at Gresham's in Holt to discover in the Sunday Times that I am "much RESPECTed". I guess that's quite good to TROT out on the odd election leaflet!

Yesterday I took a carload to help in the Leicester South by-election. We spent the day out on the streets delivering huge amounts of leaflets. Polling day is Thursday. Fingers crossed.

Friday evening was spent at the delightful West Barsham Hall. Cecil and Ann Parkinson came up to support me. Cecil was in good form. Last time he and I appeared on the same platform Ann and I ended up splatered with eggs. It was at UEA 20 years ago. God I feel old...

Just found this on the Gray Monk Blog...

Figures released yesterday show that the Ministry of Defence employs 102,000 soldiers, and 102,600 civil servants. Guess where the cuts are proposed to fall? Right, it isn't among the papershuffler Brigade.

The Customs and Excise and Inland Revenue now employ between them more Tax Collectors than the total manpower in the Navy and the Airforce, yet the Civil Service is growing at a rate of 511 new civil servants per week! This is an increase on last year's 444 new civil servants a week which saw the "service" grow to 5.6 million. Other statistics on this are equally frightening - the Health Service appoints three new managers for each new nurse OR doctor appointed. No wonder the waiting lists keep growing; the money isn't there for research or for proper treatment, and the elderly are left to die rather than spend money treating them.

This situation costs every household in Britain £850 a year and and that cost is growing. The simple fact that there are now more bureaucrats and inspectors in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Rural Affairs than there are farmers should be sounding off alarm bells everywhere. This is what is costing this country growth (the Chancellor confuses burgeoning bureaucracy with economic growth - more bureaucrats = more paperwork = more jobs = equals growing economy?) and is killing enterprise. They simply can't help themselves. In order to justify all these extra taxguzzlers they have to pass more legislation which in turn creates more inspectors, which in turn consumes more resources, which ......

Belatedly, Blair and his poodles have realised that they have dug themselves into one very large hole and are now proclaiming that they are going to increase defence budgets. Really? The Treasury spokesman gives the lie to this, saying all the principle plans are now settled, the cuts will happen.

Government needs to be cut back. It needs to be answerable; it needs to be small and confined to the regulation of those matters which promote stability, safety, growth, and the well-being of its citizens. This government has failed on all counts. It has undermined the State with its pursuit of honours in Europe, it has all but destroyed the armed forces, it has undermined the Justice system, and it has irreparably damaged the concept of democracy in this country. The Civil Service, created with the best of intentions by Gladstone in the 19th Century, has become a ravening monster which is now so powerful that it is a political force in its own right. Worse, it is answerable to no one and cannot be thrown out - its elite are untouchable and protected from the fallout of their incompetence.

If this situation is not addressed soon, if this government is allowed to continue destroying everything it fails to understand, if the civil service is permitted to grow unchecked, democracy will not be the only casualty - the entire economy will collapse. No country can support the sort of "public sector" now being built in this one; it is simply ridiculous to expect the taxpayers to continue funding these armies of useless and non-productive taxguzzlers, and the economy cannot afford it. The true cost of all this government is not revealed, there are constant attempts to hide it, to obfusticate the issue. Instead our Queen and her family are forced to endure the annual torrent of abuse over "the exhorbitant cost" of the Monarchy. At 61p per household, a bargain against the cost of the parasites at No 10 - £3.20 per week per household!

Since taking office this corrupt and indecent party has increased spending on the promotion of their policies by over 1000% - enough to pay an entire battalion of fighting troops for two and a half years at current wages. The Cabinet Office alone spend in a year on taxi fares - that's right - taxi fares - enough to pay the salaries of around 10 doctors or 30 nurses for a year!

I couldn't have put it better myself.

What if?

My friends at the EU Referendum Blog have a Link to an article on what would happen if Britain left the EU. Not that I am advocating it of course. This is where UKIP fails to convince. It's all very well saying we should leave the EU, but they just haven't done the research to outline the consequences of doing so. This article certainly makes you think though.

Today, Tomorrow, the Weekend

Spent most of the afternoon at Colby Hall Farm courtesy of Holt Farmers' Club. They had an open day for over 100 sixth formers who were there to learn about farming. Norman Lamb was there too. This evening I went to Honing Parish Council. Tomorrow I have a school governors meeting, a meeting with the Primary Care Trust and a campaign meeting. On Friday we have a fundraiser in Walsingham with Cecil Parkinson - a huge number of tickets have been sold by all accounts. And on Saturday I'm taking a dozen people to Leicester South to campaign in the by-election. Sunday it's our Summer Fair at Gresham's School in Holt.

Phone Mast Story in the Eastern Evening News

Read the Eastern Evening News story about me taking David Davis to meet the North Walsham Phone Mast Protesters.

D D Day II

Saturday was an excellent day, apart from the weather, natch. I picked David Davis up from Peterborough station from where we drove to Kelling to a Conservative afternoon tea function. The rains came down and the gazebos nearly blew away. After that I took David to meet the people who are campaigning against the O2 TETRA phone mast on North Walsham Police Station. I hadn't given them much notice so I thought there would only be half a dozen, but around 40 people turned out. It shows how angry they are about O2 riding roughshod over local opinion. David is going to take the issue up with the Home Secretary and I'm going to have another go at the Chief Constable. In the evening we attended and spoke at a dinner at Hanworth - superb function. On Sunday I had to go to Northampton to a conference of all the Conservative candidates in target seats. It was a hugely encouraging event and Michael Howard spoke at the end of the afternoon. I then had to get to Brighton to host another Ann Widdecombe evening. I eventually got home at Midnight. In the last seven days I have covered 1500 miles. Oh, and I see the Sunday Times Atticus column has been reading the Blog again - they printed the Boris Johnson story yesterday...only two weeks late guys!

D D Day

It's David Davis Day. Just off to Peterborough to pick him up. David is my best friend in politics so I'm glad we have a good turnout at the two events we have organised today. I think he's doing a terrific job as Shadow Home Secretary. As many people know, had he run for the leadership I would have been on his campaign team. Indeed, if you remember his announcement outside the House of Commons when he said he would stand aside for Michael Howard I was standing behind him looking like an undertaker! But he made the right decision both for himself and the Party. In many ways that single decision helped unite the Party in a way we haven't seen for two decades. I'm looking forward to the day ahead!

The Last Few Days

Wednesday at the Norfolk Show was excellent. I was on the Norfolk Conservatives Stand for most of the day and had a great time. We were very encouraged by the response, especially from the younger people. Someone said it is almost becoming the rebellious thing to do for young people to support the Conservatives. They may be right. Today I visited Horning First School, which is just what I imagine a rural school should be like. Tomorrow David David is visiting North Norfolk, so a busy day ahead. Sunday I am off to a candidates conference near Northampton before driving to Brighton to host an Evening with Ann Widdecombe.

A Day Out

Just off to the Norfolk Show. Norfolk Conservatives have a stand this year so I'll be put on show as a prize exhibit....NOT!

New edition of my Newspaper

Hot off the press is the second edition of my newspaper, North Norfolk Matters. To download a PDF of the newspaper CLICK HERE. If you live in North Norfolk you should get one through your letterbox over the next few weeks.

Lamb Chickens out of Pre-Election Debates

Here's a press release I have just issued...

LibDem Norman Lamb has snubbed an opportunity to take part in a series of pre-election debates with North Norfolk Conservative Candidate Iain Dale. North Norfolk Radio were prepared to host a series of monthly one hour debates between the two leading contenders to be MP for North Norfolk after the General Election on a variety of current issues, but Mr Lamb insisted he would only take part in such debates during a General Election campaign itself.

Speaking at a Conservative Party tea in Swanton Abbott Iain Dale commented today: "I will debate Mr Lamb any time, any place, anywhere. I think North Norfolk people would welcome the chance to hear some proper political debate between us and I am sorry that Norman Lamb's self-importance has got the better of him. For a public servant to say he refuses to debate isuues of political concern to his constituents is a disgrace. If we are to re-engage people with politics I would hope we could talk about the key political issues in a polite and constructive manner. Of course we should have such debates during a General Election campaign but there are many current national and local issues which we should be debating now. For instance, on North Norfolk Radio on Friday Norman Lamb said he didn’t know whether he would vote in favour or against a European Constitution because he hadn't read it. Instead he said he had relied on political commentators to form his opinions, although he couldn't actually tell us what these opinions were. Is it any wonder that people lose faith in their elected representatives if they are unable to give a lead on such a clearcut issue as this? I am sure the people of North Norfolk would like to hear Mr Lamb state clearly - on a public platform - what his position is, or is he typically trying to face both ways on this issue for fear of offending anyone? My position is clear. I would NEVER vote for a European constitution. At some stage Norman Lamb will have to climb off the fence."

Wet wet wet

Had a very successful fundraiser this afternoon at Swanton Abbott, despite the weather. Had about 60 people here and it was good to see my mid Norfolk friend and colleague Keith Simpson MP with his family. There's a real bouyant mood among the local party at the moment. This morning I went to a fundraising coffee morning in Old Catton for the Ellacombe Dementia Unit Carers Association.

Traffic Jams & Health

Gutted. I'm typing this after a terrible journey, made worse when I got home just in time to catch the end of the England match. I spent a very irritating couple of hours in traffic jams which meant that I missed an important meeting in Cromer. Nothing I could do about it, but I just hate it when it happens. Tomorrow I'm on North Norfolk Radio at 10am, am meeting some GPs in the afternoon and then catching up on work in the office later. On Saturday I'm off to Norwich to a coffee morning in aid of Alzheimers and then having a fundraiser at my house in Swanton Abbott. God alone knows what we'll do if it rains. On this occasion I don't have a Plan B!

I was very impressed by our health announcement this week. I really think this policy will be attractive to people. It's simple to understand and will mean that waiting lists should be a thing of the past. Labour will attack it in their usual tribal manner but if you actually stop and think about it it makes so much sense. People are sick of the "If I can't have it no one should" attitude. In the end no one cares who treats them - NHS or private - as long as they get the treatment they need when they needs it. If the NHS is for whatever reaosn incapable of providing the treatment I see absolutely no reason why the private sector cannot step in. It frees up more capacity in the NHS without depriving it of funds. I'll be interested to see what the healthcare professionals make of it all.

For the Record...

The BBC Politics Show in the East has just run a piece on my promise not to solicit or accept a company directorship if I become MP for North Norfolk. I declined to take part in the programme as they were clearly out to cause mischief among Conservative MPs - which they duly did.

What I have said implies no criticism of any sitting MP who holds outside interests as they are all fully declared in the Register. This option is not open to a candidate. The pledge is personal to me and I would not dream of asking or expecting any other candidate or MP to sign up to it.

A Day on Planet Boris

I really ought to pay more attention to the advice Keith Simpson MP gives me. I saw him at the Lord Lieutenant's bash in Norwich and told him Boris Johnson was coming to North Norfolk today. He chuckled and asked if I had a backup plan and suggested that Boris might not know which station to go to to get to Norwich. Sure enough, at a quarter to nine this morning the phone rings. "Boris here, now look here old boy, it is King's Cross isn't it?" As he was supposed to be on the 9am train from Liverpool Street this was not a promising start to my day. I remained as calm as I could while inwardly cursing and suggested he got a train from Kings Cross to King's Lynn. "Ok, no probs," he said. Five minutes later the phone rings again. "No luck old bean, no train till 9.45, gets in at 11.30". At 11.30 we were due in Stody for North Norfolk Radio. More cursing. Silent, naturellement. Thinking quickly I dialled up the trains website and found a 9am train to Peterborough. "Excellent," trills Boris. Three minutes later the phone goes again. "Damn and blast," says Boris, "we missed it". Luckily there was another one 5 minutes later. Which left me with the small problem of how to get to Peterborough from Swanton Abbott in 15 minutes. I might be a fast driver but I'm not that fast. In the end Boris got a taxi from Peterborough and I picked him up on a rather nasty industrial estate in Wisbech. We arrived at North Norfolk Radio 15 minutes late. Then on to Langham Glass where Boris made a pig. Next stop Pinewoods Leisure Centre for Boris to speak at a Conservative fundraiser. We auctioned a glass pig signed (or rather etched) by Boris. Some farmers gave him an excellnt briefing on sugar beet and everyone seemed happy. Except for me. I was supposed to have him safely delivered in Great Yarmouth where he was speaking for their PPC Mark Fox by 4pm. At 3.20 we still hadn't left. Then came the journey from hell. We got stuck behind every lorry and tractor in Norfolk and eventually got there at about 4.30. So having driven about 150 miles and been driven to the verge of a nervous breakdown I made my way home to Swanton Abbott looking forward to a trip to Sainsbury's. Back to reality after a day on Planet Boris. What a superstar he is!

Thanks Antony...

My colleague Antony Little has a great little piece on his blog this week.

Those Lib Dem Election predictions in full…

1.We’ll get 3 MEPs in the Eastern Region … erm, just the one, actually.
2.Simon Hughes is the only man who can beat “Ken Livingstone” … erm, Simon came a humiliating third well behind Steve Norris, actually.
3.Lib Dems will make strong advances … erm, they came a very sad 4th behind UKIP at the Euro Elections, actually.
4.“Liberal Democrats Winning Here” … erm, they lost control of Norwich after just two years and lost 12 councillors, actually.

Couldn't have put it better myself. He might have added that they also lost nearly 50% of their General Election share of the vote in North Norfolk.

Preparing for Boris...

A day at the office today followed by an evening mowing the lawn... Oh, and preparing for Friday's visit to North Norfolk from Boris Johnson. Is Norfolk prepared? Am I prepared? I'm a wreck just thinking about it...

Euro Aftermath

Well I got it right in predicting the result in the Eastern region, but that diesn't take away from the fact that it was actually not a great night for any of the three main parties. In North Norfolk our vote held up remarkably well under the UKIP threat and the fact that the LibDems lost nearly half their General Election share of the vote was certainly a god sign for me. But it's one of those results where if you want to draw positives from it you can, and if your opponents want to, so can they, although quite what Labour can glean from it I'm not sure. I'm not usually one to have a go at the media but to suggest that the results were more disastrous for us than Labour is a joke. Labour got 22% of the vote - 22%!!! We shouldn't lose sight of the fact that we won both the Local elections and the the European elections. A time for cool heads.

Euro Predictions

It's a dangerous game predicting elections results, but I got the 1992 results spot on. I predicted a Tory victory of 21 and put £20 at 80 to 1 on that outcome. However, the friend I asked to put the bet on for me forgot. £1600 down the swanee... My prediction for this evening is that in the Eastern Regio the Conservatives will get 3 seats, UKIP 2, LibDem 1 and Labour 1. However, Labour may not get any at all. Apart from the size of the UKIP vote the other story will be the failure of the LibDems to make any headway at all. Indeed, I think their share of the vote might possibly be eclipsed by UKIP. In addition, people should analyse where UKIP's vote has come from. My feeling is that is has come from right across the political spectrum, not just from the Conservatives. At 9 o'clock we'll see if I was right.

Lazy Sunday

I am taking most of the day off today until I attend the Euro Count in Cromer this evening. Two nights running I have been to bed at 4.30am so I need to recharge the batteries a bit today! Yesterday I spoke at a lunch in Holt, attended the Cromer High School Party in the Park and then spoke at a Conservative function in the evening. Friday was spent mopstly on the M11. I popped back down to Tunbridge Wells to do a few hours work at Politico's but it took four and a half hours to get there. Then spent three highly entertaining hours speaking to the nation on Radio 5 Live. Polling day went well. Bizarrely there was absolutely no sign of any LibDem activity at all - no tellers, no sign of any knocking up, few posters. I am told by a reliable source that LibDem HQ is none too pleased with Mr Lamb's efforts and have given him a severe talking to.

Knocking Up

Entering the final two hours of knocking up potential Tory voters. Must dash!

What an Insult!

Good God. I have just received the biggest insult I've had for years. I was booked to appear on GMTV on Sunday and I've just been informed I've been dropped in favour of Tessa Jowell! Can you belieeevvvve it?!!! Will I ever get over it? However, 3 hours on Five Live will have to suffice tomorrow night. Listen in from 10pm on 090 and 693 medium wave.

Last Time, This Time

Last time the European elections were held in 1999 the turnout in North Norfolk was 32%. The result was:-

Conservative 11,111 (43%)
Labour 5,649 (22%)
LibDem 3,706 (15%)
UKIP 2,132 (8%)

This time we have the Martin Bell factor to contend with. Despite the EDP's attempts to portray him as some sort of Messiah figure his campaign has failed to catch light, but he will no doubt attract the votes of the disaffected. The electorate has increased a little since 1999 to about 82,000. The LibDems can hardly fail to do better than their miserable 15% of the vote last time, although they have fought a curiously lacklustre campaign in North Norfolk. Even their usual barage of posters has failed to materialise. Their literature has been significantly lower quality than usual and I haven't seen a single LibDem canvasser on the streets - and neither has the electorate from what I can gather. Labour has been equally anonymous and I expect their vote to decline sharply. I worry that the BNP will do well. Last time they only got 300 votes - 1% of the vote. UKIP will also do better and attract votes from across the political spectrum. If they do well, expect Kilroy Silk to attempt a putsch. But of course the only person left with a grin on his face if UKIP do well is Tony Blair. Just remember that if you're at all tempted to vote for them!

UKIP and the BNP

Sorry about the lack of posting since Sunday. This week has been spent mainly on the doorsteps of North Norfolk. Yesterday evening I went to Happisburgh Parish Council. The Deputy Leader of the local council, Clive Stockton (a LibDem) is the chairman of the council. He owns the Hill House pub in Happisburgh and is a political opponent who also happens to be a genuinely nice guy.

Today I have been in Southrepps, Northrepps, Sheringham and Holt. It's been very interesting how the political climate has changed. Up until last week I had barely come across a UKIP supporter. Sadly I cannot say the same today. Bizarrely several LibDem voters say they are voting UKIP. I even had a UKIP voter who quite liked the idea of the euro!!! How I managed to keep a straight face I just do not know. But this evening I experienced a first. I've been doorstep canvassing for 20 years but I have never - never - had anyone actually look me straight in the eye and say they are considering voting for the BNP. It happened tonight. Twice. In Sheringham of all places. Yesterday it happened once, in a very sleepy North Norfolk village. There is a real sense out there that the main parties are not addressing people's concerns, so they therefore look elsewhere to lodge a protest. If our national leaders do not start addressing this soon there could be terrible consequences. I actually think I persuaded the two potential BNP voters not to do it, but it makes me wonder how many others there are out there who I will never get to.

Winning one for the Gipper

I just received an email from one of my best friends, who lives in Washington. I met Daniel in 1992 when he was over here working for Patrick Thompson MP in Norwich North. We hit it off instantly and even though he is 3000 miles away he remains the friend how understands me best of all.

In 1994 Daniel and I took our fathers to the Normandy beaches just before the 50th anniversary events. It was one of the most moving few says of my life. Daniel's father died four years ago yesterday. Here's an email he sent me last night. In the subject line he wrote "You've got to win North Norfolk for the Gipper, Iain!"

"I am sad beyond words. Today is the day four years ago that Ed died and today we lost Reagan. I am now off on vacation through the June 18th but look forward to talking to you upon my return. Nancy and I are now back in DC-- home again if you will. We will remember and honor both of them on the campaign trail as you speak truth, think boldly and simply be yourself."

Well said.

Ronald Reagan RIP

Ronald Reagan died tonight after a ten year fight against Alzheimers. He, more than anyone, was responsible for the West winning the Cold War and the fact that the countries of Eastern Europe are now free. He, Mikhail Gorbachev and Margaret Thatcher were the political giants of the latter quarter of the 20th century. Reagan was a truly great American President and I cherish his memory. I remember his truly inspirational speech at Pointe du Hoc in France on the 40th anniversary of the D Day landings. I remember his words of comfort to the relatives of those who died on the ill-fated Space Shuttle of 1987 and I remember his speech in Berlin where he said "Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall." A truly great man.

On the Campaign Trail

A day on the doorstep today in the east of the constituency - Stalham, Ludham and Horning. Got absolutely drenched in Stalham. Tomorrow I shall be in Sheringham and Wells.

Being Interviewed by a Guinea Pig... all Part of being a Candidate!

If you'd like to read my interview with Giggle, the editor of the Sheringham Guineapendent CLICK HERE. I promise you, you won't regret it!

Why vote Conservative on June 10th? Here's why...

I've just read Michael Howard's speech on Europe. Well, what else can you do to escape Big Brother? It really is worth reading if you're even contemplating voting anything other than Conservative next Thursday. I've uploaded it onto my website so CLICK HERE to see what he had to say.