Wright's Trident Vote

When we did the hustings at UEA, SImon Wright pushed heavily his opposition to Trident and - though I challenged him on that - he played to the gallery and said he wanted it gone. After the meeting, one student really pushed his anti-Trident stance to me (that's a nice way to say he had a right go at me) and accused me of pretty much everything under the sun. Now an email arrives from said student a month after the poll.

He writes that he voted for Mr Wright based upon that performance, but was concerned to note that when given the chance to vote against Trident, he chose instead to support the Conservative position of keeping it (Labour abstained). This student is furious and although I am glad Simon has seen sense and taken the Tory position on this, there is at least one voter in Norwich who will never vote LibDem again over the issue. The one thing that concerns me about coalition in general is that you have to make compromise in government which looks like betrayal of political principle to people.

Mr Wright is likely to have a similar problem with tuition fees. The Union of UEA Students - whose member openly brag about having been key in removing Clarke and electing Wright - are watching keenly.

I have to say that I doubt if Mr Wright can hold this together for 5 years, promising one thing in Norwich and doing another in Westminster.

Campaign Diary - Day Sixteen

Today was mad and I found myself criss-crossing the City. This morning I spent time writing personal letters to all those people who had written, especially for policy information. I am keen to write my own views to local people and not just a standard template response so this always takes some time to do. In addition I wanted to carry on my phone calls to party members to thank them for their support. This afternoon it was back to the classroom, and then onto the South Park area of the City where a big team of Tory canvassers took to the streets. There was a good response and people seemed keen on talking about issues.

Then tonight all the main candidates were at the UEA for a debate hosted by the BMA - there were some very detailed questions but again we found ourselves, except perhaps the Greens, in agreement about the fundamentals of the NHS if not the specifics of policy! The audience was small but lively!

And now I'm just watching the complete demolishion of Vince Cable by the BBCs Stephanie Flanders and Andrew Neill; good to see Ken Clarke back in the frontline taking the lead in warning against a Hung Parliament.

What do we think young voters care about ... and what do they really care about?

I don't usually reproduce other posts in full but this one from the Speccie about a BBC Politics Show poll is well worth reading:

The Politics Show conducted a fascinating poll into the concerns of voters aged under 20. The Recession Generation are primarily concerned with, well, the recession. Economic recovery, public spending and tax came top of their list of priorities, closely followed by health and education. It’s clear that younger voters have exactly the same concerns as the wider population, and encouragingly for the Tories, those polled prefer David Cameron to Gordon Brown and Nick Clegg by a clear margin of 8 percentage points. The Liberal Democrats attracted only 18% of voters, indicating quite how damaging their tuition fee u-turn has been.

Popular myth dictates that younger voters are consumed by tackling climate change. Intriguingly, climate change came towards the bottom of the list of pressing concerns. Has emerging scientific contention engendered a more general scepticism? Have economic realities created a sense of realism? Or has the relentless noise of Green campaigners initiated ‘green fatigue’? As the great Copenhagen shindig draws near, and ever more ludicrous soothsayings about the world ending next Tuesday are made, the political consensus seems out of touch.

When I did a meeting at the UEA last week I said that in my discussions with students, fees actually came a long way down their agenda behind the economy, jobs, crime and transport. Too often politicans, and the media, decided what they think young people ought to be ineterested in - often its the environment, drugs and international aid. This poll appears, and I realise its only one survey, to reject that suggestion and say that young people focus on the same things that other groups do. I must admit to being very surprised that climate change came so low amongst young people but it shows that the people set the agenda rather than politicans.

As for the voting intentions that didn't surprise me at all; most students I have met both in formal meetings and in the Square/Hive tell me they are as fed up with Labour as everyone else and will be voting Conservative to make sure we are rid of Brown and Clarke.

Education, Education, Education

I have spent the day going from educational establishment to educational establishment. This morning I met with Dick Palmer the Principal of Norwich City College for a private meeting to discuss the new proposals for redevelopment of the site at stage one. I am not at liberty to say more but will do so after the plans are launched next week. From there is was off to school for a few hours of paid employment. I was in various campaign meetings for much of the afternoon and then this evening I went to meet UEA students to discuss the coming campaign and introduce myself. There was a good turnout but, oddly I suppose, people seemed more interested in my background than necessarily asking policy based questions. They wanted to know about my family and also about life as a teacher too; plus also about taking on Charles Clarke. I was told by one that they were more interested in what type of person I am than anything else - they wanted to know about my character and judgement. I am grateful to the students who organised it and I hope to make this the first of many visits to the UEA - I am returning for a debate on 31st October.

Norwich City Council: UEA Students need not apply

Every now and again you hear of a story so sad that it explains why so few people give up their time for local democracy.

I have just spoken to a resident who lives in Eaton and who had been canvassed by the Liberal Democrats for the election. On telling the canvasser that he was voting Conservative, she told him not to vote for "the student" and he was "21 and would leave soon".

Apart from the fact that UEA Student and Conservative candidate Niall Baxter has made Norwich his home, including finding a house and a job, it is really rude and patronising to suggest that UEA students cannot be councillors and fully contribute to their adopted-home City.

Maybe this LibDem canvasser - actually, a very senior Councillor as it happens - thinks I should never have stood? Maybe she doesn't want UEA Students to stand full stop ... I wonder what UEA Students who are currently having their votes courted by the LibDems would think of this?

We already know that the LibDems have a problems with teachers serving as Councillors - they made that quite clear (see here), but now they are ruling out students too. Maybe they want civic responsibility to be the preserve of the wealthy middle class housewives with a lot of time on their hands?

We need a diverse council representing our whole City - students, teachers, young, old, black, white, male and female. I am proud of all of our candidate; I just wonder why the LibDems can't be more positive and honest in their campaigning?

Actually, I think this shows how much they are running scared at the moment - I hope the people of Eaton see through this shabby, shallow trick and the student voters around Norwich now know who isn't worthy of their support.

Now it's the turn of the UEA LibDems to fall apart...

It would be churlish of me to bring on about the splits in the Norwich LibDems any longer, so I thought I'd turn my attention to their junior colleagues in the UEA LibDems.

I have posted below about the anger of one former committee member whose image was used on a leaflet to support their local PPC after he had quit the party in disgust. Now its the committee members themselves who have turned on one another.

At UEA SocMart (the one where the UEA Tories maintained their place as the largest party on campus and the LibDems failed to attract more than a handful of members) their Treasurer saw fit to hand out leaflets attacking "anti-student" councillor Bert Bremner, who just happens to represent University Ward. Labour reacted angrily to the charges against good ol' Bert and complained very loudly. So loudly, in fact, that the UEA LibDem Chairman wrote a letter to the student newspaper Conceret, apologising for the act of his Treasurer and saying it had nothing to do with the LibDems.

Now the Chairman has stabbed the Treasurer in the back (the letter was written without his knowledge) the whole committee is falling in on itself.

Success breeds loyalty in any political party (just look at the Blairite big tent and currently Cameron's Conservatives) and it seems like the political decline in the LibDems has created divisions ... both locally and nationally.

So what will the Treasurer do now? In political life, if your leader publicly disowns you in the press for part of your political strategy you have to ask if you can remain in their team.

If you are the Chairman and the Treasurer does this behind your back, you have to ask if you can keep them on your team.

Either way, their very public spat this week - which included a big article on page 2 of Concrete as well as contradictory letters published next to each other - damages politics as much as themselves.

No wonder the two major parties on campus see the LibDems as so irrelevant and without support that they plan to have this years big political debate without them.

Political Lesson No. 144: Another danger associated with giant novelty cheques

Sometimes there are moment in politics so wonderfully amusing you wished that the rest of the population found it as funny as you do.

A little birdie tells me that the LibDems distributed a leaflet during Freshers Week at UEA, including a front page photo of a beeming LibDem PPC handing over a giant novelty cheque to a student showing how much coulod be saved with some LibDem policy or another.

The only problem is that this student was a member of the LibDems when the photo was taken but has since quit the party in total disgust at the way in which it has been run locally. His fury was apparently legendary and his certainly made his presence felt as he slammed the door shut on his membership.

How lovely for him to know that his erstwhile support for the LibDems lives on in photo form. I wonder if he is happy with this, or is it that (as was suggested to me) the LibDems have few photos to select for their leaflets because people won't be photographed with their candidate for Norwich South?

On the eve of a possible election the LibDem campaign seems to have melted before it was even formed.

Too Busy to Blog!

Apologies for the lack of posts this week - it's been hectic! Thursday I attended a campaign co-ordination meeting in Suffolk for the next general election. I am very impressed at the level of professionalism being put in by both CCHQ and by the Area team and the reports from the targets seats seem to be very positive and the level of activity from across the region should have Labour and the LibDems VERY worried!

Unfortunately Olivia has been sick and so I was able to attend the Ann Widdecombe dinner at Oxburgh Hall - which is a shame as she is always good value! However, Saturday came and we managed to get out to a friend's marriage blessing at St. Pauls in Hellesdon. They married in the USA but wanted to allow their friends and family who didn't get out there the chance to witness their vows. It was a lovely service and the highlight was the bride and groom taking the unusual step of doing their own music - literally! Heidi has an amazing voice and she sung with Christian playing the music. Amazing!

It was then over to the People's Republic of Dussindale for an exclusive drinks party involving a Waitrose-a-thon (don't ask). And then onto UEA for the 1990s reunion. Lou and I cannot believe it is 10 years since we started at UEA - almost the same length of time as Blair's reign. God it feels like a long time! There was a fantastic party in the Square and sitting out in the rain, supping on cheap booze and chatting to old friends it felt like I'd never left. It really was a who's-who of UEA alumni! Old flatmates, senior Tories, people from my course and those randoms who you recongise but just can't remember their names! The music was all 1990s and it was good to see Chesney and S-Club7 in the top 3 songs of the decade. Although was slightly miffed not to include Take That's "Relight my Fire" or Robbie William's "Angel". Well done UEA - you know how to throw a party!

I'm afraid the toll of a certain number of G&Ts was evident this morning and so the day has been spent recovering. Tomorrow and Tuesday I am out on a retreat day with Year 9 in Poringland so I better get an early night!

Church, Lunch, Beach, Garden

Apologies for the lack of posts - I am rather enjoying the post-election period at the moment and we found ourselves drawn along by the weather today. After going to mass at St. George's this morning, we then headed down to the Recruiting Sergeant for one of the best Sunday lunches we've had in a long time! After this we went to Mundesley for a trip to the beach. It was much colder on the North Norfolk coast than in the City so within hours we were back in the garden and finally enjoying the summer.

It's been a very sociable weekend all-in-all - yesterday, following a strategy meeting with the Town Close Conservatives, we had a get together at Dunstan Hall. Beautiful location and great food - although my pint of beer did manage to nearly blow up the bar when the tap went wrong and backfired! In the evening I stepped out with UEA Conservatives past and present - a social to launch their new blog, which can be found here. It is great to have a large and active Tory group at UEA and even better when they are fired up for the elections!

In fact, wherever have I found the time to facebook this weekend???

LibDem faux outrage at UEA votes issue

I think that it is crazy that the UEA has nowhere on campus for the voters of that polling district to vote on 3rd May. However, given the reaction of the LibDems you might believe that this was the greatest attack on democracy for a generation.

Hardly.

We should encourage people to vote but we cannot hold their hand whilst they do it. It must be easy to vote but people must also want to do it.

I live around 6 minutes walk from my polling station.

When I lived in Mardle Street, Bowthorpe, I lived a good 15 minutes walk from my polling station.

In Norwich, as in Norfolk and around the country, you have to make an effort to vote.

If students want to vote they will walk, cycle or even drive to the schoiol next to UEA to do it. If they care about voting they will make the effort and give up the few extra minutes to cast their votes. Maybe they will be so angry by this decision turnout may even rise?

If they say that they won't vote because there isn't a polling station under their noses then that is in itself contempt for democracy and on that principle vast swathes of the country, and the City, would never vote.

And, of course, there is still time for a postal vote to be arranged.

So how do we explain the LibDem outrage? Pure politics. They believe their only hope of not being totally humiliated in this ward is the student vote. They care about their campaign, not about democracy.

However, given the fact that the UEA LibDems have almost ceased to function and that the Conservatives are now by far the biggest party on campus, I wouldn't be too sure that student votes will save them.

So be assured, LibDems. Democracy carries on. At least University Tory candidate Niall Baxter (pictured) has remained calm throughout this "crisis".

UEA cuts are a further blow to local healthcare

Norwich and Norfolk are not having a good time of it at the moment with regards to our healthcare. The loss of beds, wards and some whole facilities has hit hard both locally and around the county. All opposition parties are, quite rightly, up in arms at Labour's cuts to the NHS.

However, more worrying is news tonight that the UEA plans to cut lecturer numbers at the school of nurisng and midwifery because of a fall in student nurses numbers. Now, I know that staffing decisions must be left to the UEA, but the implication is that fewer people are training for the medical profession which will have a corresponding impact on healthcare in the locality.

Many UEA students stay on to live and work in the area - myself included - and no graduates are more welcome than those who work in our NHS. Yet with fewer coming through it may be that local providers have trouble getting staff in the future - maybe 5 or 10 years down the line.

UEA midwifery students delivered both of my children and they were both excellent - a credit to the university and the NHS. We need more of them, not less.

Is this part of a national decline, in which case what are the government doing about it?

Or is it part of a local decline, in which case what are UEA doing about it?

Either way, another blow to the NHS.