Tracey Crouch

Time to improve care for dementia patients on hospital wards

2011-10-08T10:17:00.001+01:00

I was shocked to hear on BBC Radio Kent yesterday morning the story of an 80-year-old dementia patient who had been badly treated on a Kent hospital ward after breaking her hip. The patient was left on a trolley in excruciating pain and in desperate need of the toilet for over five hours before she was finally seen by a doctor. While this story is both heartbreaking and shocking, what is even more outrageous is the fact that stories of dementia patients receiving poor treatment on hospital wards are not uncommon.

At any one time, up to a quarter of hospital beds are occupied by dementia patients over the age of 65, yet studies by the National Audit Office suggest that two-thirds of these patients no longer needed to be there. While this costs almost £6.5 million which could otherwise be invested in other NHS and care services, I am concerned that the hospital ward is an unsuitable care setting for people with dementia. Those with dementia in hospitals are more prone to complications such as delirium, infection and falls. Worryingly, hospital care can also exacerbate the symptoms of dementia and have a negative impact on their condition as the institutional and disempowering environment of hospitals upsets patients’ routines.

As Vice-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Dementia, myself and other colleagues have been in the position to hear from charities which do excellent work supporting those with Dementia, such as Age UK and the Alzheimer’s Society, on ways in which we can limit the negative impact of hospital care for dementia patients.

Relatively simple changes to the hospital environment can significantly improve the experience and quality of care for dementia patients. Minor changes to ward layouts, colour coded doors and simpler signs are just some of the suggestions which would reduce stress and confusion for those patients while freeing up nursing staff who would otherwise be assisting those in their care who were confused and disoriented and reducing associated falls and injuries.

Better training of ward nurses is essential. Most of the time nurses do a hard job fantastically well but there is much improvement required when it comes to dealing with patients with dementia. Having met with a number of carers it is clear that the “care” element of nursing those with dementia is sometimes lacking for example at meal times. Investment in better training is something we should now be considering and could save money in the long term.

More importantly however, it is vital that the number of unnecessary hospital admissions is reduced. This can only be achieved by the invaluable support of the community care which is available to people with dementia and those who care for them. I have previously and will continue to voice my support for reform of the social care system because of how proper care can transform the life of both patients and carers. If proper community support and assistance is in place 24 hours a day, the number of incidents such as falls which result in hospital admissions could be reduced significantly. I don’t want to keep hearing of appalling experiences like the one I heard on the radio this morning so it is a no-brainer really: it is time to urgently look again about how we treat our dementia patients in hospital.

We should bury our electricity cables

2011-09-19T14:26:00.004+01:00

When I drive home from Parliament there is a high point on the M2, just past Bluewater, where you can see miles and miles of Kent countryside. A first time visitor would be preparing themselves to gasp at the potential beauty of the Garden of England but instead join us regular motorists at gasping at the horrible vista that actually greets us - the large number of pylons transporting electricity to and from the north Kent sub-stations to wherever they are required. They are ghastly and every time I drive into the M2 valley I think whoever allowed our countryside to be overrun with these giant steel statues should hang their head in shame.

I am opposed to any proposal which would see more overhead pylons built through our countryside. In Kent, there are plans to build new high voltage pylons and upgrade existing lines which could see a further prolification of steel and cable. Given we have the technology now to bury cables, which could see huge savings in maintenance costs in the long term, I see no reason why we have to continue with overhead pylons. Where existing electricity routes need upgrading I also think we should remove the pylons and bury the cables. The short term cost will not only be mitigated by the long term financial savings but most of all it will provide a far more aesthetically pleasing response to supplying our electricity.

If we wish to build Jerusalem, In England's green & pleasant Land we could do worse than start by burying future and existing electricity cables.

Caring for older people

2011-09-07T09:45:00.005+01:00

Yesterday I initiated a Parliamentary debate on Care and Services for Older People. Having purposely chosen a wide-ranging a title for the debate, to allow for the diverse nature and varied issues that older people currently face in the UK, I am pleased that so many of my colleagues joined me in using the opportunity to highlight topics across different Government Departments. These included financial education, housing needs, funding of care, service delivery and appropriate levels of care being available to older people to allow them to stay in their own homes for longer.

The increasing size of our ageing population and increased longevity of life is not new information; it is something that we have been aware of for many years. Therefore, I am pleased that in his response to my debate, Paul Burstow, Minister for Care Services, agreed with me that it is time to take action and ensure that this Government does not act as previous governments have by kicking this issue into the long grass. We should celebrate the fact that people are living longer; it is a great credit to our society that many people in the UK are having a longer third phase of life and we must act to support them rather than let fears for those later years of life daunt and overwhelm.

The Minister made it clear that not only funding but delivery of care and services for older people is something that has not previously been given the priority it deserves. I welcome the Minister outlining the Government’s actions to move forward, next April, on implementing a White Paper for Social Care, including the recommendations of the Dilnot Report to secure a new funding system for social care. This will be a system which is both sustainable and fair whilst still ensuring that the quality of care is the greatest priority.

While I was disappointed to hear that the Government is not currently minded to create an Older Person’s Minister, I was pleased that the Government will look at my suggestion to establish a new Cabinet Committee on Older People’s issues and a new test within regulatory impact assessments that specifically looks at the effect of proposals on the over 65s in the way that it does for other defined sectors of society.

It was hard to get everything that people wanted to speak about on this issue into a 90 minute debate and I'm sure we could have covered even more topics but I am pleased I got the debate and highlighted the concerns of many people, young and old, across my constituency and beyond about the way we care for older people. But what was absolutely clear is that this is an issue we can no longer ignore.

The full debate can be read HERE.

Disappointing increases to train fares

2011-08-16T18:37:00.002+01:00

It was announced today that train fares next year are going to go up across the country by an average 8%, i.e. RPI plus 3. I am really disappointed that yet again my commuting constituents are going to face astronomical fare rises, which is why, as the more generous local residents have recognised, I have long advocated a more favourable deal in the South East. I will say more about what I intend to do later in this post but first, while not apologising for the increase, I want to just address some of the more political points that are being made on this issue.

Most people who follow my commentary on various issues know that I understand that party politics tends to turn most of the electorate off and so I save my partisan points for the Chamber. However, it is important to note that this is not something the Coalition Government has just dreamt up; the formula of RPI plus 3 was introduced for Southeastern customers under the last Labour Government, while the rest of the country faced increases of only RPI plus 1. And yes, before someone says in the comments, I know we’ve been in Government for a year, but as most people also recognise we’ve taken the reins at a time that this country faces the largest deficit since the Second World War. I also acknowledge that in that time we’ve had High Speed 1 built, which is great if you live anywhere near the route and can afford the extra premium you pay as a customer to use. And maybe the increases are as a consequence of privatisation, but Labour had 13 years with large majorities in the Commons to renationalise the rail service and didn’t.

So now I’ve got that out of my system and hopefully put it in a bit of political context I would like it firmly placed on the record that I don’t agree that Southeastern customers should be continuing to pay the plus 3 formula. I think commuters across Kent and neighbouring counties have paid their fair share. Any future investment in nationwide rail services should be paid for by other train users. If the South East commuters paid for HS1 then why should they now be asked to stump up for HS2? In my view they shouldn’t. The money Southeastern get from the commuters already should be enough for investment in stations, rolling stock etc but the main thing constituents ask me for is simply a better service. They want a service that gets them to their destination on time (preferably with a seat), stops at the stations it is scheduled to stop at, that the staff are polite, and that the toilets are clean. If five years of the highest increases in train fares in the country cannot deliver that then we have more than a problem of simply being an additional squeeze on the wallets of commuters.

Train operating companies have some leeway in how they implement their fare increases and I will be writing to the Chief Executive to ask for some leniency in how the fares are increased on various routes. I know people will read this beyond my constituency boundaries, and I apologise that this may impact you adversely, but I will be making representations for consideration to be given to lower increases for those travelling from stations in my constituency. I will also be making further representations to Government Ministers to try and ensure that the plus 3 formula is reduced in the South East before other parts of the country – we’ve paid our fair share and now it is time for a fair fare.

Social Networks & Riots

2011-08-13T17:17:00.006+01:00

Last week's violence, riots and disturbances were a disgrace. A criminal minority gathered to opportunistically cause damage and take what they wanted from shops and businesses up and down the country. These mindless thugs apparently used social networks to organise themselves thus giving the networks a bad name and which has now opened up a debate about whether they should be shut down in times of unrest to prevent scenes like those we witnessed last week.

On Thursday, I intervened on the Home Secretary during her statement in the Commons about the use of social networking during the riots and disturbances in London and elsewhere. I wanted to make the point, in the confines of a short interjection, that there is a difference between open networks (Twitter, Facebook etc) and closed networks (Blackberry Messenger) and that future consideration of their advantages and disadvantages to public order should be distinguished as such. However, and I can not be clearer than this - not for one second do I think they should be closed down. Monitored, yes; accessible to the police in certain circumstances, yes; shut down, no and especially if we want our voice heard when we condemn the practices of other regimes that restrict access to social networks or a free press.

During the recent revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa, we in the West, with our wide and free access to technology, social media and non-state controlled communication networks congratulated those who used, for example, Twitter to their advantage. In fact the Foreign Secretary, William Hague, said in the Commons the following:

"there is no doubt that social networking sites have played an important role, particularly in Tunisia. That was very apparent from the young people I met and talked to there, many of whom, especially the young women, had taken part in the revolution on social networking sites rather than out in the streets. They were very proud of the way that they had co-ordinated their messages in the days before the revolution in order to intensify the action and demonstrations that took place. Those sites have played an important role and it is something that we should be positive about overall. The world is changing in a very significant way: people of all ages have access to communicating in that way and it is important that their freedom to do so is preserved. One way in which the Egyptian authorities have gone wrong in the past couple of weeks has been in trying to suppress access to the internet and misuse mobile telephone networks. People now have the right to use those things in a relatively open way"

We cannot have it both ways. We cannot on the one hand think that protests against an oppressive regime (a regime that viewed the "protests" as violent civil disturbances) organised on social networks is fine and should be encouraged and congratulated, but on the other hand violent civil disturbances in a democracy organised on social networks is not OK and should be curtailed. I do not for one minute condone the use of social networks by criminals, and the activities of last week were shocking, but the answer is not to oppress the use of Twitter, Facebook and even Blackberry Messenger, but to understand them, embrace their capabilities, and where necessary allow the authorities to use social network messages as evidence against perpetrators.

Many police forces, my local Kent police being one, used technology to great effect earlier on in the week. Clearly open networks allowed for arrests to be made for inciting public disorder, as well as providing the police with a means of monitoring potential targets. But they also enable the police to get clear messages out to the public. With rumours flying around the social networks about looting and rioting, police forces and other authoritative sources, were able to dispel the myths using the same networks that were propagating them. If networks were closed, as some suggest, then the rumours would still be flying around via other means of communication (dare I mention via good old fashioned oral communication) but without the instant truth also being known, and in a bitesize 140 characters.

I worry more about closed networks such as Blackberry Messenger, which is a safe, secure and encrypted instant communication tool, and one that I use myself. It is as far as I am aware impossible to monitor in real time, thus taking away from the police the intelligence advantage of Twitter etc. But I see no reason why it should not be used to prosecute those involved in criminal activity, and if there is not already existing legislation then this is a potential area of exploration.

So like my colleague Robert Halfon, I feel very uneasy about shutting down networks in times of civil disobedience. I campaign for greater civil liberties in other countries, so that fellow citizens of the world can enjoy the freedoms we in the UK have. It would be hugely hypocritical, and a massive victory for the oppressive dictatorial regimes we as a nation criticise, if we were to control social networks enjoyed by the law abiding majority because they can be abused by a criminal minority.

Debt, credit and me

2011-05-24T16:29:00.002+01:00

Following an article in the Messenger and on BBC Kent, it is really interesting that I've subsequently been praised for my "honesty" and and "bravery" for talking about the debts I accumulated shortly after I arrived in London after leaving University. I don't really think of it as honest or brave, and nor do I see it as an embarrassing tale. I just see it as a part of my background that now as an MP I can draw lessons from and help other people avoid.

My story is one based on youthful stupidity. As a teenager, I had worked and saved. When I went to Uni, everything I took with me in my little car I had bought myself. I was rather proud of myself - I didn't have rich parents or relatives to buy me what I wanted or needed so I was financially prudent throughout my degree course and left with only what today would be considered a small amount of student debt. But then I arrived in London, started earning a small salary but lived, dated and worked with people who earned a lot more and I simply wanted to keep up and live the high life. I would buy things on store cards and maxed out credit cards. I got overdrafts and loans. And then got more. Added to my small student debt, I was soon nearly £15,000 in debt. What happened next seemed cruel at the time but turned out to be a life saver. The bank manager called me in, advised me on how much danger I was in financially, cut up all the plastic in my purse and put me on a repayment plan. It was awful at first but got easier as time went by and then after some considerable time, I finally made my last repayment and felt completely liberated!!

But my whole personal experience made me very aware of how easily you can live beyond your means. However I think of myself as quite lucky that the credit shops, websites or telephone lines that exist today were not freely available back then. I'm in no doubt that given on occasions the vulnerable position I had put myself in, I would have found them immensely attractive. Payday loans are obtainable in minutes and can often help a person out of a hole but the problem is that unlike if you miss a payment with your bank, who do often clock a problem and follow it up with the account holder, some credit lenders end up charging massive interest rates and roll over loans making the situation worse. Then to compound the problem, debt management companies advertise to help consolidate the money you owe into one lump sum but charge large up front fees, which in turn help market the product wider, and again mean that the consumer ultimately pays a significant amount more than was owed. Thus the vicious circle of debt begins and there are some horrendous stories of people paying back tens of thousands more than they had originally been lent in the first place!

Along with colleagues I met with Consumer Minister Ed Davey about this issue last week. While it is clear that not every lender or debt management company is unscrupulous, there are lots that do see an opportunity for profit in a growing industry. The Government is consulting on some of these matters at the moment, the OFT is looking at strengthening parts of its guidance and colleagues are working cross-party on consumer credit, debt management and as importantly, financial education. It is important that these three issues are all considered together and I am pleased to be involved in the various meetings and discussion groups with good providers and advisory services. However it is equally important that consumers are made aware of the free advice, credit unions or free debt management programmes that are available. The Citizens Advice Bureau provides an excellent debt advisory service and the Government continued with funding the financial inclusion fund for the next year in recognition of this service. In Medway the CAB is seeing more people coming through their doors with an increased about of debt, and while on one hand it is obviously very worrying that more than a million pounds of debt per week is now visible in Medway it is on the other hand reassuring that people are turning to the CAB for advice. My colleague Mark Reckless and I have long championed their cause locally and we shall continue to do so.

The truth is that anyone can get into debt. Lower income groups are more vulnerable but it is not an exclusive problem to one part of society. However it is noticeable how many money lending shops have sprung up in the high streets of the more deprived areas and what income groups the debt industry is marketed at. People need to be able to take responsibility for their own behaviours but they often need to be guided in the right direction - I got it from the bank manager and to this day I remain grateful. It sounds cliched, but it is very easy to get into debt but it is a lot harder to get out of it. The political, backbench and ministerial discussions will continue for some time I'm sure but in the meantime I will continue to direct constituents who come to me with their debt problems towards the many free services that continue to compete with those who finance their often aggressive marketing through upfront customer fees.

Southestern's franchise extension

2011-03-19T09:38:00.002Z

It appears my tweet yesterday regarding the extension of Southeastern's franchise to 2014 may have upset the Comms team, but having looked in detail at their announcement I feel they should be grateful it wasn't worse!

Southeastern made three announcements yesterday. Firstly, they have been awarded an extension to their current contract which will now run until March 2014. Secondly, there is due to be a consultation on a new compensation system thought to be in place by mid-2011 and thirdly, a high speed service will be operating from Maidstone West to Strood as of May.

Franchise Agreement Extension

With regards to the contract extension, first of all I should point out that this was not wholly unexpected. As per the franchise agreement negotiated by the previous Government in 2005, Southeastern’s contract was due to expire on 31 March 2011 with an option within the agreement for a two year extension if they pass certain criteria and a performance based review. Given Southeastern appear to have met these targets, it does beg the question that if they can be awarded an extension to their contract, despite consistently scoring in the bottom 3 or 4 of Train Operating Companies for punctuality, what on earth did the previous Government negotiate as the criteria? Unsurprisingly commuting constituents are reacting with words such as "angry" "livid" "baffled".

Clearly they were not robust enough and unfortunately it is those who use the service who will continue to suffer unless Southeastern make significant improvements. What we need in the future, and I will press Ministers on the issue, is more challenging performance targets incorporated into franchise agreements. It is no use if they are set low enough to allow poor services to continue indefinitely.
Looking to the future, I do hope Southeastern do not see this as an endorsement of their service and rather as a last reprieve and an opportunity to make significant improvements.

Proposed Compensation Scheme

I've had a lot of enquiries about the new proposed compensation scheme. Little in the way of specific details have emerged as of yet, however the intention is to compensate those whose train arrives at the destination over 30 minutes late.
Whilst this is a welcome development, I will be keen to see the specific details, particularly how this impacts season ticket holders, does it apply in bad weather, and is it only for those who disembark at the final destination? I will also be interested to learn why such a system was not in place beforehand, when it operates on other Govia (Southeastern's parent) franchises such as Southern. It is being described as a "silver lining" by some passenger groups but I prefer to wait and see. A very small percentage of trains run 30 minutes late and I think my commuting constituents would rather see a proper independent audit of the end of year punctuality statistics, broken down by line, and compensation schemes based on that rather than a programme operational on few occasions.

High Speed Service from Maidstone West

Finally Southeastern announced a high speed service will operate from Maidstone West to Strood. This is great news for those who live in Maidstone but means nothing but likely disruption for my constituents and those who commute from Rochester. The service will not be stopping at Aylesford, New Hythe or Snodland and details have yet to be announced as to how this will affect the current stopping service operating on the Medway Valley Line. Any reduction in the regularity of the service that many train users currently rely on will not be acceptable. Yesterday's announcement also gave no further details on future plans for the West Malling line, a point I am sure Sir John Stanley and I will be raising again with Southeastern and the Minister.

So, all in all my tweet yesterday was rather moderate given that I am failing to see the good news for my constituents in the announcement from Southeastern. The company is fortunate in my view that the Government was contractually obliged to extend its franchise for two years and I hope that they now see this as an opportunity to show its passengers, who pay a ridiculously high price to use their service, what kind of service it can run. Responsibility for the next franchise negotiations is now fully in the hands of the new Government and Kent MPs will be watching with close interest.

A tiny insight into teaching

2011-03-14T12:02:00.002Z

I really enjoyed my TeachFirst experience on Friday. A lot of effort was put into supporting me from the team including Jane, a TeachFirst teacher at Aylesford School, who helped with all the lesson planning and the interactive white board, and it was really appreciated. I hope that I gave the children a good lesson and now the adrenalin (and possibly white board marker) high has abated I can look back and genuinely say that I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.

When I was at school I had many excellent teachers but two were absolutely inspiring: Mr Pickering, my third year teacher at Hythe Primary and Miss Morton (as she was then), my history and politics teacher at Folkestone Girls. I still remember them and their classes (for example Miss Morton's chalk sketch on the blackboard of the Battle of Naseby, with stick men indicating the New Model Army, redrawn to perfection in my own rough book) but whilst it is easy to remember their personalities I don't think we as students ever appreciated how much time went into preparing for our lessons.

I know I've only done one class and I got a lot of help doing it. Plus explaining the role and responsibilities of an MP is not a particularly difficult class for an MP to take. But I do feel like I got a tiny insight into what it is like to be a teacher and how much prep goes into delivering a lesson to a mixed ability group of children. The hour class whizzed by and I got my timing slightly wrong on delivering to the plan; I had taken the political knowledge levels of 13 year olds too much for granted (casting my mind back to when I was 13, I don't really recall knowing anything about politics so I fear I momentarily succumbed to the Westminster-bubble) which meant I needed to explain more than I had planned; I didn't appreciate how hands on teaching is today, compared to when I left school nearly 18 years ago, and it is impossible to switch off for even a nano-second; and I was left in no doubt that the better prepared you are, the smoother the class will run.

I personally got a lot out of the experience and I hope the students did too. I was pleased that a number of students put up their hands at the end of class when I asked if they wanted to be an MP now they knew what one did, so maybe I didn't do too badly after all.

Good Morning Miss Crouch...

2011-03-10T17:25:00.004Z

When I was a spotty, goofy, spiky haired third year at my all girls school in Folkestone we were made to stand up at the start of class and greet the poor overburdened, underpaid teacher with a monotonous and ambivalent "Good Morning Mr/Mrs/Miss X" before sitting down, opening our wallpaper-covered rough books and listening in silence whilst lessons were chalked up on the blackboard. Is it still like this? I doubt it. But tomorrow I find out as I will be doing my bit to promote Teach First Week. Over the course of the past week more than 30 individuals from business, politics, journalism and the world of entertainment have been given the chance to experience life as a teacher in a Teach First partner school.

So in the morning I will be teaching a Citizenship lesson to a Year 9 class at Aylesford Sports College and I confess as my hour in the classroom gets closer I am feeling both excited but a tad nervous about it all! Although I have a Teach First participant helping me plan my lesson in advance of teaching it, I can't help but worry that these poor kids may one day be examined on what I've taught them. However, despite the fact that I will be given feedback on my classroom performance, for me the whole point of the exercise is less about my ability to inspire 29 third years and more about gaining a better understanding of how much work goes into planning and teaching a lesson. I have already learnt so much and haven't even gone through the school gates yet! And whilst taking one class isn't going to give me universal knowledge of either the profession or education policy, I hope it will give me enough insight to provide a positive contribution in future parliamentary debate on issues that effect either/both.

I will let you know how it goes...

Inviting Local Bands to Rock The House!

2011-02-11T15:22:00.003Z

Calling all unsigned local bands!

A press release has just landed on my desk asking me to propose the best unsigned band and best live venue from my Chatham & Aylesford constituency and I want to hear your suggestions!

This follows the official launch of 'Rock The House', a national music competition in search of talented new artists and venues from across the UK, being sponsored by the Hove MP Mike Weatherley, a Parliamentary champion for the music industry.

‘Rock The House’ is a music competition with a political twist; supporting unsigned bands and artists, it will raise political awareness of issues around music copyright and the importance of protecting the intellectual property of artists’ work.

Bands, artists and venues are invited to enter themselves, via their local MP, who will make nominations to a judging panel of music industry heavyweights, on behalf of their own constituencies. Entries can be submitted until the closing date of 31st March 2011. Winners will be announced by the end of May.

You can email me direct with a link to your myspace or other audio sharing space on tracey.crouch.mp@parliament.uk

All competition finalists will be invited to attend an exclusive star-studded event on the Terrace of the House of Commons on 30th June. Other top prizes up for grabs for winners include: Yamaha music gear and instruments, master classes with top industry consultants, high profile media coverage, and much more.

Sponsors and supporters include: UK Music, Future Publishing, EMI, Yamaha, Consumer Focus, Music Managers Forum (MMF), Incorporated Society of Musicians, and All Party Parliamentary Group on Music (APPG).

Launching Financial Education For Young People

2011-02-07T10:12:00.003Z

On Monday, I attended the launch of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Financial Education for Young People as part of a major campaign for compulsory financial education in schools. Over 170 MPs from all parties have joined the group, making it one of the largest APPGs ever.

Formed on the back of a debt-ridden financial crisis and an increasingly complex financial world, the group is calling is for compulsory financial education in schools, ensuring young people understand money, consuming and debt. It's set to be the new force behind pushing financial education up the agenda, and co-ordinating the agencies already working towards it, including charity pfeg and moneysavingexpert.com.

I think it is vital that we equip the next generation with the understanding to be able to make informed financial decisions. I am pleased to be a member of this group, and hope that through working together we will be able to help young people better understand the difficult choices that they will need to make.

The Launch was attended by Martin Lewis, creator of MoneySavingExpert.com. Martin is a great champion for the cause. Martin hit the nail on the head when he said "What's been deeply frustrating campaigning on this over the years is while virtually everybody agrees it's needed and people often say 'I wish I'd had it', making it happen is a nightmare. That's why this co-ordinated effort is so exciting. After all, as a financially illiterate nation, it's not enough to rely on parents to teach financial education. Schools are the key to breaking the debt cycle leading to less mis-selling, fewer bad debts, better consumers and could save the public purse a fortune. It's a national disgrace that in the 20 years since student loans were launched we've educated our youth into debt, but never about debt. Now as tuition fees are getting bigger we simply cannot leave young people uneducated on this matter."

Supporting the Fish Fight Campaign

2011-01-20T18:42:00.002Z

My colleague Zac Goldsmith has tabled an early day motion in Parliament supporting the "Fish Fight" campaign, which I have signed in support thus reassuring the many constituents who have contacted me about this issue.

The campaign highlights that up to half of all fish trawled in the North Sea are thrown back either dead or dying because of EU rules on quotas. The campaign calls for strong reform of the EU Common Fisheries Policy in order to eliminate the environmentally and economically damaging practice of discarding fish before landing and instead institute a regionalised, ecosystems based management framework. That all seems to make better sense to me!

The Government has already said NO to Boris Island

2011-01-17T16:45:00.003Z

Yet again, Boris Johnson's ludicrous Thames Estuary Airport proposal is back in the news. The Mayor's steering group is due to publish a report outlining its proposals, which Paul Francis from the Kent Messenger highlights HERE.

I am beginning to find this continuous attempt to scare Medway residents by the Mayor and his team a tad tedious. The Mayor has no jurisdiction over where and when airports are built. The Prime Minister has said no to the proposals, as has the Secretary of State for Transport and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, who can think of better ways of spending/saving £40bn.

It really is tiresome to keep saying to Boris to stop even thinking about the Thames Estuary Airport but let me, on behalf of everyone locally, say one more time - Medway says no to Boris Island, and the Government agrees.

Honouring my pledge

2010-12-27T12:37:00.004Z

During the election campaign I signed up to the Clean Campaign Pledge part of which was a promise to regularly publish my expenses online. I aim to do this monthly on my website and have now uploaded all my expenses to the end of November, which can be found HERE.

Tuning in to Radio Caroline...on Medium Wave?

2010-12-14T12:20:00.005Z

Last week I tabled a parliamentary motion calling on Ofcom to release a Medium Wave frequency for Radio Caroline to use in the South East. The station is by far one of the most well known radio stations in the world, is a cornerstone of British radio history, has had 2 current MPs DJ on it, and unbelievably will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2014. However it has been denied an opportunity to secure a MW frequency so that listeners can enjoy the station in transit, rather than via the internet or through Sky TV. With unused frequencies on license to France and the North East, there is a perfect opportunity for Ofcom to release a platform so that loyal listeners, and many many have been in touch since I tabled the EDM, will be able to carry on enjoying Caroline's music through their radios.

More information about Radio Caroline's campaign can be found HERE.

UPDATE: Richard Bacon MP just asked Ofcom during a Select Committee hearing if they will speak to the French broadcasting equivalent about releasing a frequency. They agreed to do so. Watch this space.

My first 3 months of expenses

2010-12-02T18:17:00.002Z

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority today published the expenses of all MPs for the first 3 months after the election. Mine can be found on my website HERE. The first 3 months are front loaded with office start up costs and, rather than wait for IPSA's timetable, I will next week publish all my expenses to date which will show a more accurate update of what taxpayers money has been spent on.

Abandoned Vehicles in the Snow

2010-12-01T10:13:00.003Z

Earlier this year, I wrote about vehicles that were abandoned on and around Bluebell Hill being towed and pounded in Sheppey, with owners asked to fork out £150 plus a daily £20 in order to have them released. With the snow again causing local chaos, the police issued a warning to motorists that abandoned cars would again be towed.

It was with that in mind that I wrote to the Chief Constable asking for some common sense when taking cars away. Whilst of course cars left in a dangerous place should be removed, all vehicle owners should be contacted in advance (unlike last year) and if possible a local pound should be used. Given that Sheppey is prone to getting cut off in adverse weather conditions, and there is no local public transport direct to the Island, it is totally inconvenient for motorists to be able to reclaim their vehicles.

Hopefully the police will learn the lessons from January and apply a more common sense approach to abandoned vehicles. In the meantime, take care on those roads.

Outcome of Holborough Lakes public meeting

2010-11-20T09:16:00.002Z

Last night I chaired a public meeting for residents of Holborough Lakes with the Manging Director of Berkeley Homes, the development company behind the estate. Interestingly, the vast majority of people I've spoken to who live on the estate love their property and are very happy with the building spec. Unfortunately their frustration has always been around parking problems borne out of Prescott's ludicrous planning requirements. As the development has continued the developers have amended their plans but residents who bought in the first two phases continue to suffer from lack of parking space.

The key issues raised during the evening included the prohibition of commercial vans parking on the estate, the use of and charging for visitor spaces, plans to increase the number of parking areas, speeding through the estate and the improvement of play areas.

Berkeley Homes came to the meeting having listened to complaints raised by me and residents direct and had some proposals for discussion. Some were received well, others will be reconsidered further, plus there were some very good new proposals put forward by residents during the meeting which will also be taken back and discussed further. All in all I thought the meeting was extremely constructive and whilst the concerns of residents are not yet dealt with, there has at least now been some dialogue and indeed a bit of progress.

Chatham MP celebrates HMS Chatham's visit to Chatham

2010-11-13T22:20:00.003Z

It was a real privilege this evening to sit on a top table at the Civic Reception held in honour of HMS Chatham's visit to Chatham Maritime. I felt a real sense of pride in those I talked to this evening about their time on board a ship that is the latest in a long line of those to carry Chatham's name, and their sense of duty to Queen and Country is palpable. I was on a table with two women, both Able Seaman, and two Officers and the team work and family spirit of those who serve on board was evident, whilst still showing utter respect for rank. They were a credit to the Navy; polite, witty, intelligent, fascinating and utterly impartial in their political commentary.

As MPs we get offered an opportunity to learn more about the military by joining a scheme which allows us to serve time with which ever force we choose. I opted out this year, but having spent the evening with such nice but totally dedicated service men and women, I am seriously going to consider assigning myself to the Navy next year - I now want to know and learn more and witness the team and family at work.

Meeting Mid Kent College students

2010-11-13T21:55:00.002Z

On Friday I went to meet this year's public services students at Mid Kent College. I've been on a number of occasions before and always enjoy talking to the gathered 17 and 18 year olds - they are like a mini-focus group. Once they've asked one or two of the prepared questions they very quickly go off script and end up providing an interesting insight into the issues that they care about. This time was no different and benefits, immigration and the cost of car insurance were the issues we spent most time talking about. We had shorter but still interesting chats about tuition fees, employment opportunities, EMA and the future of Chatham but the extensive discussion on welfare reform really gave me confidence that there was a genuine understanding why change is required. I look forward to going back next term to hear what the next group think about the key matters of the day but in the meantime I am in no doubt that the excellent students I met on Friday are going on to great things.

wear it pink day

2010-10-29T18:00:00.004+01:00

Today I joined Breast Cancer Care and millions of people across the UK in supporting wear it pink day. Over one million people supported the event to help improve survival rates for the one in nine people who experience breast cancer during their lifetime. Every year, 45,000 new cases of breast cancer, in both men and women, are detected each year. If by supporting the wear it pink day, I can help raise awareness of breast cancer then hopefully we can together support sufferers and their families, as well as contribute to vital research into prevention and cure.

Meeting Evelyn (aged 7)

2010-10-25T16:43:00.000+01:00

I was very pleased to welcome young Evelyn from Luton to Westminster yesterday after she wrote me a very sweet letter asking to come and visit. Evelyn has just received her "pen licence" at school and her neat handwritten letter showed why. She said her school "took part in an election, so the children would know how important it is to vote" and that she was "very excited to see where all the big decisions are made". It was nice to meet Evelyn and her parents and to hear that local primary schools are engaging pupils in politics...and teaching children to write so neatly!

Southeastern Train Fares

2010-10-19T18:09:00.002+01:00

Yesterday I co-signed an Early Day Motion on Southeastern Train Fares. It can be viewed HERE. I think it is important to note that the last Labour Government agreed a formula with Southeastern Trains which allowed increases of RPI + 3% until 2011, whereas other operators only have RPI + 1%.

Colleagues from the South East have met with the rail minister Theresa Villiers to firstly, make it clear how unfair this formula is and secondly, to propose a cap on fare rises for Southeastern so that in the future it is no greater than other franchises, so for example, if as reported, those on +1 rise by three percentage points, then Southeastern should only rise by a further +1 percentage point, equalising all operating companies to plus 4%. The Labour Government's differential formula for Southeastern has placed an unfair financial burden on the South East. Now that the Coalition is also setting out Labour's economic mess, we need to ensure that the commuters are not further penalised by disproportionate fare increases.

I also intend to write to the Minister and ask her to consider changing the formula from RPI to CPI, which would bring train fares down nearly £100 for an annual (non HS1) travel card.

The EU Draft Budget: Value for the British Taxpayer?

2010-10-13T17:35:00.008+01:00

Having met a great many constituents on the doorstep over the past four years, I am acutely aware that the issue of the European Union is an emotive one. So many might be shocked if they read the Draft Budget as proposed by the European Commission for the forthcoming year. I should add at this point that before anyone tries to paint me as an anti-European, I am not. I am certainly not a Better Off Out campaigner but I do think we need to bring back some of our sovereignty - ie I subscribe to the old mantra of in Europe but not run by Europe.

So at 5:30pm this afternoon, the Draft EU Budget came before Parliament for its rightful scrutiny. Each member state of the EU, including the UK, contribute collectively to a EU Budget which is then spent on a variety of initiatives across Europe. So, in a time when money is tight and essential spending reviews taking place in our country, you could expect every taxpayer's pound spent and hoping to be spent by the EU to be questioned thoroughly. Perhaps more so given that despite every country across Europe suffering from a harsh economic climate and announcing spending cuts, the European Commission have proposed an eye watering increase in their 2011 budget by 5.8%, set to cost the UK a further £1.9 billion in their net contributions to the budget.

To put this figure into perspective. The UK payed in £6.4 billion in net contributions to the EU Budget last year. A £1.9 billion increase would leave the UK paying a whopping £8.3 billion in the coming year. This towers over any budget cuts made by departments this year.

It seems to me, as I am sure it does to you, that when the Government is making the tough but necessary spending decisions in trying to put our public finance back in order, the thought of contributing more to the EU Budget is unquestionably wrong. However, as we know, value for money was not an ethos adhered to by the previous Government who kindly signed the country up to an agreement seeing the UK's contributions increasing year on year, forecast to reach £10.3 billion in 2014/15.

In the small print of this particular Draft EU Budget, you will also discover that the EU deems it necessary to factor in a £296 million increase in their own administrative costs. Why should the British taxpayer be asked to tighten their belts as the Government is admirably driving down costs and eliminating waste, only to loosen them again to fund higher administration costs in the EU? This is a question I put to Parliament during the debate.

What the debate essentially boils down to, from my perspective at least, is a basic value for money argument. So I ask the following questions: Does this increase of £1.9 billion represent value for money for the British taxpayer? Does it represent value for money for the people of Chatham & Aylesford? Is this the best use of the country's finances? I certainly don't think so and nor did the Labour Party this evening as they didn't even turn up to support their own negotiated Budget. Every backbench Labour MP who spoke did so against the increase in spending, for the same reasons as outlined above.

Now our very able Minister Justine Greening will head for Brussels to try and ensure that the 2011 EU budget is held at cash levels equivalent to the 2010 budget and to reject the European Parliament's proposals to increase the budget; she does so with the full support of Parliament.

The full debate including my contribution can be found HERE.

My debate secures a new Government roundtable on bogus charity collections

2010-10-13T15:56:00.012+01:00

Today I held my first debate in Westminster Hall on the subject of bogus charity bag collections where I called for the government and relevant authorities to address this unscrupulous and growing crime.

I have felt particularly strongly about this issue since hearing about a spate of incidences across Chatham, leading me to seek time for a debate in Parliament where it was my hope to at least highlight to the Minister that this issue is getting out of control and needs some tough action from the top. My speech centred on the complexity of outdated legislation allowing bogus charity collectors to continue to defraud genuine donations to charities, without fear of repercussion. I also felt I needed to highlight the half-hearted approach of the majority of authorities in bringing the criminals to justice.

The Minister's response was encouraging and it now seems as though there may finally be some meaningful progress in tackling the issue. He agreed with me that beginning with a review of the Charities Act 2006, the main legislative document relating to charities, is essential to providing the legal base on which the thieves can be prosecuted. He also confirmed that in light of this debate, he would be writing to the Ministry of Justice asking what degree of deterrence was in place and whether there is any scope to impose harsher punishments for those found guilty. In addition he will also be writing to the Association of Chief Police Officers asking why this criminal activity, worth £14 million a year to charity, is seemingly not a police priority.

However, whilst I welcome the Minister's interventions, if we are to combat bogus charity collections and restore trust in charity donations, we will need firm commitments from the Government and an acceptance that this is a serious and far-reaching crime, not just warm words of support.

The Minister during his reply also offered me a place at a "Government roundtable" which will be responsible for co-ordinating the progress in combating bogus charity collections. It is my intention to accept his offer where I will ensure that the Government delivers on restoring trust, punishing those found guilty and improving the legislation.

The transcript of the debate can be found HERE.

Safer Chatham Train Station

2010-10-05T14:53:00.006+01:00

Yesterday, I went to Chatham Railway Station to present a Department for Transport and a British Transport Police award to staff for creating a safer and cleaner train station. In order to receive this award, the station must meet strict security criteria including reducing crime rates at the station, all staff are trained with conflict management skills, and that there is good station maintenance including CCTV, lighting, graffiti removal within 24 hours and secure fencing and boundaries.

I agreed to present this award because having stood outside Chatham train station during the election I met some of the staff who not only cleared up our election leaflets that people dropped without bothering to put them in the station bins but also saw them deal with some pretty hostile behaviour from members of the public. I was impressed by their attitude and their commitment to the local environment which they are responsible for.

However I am slightly bemused to see that my recognition of the hard work the low paid staff do to make sure that the Chatham train user is safe, has been interpreted as an endorsement of Southeastern! I fail to see how saying well done to the two transport police officers who stop a woman getting mugged or the man who follows smokers around with a dustpan and brush is any kind of acceptance of the pending fare increase or striking train drivers? As it happens the former is something that has been raised with Southeastern in person by both me, Mark Reckless and Rehman Chishti and Mark has organised a further meeting next week with the Rail Minister Theresa Villiers to discuss the impact of punitive fare increases.

The World's Largest Coffee Morning

2010-09-27T10:27:00.003+01:00

Attending the world's largest coffee morning, in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, seems to be an absolute must for a local MP. Reading the Macmillan twitter page, hosted by their parliamentary team, it looks like a huge number of MPs went along to support the initiative and rightly so. The World's Biggest Coffee Morning started in 1991 and has raised over £60m for Macmillan in that time.

So for this year's event, I went for coffee at the Village Hotel in Aylesford where it was phenomenally busy. There were cake stores galore plus activity stalls, creative arts for sale and a tombola. There were loads of little children there and I couldn't really work out why until I was told Peppa Pig was expected to attend too! In one week, I have been photographed with men dressed up as elephants, lions, a water butt and a drink of water (don't ask) I drank my coffee, chatted to some folk and then escaped before Miss Peppa arrived!

Every Little Helps!

2010-09-27T10:14:00.003+01:00

On Friday, I presented 3 local schools with a box of goodies gifted to them by Larkfield's Tescos, as part of the Tescos for Schools and Clubs initiative. I joined the store manager, who is a week into his new role at Larkfield, at giving out the boxes but sadly didn't get to open them with the pupils so still don't know what is in them!

Speaking to the teachers accompanying them the school voucher programme run by Tescos and other supermarkets has become invaluable and has helped provide equipment that they would not have normally been able to afford. I think the schools vouchers programmes are an excellent initiative which not only get children involved and interested in the weekly shop but helps build good links between the supermarkets and their local communities.

Upstaged by Tiny the Elephant

2010-09-18T15:00:00.004+01:00

Going along to the grand opening of Tiny Town, a new (and brilliant) indoor play arena in Larkfield, was clearly never going to be an event where all was required was to turn up, smile at the camera and make a swift exit. Any plans of grandeur I may have had (which thankfully I didn't) would soon have gone out the window when I was greeted by a 6ft blue elephant called Tiny (naturally). Plus I was simply too excited!! The place is amazing and as children ran around in excitement, climbing up, jumping down and sliding along things my neighbour and I both wished that there were centres like this when we were 5.

I have heard about these play centres from my sister who with 3 children seems to spend a significant amount of time at children's parties in one or another around mid-Kent, but I had never been inside one personally. Well Tiny Town is worth a visit. Not only are the facilities amazing (including the two 3G five a side football pitches for older children and private hire) but there is free wi-fi and healthy refreshments. I spoke at length to the owner (once he had taken off his Tiny suit!) and it has taken him over 3 years to open. He did it because he went to another centre and was appalled at what was available for his own children and how expensive it was to use. He has poured his heart and his money (as have his extended family) into this and I really wish him well - it is a fantastic place and I am sure that not only will it become hugely valuable to the children of Larkfield and surrounding areas but that it will be a huge success.

(Me and my neighbour enjoying the fun...and the kids quite liked it too!)

Dear Jim...

2010-09-18T14:45:00.003+01:00

Did you know that DHL, the global leader in the logistics industry, has its South East distribution centre here in Aylesford? Until yesterday, nor did I! I met with managers and staff at the Quarry Wood unit yesterday lunch time and had my eyes well and truly opened to the company which I thought simply delivered parcels in yellow vans! I am pleased to say that the Maidstone centre seems to be doing well and is positive about its overall economic performance for the year, which is good news for all local employees and for the company's regional customers.

However I must confess that as I went on the tour and saw the big boxes on the conveyor belt ready to be labelled, caged and sent here, there and everywhere, I remembered that when I was little I wrote to Jim'll Fix It asking to be a parcel. Sadly he never replied and I was heartbroken to see someone else do it in a Royal Mail van. I also never got to drive a train...or meet Shakin Stevens...

Celebrating our volunteers

2010-09-18T14:36:00.003+01:00

Yesterday I met a lady who has been a volunteer in Medway for 40 years! What a star and an inspiration. She was one of the many people who volunteer at Hands Rochester Volunteer Bureau providing a valuable transportation and befriending service across Chatham and Rochester. I met some "befrienders" and listened to the stories about their friends (I much prefer saying that than clients). Their dedication and commitment to their voluntary work is amazing and, sadly, much required. I really enjoyed meeting them and I shall be writing on Monday to Medway Council and Lloyds TSB Foundation to thank them for enabling the Bureau to function as well as it does thanks to their funding.

Standing up for Equitable Life victims in Chatham & Aylesford

2010-09-15T16:02:00.002+01:00

I managed to speak in the debate on Equitable Life yesterday. It was a feisty debate and although many MPs were pleased that after 10 years of inaction, the Coalition Government has made much progress on the issue, there are still real concerns about the levels of compensation. My contribution in the debate focused on the 470 Equitable Life victims in Chatham & Aylesford and the real loss that they've suffered due to institutional and regulatory failure. You can read my contribution and the debate in full HERE.

Maidstone Hospital Maternity Services

2010-09-14T19:36:00.004+01:00

Today, Maidstone MP Helen Grant secured an important debate in Parliament on the future of maternity services at Maidstone Hospital. I was grateful that she allowed me some time during her debate (an MP doesn't have to) to put forward some of the concerns shared by local residents in Chatham & Aylesford. I was able to make it clear to the Minister that not only does this effect residents who live within just a few miles of Maidstone Hospital but that it will also impact on services at the Medway Maritime. The KM report of the debate is HERE and the full record of what was said in Parliament, plus the Minister's response, can be found HERE.

Bogus Charity Collectors

2010-09-08T15:36:00.003+01:00

I am sure that many people were as shocked as me after the recent report by BBC South East exposed bogus charity clothing collectors operating in Chatham and other parts of Kent and Medway. On this occasion they were doing so under the guise of Breakthrough Breast Cancer but other charities have been victims in the past. The recent flyer for Breakthrough Breast Cancer looks perfectly normal - it uses corporate branding, there is no dodgy spelling, it has a registered charity number and outlines the contribution from each bag to charity. The only problem is, the leaflet is fake, and the only way someone would know that is if they rang the number on the flyer. If I am totally honest, I would have been duped by the flyer.

However the impact of these bogus collections on genuine charities is immense. Not only does it mean people become more sceptical about donating clothes in collection bags, but it deprives them of much needed funds. I have tabled some written parliamentary questions on this matter including how much it does cost charities each year, but the estimate banded around on the Internet is that it is somewhere in the region of £5 - 14m per year. This is shocking but not as much as perceived lack of interest from enforcement agencies. Because it appears to be such a small crime, it is not a police priority. However given its cost, the organised nature of the crime and the fact that many clothes are being exported for cash, I would say it is very serious indeed.

It was for that reason that I tabled the following motion in Parliament:

"That this House condemns the activities of fraudulent charity clothing bag collectors who abuse the goodwill of those who donate clothes for good causes; recognises that this organised crime is becoming a nationwide issue; expresses concern that these activities undermine the valuable work of genuine charities, depriving them of millions of pounds worth of donations per annum; and calls on the Government to ensure that local police authorities tackle the criminal gangs responsible and facilitate the strict enforcement of the House to House Collections Act 1939 and punishment of those found in breach of the Act".

I hope to secure a debate in the next few weeks to raise this issue with a Minister direct but I will not rest until this issue is being taken seriously by the authorities and people can donate to charity collections safe in the knowledge that it is genuine.

A quick catch up

2010-09-07T10:53:00.003+01:00

It was over a month since I last blogged so I thought I'd quickly recap on some of the things I have been up to.

Just before I took some time off I went to see the amazing group of volunteers on the Medway SOS Bus. The Bus provides an excellent service to those who may have found that their good night out in the pubs and clubs has not quite gone to plan and are unwell, injured or simply feeling vulnerable and need some advice or help to get home. I was really impressed with the team on board, some of whom travel from as far as Ashford to help, and they clearly provide an essential service that can not only reduce the need for blue light services but can also prevent people needing to go to A&E. I had left before things hotted up but I understand that night they had 20 plus people needing their help.

My last engagement before the break was to attend the opening of the new Aylesford Football Pavilion with Ron "Chopper" Harris. What a great man and what an excellent new football club house. As someone who travels around the County with my girls team, I can say categorically it is by far the best facility I have seen in Kent.

I then took a two week staycation at home in Aylesford and my partner David and I caught up with friends, family, house administration and DIY - it was not our ideal holiday but it needed to be done!

Once back, the priority was to go through the post and emails that had accumulated in my absence. Thankfully my wonderful staff had dealt with most casework in my absence but there were a mountain of reports and papers to read when I returned to my desk in Westminster. Luckily I managed to get through them quite quickly before returning to the constituency for more meetings and an extra surgery.

One absolutely fascinating meeting I had was with a charity that is about to be entirely based in Aylesford called Computers4Africa. In this global age of technology where we can't move for things that bleep, that instant communication with people all over the world is a requirement not a luxury, and that new year 7s are told to have a laptop as required by their new secondary school, it is difficult to appreciate that our old desktop PCs are so enthusiastically received by many in Africa. Computers4Africa clean data from old PCs and send them to countries, such as Tanzania, where they are given to schools and communities to use. The best story I heard was that they were being donated to schools where people were being trained to become ICT teachers so they themselves then learn how to build a computer before going on to teach what they've learned. That is sustainability in action! Whilst I only had a preliminary meeting with the charity and am very much looking forward to seeing their warehouse where they clean the computers of data and prepare them for shipment. If anyone has a PC they would like to donate, their details are on their website and I know it will be gratefully received.

So now we are back in Parliament for two weeks before the Conference Season. Yesterday's debate on the Alternative Vote was certainly a feisty affair and although I voted in favour of the Bill at second reading, I have severe reservations about the date of the referendum (hence why signed the Early Day Motion). There were 74 people down to speak in yesterday's debate and not all got called. It will be interesting to see what happens at Committee Stage, where each clause gets discussed (in theory anyway), and how many people get a chance to speak in those debates.

A new dawn!

2010-09-07T10:46:00.004+01:00

I have celebrated the honour of being put on the list of Top MP blogs by changing the layout of my blog! The new template design provided by Blogger is amazingly easy to use and despite temptation I shall refrain from playing with it too often. I shall also try to do the Total Politics award justice by updating it on a more regular basis!

Good News for the Bishop of Rochester Academy

2010-08-06T18:55:00.003+01:00

Having returned home after being in meetings all day, I was delighted to learn that Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Education, has given the go-ahead for Building Schools for the Future (BSF) funding for the Bishop of Rochester Academy (BoRA).

The Academy was formed after the merger of Chatham South and Medway Community College and is due to open in September. BSF funding had been applied for in order to build a brand new single site school replacing the dilapidated buildings on the MCC site, but it had been announced that the capital allocation was under review.

This has understandably caused some uncertainty among parents, teachers and pupils but now that it has been announced that the Government will reward capital funds, we can draw a line in the sand and get on with the plans to build a new first class facility which will help improve the learning environment, teaching standards and results.

The best thing about being an MP...

2010-07-30T19:24:00.002+01:00

I have always said that one of the reasons I wanted to be an MP was to be able to help people who were so desperate that they didn't know who else to turn to. The amount of casework since I arrived has been more than I expected and although I have not been able to solve all the problems I have had a number of successes. This week alone I have had three letters of genuine thanks which has been great but today I got a thank you that brought a little lump to my throat!

It happened during my visit at the first ever Luton Summer Camp (organised by some excellent volunteers and supported by Christ Church and Councillor Bhutia) and having watched some dances by the children I stayed talking to some parents and carers. A lady carrying a young lad came over and after I asked him if he had fun, his mum said "what did you want to say to Tracey". He said "thank you" and I, thinking he meant thank you for coming, said "your welcome". But his mum asked him what for and he said "thank you for helping me get my wheelchair". Immediately I knew who he was for I have been helping his mum for the last 6 weeks or so fight to speed up what had thus far been a prolonged process for him to get a wheelchair. Although for some ridiculous reason it can't be picked up for another 3 weeks, the fact is that it is now at the Medway Maritime with his name tag on it.

It annoys me that for something so simple the process was so difficult and that it therefore required the young boy's mother to come to me in absolute despair and frustration. It might not sound like a big deal. Indeed readers might not think that given the macro issues the area/nation/world faces sorting out a wheelchair is a huge victory. But when I think that my letter helped speed up a process that will in some small way change a mother/son's life, then I can keep on smiling safe in the knowledge that today I experienced the best thing about being an MP.

Transport Secretary says no to Boris Island

2010-07-27T17:15:00.004+01:00

Following representation from Medway Council and constituents, I recently wrote to Philip Hammond, Secretary of State for Transport, asking him to clarify Government policy on the Thames Estuary Airport, as proposed by London Mayor Boris Johnson. I have now received his reply, which says:

"I can confirm that the Government has no plans to build any new airports in the region. Our aviation policies are firmly focussed on improving existing airports - making our airports better, not bigger"

So there it is then - an unequivocal no to Boris Island. Hopefully we can now end all future speculation on whether an airport will be built in the Thames Estuary because it won't be under this Government.

President of Medway RSPCA

2010-07-26T20:39:00.003+01:00

I was delighted to attend the Medway RSPCA open day in Walderslade on Saturday and was equally pleased to have been asked to be their new President. I am a massive animal lover, although I must confess I don't like to hold any animal without fur and with more than four legs! I was grateful therefore that I was merely asked to pose with a 10 week old bunny rabbit...albeit in its cage and much to the amusement of my researcher!

Crouch meets Crouch

2010-07-26T17:46:00.003+01:00

Today, the All Party Communications Group met to discuss Ofcom's recent ruling forcing Sky to allow other pay TV providers to offer Sky Sports 1 & 2 to customers. The event, sponsored by BT, included a discussion between Martin Keown, the former Arsenal & England player, and Spurs striker Peter Crouch.

Peter discussed the recent World Cup, Spurs' forthcoming premiership, as well as investment in the grassroots, development for academies of talent, football finance and the number of English players and managers.

It is often said that footballers are out of touch with what the fans think so it was good to hear two football giants talking about these issues in person and not differing too much from what the man in the pub says week after week.

HMS Cavalier needs your vote

2010-07-26T17:29:00.003+01:00

Am pleased to see that Chatham's very own HMS Cavalier is in the final of the National Lottery Awards. HMS Cavalier is competing against two other projects in the Best Education category for the chance to win the national award and a £2000 prize and needs everyone to vote if it is going to win. The competition closes on 13th August and the finalist will appear on the BBC's prime time show on 4th September called "National Lottery Big 7".

There is more information about HMS Cavalier in this very interesting article HERE and you can vote for HMS Cavalier either on 0844 686 1038 or online HERE

Medway Council's budget - the minister's response

2010-07-15T22:12:00.005+01:00

We get four bags of post per day in the House of Commons and the letter re Medway Council's budget cuts arrived in the last one today. I really do understand the position the Ministry is in with the need to make savings in order to reduce the extraordinary deficit clocked up by the Labour Government but, as I said to the Minister in person, I am disappointed about the decision re the PSA grant. My duty now is to work with the Council's leaders to try and ensure that the impact on residents in Chatham is minimal and that investment in some of the poorest parts of Medway continues.

(If this doesn't enlarge when you click on it please let me know)

Medway Council funding

2010-07-15T14:08:00.002+01:00

Over the weekend I blogged about Medway Council's budget cuts. I spoke to the Minister as scheduled on Monday and am expecting a letter in response shortly, which rather than paraphrase here now I will post in full when received. I will say however that I remain disappointed!

Photographers' Liberties

2010-07-15T13:58:00.003+01:00

Earlier this week, the Home Secretary made a statement in the House of Commons that she intended to review the previous Government's counter-terrorism legislation. The legislation has been misused on a number of occasions including during the Labour Party conference to stop a heckler and when trying to recoup money lost in Icelandic banks. But locally it had also been used in the arrest of a local photographer as noted previously on this blog HERE. I got the opportunity to ask the Home Secretary about this particular case and the exchange was as follows:

Tracey Crouch (Chatham and Aylesford) (Con): Under the previous Government, a photographer from Medway was arrested in Chatham high street under section 44 stop-and-search powers, and he and fellow photographers from Medway will welcome today's announcement from the Home Secretary. Will she assure the House that any future revision of anti-terror legislation will strike the right balance between protecting the public and safeguarding the rights of individuals?

Mrs May: I am happy to give that assurance to my hon. Friend. She may have noticed that in my statement I specifically said that we would look at the issue of photographers and stop-and-search powers. It is one issue that has been brought home forcibly to me. I have had Constituency cases of people who have been stopped under those powers and been concerned about it, and I have received a number of representations from Members of this House, and indeed of another
place, about those problems.

A select photo montage of recent activities

2010-07-11T18:34:00.006+01:00

I met with citizenship pupils at Aylesford Sports College, and Sylvia from African People's Advocacy.

Had a good meeting with new Chief Executive of RBLI - some good challenging issues for me to take back to Westminster.

Really enjoyed talking to the Mid Kent College public services students for the forth year running. Also had a tour of the new campus - v impressive.

14 year old Mark joined me on a week's work experience, which included him coming to Gillingham FC with me to hear about their community work.

I loved this cockerel! Funniest thing I've seen was watching the French team mascot parade around the KM's mini-world cup hi-fiving other teams.

I opened the Blue Bell Hill village fete and was presented with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, shortly before Cllr Homewood won a much coveted coconut!

Visited the RSPCA in Walderslade. Yes there is real fear in my eyes. No I did not unfold my arms in order to touch the lizard!

Medway Council budget cuts

2010-07-11T18:17:00.002+01:00

One of the issues I have picked up over the past couple of weeks is the cut in Medway Council's PSA reward grant. Although the revenue grant reduction was one of the smallest in the Country, the cut in the PSA reward was an unwelcome development. This will indeed have an impact on specific projects, not least because it had already been budgeted for, and I have therefore written to the Secretary of State on behalf of Medway Council. I am scheduled to speak to a Minister about it tomorrow and will update my blog when I have any further information.

Returning competition to our schools

2010-07-11T17:56:00.002+01:00

The Government recently announced that it was going to introduce an Olympic-style sports competition to our schools, following a successful pilot project here in Kent. This will not only help return competitive sports to our schools, ridding our classrooms of the "everyone's a winner" culture, but it will also increase participation in activities (and yes I do mean more than just traditional field sports).

I was invited on to Politics Show South East to talk about the poor participation rates in Kent and Medway but, and I know there will be huge sighs of disappointment, it is no longer available on iplayer! The point of the piece was that a report was published recently showing the levels of participation in 3 hours of PE and out of hours sport per week amongst year 7-11 pupils. The national average is 50% and yet Kent and Medway were below average, and sadly Medway is the lowest in the country with 26%. Your Medway carried the story HERE.

The curriculum is under huge pressure and I sympathise enormously with schools trying to fit everything in but I would like to see a slimming down of the curriculum, concentrating on core subjects, so that inter and intra-school competitions can return into state schools. The Government's school sports competition helps, as does local initiatives such as the mini-world cup, and Kent County Council's School Games which the Government's competition is modelled on. I also think that support for grassroot programmes is essential and as I said on the TV, this shouldn't just mean football, rugby and cricket. Activities such as dance and gymnastics have become more popular recently, partly thanks to the success of troupes on talent shows, and they deserve as much support as football.

Of course with money being tight, there will be a reliance on volunteers and already the Government has made it clear it will support the army of coaches, managers, trainers and others required to help improve participation. Whatever happens though, policymakers locally and nationally must remember that sport is about more than just having fun, it provides good discipline, improves communication and teamwork skills and is proven to help concentration levels. A healthy body does indeed equal a healthy mind and if we are to improve academic standards then a good dose of sporting activity will certainly help.

For the record - Thames Estuary Airport

2010-07-11T17:42:00.003+01:00

Yet again the proposal for a Thames Estuary Airport seems to have gathered local interest. This follows the establishment of an All Party Group in favour of the proposal by Essex MP Bernard Jenkin. North Kent MPs were asked to join the group. I and others declined, making it clear that we were firmly against the proposal and that we supported Medway and Kent County Council's opposition to the Airport.

Following a letter from Medway Council Leader Rodney Chambers, I wrote to the Transport Secretary Philip Hammond seeking an assurance that he would, as David Cameron did before the Election, rule out any proposal to build an Airport in the Thames Estuary. Not only is it an environmentally mad proposal but during these tough economic times when difficult decisions are being made to cut programmes, it would be financially bonkers. I will post the reply on my blog when received.

Time is flying by

2010-07-11T17:13:00.003+01:00

It has been well over 2 weeks since I last updated this blog and sadly there is no good excuse as to why not - no technological problems, no illnesses, no family engagements; quite simply I just seem to run out of time every day! Which is a shame really because I've done a number of things over the past few weeks that ordinarily deserve an immediate blog post. To make up for it I will post a series of articles after this on some key local issues and instead use this to give a general update.

The first thing to say is I now have a fully staffed, fully operational office in Westminster and I thank anyone who may have waited longer than usual for a response for their patience. We have also moved in the constituency and instead of being based in Gillingham I now have an office in Lordswood, Chatham. I will update my website with the contact details asap. Two out of 3 members of my staff are from the constituency which is an added bonus for me and those who need to contact me.

I have joined various All Party Groups including those on alcohol misuse, drug and alcohol harm reduction, mental health, carers and dementia. Groups like these produce invaluable cross-party reports on policy and can help contribute to the debate on issues that often fall within wider department portfolios, thus are forgotten or rank lower than the big picture/headline policy areas. I am also carrying on my interest in insurance and am secretary to the Insurance & Financial Services Group. Plus I have joined the football group and the football club group - the former talks about football policy such as bringing in technology, supporting grassroots etc and the latter is about actually playing (unless you are girl and the game is refereed by an FA qualified ref and then one is not allowed to play - ahem and grrrr).

I am meeting some really interesting groups, businesses and people in the constituency on Thursday evenings, Fridays and Saturdays and am continuously learning about new issues, best practice and future challenges. I have enjoyed opening fetes and summer festivals and there are still two more to come before the end of July. My surgeries are fully booked almost two weeks before and having decided to do a rota for venues (two in Chatham, one in Aylesford and one in Snodland) we're about to finish our first full 8-week cycle, just demonstrating how quickly time has gone by.

I shall try to set aside more time to update this blog during the week and now things are settling down I really have no further excuse not to!

ps - I forgot to say, I didn't stand for election to a Select Committee, wanting instead to concentrate my time on other things, but I would like to congratulate Rochester MP Mark Reckless for his election and commiserate with Reh Chishti who unfortunately didn't get elected.

Some thoughts on the Budget

2010-06-23T22:07:00.002+01:00

The Times Leader’s opening paragraph sums up yesterday’s Budget statement really well. It says:

“We have the measure of this Government now. In only seven weeks, George Osborne has put together an emergency Budget that has restored some clarity and sanity to Britain’s finances. This was not a Budget of unavoidable cuts and inevitable tax rises. It was much better than that, and bolder. Mr Osborne has made some fundamental choices on tax and spending that were daring, but also sensitive to many of those who will feel the pain. There was not flicker of ideological fervour for cuts of which Labour has been warning; only a sense of regret and realism, coupled with an apparent desire to tell the bad news straight, rather than hiding it in footnotes”.

It is spot on.

Yesterday, the Chancellor delivered a Budget statement in recognition of the mess that Labour left this country in. The state of the UK economy was a key factor in the constituency during the Election and everyone I met on the doorstep knew that whoever formed the Government would be faced with tough decisions. Labour left behind one of the largest budget deficits in Europe. Thanks to their incompetence, we are now are borrowing one pound for every four we spend. If we fail to deal with the deficit the consequences would be severe – and it is the poorest who would suffer the most. We only have to look at Greece to see what happens to countries that don’t live within their means - more businesses going bust and higher unemployment.

The Liberal Democrats and Conservatives have come together to tackle the debt crisis facing our country. The Government has taken the tough decisions that the Governor of the Bank of England and the G20 called for and that Labour ducked. But let’s be clear about some of Labour’s political rhetoric around some of these key announcements. Leaked documents following the 2008 Pre-Budget Report showed that the last Labour government were going to raise VAT to 20%. Their attack on yesterday’s announcement is therefore rather hollow. However it is important to note that it will be the wealthiest fifth of families who will pay on average over £500 a year in additional VAT, while the fifth of families on the lowest incomes will pay around a third of that. VAT will still be below the average rate in Europe.

Fairness underpins this Government’s budget. The Government will ensure that every part of society makes a contribution to deficit reduction while protecting the most vulnerable, including children and pensioners. The emergency budget sets out measures to refocus the tax and benefit framework. It also includes action to reward those who work hard and save responsibly. The Chancellor announced support for low and middle-income earners by increasing the personal allowance of £1,000. This will take 880,000 of the lowest income tax payers out of the tax and benefit 23 million taxpayers by up to £170 per year. In the South East over 3 million basic rate taxpayers will gain by up to £170 from this measure.

He also announced a triple lock on the state pension so it rises annually by the higher of earnings, prices or 2.5% from April 2011 - this will benefit 11 million pensioners, 1.6 million of which live in the South East.

Much criticism has also been levied at the announcement on benefits reform. Many people I met were appalled at the abuse of the benefits system and argued for reform. Much of what was announced yesterday will focus the benefits system to help those who need it most. I will however pledge here and now that I will call for an assurance that the medical assessment will consider those who suffer a mental illness, which is often a hidden disability and requires support.

There were of course many more announcements in the Budget yesterday all of which can be found on the Treasury website. But in summary the emergency budget sets out clearly how we will pay for the bills of the past and it also starts planning for the future. It shows how the Government will carry out Britain’s unavoidable deficit reduction plan in a way that strengthens and unites the country. It will along with everyone else in the UK affect constituents of Chatham & Aylesford but it will also help put this country back on track for economic recovery. The short term pain will provide for long term gain.

Supporting Medway's 21,000 Carers

2010-06-19T08:01:00.004+01:00

Encouraged by a recent meeting with ITV's This Morning celebrity GP, Dr Chris Steele, I visited the Medway Carers Centre yesterday in support of Carers Week (14-20 June) to celebrate the contribution made by people across Medway who provide unpaid care for someone who is ill, frail or disabled.

There are a shocking 21,000 carers across Medway, many of whom are children, who sacrifice much of their own lives to look after others and are unable to do the little things that most of us take for granted. A trip to the cinema or even a full night's sleep are luxuries for thousands of people across Chatham & Aylesford and we more often than not forget this.

Visiting the centre yesterday was an important initiation for me on this issue and I felt very humble afterwards. I popped into a caring with confidence class that the Centre runs and instead of just saying hi briefly, we ended up having an impromptu Q&A session. This was followed by a more formal meeting with carers and volunteers at the Centre. Both parts of the visit raised some very good points about policy changes or improvements and I look forward to taking them up with the relevant ministers.

Minister supports Aylesford's Royal British Legion Industries

2010-06-15T13:40:00.003+01:00

In response to an oral question during Work & Pensions Questions yesterday, the disabilities minister Maria Miller paid tribute to the work of Royal British Legion Industries in helping disabled people find work. She said it was "vital" to have organisations like the RBLI "on-the-ground" supporting disabled people and that they would play a role in the Work Programme being prepared by the Employment Minister.

Having been around RBLI and seen first hand the excellent work they do, I was keen to support them in the Commons. The full exchange can be found HERE.

My Maiden Speech

2010-06-10T22:20:00.003+01:00

I made my Maiden Speech today in the debate on poverty. The first speech you make in the Commons is different to any other in that precedent determines you talk about your constituency, you pay tribute to your predecessor, and reading your speech is forgiven (from now on it is not!). However I wanted to talk about the issue of poverty as well as it is an important element of the challenges we face locally and nationally. The full text of my speech can be found HERE.

The whirlwind continues...

2010-06-01T21:48:00.003+01:00

It has been a while since I last blogged but the whirlwind introduction to Parliament has continued. I still don't have an office in the Palace of Westminster but these things take time to work out, and I am beginning to enjoy working with colleagues in our "common room" of hot desks; we are sharing our experiences of working out how to do certain things such as tabling questions or dealing with specific areas of casework. I spent some time in the Chamber last week just to watch, listen and learn and I also signed my first Early Day Motion which supports Carers' Week - a group of people who are the epitome of unsung heroes and who I have come to really admire over the past four years. The postbag continues to grow day by day, most of which comes from external organisations who are blanket communicating with MPs regardless of their constituency or political interests, but is on the whole largely under control.

On Friday I was pleased to be back in the constituency and the day started early on with a meeting in West Malling with our local PC and PCSOs. It was a great opportunity to share our concerns and talk about ways of working together to protect and improve our local community and I look forward to doing the same in a couple of weeks time at the Medway end of the constituency. After a private lunch, I went to County Hall to meet with the Ditton Youth project to support their submission for funds from KCC to help with the renovation of the cedar rooms for a new youth club. Having met the youngsters a couple of weeks ago, it was good to see them still full of energy and enthusiasm.

Saturday was a quieter day. I spent most of the day doing paperwork before heading over to the Love Music, Hate Racism festival in Medway. I wanted to support the event after witnessing a small increase in the BNP vote at the General Election and it was great to hear from the Hope Not Hate group who so successfully helped fight off the BNP in Barking. As I departed the festival was gearing up for 3 days of live music, all in a good cause.

Friends and loved ones kept me away from my laptop on Sunday which enabled me to rest, relax and catch my breath a bit. One of the things I have noticed in the first couple of weeks in Parliament is that I haven't really had time to read a newspaper so it was nice to sit down and catch up with news and comment - that time passed quickly and it was soon time to get back to the emails.

Today the House wasn't sitting so I had a bonus day in the constituency. I took the opportunity to look at a potential office, do a home visit, meet with local councillors, lunch with the Chief Executive and Operations Director of MHS, go through the post with my researcher and finally attend the launch of an art exhibition in the Brook Theatre by youngsters in care alongside the Mayor and local artist Billy Childish. Tomorrow, it is back to the House of Commons for the first Prime Minister Question Time since the General Election...so no end to the whirlwind just yet!

Supporting the Ditton Youth Project

2010-05-22T12:19:00.003+01:00

On Thursday evening I attended a meeting with members of the Ditton youth project and the adult Committee to support them in their attempt to convert the Ceder Rooms at Ditton Community Centre into a venue for a regular Youth Club. Aylesford Councillor Dave Smith attended the meeting with me bringing with him some advice for the Committee having gone through the same process with Aylesford's very successful Youth Club.

The project plan is sound and exciting, will provide all youth organisations in the area with excellent accommodation and the youngsters are working hard as a team to put together funding bids. I am very much on board and will be supporting them every step of the way.

A very proud manager

2010-05-16T16:24:00.003+01:00

I am this afternoon one very proud football manager. At Cobdown Park, Ditton, Meridian Girls U12s won the Tina Marshall Cup Final in extra time, having been 2 nil down to Gravesham Girls after just 10 minutes. Instead of giving up, they fought hard for every ball and went into half time only 2-1 down having clawed back a goal.

What followed was a very exciting second half which saw us equalise twice, forcing extra time after the game finished 3-3. There were 7 minutes each way and penalties would follow if it was still a draw. Meridian's Under 10s earlier won their Final on penalties and I didn't fancy trying to pick 5 girls to take spot kicks (although I had in my mind anyway). Thankfully we didn't need to go down that route after we scored another goal in each half and the game ended 5-3 to Meridian.

Gravesham played very well and have always been one of the nicest teams to play against; as a club they share our own club's values of you play cleanly and fairly and accept the outcome graciously. All girls shook hands and it was acknowledged in the presentation to have been the best game of the day so far.

After a poor first 10 minutes, Meridian Girls played well and never gave up fighting. It is for that reason that I am most proud of them, not that they won a shiny trophy. They worked hard for their medals and as they left being spoilt rotten with sweets and ice cream by overjoyed parents, I am sure they will still be smiling for some time yet.

An extraordinary first week

2010-05-16T14:42:00.004+01:00

It has been an extraordinary first week in the job.

On Monday I headed up to London to resign from Aviva. It was sad to leave a company I joined the day after the 2005 General Election and I have learned a lot working across all parts of the business. I am in no doubt my experience in the City and for a major plc will help me as I navigate my way through my new role. As I left the City to get on the tube to Westminster it was still unclear what was going to happen politically and it was difficult to give my curious now-ex colleagues much of a steer. When I arrived in Westminster I met up with Andy Percy, the MP for Brigg & Goole, and Gary Johnson, the MP for Dartford. We ended up doing our induction together which started in one room with the collection of passes, the allocation of a locker and ended up full circular with laptops and blackberries. Part of the induction included a tour and as we were taken into the chamber our blackberries started buzzing and it was then that we realised something significant was happening on the outside; Gordon Brown had announced he was going to step down as Labour Leader so that coalition talks between the Liberals and Labour could begin. The tour ended in the Members Tea Room where our guide left us in the safe hands of colleagues before our first ever 1922 Committee meeting. Journalists were gathering outside the Committee room with Whips guarding the door letting folks in. Walking into that oak panelled room for the first time was amazing. The sun was streaming through the windows from the Thames and the buzz in the room was phenomenal. The Chief Whip and the Leader of the Conservative Party entered and everyone cheered. I was at the back so had to stand on a bench to see and it was clear that even David Cameron was overwhelmed by the sight of 300+ Conservative MPs standing in front of him. After 30 minutes or so we filed out and that was that. What was needed to be said was said, the meeting was done, and it was time to go home.

Tuesday was supposed to be a full day of induction. There was a schedule set out in advance which given what was happening outside was probably never going to survive. But it was well planned and a 150 new Tory MPs sat and listened whilst we were given advice on employing staff, casework, legislative procedures etc. This is all new and the authorities and the party managers should be congratulated for setting it up. Previous new MPs have arrived and made to sink or swim. With such a large intake from this election it was never going to be possible to leave everyone to get on with it so we sat and listened intently. David Cameron popped by to say hello and as he walked in to the room he congratulated me on my win in Chatham & Aylesford - little did I know that the next time I would see him, he would be Prime Minister! And so the day continued until it became clear again that something was happening; without an office most of us were relying on others or Twitter to keep us updated and it was from there that we learned that Gordon Brown was going to see the Queen. Some of us found an office to watch the TV in and that is where we stayed until David Cameron stood on the steps of Downing Street with Samatha and made his speech. Two or so hours later he was standing in front of the 1922 Committee receiving a standing ovation from the Parliamentary Conservative Party. The Prime Minister outlined the "deal", received another warm ovation and he (and we) headed off home at gone 10.30pm.

(taken by John Glen MP)

The Wednesday induction started with a cross-party session in the Chamber. Following the events of the night before there was much excitement as Conservative and Lib Dem MPs took their places on the Government side of the Chamber. Those who came in late were being sent to the Opposition benches because it was the only place there was any space left! We had some excellent advice and information from the Clerks, the Serjeant at Arms, and the then Leaders of the House from the 3 main parties. The number of times I have seen others squished up on those green benches watching them make speeches or ask questions, it was fabulous to take my seat and look at the empty Speakers Chair knowing that in a few weeks time I will be on my feet doing the same. After the session we had a 2010 intake photograph which was in itself rather special - there are so many people - before heading back to our own party inductions. I managed to leave around 4pm and made it back in time for pre-Cup Final football coaching. The rest of the week has been spent on constituency work, thank you letters, and setting up my surgeries.

I know every week is not going to be like last week but with the Speaker's Election and swearing in happening this coming week, and the Queen's Speech taking place the following week it might at least take a little while longer before things settle down!

My first constituency engagement

2010-05-14T16:24:00.003+01:00

After a week in Parliament, I attended my first engagement in the Constituency yesterday and I was pleased to support the official launch of the new art installation at Snodland train station. The art had been done by local students from Holmesdale College and installed by Southeastern and the Medway Valley Line Partnership. The artists were congratulated by the many people who attended the launch and rightly so - their work cheers up the station and I am sure will be well appreciated by local rail users.

Photos from the thank you party

2010-05-09T22:26:00.004+01:00

At lunch time today I hosted a thank you party for those who helped during the Election campaign. The date was set before we knew the result and would have happened regardless of the outcome but it was great that it turned into a celebration and spirits were high! There were many people who were unable to make today due to prior commitments but they were thanked in absentia. Tomorrow I head up to London to resign from my job and then on to Parliament...

(am in there somewhere)

(my nephew was very impressed with the cake)

(and my mum joined in the fun too)

Thank YOU!

2010-05-07T16:21:00.003+01:00

Thank you to everyone who came out and voted for change in Chatham & Aylesford yesterday and to the hundreds of people who have sent me text messages, emails and pub notice boards (as pictured above) congratulating me on the result. I am proud to have been elected your MP. The hard work begins now and I very much look forward to getting on with the job I have been elected to do.

In my victory speech in the early hours of this morning, I thanked the other candidates for their clean campaigns. With public confidence in politicians at such a low, the lack of personal insult or rancour has been an important contribution to restoring the electorate's faith in politics and I shall endeavour to continue that process by being an open, honest and transparent MP.

After further media engagements today, official public engagements begin tomorrow and I am expected at the Palace of Westminster on Tuesday. It is a real honour to be given a mandate to serve local residents and I will not let you down.

Restore Rochester Castle

2010-05-02T19:15:00.003+01:00

I have been contacted by a local group who are dedicated to the restoration and preservation of Rochester Castle, asking me to support their cause. I had no hesitation in doing so. Rochester Castle is of huge historic importance and a wonderful local attraction and I was very happy to sign the pledge on the website and have promised to help publicise their campaign. I hope all those who read this locally, who keep blogs and use social media, will join me in raising awareness of this campaign.

You can sign the pledge or join their facebook campaign HERE.

The last canvass

2010-05-01T19:20:00.002+01:00

(the morning team!)

Today we held our last canvass sessions before the General Election and we had massive teams out across the constituency. We met this morning at the Ditton Community Centre and headed off in teams to canvass in Aylesford, Ditton and Larkfield and this afternoon we had another huge team to canvass in Princes Park, Walderslade and Lordswood. The response on the doorstep was excellent and the team regrouped this afternoon for tea and cake in a buoyant mood.

Over the course of the election campaign I have met and spoken to hundreds of people who have raised a plethora of issues. Without doubt uncontrolled immigration is the most unprompted issue raised on the doorstep followed by the economy, jobs, the benefits system and abuse of MPs expenses. But I have also had raised with me issues relating to the local hospitals, tuition fees, abortion, the threat to Christianity, election debates, women MPs, taxes, Europe and pensions to name but a few! I have always enjoyed being on the doorstep but the last four weeks have been brilliant; it has been a joy to meet, listen and speak to so many people during our 3 canvass sessions per day and I hope that it will make a difference.

The next few days are dedicated to meetings with various organisations and residents, correspondence and constituency-wide delivery. Thank you to all those who have helped and are helping over the next few days, and to all those I have met and have been so hospitable on the doorstep.

Sunny Days

2010-04-24T20:15:00.003+01:00

What a beautiful day to be out canvassing. This morning I was with a team in Lordswood and then this afternoon I was with a team in Princes Park, and a third team were out in Larkfield. The sun was shining, it was nice and warm and people were out in their gardens, doing DIY or washing their cars. They were happy to talk and we were happy to listen. So many people are fed up with this Government - they feel very let down. I spent a long time talking to a couple today who had voted Labour but were not going to vote for anyone despite the fact that they desperately wanted change. I managed to get their support in the end but it reinforced how angry people are about the state of the country; whether it is the economy, uncontrolled immigration, a broken benefits system, youth unemployment or the lack of support for the older generation, local residents I talk to are fed up that they are not listened to and nothing is done to help them.

We had a good day today. The response was positive, the mood amongst the troops is good, and the pub we had lunch in was excellent (despite the fact that Spurs were losing on the big screen). I have a day off from canvassing tomorrow but back on the stump Monday.

(Lazing on a sunny afternoon...)

Welcoming William to Chatham

2010-04-21T21:55:00.002+01:00

It was a real pleasure to welcome Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague to Chatham today. He did a tour of Asda in Walderslade, one of the biggest employers in the constituency, meeting many customers and staff along the way. William was on a marathon tour of the South East but we managed to grab him for a good 40 minutes and so he got to sit down with some of the staff in the canteen and his walk around the aisles certainly cheered up quite a few of the ladies out shopping in the supermarket today!

Lib Dem surge?

2010-04-21T07:15:00.004+01:00

As you can see what had a good team out in Snodland last night (and this picture doesn't include Cllrs Les Withey and Chris Block who missed the photo and of course the photographer!) plus we had four out in Larkfield in the afternoon and six out in Ditton in the morning. Of all the doors I knocked on or people I spoke to, I met one person who had always voted Lib Dem and one person who was "considering" voting Lib Dem. I am not sure I have yet seen any evidence on our local doorsteps and streets of the "Lib Dem surge" the media keep talking about - it will be interesting to look at the raw data behind the polls, but I don't really have the time or the energy after 3 canvass sessions!

Canvassing in Chatham

2010-04-17T19:46:00.002+01:00

We had another excellent team of 20 out today and went canvassing in Chatham this morning and Luton this afternoon. I didn't meet a single Liberal Democrat all day and only one person who had watched the debate on Thursday. I was amused to see my opponent in the same street as my team of four this morning; I hope people were saying to him the same things they were saying to me about the need for change!

It was a good day overall. The sun was shining, team morale is high and the response on the doorstep was positive. And to top it all I met some interesting people on my rounds today - one of whom called me "beautiful" which is always nice!

We have a day off from canvassing tomorrow. Instead I shall enjoy my girls last home match of the season before dealing with emails and letters. Tonight however I intend to put my aching feet up and watch the return of Britain's Got Talent!

I ache...but then we have knocked on 1500 doors today

2010-04-16T21:12:00.004+01:00

There are no two ways about it. My feet hurt. But after another 3 canvass sessions today it is hardly a surprise!

This morning's canvass session began in the Blue Bell Hill and Walderslade ward, and I was pleased to be joined by Richard Ashworth MEP and former Conservative Party Director of Communications Charles Lewington on the doorstep. We had a team of 7 out on the doorsteps and I think we were initially surprised how few people talked about last night's debate. The only person who raised it with me said he thought he was going to vote for Nick Clegg until he mentioned scrapping the nuclear deterrent! After a couple of hours we headed off to the Robin Hood pub for lunch (ham, egg and chips for the second day running) where I met again the Friday regulars - they are mainly ex-engineers so we had a very interesting chat about the factors behind the grounding of the planes due to volcanic ash.

After lunch we headed off to Prince Park to greet Michael and Sandra Howard who had travelled up from Folkestone to help canvass. Michael introduced me to politics and so I have worn several rosettes and delivered thousands of leaflets over the years with VOTE MICHAEL HOWARD on them, so it was a pleasant role reversal to have Michael and Sandra canvassing for me. We had a team of 17 in total out in Princes Park so the team split into two. I had a journalist and photographer following me for the first part of the canvass which was interesting - it certainly didn't stop people from saying what they thought! After they left I caught up with the rest of the team and another photographer from a different local paper. They had pretty much canvassed the estate so I was talking to some lads who were playing football but stopped to ask what we were doing. One was wearing an Arsenal top and after I asked him what the score was on Wednesday he challenged me to prove that I could play football. Bearing in mind I was in ballet pumps and a pencil skirt I was rather pleased that I managed to do around 15 keepie uppies before volleying it left footed back on to the grass. The photographer was so shocked that he watched in awe and didn't take a single photo of my glorious moment!! However before we finished I did perform my little trick again, this time before a crowd of canvassers, before promising the lads I would Save Capstone Valley and heading off for tea.

After a short break of tea, cake and an interview, we returned to the streets for our final canvass session of the day. The Howards were still with us and so we had a team of 10 out pounding the streets of Walderslade. In total today we knocked on nearly 1500 doors and the big issues were uncontrolled immigration, abuse of the benefits system, the price of petrol, and job security but hardly anyone mentioned the television debates!

So now I shall rest my weary feet and prepare to return to the streets tomorrow...

Campaigning with Dr Liam Fox

2010-04-13T21:08:00.005+01:00

I have really enjoyed campaigning today.

I woke to discover that the photo shoot I did with Grazia magazine back in February is in this week's edition (I still pine for the LK Bennett shoes I chose to wear for the photo shoot but are too expensive for me to buy!) and the feedback has been good.

Then we had a really good reception in Wouldham during this morning's canvass. Lots of people out in their front gardens making the most of the spring sunshine. We did pause for a while and take in the view of the river, trying to spot the rumoured seal or otter - I am sure it is long gone by now but it was nice to have an excuse to stand quietly and gaze up and down the river for a few minutes!

The after lunch, Conservative Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox joined veterans, cadets, Gurkhas and those with sons in the Armed Forces for a coffee and a chat at the Royal British Legion Village. The veterans, who were wearing their medals with pride, talked to Liam about their concern for today's soldiers - an issue I have talked about with them many times. They are genuinely concerned about the lack of equipment and wanted to know what a future Conservative Government would do to protect our forces as best as possible. Liam also met some cadets, all of whom were looking to go into the Air Force or to use the skills they have gained from their training in other occupations. He also met Cllr Tashi Bhutia and fellow former Gurkhas and having congratulated Tashi on winning Luton & Wayfield he then told them of his trip to Nepal quite a few years ago - they were very pleased to hear him speak about his trip so fondly.

Then followed the formal launch of the Conservative Party's manifesto in the South East Region. I am pleased with the manifesto; not only is it well presented but it gives power back to the people. I've lost count of the number of times I have talked to medical staff, teachers or police officers who are horrified with the pointless strategies or targets coming out of Whitehall that disable their ability to do the job that they signed up to do; this is designed for them. Let the professionals do their job. Since I am pretty sure that most of Whitehall has never heard of the villages and towns that make up Chatham & Aylesford I am fed up with hearing how Government knows best for its residents. Therefore what David Cameron and the Party has launched today is I think a very exciting opportunity for people to help bring about the much needed change this country needs.

After Liam departed, we headed off to Larkfield to finish the day canvassing. The news bulletins were on in the background as we knocked on the doors and I was very very pleased with tonight's response. The undecideds from a few weeks ago are firm supporters now - the excellent first week of the campaign has helped and today's positive launch seems to have nailed it with some. The change message is getting across.

Out in force

2010-04-10T19:40:00.002+01:00

Today, we had 24 people out in the beautiful sunshine in Walderslade and Princes Park including two new team members! The sun had people out in their gardens and cleaning their cars on the driveway so I got to talk to a lot of residents today about their issues. I seemed to encounter a number of people who had recently had a problem with care or "service" at the Medway Maritime, which was worrying and I will pick up with the Chief Executive next time I see him.

I also made a house call and met an extremely savvy young lady who I was very impressed with and who David Cameron is talking about precisely when he talks about the "great ignored". I was only sorry I had to leave sooner than I would have liked to join the afternoon canvass team but in the short time I was there, I felt I had an insight into what young single women who want to work hard face and how they are beginning to get angry about not being heard - it was certainly a message I took note of.

Back on the stump

2010-04-09T21:28:00.003+01:00

After 3 days of meeting and greeting at Asda, Chatham train station, St Martin's Square Larkfield and Snodland High Street followed by many resident calls and meetings, it was time to get back on the doorstep today - and the beautiful weather certainly gave the troops an extra spring in their step.

This morning we were in Larkfield where not only is the Cherry Blossom is out and the Magnolia Trees are beginning to bud but the reception was warm. One of the great things about talking to people on the doorstep is the variety of issues you get to discuss - chatting to residents in Larkfield issues ranged from immigration and pub closures through to MPs expenses (although I also had a very informative chat about when you should prune a Wisteria!).

After 2 hours in Larkfield we stopped for a bite to eat at Wealden Hall before heading off to meet Iain Dale who had come to help in Ditton. I got rid of all my posters but had a hilarious chat with a lady who was definitely going to vote Conservative but didn't want to put a poster up because she "hoped the others knocked on her door so [she] could tell them what for" - having heard her views about the "others" I would love to be a fly on her wall when they coming knocking!!

After a short break to watch Iain do Sky News live from Aylesford bridge, we finished our days canvassing in Aylesford.

My feet hurt and my inbox is full but it was a good day.

Fighting a Clean Campaign

2010-04-06T15:37:00.003+01:00

With the expenses scandal overshadowing British politics, it is important for candidates to try and restore voters’ trust and faith in politicians. So as the 2010 General Election begins, your local Conservative Candidate, Tracey Crouch, has signed a Clean Campaign Pledge providing voters with a clear personal commitment to behave responsibly and fairly during the forthcoming campaign period, and to uphold high standards if successfully elected to Westminster.

The Pledge covers 17 areas of professional and political conduct including key campaign commitments such as:

• To fight a clean, positive and honest campaign around the issues that concern local people

• To refrain from personal attacks

• To be honest about public spending, and not to scaremonger in ways that frighten the most vulnerable members of society

• To sign up to the transparency pledge on MPs’ expenses

Chatham & Aylesford Conservative Candidate, Tracey Crouch, said

"Voters are fed up with politicians treating them with little or no
respect. The only way to earn voters’ confidence is for politicians to
make, and keep, a promise to behave decently and honourably. So today I’m
making a personal and public commitment to run a clean campaign, free from dirty
tactics and personal attacks. People deserve politicians who will spend
their time getting the country back on its feet rather than scuttling around in
gutter politics"

The CLEAN CAMPAIN PLEDGE is below:

CLEAN CAMPAIGN PLEDGE
I, Tracey Crouch, the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Chatham and Aylesford, pledge in the General Election campaign:

To show by my actions that politics need not be a dirty game, but can be a clean and positive activity, engaged in genuinely for the good of all.

To tell the truth about what I stand for and have achieved, and about what others stand for and have achieved.

To refrain from personal attacks.

To make only honest and reasonable promises.

To fight a clean, positive and honest campaign around the issues that concern local people.

To be honest about public spending, and not to scaremonger in ways that may frighten the most vulnerable members of our society.

To take money only from organisations and individuals whose motives in giving money I do not have reason to suspect.

To sign up to the transparency pledge on MPs’ expenses below.

I encourage voters:

To expect from me decent and honest behaviour, as a candidate

To ask other Parties operating in this election to sign up to a similar honest campaign pledge.

To help me enforce this Pledge, by reporting truthfully to me and to the media any apparent breaches.

Finally, if elected, I pledge:

To publish online details of all of personal expenses incurred as a Member of Parliament.

To publish online details of all office expenses incurred as a Member of Parliament.

To publish online details of all donations in line with Electoral Commission rules.

To appoint a local firm of auditors to approve expenses accounts at the end of every financial year.

To open up the unedited expenses claims to local newspapers at the end of every financial year.

Never to claim for food, furniture or household goods.

To meet all tax liabilities – such as stamp duty – without claiming them from the taxpayer.

Tracey Crouch

Conservative Candidate for Chatham and Aylesford

Finally...

2010-04-05T18:54:00.002+01:00

Tomorrow we expect Gordon Brown to announce the date of the General Election. Finally!!

After much dithering, the (unelected) Prime Minister will provide the Country with the opportunity to end thirteen wasted years of Labour Government. This Government is tired and has run out of ideas.

Since I was selected in 2006 to be the Conservative candidate for Chatham & Aylesford, I have knocked on thousands of doors across the constituency. I've walked every street and surveyed every house - some more than four times. I am proud of the work I and the team have done in the community and the issues that have been raised and campaigned on as a consequence.

I have spent this long Easter weekend relaxing with my beloved and supportive family, preparing for the next few weeks of campaigning. It is going to be exhausting and extremely busy but hopefully worthwhile (and fun). But with all else said it is here and it is time for a change!

HSBC: Not Aylesford's "Local Bank"

2010-03-31T11:15:00.007+01:00

The bakery and deli are long gone. The Post Office went last year. Now Aylesford Village is about to see the closure of its HSBC branch much to the anger and disappointment of local residents. Already village business owners and residents, and those who travel from Eccles, Burham and Wouldham villages to use the branch, have protested outside the branch and got petitons signed. Last week I and other councillors from the Parishes and Borough wrote to the Chief Executive of HSBC urging him to reconsider closing the branch. The text of the letter is as follows:

"As the prospective Conservative MP for Chatham & Aylesford and the local councillors representing the communities most affected, we are very disappointed to learn that HSBC has decided to close its Aylesford Village branch.

The branch services a wide area including Aylesford itself, the surrounding remote villages of
Wouldham, Eccles and Burham and the Royal British Legion Village, a residential area run by the
legion for Second World War veterans and other ex-Armed Forces personnel. With no other bank branch nearby, it goes without saying that HSBC currently provides a vital service to residents and businesses in the local area and its closure will see a further decline in local village
life, an outcome that seems contrary to your big budget marketing campaign as the “local bank”.

We therefore urge you to reconsider your decision to close the Aylesford Village branch as soon as possible so that residents and businesses can continue with their financial matters without disruption".

Cleaning up Millennium Green

2010-03-28T17:49:00.003+01:00

I enjoyed my hour long litter picking session yesterday on Millennium Green with Cllr Tashi Bhutia, local residents and the Community Payback team. Is always very satisfying to see an area transformed thanks to a little effort! Funniest moment of the morning was seeing Tashi stopping some local lads using the litter pickers to have sword fights with and instead putting them in high viz jackets, rubber gloves and persuading them to help out. Not sure how long they stayed but they certainly got more than they bargained for when taking on the ex-Gurkha...

Impressed and inspired

2010-03-26T21:06:00.003Z

I have been really impressed by two visits this week.

The first was the Polypipe Terrain site in Larkfield. Polypipe are the only major plastic piping systems manufacturer that is British owned and based, with over two-thirds of its £280m turnover generated on home turf. In the UK, Polypipe has different divisions for each market and Polypipe Terrain recently won the above ground soil and waste plastic drainage on each of the five major Olympic projects. They have written orders for the Olympic Stadium, Velodrome and Athletes Village, a verbal order for the Aquatics Centre, and are firmly specified on the Media and International Broadcasting Centres, and expect written orders on these remaining projects. Amazing - and all made in the factory off New Hythe Lane! I got to see the process of a pipe being made from its constituent parts to being wrapped and ready for shipping. Plus I also got to see (and play in) the training centre where you can witness the piping system of a house. I found the near 2 hours I was on site fascinating and with conversation ranging from sustainability through to apprenticeships it was well worth it.

The second visit was to St John Fisher School in Chatham. The school is sited in one of the most deprived wards in Europe and faces enormous challenges as a consequence. However, amongst the many people I met, I had a class with the School Council today. There were two reps from each year group and boy did they surprise me with their questions and knowledge of the big wide world. We talked about Afghanistan, immigration, education, prisons...all sorts. They were informed, opinionated and articulate - and not just the older students, these were the first and second year students too. I actually took a real shine to them and the chair and vice-chair were really cool kids who know already what they want from life. The absolute highlight of the day for me though was when one of the younger girls came up to me after and said "I think I might go into politics now" - it was meeting Michael Howard when I was at school that inspired me to get involved in politics; I don't know how to describe the warm feeling I have thinking I might have inspired someone from the next generation.

Back at Mid Kent College

2010-03-23T22:43:00.004Z

I was invited back to Mid Kent College to meet with students studying public services and it was a real joy. Firstly it was my first visit to the new campus on Medway Road and my what a huge difference to the old Horsted site. Secondly the students were very interesting in what they had to say about politics and the issues that they were concerned about. And finally I was being shadowed by a very bright local girl who is at the University of East Anglia and thinking about doing her dissertation on young people's interest and engagement in politics. All in all it was a very fulfilling 90 minutes and has somewhat restored my faith in youth interest in politics.

A "Good Response"

2010-03-21T14:54:00.004Z

Someone twittered yesterday why do candidates and activists always say they had a "good response". They went onto say "it can't always be true".

(Me with some of the Ditton team)

Well yesterday, despite the odd shower of rain, we had 3 teams out covering Ditton, Princes Park and Lordswood. I was with the Ditton team in the morning and Princes Park in the afternoon. Between us we knocked on over 1000 properties in so called "traditional" Labour areas and yet we found only 24 Labour supporters compared to 150 brand new Conservative supporters and 120 further probable supporters. I think it would be fair to say that we had a "good response" and I myself was very pleased with the day's work.

(The morning Lordswood team...raring to go!)

Hats off to the activist, who will remain anonymous, for the funny canvass story of the day. Said activist knocked on a door and a little boy, no more than 5 years old, opens door. Activist says is your mum or dad in to which he yells "muuuuuuuuuuuummmmmm" up the stairs. "What" comes the answer from upstairs. Activist pokes head in door and says "hello I am from the Conservative Party" to which response is "I am in the bath". Activist replies with "well would you like me to come up?"

My thanks go to those who came from Tonbridge & Malling, Tunbridge Wells and London to help the Team.

A week in Maidstone Hospital

2010-03-11T21:25:00.002Z

A local resident has today emailed me an amazing account of his experience in Maidstone Hospital after his wife was taken ill. I have anonymised it and with permission reprinted it here in its entirety, including his observations for improvement. I am sure you will agree that it is heartfelt, measured and yet a good example of what change we need.

Tuesday (early hours of the morning) -The response to my 999 call was first class. After an hour or so in A & E my wife was transferred from a bed to a chair because of a shortage of beds and was subsequently moved to the Medical Decision Unit. At one point patients on ambulance trolleys were queuing in the corridors!
My wife remained in the chair for 7 to 8 hours before a bed was made available. During this time the portable oxygen cylinder ran out and as there was no replacement she was crammed between to hospital beds to get access to the ‘piped’ oxygen supply. This resembled a corridor the width of a chair and frankly bordered on a shambles. Once settled in bed a drip was rigged up, a length of bandage being threaded through the loop of the plastic container and hooked over the end of the curtain rail - No drip stand!
The following morning (Wednesday) I was asked by a nurse if I could bring in two of the items on my wife’s prescription because they were not available from the hospital pharmacy. When I returned to the hospital I gave the tablets to the nurse who taped them to the Medication Chart. That morning I learned my wife was to have an Ultrasound and when I asked, when, was told ‘when a porter turns up’. At this point I decided to talk to Pals (Patient Advice & Liaison Services) who subsequently put me in touch with the A & E Matron. I explained my concern at the apparent haphazard way things were in the Department. What appeared to an outsider as being chaos was typical of what happens in A & E it seems. Many of the problems stem from the fact that you cannot close the doors to A & E which means unless you can maintain a steady flow of patients through the system and out the other end chaos will ensue. To get patients out the other end, in many cases, you need beds and they are simply not there.
That afternoon the Matron, on checking, assured me the Ultrasound would take place at 10am the following morning – in less than half an hour of making that statement a porter arrived to take my wife to have her scan - perhaps there was a cancellation! After the Ultrasound my wife was seen by a doctor who said it would be about 2 hours before the scan results were available. 43 hours later I was advised the results were NAD (Nothing Abnormal Denoted).
On Wednesday evening my wife was transferred to the Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) and later
that night she was transferred to XXX Ward. My daughter visited the hospital at 9.30am on Thursday and when I arrived at approximately 10.15am she was walking the corridors looking for her mother! She had reported to the MAU and told that Mrs X was not in the area. It transpired that no one seemed to know my wife had been transferred to XXX Ward and that in effect she was temporarily lost! A number of staff was involved in tracking down my wife’s whereabouts and soon my daughter and I were reunited with Mrs X.
During the afternoon I asked the nurse dispensing medication whether she had the tablets that had been taped to the Medication Chart. She said no and that she had ordered the necessary medication from the hospital pharmacy. I responded by saying ‘this morning you lost the patient and now you have lost the medication I had specifically been asked to bring in’. Before leaving the hospital that evening I checked for the results of the Ultrasound and they were still not available.
I arrived at the hospital at 9am on Friday and requested to see a doctor who hopefully could give me the results of the Ultrasound. Two and a half hours later I met a doctor who was debating whether he should take responsibility for my wife or whether another chest specialist (who my wife had seen as an out-patient some 9 months previously) should be involved. This doctor said if my wife came under his care he could tell me anything from this point onwards but could not comment on any matters arising before this time. That afternoon my wife had a CT chest and abdomen Scan and I was told the results would not be known for 24 hours. I telephoned the hospital at 12 noon the following Monday and was told the results of the CT Scan were still not known. Five minutes after that call my wife telephoned to say she could come home. I went to collect her and again enquired about the CT Scan results. When I was told they were not known I asked whether it was right for my wife to be discharged without knowing the outcome of the Scan. The nurse said Mrs X had not been discharged and then queried it with her. My wife explained that a doctor, who she had not seen before, had said ‘Would you like to go home’ to which she said ‘yes’. The nurse went away and on returning said yes it was alright to go home and that the CT Scan was NAD!
Between my wife and I we survived the week but it certainly was not without incident! I have total admiration for many of the staff but there are fundamental issues that need to be addressed and in my view a starting point would be to listen to the Matrons etc who I am sure can see ways for improvement and who are doing their best with the resources provided.
OBSERVATIONS
It appears to an outsider that:

- The records held on a patient in a variety of handwriting and umpteen pieces of paper could lead to inefficiencies
- It is easy to mislay a patient
- It is easy to lose a patient’s medication
- The hand over procedures from one medical team to another is inadequate.
- Full time Staff dedication is difficult to maintain when Agency staff are paid substantially more for similar work.
- The cost of Agency staff could be diluting the available funding for necessary expenditure in the hospital.

When David Cameron was elected he made it very clear that the NHS was his number one priority. I have always believed in the idea at the heart of our NHS – that healthcare in this country is free and available for everyone whenever they need it. However we have a reform plan to bring about the change that Mr & Mrs X could have done with over the past week, such as increasing patient power, slashing bureaucracy by scrapping tick boxes and targets, and empowering doctors and nurses by focusing on results.

I would like to thank Mr X for emailing me about his experience and I wish his wife well. If you have had a similar experience at a local hospital please do not hesitate to email me.

Capstone Valley petitions

2010-03-05T21:11:00.002Z

The postcard petitions against house building proposals in Capstone Valley have now stopped coming back to the office so I recently handed over thousands of cards to Medway Council Leader Rodney Chambers who in turn tabled them at last night's Council meeting. This remains a major concern of local residents around Chatham and it is still be talked about on the doorsteps when I go out canvassing. Hopefully this time the Government will listen to the views of local residents and stop this ridiculous plans going any further forward once and for all.

Flooding in Aylesford (again)

2010-02-28T13:20:00.004Z

I spent much of this morning in my wellies with Cllr Dave Smith and local Aylesford village residents who had spent the early hours putting sandbags and floodguards in front of their doors trying to prevent their properties flooding. Rochester Road and Bush Row were yet again flooded due to the ongoing problem with the stream and all before the River Medway had reached high tide. Two fire engines were on site; one was pumping water from Bush Row on to the football pitches and another from Rochester Road into a Bowser - the only one in Kent. It remains very unsatisfactory that this still happens and the sooner the alleviation programme is funded and built the better. However, the fact that (so far) the damage looks limited it does go to show that the flood plan that the residents put in place does at least work.

I am sure once the waters have subsided and the warnings disappear, the local group can reassess where any gaps were and what further support they need from the authorities in the event of flooding. The top priority for me and the local Councillors now is to put pressure on those who are responsible for the alleviation schemes to hurry up and start the works.

Six key pledges

2010-02-27T08:55:00.003Z

David Cameron and the team will unveil at Spring Forum the six key pledges we will be fighting the election on. The pledges demonstrate our commitment to the NHS and improving standards in education, as well as getting Britain working again. I am sure they will be well received on the doorsteps and will again show that the next election boils down to whether people want 5 more years of a bad tempered Gordon Brown who has run out of ideas or 5 years of David Cameron and a team champing at the bit to start a programme of much needed reform and change for the country.

3 excellent days

2010-02-19T19:02:00.002Z

I am still working full time (the mortgage has to get paid some how) but this week I took three days off to do some meetings and visits that are impossible to do during the weekend or evenings.

Wednesday was absolutely jam packed. First up was a visit to the White Road Estate Community Centre to meet with staff and volunteers. It was fantastic to hear how the infrastructure of the Community Centre has changed thanks to Council investment, and that the services being provided are being expanded for the local residents. I met the lady who runs the dance class, the husband and wife team who run the judo club, and a very passionate woman who runs the family room. They were 100% committed to their work and the support that they receive from the Council helps them enormously. I hope to get more involved in some of the events at the Community Centre in the future.

After a short meeting with Medway Council Leader Rodney Chambers, I then headed over to Tonbridge for a meeting with the Inspector and Sergeant in charge of policing in the Mallings area. It was a very wide ranging discussion and it was good to come away from the Station knowing that areas like Blue Bell Hill, Aylesford, Ditton, Larkfield, Burham, Eccles, Wouldham and Snodland are being looked after by some very experienced police officers.

It was then back to Snodland to discuss elderly care with a fantastic 91 year old before heading on for a coffee with a local journalist. It was then on to coaching with the girls in the freezing cold.

Yesterday was comparatively light - I had a coffee morning to start with some local residents in Aylesford before catching up on constituency mail. This was followed by a chat with some youngsters at the local Youth Club who are interested in getting involved in politics before heading to my sisters in Lenham for dinner and Friends!

Today was again a busy one with a visit to Aylesford Newsprint for an update on some of the local and national issues they are facing including some major legislative concerns impacting on the company. I then went along to the Robin Hood pub in Blue Bell Hill as part of the support your local campaign and ended up talking to a bunch of regulars about how angry they are at MPs for abusing their expenses. It turned out to be a less relaxing trip to the pub than I expected but it was great to engage in the classic pub politics chit chat. Then it was over to Asda for a tour of the store with the new manager before meeting some staff to listen to them about how the economic downturn is affecting them personally and their perception of the impact on their customers. It was fascinating to hear their views and I ended up keeping them off the shop floor for far longer than I am sure was meant.

Unsurprisingly, I am now at home relaxing before I head back out onto the doorsteps tomorrow morning. In the meantime all that is left to do tonight is to find out exactly who killed Archie...

A big thank you!

2010-02-06T17:59:00.003Z

This post is merely to say how amazing my team are and to thank them very much for all their hard work.

At the start of last week 60,000 letters and surveys were stuffed into envelopes, sorted into batches and dispatched to deliverers. By the end of the week 40,000 have been delivered across the whole of the constituency. Each branch had their own to patch to deliver and I picked up, with a few extra volunteers, a large chunk of Chatham and a bit of Snodland where our deliverer is unwell. The rest will be landing on doorsteps over the next few days.

None of this would have been possible without a team of volunteers giving up their days and nights to work very hard towards a Conservative victory at the next General Election.

Is it a packing record?

2010-02-02T21:51:00.000Z

A mammoth envelope packing operation has been taking place at the Cobdown Sports Club in Ditton over the past two days. We know it is the largest operation recently conducted by a local Association but I am beginning to wonder if it is an all time record? In less than 3 days (they are back tomorrow too), 120 volunteers will have packed and sorted 60,000 surveys and letters from local Conservative Tonbridge & Malling Councillors to be delivered over the next couple of weeks to undecided voters across the two constituencies. It sounds like it has been great fun - paper cuts aside - now all we need to do is deliver them...

Coffee, football, canvassing, football...

2010-01-23T17:13:00.002Z

Local Conservatives were out in Snodland and Princes Park today but I started the day in Blue Bell Hill at a coffee morning, organised by local Conservatives, and open to the general public. It was an experimental way to meet people who want to meet me but who have not yet had me on their doorstep and it worked really well. In order to avoid claims of bribery during this long campaign period people paid an entry fee, which will be donated to the Kent Wildlife Trust, and in return they got a coffee, chocolate hobnob and a chin wag with me and the local councillors. The time flew by and I am sure it is something we will do again.

I then went on to a foundation ceremony at Aylesford Football Club. They have been given a significant amount of money from the FA, the Football Foundation and TMBC to build a new pavilion on land donated by the Parish Council. The Club will have new first class facilities for grassroots football, which is hugely important for the community. Arriving in my suit and saying a few impromptu words, it was definitely the smartest I have been at a football event for some time! Tomorrow I will be back in my shorts and boots!

I then joined the afternoon canvass team for a final hour of door knocking. Lots of "good lucks" today which is always nice.

And now I am back at home watching the Tottenham v Leeds FA cup match wondering why Harry Redknapp lets Defoe take penalties...

Towed cars update

2010-01-17T18:18:00.003Z

Having written to the local police calling for the owners whose trapped and abandoned cars were towed away during the recent snow storms to be reimbursed, I was pleased to hear Kent Chief Constable Mike Fuller urging those affected to appeal the charge. The Chief Constable admitted mistakes had been made by not notifying owners before their car was towed. After the massive PR own goal that this whole incident caused I am pleased that common sense has prevailed!

All owners are being written to by Kent Police but any owner who does not get a letter should email me and I will reply with the details.

Door knocking in the rain

2010-01-16T15:58:00.003Z

Having cancelled canvassing last weekend because of the snow and ice, I was determined to go out today whatever the weather and a good job too because it was absolutely pouring down! Although one canvass team did concede to the elements the other two teams braved the rain and went out across Chatham Central and Lordswood prepared with umbrellas, hats and waterproofs. I was pleased we did - the response on the doorstop was positive towards the Conservative Party and very angry with the Government. Whilst it was not a day for standing for a long time on the doorstep letting the cold air in, it was interesting to talk about the issues people are unhappy about and I have lots to follow up on now I am back in the warm and dry!

NAO report on dementia

2010-01-14T19:39:00.002Z

My Nana Crouch is in a care home with dementia and when I last visited her over 2 years ago I frightened her so much that I have not been back. One of my activists has a wife with dementia in a local care home and one of my friends has a mother with dementia and is the only remaining immediate relative looking after her. It is also an issue that I have raised with the Chief Executive and Chairman of the local hospital. Dementia is a growing cause for concern and most people know someone directly or indirectly with dementia.

So I was saddened today to read that the National Audit Office has published a report criticising the Government for not delivering on its promise to prioritise dementia services despite the condition costing more than heart disease, stroke and cancer combined.

One of the consequences of not prioritising dementia in the NHS Operational Framework is that Trusts end up focusing on other issues leaving frontline staff lacking proper training or information about how to deal with dementia patients. Some of the stories I have heard about how hospitals, including local hospitals, have dealt with dementia patients leave me feeling very sad and angry, especially as it is often a tiny alteration in behaviour that could have made the difference between good and bad/insensitive treatment. In my view Janet Davies, executive director of nursing and service delivery at the RCN hits the nail on the head. She said: 'Training and education for healthcare staff working in all settings is vital if meaningful improvements for dementia patients are to be made. Greater investment is also needed for specialist dementia nurses, who provide support for dementia patients, their carers and families.'

The ambition of the Government's strategy was right but it is outrageous that it has not become anything more than warm words. With millions of families battling daily with this devastating condition, delivery now has to be the most important part of the strategy.

A new generation of Sure Start centres

2010-01-11T19:43:00.004Z

I recently visited All Saint's Sure Start Centre in Chatham with Conservative Family Spokesman Maria Miller MP. I was hugely impressed with the Centre and so was pleased today that Conservative Leader David Cameron announced plans for a new generation of Sure Start Centres to focus on the neediest families and involve organisations with a track record of helping parents.

They will be similar to Academy schools in that they will be independent institutions which operate outside local government control and are funded directly by central government.
Speaking today in London, David said he was committed to keeping Sure Start, but he will also seek to improve it by taking it back to its original purpose - namely "early intervention, increasing its focus on those who need its help most and better involving organisations with a proven track record in parenting interventions".

Don't stop the music

2010-01-10T19:22:00.003Z

Thanks to this Labour Government Aylesford Youth Club, the indoor Skate Park, M.A.P.S and many other local groups across Chatham & Aylesford could be forced to stop playing music unless it pays a new tax.

In fact churches, village halls, charity shops and sports clubs will all soon face a new £20 million tax from Gordon Brown’s Government. In the small print of some rather obscure new regulations, the Government is abolishing charities’ and voluntary groups’ long-standing exemption from music licensing rules – hitting them with unexpected new bills just for holding events with recorded music or for playing a radio.

To date, voluntary groups have not had to pay for a so-called “PPL” performance rights licence in order to play recorded music. This exemption reflects the public benefit that such organisations provide, but this is now being abolished by the Government.

This will affect church worship, charity discos, tea dances, youth clubs, dancing groups, sports clubs and even charity shops which have a radio in their staff room. The new levy will come into effect in April 2010 once the new regulations are ratified by Parliament. Unsurprisingly Conservatives can see the impact of these changes on local voluntary groups and are opposing these changes.

The Government admits that the new levies will cost voluntary groups £20 million a year. Some organisations will “cease playing music” because they cannot afford a licence, and it will hit a quarter of a million organisations – 140,000 charities, 6,750 charity shops, 66,440 sports clubs, 4,000 community buildings, 5,000 rural halls and 45,000 religious buildings.

These new levies are on top of bureaucratic rules imposed by the Licensing Act 2003, which requires expensive ‘premises licences’ for village halls to hold regular small-scale social functions, and which has imposed new red tape to play unamplified live music.

It is quite clear that this is another Labour assault on the fabric of British community life. Having effectively shut down post offices and local pubs across Kent, Labour now have our village halls, scout huts, charity shops and churches in their sights. This is a heartless tax on community buildings and charities. The Government should think again.

Towed cars from Blue Bell Hill

2010-01-09T10:11:00.002Z

I was contacted yesterday afternoon by a gentleman who had his car towed away by Kent Police after he was forced to abandon it in Blue Bell Hill in Wednesday night's snow storm. The car has been impounded in Queenborough on the Isle of Sheppey and it will cost £150 to release it plus a further £20 extra for each day it is held. His story is similar to others including a lady from Ditton who has been talking about her experience on local radio and television.

There are a number of questions that need to be answered here:

1) Cars that are abandoned don't tend to be blocking roads etc - most get pushed into the sidings as much as possible - so if they weren't in a dangerous place why were they towed;

2) If they were going to be towed why weren't the owners notified - with the overwhelming amount of information about each and everyone of us on State-controlled databases, I find it almost impossible to believe that the police couldn't match a registration number with a telephone number; and

3) Why Queenborough?! It's 20 miles away for starters and this morning BBC Radio Kent is reporting that the Sheppey Bridge is closed due to the bad weather so even if owners wanted to go pick them up they can't! It is totally impractical especially since the owners now don't have a car and it is almost impossible to get there by public transport.

I have contacted Kent Police and asked for an explanation.

Snow canvassing today!

2010-01-09T09:56:00.003Z

Sadly our first canvassing session of 2010 has been postponed due to the weather which came as no surprise when I opened my curtains this morning to see fresh snow in Aylesford. This follows the rather tricky drive I made to and from Snodland last night - New Hythe Lane was pretty treacherous and although it is probably fair to say that I was driving over-cautiously there were some drivers who were going far to fast for the conditions. I avoided Larkfield on the way back to Aylesford and instead got caught in a blizzard on the M20! The girls' football match tomorrow joined the long list of professional football cancellations as Luton Rec is unplayable - not that the girls would have minded playing in the snow; it's their loonliness that I love!!!

2010 - The Year for Change?

2010-01-02T10:34:00.003Z

Happy New Year! I hope readers managed to relax over the festive period. Other than a brief delivery session and a few telephone calls, I and the team managed some downtime in preparation for the next few months of very very hard work.

I don't know whether I will stick to my exercise regime or if I will actually cut down on the ham, egg and chips; but I do know that there will be a General Election by June of this year. Well as the new Conservative advert says, this is the "Year for Change".

It is not just nationally that change is needed but locally too. So bring on the election. It is time.

The Pre-Budget Report

2009-12-12T18:16:00.002Z

It has been so busy at work that I have been at my desk by 7.45am all but one day this week. The reason was partly to do with the Chancellor's Pre-Budget Report on Wednesday. Big business had read the speculation in the run up to the Statement with some trepidation but as one commentator said the day after the City responded with a collective shrug of the shoulders. But having now examined the so-called Green Book it is clear that the rest of us will suffer as this Government has basically run out of ideas to fix the mess that Gordon Brown got us in.

The Government’s proposals include:
· National Insurance hikes on workers meaning a smaller pay packet for anyone earning £20,000 or more.
· National Insurance hikes on local firms, making it more expensive to pay staff.
· Higher income tax, pushing more middle income earners into the 40 per cent higher rate.
· Inheritance tax rises by stealth, taxing people more as house prices start to rise.
· Higher stamp duty, meaning the average first time buyer will now pay £1,475 in stamp duty.
· A new telephone tax on anyone with a phone or fax line.
· Forcing councils to make more cuts to rubbish collections and pushing up council tax.

The only impact the Pre-Budget will have is to hike up taxes for the hard working families across Chatham & Aylesford. There was a suggestion that there would be an early Election because the Chancellor and Prime Minister would not want to hold another Budget - good - bring it on because this Labour Government will not doing anything to sort out the worst debt crisis this Country has ever faced.

Luton Memorial Book

2009-12-12T17:57:00.002Z

This morning I joined Conservative Councillors Tashi Bhutia and David Wildey and Independent Councillors Tony & Val Goulden at an event to unveil the new display in Luton Library for a Book of Memorial remembering those from Luton who died during the World Wars. The Book was previously hidden away but with help from Cllr Tony Goulden a wonderful display has been built so that the whole community can share the memories. Local resident Don Phillips, who has campaigned for and then practically built the Luton Memorial Meadow, led a minutes silence today for our fallen heroes in all conflicts including Afghanistan and Iraq. It was a touching event and I hope people will make the most of the Book being in the library.

Bullying and the shocking stats

2009-12-06T18:58:00.003Z

Official Government figures have revealed that just ninety pupils across the Country were expelled last year for school bullying, despite a new survey finding half of all 14-year-old children have been bullied.

Across Kent, 10 pupils were expelled last year from all state schools. In over two-thirds of local authorities across England, including Medway, not a single child was expelled for bullying. However in Kent 260 pupils and in Medway 40 pupils were suspended from state schools – meaning the disruptive students returned to the school where they caused misery and fear for their classmates.

Since 1997, Labour Government rules have deliberately made it more difficult for schools to expel pupils, undermining the authority of head teachers and meaning bullies end up back at the same school as their victims.

Bullying makes far too many children’s lives a misery - I have been contacted by parents whose children have been bullied, including being physically beaten up! But the Government’s own figures show that in the vast majority of cases bullies are returned to the same school as their victims after a short punishment, rather than being expelled. I firmly believe that the key to tackling bullying is giving our teachers the powers they need to crack down on bad behaviour. Schools need the power to take a zero tolerance approach towards serious offences such as bullying so that they can maintain discipline in the classroom before it spirals out of control.

2009-12-06T18:45:00.002Z

After an early morning campaign meeting and a quick delivery of newsletters in Larkfield, I went to see two residents who had requested to meet me. The meeting lasted two hours and was fascinating, demonstrated by the fact that 24 hours later I am still thinking about much of what we discussed.

Much of the conversation concentrated on religion and in particular Christianity. I consider myself to be a Christian, although I don't go to church very often, and I would never justify my politics through my religious beliefs like Tony Blair and George Bush often did - not least because, as I explained to the residents, my views on social issues are somewhat liberal and therefore contradictory to more conservative Christian views. Our discussion about the unintended impact on religious thought/practices of political and legislative change was very thought provoking. I am glad I took the time to do the meeting - I am sure it will stand me in good stead in the future.

Santa visits Snodland

2009-11-28T19:38:00.003Z

Santa visited Snodland this evening, accompanied by the Mayor of Tonbridge & Malling, and the local children (and parents!) had a great time. There must of been at least 200 people singing carols before the sleigh arrived and after the Mayor had finished her rock star moment of waving the mic when the music stopped, conducting the crowd to the rest of "I wish it could be Christmas everyday..." she began the countdown to the switch on of the lights. Santa delayed the departure of the sleigh by insisting on shaking the hands of every small person within an arms length of the sleigh before precariously balancing on a ledge worrying Mrs Claus, who was standing next to me as she watched it return to the Town Hall! Thankfully the rain held off until the fun had finished and all the little children left even more excited about Christmas. I think it is fair to say that Santa loves Snodland, and Snodland most definitely loves Santa!!!

Cutting Ribbons and Kissing Babies

2009-11-28T15:56:00.004Z

I was honoured to be asked to cut a ribbon and officially open the new conservatory of the Robin Hood pub. Landlords Dave and Jo have worked really hard to turn the conservatory into a modern venue with excellent, locally sourced food. As a team we go regularly to the pub for lunch after a morning's canvass so it felt great to be standing in front of their regular Friday afternoon punters and welcome them into the new dining area. Their baby boy was there so I got to kiss a baby too!

This morning I joined local councillors and residents in Burham to Bash the Trash. The initiative, which TMBC promotes, has really taken off especially in the villages. I went round the edges of the recreation ground before heading off to join Kent Conservative Future who had come over to help with some canvassing. We had a good team of 20 out in total and finished off in the cafe in Walderslade village for some bacon butties to warm up after. I then popped over to Luton for the Church's Christmas Fayre. It was nice to see how busy it was - fingers crossed I have guessed the right number of sweeties in the jar!!!

Off shortly to see Santa and the Mayor turn on the Christmas lights in Snodland and then back home to prepare for an evening in of X Factor (Go Stacey) and emails.