Redbridge Lane Housing Plans Delayed

I have been fighting plans to build 300 homes along Redbridge Lane, opposite Five Acre Field. The land falls under Test Valley and I have repeatedly voiced my concerns with the Leader of Test Valley Borough Council.

I am very worried about the loss of open space between Nursling and Southampton and about traffic problems from over development.

As a result of my lobbying and that of my colleague Cllr Paul Holmes (pictured above) we have secured a commitment that development along Redbridge Lane will not take place until at least 2023.

This is good news but it is not an end to our campaign to stop over development in Redbridge.

Brown's Borrowing Binge

The legacy of a decade of Labour and Gordon Brown is that Britain is worst placed amongst major economies to weather the economic storm.

Yesterday Labour embmarked on a massive borrowing binge which will leave the country more indebted that at any time in history. With national debt set to exceed a trillion pounds Brown will borrow more than Dennis Healey did before he went cap in hand to the IMF and more than Winston Churchill during the Second World War. Gordon Brown will next year alone borrow in excess of £100b and more than the entire NHS budget.

The country now faces huge unexploded tax bombshell with taxes set to rise dramatically in the future to pay off Brown's debt mountain; rises in national insurance, income tax and car tax.

The Coolest Place in Southampton!

With Cllr Royston Smith at the Launch of the Christmas Ice Rink

Southampton's Christmas Icerink was officially opened last Thursday night by City Mayor, Brian Parnell and ice skating star Robin Cousins.

Sited on the forecourt of the Civic Centre it is a fantastic location and its already proving extremely popular. Click HERE for more details.

Action to Curb Cycling on the Pavements

A campaign was launched in Shirley last week to stop cyclists riding dangerously on the pavements. I have been working with the city council and the police over the past few months to tackle the problem of dangerous cyclists. Large numbers of residents from Shirley and Freemantle have contacted me. They are concerned that the problem is getting worse.

New signs, like the one above, have been installed along Shirley High Street. Initially the plan is to persuade and educate people. However as a last resort the police can hand out £30 fines.

C&A Building Demolition Underway

The demolition of the former C&A building on Northern Above Bar has now begun, to make way for a new modern office block in two years time.

The new building will house Southampton City Council and Capita staff and will provide a new customer service centre on the ground floor, along with retail outlets and a restaurant.

The office block will be an important component of the Northern Above Bar regeneration project. I am really pleased that demolition of C&As is going ahead and that we are on course for the new building in 2010.

US Election Night

Tuesday was a late night at the University Students Union. I, along with several hundred politics enthuiasts gathered to watch the US election results as they started to come in during the early hours of the following morning. It was an historic night with America electing its first black president and voting overwhelmingly for change. I thought John McCain's concession speach was tremendous and was a testament the character of the man.

Connect2 Signing

Tuesday was the offical signing date for the new Connect2 cycle way which will connect up St Denys and Northam. The new £450,000 pedestrian and cycle route will run along the waterfront between Horseshoe Bridge and Northam Bridge. The project is a partnership between Southampton City Council, The Lottery and Sustrans (the cycle charity) and the money was awarded after Southampton won a national competition for lottery funding.

Community spirit is alive and well in Waltham Crescent

Congratulations to local residents in Waltham Crescent and to the members of the Four Walls Tenants and Residents Association who spent yesterday planting daffodil bulbs on the grass verges around the close.

I am looking forward to seeing the area in bloom come the spring!

Lottery Boost For St. James' Park

St. James' Park in Shirley

St. James' Park has received a £65,000 cash boost from the Heritage Lottery Fund. This will allow detailed plans to be drawn up for the full £1.5million park improvement scheme.

The lottery funding awarded will enable work on the detailed designs to progress over the next 6 months and is a key step towards converting the vision of park users into a reality.

The Friends of St James’ Park have been working with local people on ideas for the park. Plans for the park include:

- fully refurbishing the WW2 building with a café and community room,

- creating two new entrances to the park,

- refurbishing the tennis courts,

- improving play facilities with something for both young and old!

Lord's Hill Academy

At the launch of the Lord's Hill Academy

On Monday I went to the inaugural meeting of the council of the newly opened Lord's Hill Academy. I have just been appointed to the school council as the local authority's representative.

There have been some big improvements made to both the Oaklands and the Millbrook site, with the buildings freshly painted and with new signs. The new school has had to make huge changes in to prepare for the new term in a very short space of time and it is a tribute to the new headmaster and his team that everything has gone so smoothly.

A Two Year Council Tax Freeze

Southampton along with the rest of the South East is chronically underfunded by central Government, with a disproportionate amount of the taxes we pay being transferred to the North of England.

Locally whilst Southampton’s Labour MPs have defended the situation and refused to stand up to Gordon Brown, the Conservatives have campaigned for a fairer deal for the city.

Council Tax has more than doubled under Labour in the last 11 years. Locally we all remember the 18% hike of the last Labour City Council administration.

I was therefore delighted to hear the announcement at our October party conference, that an incoming Conservative government would freeze council tax for 2 years, saving families in Southampton around £200 and providing an extra £4m of government funding for the city.


Other Conservative policies to help with the rising cost of living:

HELP AT THE PUMPS
We will introduce a Fair Fuel Stabiliser - when fuel prices go up, fuel duty would fall.

HELP FOR FAMILIES
As we save money on wasteful welfare, we will abolish Labour's couple penalty in the tax credits sysetem - giving 1.8 million couples an extra £2,000 a year.

HELP FOR FIRST TIME-BUYERS
We will permanently abolish Stamp Duty for first-time buyers on purchases up to £250,000 - nine out of ten first-time buyers will pay no Stamp Duty at all, saving an average of £2,000 each.

HELP WITH YOUR BILLS
We will cut the energy and gas bills of up to four million people by £100 by reforming Post Office Accounts to allow families without bank accounts to access cheaper tariffs.

HELP FOR MOTORISTS
We will oppose Labour's new tax on family cars, which will hit 1 million owners of family cars bought up to 7 years ago with tax rises of up to £250.

Hill Lane Crossing Works Underway

Work on the junction of Hill Lane and Raymond Road is now well underway.

Southampton City Council is installing a new pedestrian and cycle crossing. The pavement has also been widened on Hill Lane to improve visibility for cars turning right from Raymond Road. Click HERE for further details.

Plan For Change

Back From Conference

I have just got back from Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham.

We have had an excellent few days, capped by David Cameron's leader's speech this afternoon. In his speech he pledged to rebuild our battered economy, renew our bureaucratised NHS and repair our broken society. David Cameron stressed that in these difficult times, Britain needs leadership, character and judgement.

I have attached the full speech below:

New Conservative Websites

The Conservative Party has today unveiled its new look website.

I have a new updated campaign website for my campaign to represent Southampton Test in Parliament. I have added a section under "activities" which has a map of Southampton and shows what I have been up to across the Constituency.

Nuffield Theatre Board

I have just been appointed to serve as a Director of the Nuffield Theatre, representing Southampton City Council on its board. The theatre is supported by Southampton City Council, Hampshire County Council, the Arts Council and Southampton University.

Southampton University is perhaps unique in that it a theatre (Nuffield), an art gallery (John Hansard) and a concert hall (Turner Sims)

It's a fantastic theatre and I had backstage tour which was extremely interesting. The theatre does a great job; not only putting on some excellent productions but also providing training for young people embarking on a career in the theatre. Without local theatres such as the Nuffield providing that crucial training ground it is very unlikely that the West End would be the huge success that it is.

Your Views On Regents Park Community College Move

Plans to relocate Regents Park Community College in Regents Park to the St Marks School site in Shirley Road have taken a step forward with the launch of a formal public consultation on the proposed move.

I have been lobbying for money from the government to rebuild the school as part of a new learning campus with the civil service sports ground in Stafford Road serving as playing fields, for the schools and for the local community.

For further information click HERE and select the report labelled: Regents Park Community College: Relocation.

Mansel Park Gala Day

Well done to Millbrook Towers and District Community Association, The Friends of Mansel Park and The Mansel Pavilion who organised a fantastic Gala Day.

Backing Bingo

I recently spent an afternoon at the Mecca Bingo in Portswood. I met members of staff and bingo players and had a go at calling out the numbers.

Bingo halls up and down the country have been closing, with the industry under huge pressure from double taxation and the effects of the smoking ban. Unlike other forms of gambling bingo suffers from an anomaly in the tax system whereby it must pay both gaming duty and VAT. Conservatives have pledged to abolish this double taxation and save bingo halls up and down the country from closure.

The Mecca Bingo Hall on Portswood Broadway is a fantastic old building. I found an interesting article on Portswood.info which tells its history.

It was be a disaster for local people if it were to close. With over 34,000 members in Southampton (including me!) it would have big detrimental impact on the community.

Better Lightning Needed On Our Estates

I spent Friday night out on the Millbrook Estate with residents of Lower Brownhill Road and with the new Conservative Councillor for the area, Paul Holmes.

Local people were keen to show us where improvements could be made to the area. The new city council administration is investing £1.5m next year into the Millbrook and Maybush estates. Top of the list for local people in Lower Brownhill Road was better lighting at the back of the flats, in the alley ways which connect through to Flamborough Close and in the flat porches.

Tackling Crime and Anti Social Behaviour

I attended two very different meetings last week on crime and anti social behaviour.

The first was on Tuesday and was hosted by my opponent at the next General Election, Labour MP Alan Whitehead. The meeting was to highlight the launch of his new guide to anti social behaviour and peoples' rights and the law. It was held at the Central Baptist Church in Devonshire Road. The book is very useful and can be downloaded on his website. The meeting was with all the different residents' associations in the west of the city and I went along with a number of councillor colleagues to hear peoples' concerns.

It was a rather negative meeting and I was struck at just how few ideas the Labour Government and Labour locally have to tackle crime. Unfortunately they are resorting to the old argument that simply more laws are needed. Since this government came to power there have been more new offences created than the number of days they have been in office! Yet crime is still a huge issue for local people and there are no positive solutions coming forward.

The second meeting was on Wednesday, at Freemantle Infant School in Mansion Road. This was a meeting with the local beat police, the fire and rescue service and all the new neighbourhood watches in the Freemantle and Shirley area.

It was an extremely positive meeting and I am really encouraged by the excellent work that the police are doing in the area. In recent months dozens of new neighbourhood watches have been set up. At the meeting we heard some of the things the police have been doing recently:

- Extra police patrols to tackle the problem of robberies along Shirley High Street.
- Cycling proficiency work in schools to tackle the problem of bicycles being ridden on the pavements.
- Trying to reduce speeding traffic along Hill Lane.
- Tackling crime hotspots in Albany Road and Shirley Towers.
- Recent arrests of drug dealers.
- Combined police/ PCSO / special constable patrols in the local parks and around the pubs at closing time.

Just as there was a stark contrast between my two meetings there is a stark contrast between Labour, who seem to have run out of steam and the Conservatives who on the other have a range of positive measures to make a real difference:

Nationally:
1. We are looking at having elected police sheriffs to bring democratic accountability to the police.
2. We will introduce honesty in sentencing so courts set a minimum and a maximum period of incarceration.
3. We will replace automatic release with earned release.
4. We will make community sentences tough and effective, and withdraw benefits for those who don’t attend.
5. We will enforce Drug Rehabilitation Requirements.
6. Offenders will compensate victims through a Victims’ Fund. Those serving custodial sentences will pay into the Fund through work in prison.
7. Prison and Rehabilitation Trusts and private sector prisons will be paid by results - with a premium awarded if the offender is not re convicted within two years.
8. We will accelerate the deportation of foreign national prisoners.
9. We will increase prison capacity by more than 5,000 places over and above Labour’s plans, to end overcrowding by 2016.
10. We will cut the paper work and bureaucracy which is tying the hands of police officers.

Locally:
1. We are encouraging more Southampton people to sign up as special police constables to help patrol the city streets. We seeking Home Office approval allow us to scrap council tax for local people who sign up.
2. We are improving lighting in the city and will replace thousands of old street lights in Southampton in the next few years. We are also improving lighting in city centre parks as a priority.
3. We are investigating whether mobile wireless CCTV could be mounted on new street lights, so cameras can be installed in crime hotspots.
4. We are supporting the 101 anti social behaviour number after the Government withdrew its funding.
5. We are looking at how we can better organise the council's uniformed officers, city patrol and wardens and how to better co-ordinate activities with the police.
6. We are looking at opening hours and numbers of pubs and clubs in the city.
7. We have launched an after schools sports scheme to get more youngsters playing sports.
8. We are installing measures to protect areas of open space around the city from traveller incursions.
9. We are tackling the problem of dangerously parked and untaxed cars.
10. We are investing in anti crime measures on our estates including rolling out a new concierge system in the tower blocks.

Academy Launch

Southampton's 2 new city academies are now officially open!

Last Wednesday I met with Lord Adonis, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools at the first day of school at the Mayfield Academy in Sholing. I had a chance to chat with year 7 seven pupils and with head teacher, Ruth Johnson and to see the excellent improvements that have been made to the school; new paint, signs and carpet and of course new school uniforms!

I also had a chance to meet the new head teacher of the Lord's Hill Academy, Ian Golding and talk to him about local issues in Lordswood and Lordshill.

The new schools are off to an excellent start and are set to receive £35m for complete rebuilds in a few years time. On the west of the city this will see the Lords' Hill Academy moved to the 5 Acre Field site.

Cash Boost For Freemantle Community Centre

Great news for Freemantle. The community centre in Randolph Street received an extra cash boost in September, with £750,000 awarded by the Learning and Skills Council for Theatre and Media Arts.

Work to revamp and develop the community centre will start in November. This will see a new Multi User Games Area, improvements to the 100 seat theatre, new community rooms and a media arts room. Work should be completed next September. The new facility will be shared by user groups and Southampton Day Services who will operate out of the building.

This is great news for Freemantle and will breath new life into the local community.

Further details can be found HERE (click on the report entitled Modernisation of Southampton Day Services: Phase 3)

After School Sports Launch

Southampton's new after school sports programme was officially launched today at Upper Shirley High School on Friday.

This unique scheme is a partnership between Southampton schools, Southampton Solent University (SSU) and Southampton City Council.
5 schools are taking part in the pilot programme which will see SSU sports undergraduates running after school sports for local children.

Tailored sports programmes are now up and running in Redbridge Secondary School, Upper Shirley High, Highfield Primary School, St Marks CofE Junior School and Bevois Town Primary School. 9 more schools are ready to join the scheme in a second wave next year.

It is hoped that the scheme will then be rolled out across Southampton. This could see over 1000 university students volunteering to help in the city.

On Friday I met with SSU students and lecturers and pupils at Upper Shirley High and spoke with headteacher Cassie Ellins and her staff about the new scheme. At Upper Shirley High pupils will be taking up basketball, cricket and football classes. This scheme will be school led and tailored to meet the needs of pupils.

I believe that this scheme is going to be tremendous. It is fantastic timing – the start of a new term, off the back of the Beijing Olympics and preparing for 2012 in London.

We are lucky for to be teaming up with the premier sporting institution in the south. The scheme is not just about sport. Its about health, fitness, team work, it gives children plenty to do, and will help university students with their development. I am also confident that it will be a catalyst to boost sports clubs in the city.

Click HERE for more information.

Good News For City Swimmers!

Plans to revamp Shirley Swimming Pool have been given the go ahead by city planners.

On Tuesday a panel of Councillors on the Planning and Rights of Way committee approved plans for the £1.1m redevelopment of Shirley Swimming Pool, in Kentish Road, Freemantle. The new pool will include a gym and cafe.

I went along and spoke in support of the application and I am delighted that the plans were approved.

Owner, Dave Perry, also announced his plans to provide free swimming tuition for local schools, St Marks CofE Junior and Foundry Lane primary.

The new pool will be an intergral part of the redevelopment of the area. Other changes in the pipeline include a new community centre with a sports area and facilities for day care social services. Across the road I am fighting to obtain funding for the the relocation of Regents Park School to the St Marks School site and working to secure the purchase of the Civil Service Sports Ground in Stafford Road for use by the schools and local people.

Click HERE for the Southern Daily Echo report.

Future Plans for BTC

Last week I met with members of the BTC football club at Stoneham to listen to their plans for the future. The club has its roots in the British Transport Corporation and has been based at Stoneham for decades. The club are keen to expand and improve their facilities, with improved football pitches, bowling and tennis and a new car park.

The club was recently granted a 25 year lease on their site by the new Conservative Southampton City Council Administration, allowing them to plan for their long term future. I am hopeful that they can secure the funds that they need to revamp the club and they have my full support.

David Lloyd Visit

I recently visited the David Lloyd Sport club off Brownhill Way to meet with their manager and to discuss local issues.

I had a tour of the club which is a fantastic facility and heard about the excellent work the club does with local schools which use their tennis courts.

After the recent traveller incursions in the area (on the David Lloyd site and at Lordshill district) I was keen to discuss what measures could be taken to prevent the problem in the future. The council recently put in security measures in around Lordshill district centre, installing barriers and building up grass banks to protect the open space areas.

St Denys Community Day

I spent an enjoyable day today at the St Denys Community Centre Family Fun Day.

It was a packed day with cricket and football matches in the Multi User Games Area (MUGA), Wing Chun, Tai Chi and Belly Dancing, an Irish Dancing display and a great BBQ put on by the Junction Inn.

The day was supported by the City Council, The Army and the local police and PCSOs.

I went along with our newly elected Councillor Vincenzo Capozzoli who is doing a great job representing local residents. We listened to a number of ideas that residents have for the area and were struck the thriving community spirit in the area and how successful the community centre has become.

Here is link to the story on BitternePark.info.

Sedbergh Road Residents

This afternoon I spent a couple of hours at the Sedbergh Road Tenants and Residents Association open day on Sedbergh Green.

I went a long with our newly elected Conservative Councillor for Redbridge, Paul Holmes, to meet the new residents association and to talk to local people.

I was able to discuss with local residents some of the important initiatives by the new council in the Millbrook and Redbridge area.

£1.5m of Improvements for Millbrook and Maybush

We are allocating £1.5m of funding to the Maybush and Millbrook estates next year to improve the local area. This funding might be spent on improving open spaces, parking and reducing crime. It was very helpful to talk to local people about their ideas and priorities.

After School Sport

A new after school sport programme is being launched in September in conjunction with Southampton Solent University. This will see sports undergraduates getting involved in sports coaching through the schools.

Extra Policing

We are pushing ahead with our plans to scrap council tax for Southampton people who sign up as Special Constables. The local police are fully behind the initiative and we are hoping that the Home Office will grant us approval to adopt the scheme in April next year.

Spitfire Tribute Wins Support From No. 10!

On the steps of 10 Downing St, with Cllr John Hannides.

On Thursday the Prime Minister gave his backing to the Spitfire Tribute Foundation.

Southampton's fund rasing campaign to build a fitting and permanent memorial to the famous WW2 fighter plane has received a welcome boost. Prime Minister Gordon Brown met a delegation of business leaders, heritage experts and city councillors at a reception at Number 10 Downing Street, helping to elevate the campaign to a national and international level.

The campaign aims to raise £1.5m to fund structure which would be 100ft long.

Your Parking is Safe

The first Cabinet meeting of the new Conservative Council was held last Monday (2nd June).

Southampton's Conservative Councillors have announced that they are scrapping the policy of the previous Lib-Lab Administration to charge residents in residents parking zones for permits for their first cars.

Election Success!!

A United Conservative Team

I am absolutely delighted with the local election results in Southampton and really thrilled for all our new Conservative councillors who have w0n after months and months of hard work.

In a stunning victory over the Lib-Lab coalition, the Conservatives won 15 of the 17 contested seats. We came a close second in the remaining two. In all 10 new Conservative Councillors were elected, including two eighteen year olds, all of whom are so keen to do a good job. Full details of the results can be found HERE.

Newly Elected Councillor for Coxford: Ben Walker

I think the backdrop of a great night nationally for the Conservative had a big impact, however local factors were extremely important in this election.

The Conservatives fought on a positive manifesto for the city, including low council tax, a discount for pensioners, more special constables, protection

for family housing and thousands of hours of extra after school sport.

We were clear in our opposition to Lib-Lab policies like introducing a fee for first permit holders in residents parking zones and the Lib Dem policy to scrap the weekly bin collection.

Most importantly I believe that the people of Southampton were giving their verdict on the Lib-Lab pact. Labour and Lib Dems combined to throw out the previous Conservative administration which had run the city since May 2007 following a Conservative victory at that local election. Labour and the Lib Dems told the electorate that it would be their coalition which would run the city for two years, regardless of how people voted. They did not count on the scale of public anger that they would generate through denying the public their democratic voice.

The message to Labour voters was simple - we take you for granted. The message to Lib Dems equally clear - vote Lib Dem get Labour.

Conservatives now have a big task ahead over the next two years. However the team work and enthusiasm in the local party is so great I am very confident we will do the city proud!

Freemantle Festival!

On 18th May Freemantle will have its first big community festival in years. A lot of hard work from local residents is going into putting on a really fun day. Freemantle and Shirley Ward councillors are going and if people want to raise any local issues with us we will be glad to help.


Below is a message from the festival organisers:

There will be dancing, bands, swimming, bouncy castles and giant inflatables, local food, drinks, information tents, local radio DJs, Scout Movement, Guide Movement, Southampton Mayor, tattoos, messy play, duck pond, environmental and recycling, hog-roast, celidh, herbs, African drumming, face painting, circus skills, raffle, and many, many more things to do on the day. Admission is free.Many local businesses are being generous in providing donations for the event. The festival team are currently collecting prizes for what promises to be a bonanza raffle. It is not too late to get involved with the festival and make your contribution. We are keen to hear from individuals who would like to help on the day, or could distribute publicity material in advance.

The Festival is supported by K2, SCC, St Marks School, Friends of The Field, YMCA and GMB.

For more information contact Rebecca Kinge, Tel 023 8052 8123, www.communityhub.info

Starting Gun Fired On Local Election Campaign

The local election campaign in Southampton has officially started today. Candidate nominations for the city council elections on 1st of May have been published. Click HERE for a link to the full list.

This election is a crucial one (more so than most years) as firstly, it will be the last local election held in Southampton before the next General Election and secondly there are no council elections until May 2010. This means whichever party (or combination of parties) wins in May will be the administration for 2 years.

The choice is very simple: a coalition of Labour and the Lib Dems or the Conservatives. Locally people have seen all three political parties in office. We have had 20 years of Labour, 4 years of the Lib Dems, and 10 months of Conservatives. The Conservative Administration's term was cut short by the new Lab-Lib Pact.

In 10 months the Conservatives showed real conviction and leadership, as well as an ability to compromise but not at the expense of principle or commitments made to the electorate. In 10 months the city really started to move forward at a pace.

Now we have the Lab-Lib pact which in just 6 weeks is starting to fall apart. It is a coalition build on sand by two parties which can't stand each other and share only one thing in common - the need to be in power at all costs. You only have to look at their local party websites to see what they think of each other. They aren't communicating, have no shared policy platform (or indeed any policies that I can spot) and are lumbering from one disaster to another.

The nominations show a few interesting points, namely:

Milbrook. Despite announcing his resignation, former Lib Dem councillor Ken Darke has after all, decided to stand. His comments in the Daily Echo can be read HERE.

Sholing. UKIP have decided not to put up a candidate this year despite doing so for many many years. This will no doubt help the Conservatives and will put Labour Leader, Cllr June Bridle under even more pressure.

Bitterne. Former Labour Councillor, Paul Jenks is hoping to get back on the Council. Paul Jenks has stood and lost all over Southampton and although he may be hoping Bitterne will be his ticket back onto the Council. I am not so sure.

Peartree. Ex Lib Dem, Nora Goss is standing in her former ward Peatree. Nora is a popular character and no doubt will poll very well.


Smaller Parties. There are 8 Green candidates this year. The Greens are starting to become quite a force and in Southampton and we may see in future years them push the Lib Dems into 4th place in the city. This is close to being the case in many wards. It is good to see that there are no BNP candidates this year as there have been in recent years. Finally we have a new party called Southampton First standing in a couple of wards.

Extended Schools

This evening I went to a school governor training session at Mount Pleasant Junior School, on subject of the Extended Schools agenda.

All schools will have to have an extended schools programme in place by 2010 and in Southampton, schools will be expected to group together in clusters to deliver this.

It will involve all children being offered activities or child care provision from 8am in the morning till 6pm in the evening in the form of a wrap around scheme to the school timetable.

This is a subject which I am very interested in and it was the subject of my motion to full council last week. Schools are expected to work with other bodies in the city to deliver the programme and I have been strongly pushing for the city council to take up the offer made by Southampton Solent University use its 1,500 sports undergraduates to teach sports classes in city schools.

In the end my motion to council wasn't carried and Labour and Lib Dem councillors decided not to push ahead with the scheme and not to commit funding for a pilot. They did say that it was worth investigating but they in effect neutered the proposal by taking out the money and a deadline for implementation.

I am still confident that in time the scheme will get off the ground as its such as fantastic opportunity for the city.

New Website Launched

I now have a new website up and running for my Parliamentary campaign: www.jeremymoulton.com.

At moment it is just a few basic pages but I will be adding to it when I get some spare time. I will still keep this blog going with my comments on issues in Freemantle and in Southampton. The website will focus a bit more on national issues in the run up to the next General Election.

Labour MPs Let Down Southampton

Last night MPs rejected a Conservative motion in Parliament protesting at Labour plans to force the closure of 2,500 post offices by just 288 votes to 268, slashing the government's majority to 20.

Southampton’s two Labour MPs, Alan Whitehead and John Denham are being accused of hypocrisy for having campaigned to save post offices in the city whilst voting last night for the post office closures.

Our MPs are not standing up for the city. Once again when it comes to the crunch they are simply Gordon Brown’s voice in Southampton. Local communities in Southampton will be hit hard by these closures which will be very damaging and disruptive, particularly for elderly people.

The Conservatives are calling for the government’s closure programme to be suspended to allow a full revaluation of the process and work to be done to see where more business can be put into the post office network. For example this might involve working with Royal Mail or local councils.

The government is simply managing the decline of the post offices and we are arguing that they should be focused on building up the post office network so it becomes dependent more on its business rather than government subsidy.

Read more about keeping our post offices open.

The First Lab-Lib Cabinet

On Monday I went along to the first Cabinet meeting since the Lab-Lib pact on the council took power on 20th February.

The first thing to say is that they survived without any obvious gaffes. Everyone was on their best behaviour.

It was quite clear to me however that this new Cabinet is totally dominated by Labour. Of the 4 Lib Dem cabinet members, 1 wasn't there, 2 didn't speak at all, leaving Cllr Adrian Vinson who had only limited involvement in the discussions. Indeed there was more debate generated by Labour and Conservative backbenchers who asked questions from the audience.

Despite claims to the contrary it was appear that the Lib Dems are very much the junior partner in this relationship and in the words of Nick Clegg MP are simply "an annex to another party" - in this case Old Labour.

All there is for the Lib Dems in this sorry set up is a false feeling of importance, a slightly smoothed ego and a few pennies for their front benchers. For Lib Dems voters there is nothing of what they voted for.

Later on today the full council will be debating the merits of the Lab-Lib pact. I am looking froward to the debate.

Southampton Could Have Two Conservative MPs

The Conservatives have opened up a 16 point lead on Labour, according to a YouGov survey for the Sunday Times.

Support for Labour fell to 27 per cent - its lowest poll rating since 1983 - with the Conservatives on 43 per cent and the Liberal Democrats on 16 per cent.

David Cameron would have enough for a Commons majority if the results of the Sunday Times survey were repeated in a general election. The Conservatives would have a 120 seat majority in Parliament and a string of high profile cabinet ministers, including John Denham, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, would lose their Commons seats.

Both Southampton seats would turn blue if the national swing was uniform which would also see Alan Whitehead lose his seat.

The poll also found that there has been a slump in Gordon Brown's personal approval, with the -26 rating the lowest since he became prime minister.

Yesterday's ICM poll for the Guardian showed a 13 point lead, with the Conservatives on 42%.

Sport Relief

I enjoyed a much needed break from local election campaigning this afternoon.

Along with other Conservative Councillors and local council candidates I joined thousands of other runners to do the Sport Relief race in the city centre.

More sport is one of key policies Conservatives in Southampton are pushing.

On Wednesday I am leading a debate in Full Council on Conservative plans for a scheme to dramatically increase the amount of sport provision for children locally.

A few weeks ago Labour and Lib Dem councillors rejected the scheme but I am hopeful that on Wednesday they will have a change of heart, back the policy and back my motion to council. Last week a cross party panel of councillors, who have been carrying out a study into youth services in the city, gave their wholehearted support to the scheme.

Motion to council on Sport

This Council notes that the Government wishes to see a fully functional Extended Schools programmes in place by 2010, where all children are to be offered activities or child care provision from 8am in the morning till 6pm in the evening in the form of a wrap around scheme to the school timetable.

This Council notes that Southampton Solent University (SSU) has 1,500 students on various sports courses ranging from foundation Sports Studies to specialist Sports Science Degrees and that it has the largest resource of qualified coaches in Southampton.

This Council welcomes the proposal from SSU to create an Extended Schools programme within Southampton and agrees to commit £50,000 to pilot this programme in 08/09.

This Council welcomes the opportunity to work with SSU and benefits that the programme will bring; namely, encouraging a healthier lifestyle amongst the children of the city and combating obesity, providing positive activities and reducing antisocial behaviour, encouraging sports club links and providing valuable work experience to SSU students.

Pioneering Scheme to Boost Sport in the City

Yesterday local Conservatives announced plans for a pioneering scheme to dramatically increase the amount of sport provision for children in Southampton. The Conservative led council is looking to work in partnership with Southampton Solent University to provide 5,000 hours of after school sports training each year.

Initially a pilot scheme will be run with sports studies undergraduates from Southampton Solent coaching children at a number of schools in the city. If the scheme proves popular then it will be extended to all interested schools and it is hoped that the scheme could double to 10,000 hours a year. This is a fantastic scheme which will help tackle childhood obesity as well as anti social behaviour.

The proposal forms part of the Conservative budget proposals for the city due to be voted on by all political parties on 20th February. The proposals from local Conservatives come on the back of a report this week from David Cameron about how we can improve the development of young people in Britain and increase accessibility to sports and other activities within and outside school.

Bold Vision for City Heritage

Conservative plans for a new heritage centre for the city look a step closer yesterday as additonal funds were approved to draw up a detailed lottery fund bid.

If the bid is successful a new multi million pound heritage centre will be developed on the West Wing of the Civic Centre. This will be a national attraction and may include a permenant Titanic Exhibit in 2012, ready for the 100th anniversary of sinking of the famous liner.

The new heritage centre will mean the restoration of the old magistrates courts which have fallen into decline in recent years.

The heritage centre will link in with the redevelopment of Northern Above Bar and the new arts quarter and guidhall square.

A Week In Politics

It has been a busy and eventful week in Southampton Politics. My casework post bag gone up considerably since the start of the year and there is lots going on in the city.


Council Tax

On Wednesday the BBC ran a story on how across the country council tax is set to rocket again this year as local councils continue to face cut backs in funding from the government. I did an interview on the Ten O'clock News and was able to highlight how Southampton, being in the South of England, is suffering in particular from government underfunding.

One area where Southampton is under severe financial pressure is over the issue of the national concessionary bus fares scheme due to come in on 1st April. This was announced by Gordon Brown as a pre election sweetener just before the 2005 General Election. The government promised the fund the free travel scheme but has since gone back on its pledge and is trying to shift the costs to the local council tax payer. In Southampton the shortfall in funding could be up to £1m or more (about 1.5% on council tax!)


Hill Lane Toucan Crossing

I went along to the public meeting regarding the possible Toucan crossing at Raymond Road / Hill Lane. From the conversations that I had people seemed to be broadly in favour. One issue that lots of people raised was the need to improve cycle paths around the city. If the Hill Lane crossing is popular and goes ahead then there is the opportunity to link up a cycle path through the common to the Avenue, and then up to Wilton Road and King Edwards School.


St Mark's School

I went along to the St Mark's school governors meeting on Tuesday evening to talk with them about the the council's plans to purchase the Civil Service Sports Ground in Stafford Road and also about the primary school review which is about to start in the city.


Promoting the City's Art

On Thursday I went to a reception at the civic centre art gallery, organised by Business Southampton. The new Conservative administration is looking to expand the council's art lease scheme, where works of art are loaned out to offices, private collectors and other galleries. The art gallery has far more paintings than it can hope to display and so this is an opportunity to display the art and also generate some income which can be used to meet the costs of the gallery and promote art and local artists in the city.

Where Does Our Rubbish Go?

I spent Friday learning all about what happens to our household waste. We started the day with a morning at the Marchwood Incinerator (or Energy Recovery Facility), then visited the Recycling processing centre in Alton (or Materials Recovery Facility), and finally the Little Bushywarren composting site near Basingstoke.

This was a tour organised by the city council and by Veolia who have a long term waste disposal contract (called Project Integra) with all the local authorities in Hampshire. I had been looking forward to it for some time and it was extremely educational.

The first thing I wanted to know was why does the Marchwood incinerator look like the lair of a James Bond villain and what does it look like inside. Here are pictures showing both.

I was told that essentially it looks like it does because the site available was quite large leaving the architect the luxury of building something unique and interesting. Inside it is essentially what you would imagine such a facility to look like.

Marchwood incinerator is one of the sites where our non recyclable waste goes to be burnt. It is then converted into energy and supplied into the national grid, powering about 20,000 homes locally. At the end of the incineration process what's left over (called bottom ash) is separated out into metal, aluminium and glass. Most of the bottom ash is then used as aggregate in road building.

We were shown a huge pit where the dustbin lorries dump all the waste. A giant crane then lifts heaps of the material and drops it into a chute for incineration. What amazed me was the amount of recyclable materials like cardboard that I could see. Clearly we have a lot further to go in sorting our rubbish. I was told that we could probably double the amount we recycle as a city if we all did it properly.

However we are making great strides. In 2002 local councils in Hampshire were sending 700,000 tonnes of waste to landfill. This was down to 123,000 in 2006 and I am sure we can reduce this much more in years to come.

The Integra project in Hampshire is leading the way and other counties are looking at similar models. What I find worrying however is how far the commercial sector is lagging behind. Business in Hampshire is land filling perhaps 5 times more than is coming from households. Changing that has to be the next big challenge. I see no reason why local authorities can't enter into agreements with the commercial sector to recycle and incinerate their waste and avoid it going to landfill.

Value For Money For Southampton

Yesterday Southampton Conservatives released details of budget proposals for the city council for the coming year.

Despite the chronic underfunding of Southampton by the government the Conservatives are keeping our promise to deliver a real terms reduction in council tax.

A Fair Deal for the Taxpayer

Conservatives are proposing the lowest council tax increase in Southampton's history as a unitary council authority at 2.99%. This is being achieved against the backdrop of real terms cuts in funding for Southampton from the government and through much greater local efficiency.

A fair deal for pensioners

Proposals by the Conservatives include a renewed commitment to introduce a 10% discount for households of over 65. In the past ten years council tax has more than doubled under Labour and those on the basic state pension are increasingly finding their real incomes being eroded.

Backing the Police

Conservatives are pushing ahead with plans to scrap council tax for special constables in the city. Since 1997 the numbers of specials has halved. Locally the police have welcomed and backed the move as means for putting more community police on the streets and cutting crime in the city.

A fair deal for Bus Users

Budget proposals include the introduction of a local concessionary bus fares scheme for over 60s and disabled people to cover the reductions in eligibility and travel times in the government's national concessionary scheme. Click HERE for further details.

Listening to residents

Revised budget proposals follow three months of consultation and discussions with residents and community groups. In fact over 1000 people responded to the consultation and the vast majority of their concerns have been addressed in revised proposals.

More money to vital services

This includes:

• An extra £745k pa for road repairs
• An extra £1.2m pa for adult care
• Extra money supporting children in care and to support foster carers
• Extra local money to support people with alcohol problems
• Additional funds to support more sport in schools
• More support to residents' associations
• A range of measures to improve the local environment, recycling and energy efficiency
• More money to reduce youth offending in the city

Full details of Conservative budget proposals can be found HERE.