I Won't Claim Leaflets on MPs Expenses

I have made no secret of the fact that I think that the MPs' Communications Allowance is wrong. Sitting MPs get to spend £10,000 of public money a year on leaflets promoting themselves and their activities.

I think that candidates for election and political parties should fund their own campaigns and not use our taxes for this purpose. I have made the clear commitment not to claim this allowance if elected to Parliament and David Cameron has made it clear that if he becomes Prime Minister this allowance will be scrapped for all MPs.

With a General Election being held next year the deadline for spending this Communications Allowance is the 31st December. It would appear that my opponent, Labour MP Alan Whitehead is hell bent on milking the taxpayer for every last penny before the deadline kicks in. Today I discovered that he has had another glossy leaflet printed at taxpayer's expense, which he uses to attack the city council, and by proxy the Conservatives and to spread mischief.

Mr Whitehead has made a great play of trying to say he is not like all the MPs who have behaved disgracefully with their expense claims. Yet he has shown that he is the same as the rest, taking as much as he can from the public purse for this own benefit. I find this behaviour even more disgusting in the current climate, a week after the Chancellor's Pre Budget Report when we found out the country is even more bankrupt than we first thought and in a week that the Labour Government is announcing billions of pounds of defence cuts at time when we are fighting a bitter war in Afghanistan.

When I go out knocking doors I hear time and time again from people how disgusted they are with politicians in this country. Today I can only agree with them.

Meeting Students At Totton College

Yesterday I had the chance to meet with teachers and students at Totton College. I talked to second year General Studies students and answered their questions on a range of subjects, such as the environment and the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit, public transport and freedom of speech.

Totton College is one of many colleges in Hampshire which has been badly let down by the government. Like Southampton colleges it was promised a multi million pound rebuild and then had the plug pulled on the funds. Although not in the Southampton Test constituency Totton College attracts a considerable number of students from the city.

Labour has its policies on the economy all wrong

Labour has its policies on the economy all wrong. More taxes on jobs and allowing Britain's debts to continue to mount unchecked is not going to help the country out of recession. Instead Labour’s policies risk more unemployment and higher interest rates. Labour has failed to take the tough decisions on spending before the election and so there will be even higher taxes if they win the election.

The central measure in the Chancellor’s Pre Budget Report was a tax on jobs that hits everyone earning over £20,000. Labour’s hike in National Insurance is also a back door cut to the NHS. With £446 million coming from the NHS budget, Labour plan a real cut in health spending.

A Conservative government will protect health spending - because there are huge challenges facing the NHS in the years ahead - and we will try to avoid Labour's National Insurance rise. Of all Labour's tax rises, it is our priority to avoid their tax on jobs.

The Conservatives understand that people are struggling to find jobs because very few businesses are taking on new staff. To get companies hiring again we should have tax breaks for companies that create new jobs with cuts in National Insurance and Corporation Tax for small companies.

We need a government that will be straight with people on the economy. Last year the Chancellor told us he planned to borrow £38 billion and that the economy would grow 2.5% this year. He now tells us that he plans to borrow £178 billion and that the economy will in fact shrink by 4.75%.

Labour also needs to be honest about the state of the public finances. They are borrowing £1 for every £4 the government spends. Government debt is now over £800 billion and will exceed £1 trillion in the next year. The more debt the government builds up the longer it will take to pay back and the more taxes will have to rise. Unchecked borrowing will also push up interest rates, hitting businesses and homeowners.

By contrast Conservatives have bold plans to deal with the big problems the country faces. Labour are now the party of unemployment - we are the party of new jobs and new opportunities. To deal with Labour's Debt Crisis we have been honest with the British people about the tough decisions we need to take. Unlike Gordon Brown, we won't duck them and treat the British people like fools.

The Week Ahead

Here is a diary of my political activities for the week ahead:

Monday 14th December
- Visit to Totton College - discussion with students about environmental issues
- Council meetings

Tuesday 15th December
- Visit to St Marks Junior School in Shirley
- Meeting with residents in Shirley

Wednesday 16th December
- Council meetings

Thursday 17th December
- Nuffield Theatre meeting in Highfield
- Princes Trust awards at the Ordnance Survey in Maybush
- Student Celebrations Evening at Taunton's College

Saturday 19th December
- Meeting residents in Shirley
- Supporting the demonstration in the city centre by local Tamils, against actions by the Sri Lankan Government

Weekly Political Round Up

Here is a round up of what I have been up to this week:

Friday 11th December
- Visit to St Denys Primary. Handing out the Civic Award to Key Stage 1 pupils.
- Meeting with residents in Regents Park

Wednesday 9th December
- Council meetings

Tuesday 8th December
- Breakfast meeting with city businesses
- Meeting with staff at Lloyds Bank in Shirley
- Meeting with residents in Regents Park

Monday 7th December
- Council meetings

Saturday 5th December
- Meeting residents in Inner Avenue and Regents Park

Reaction to the Pre Budget Report

Alastair Darling has lost all credibility. It is now becoming a familiar sight to see the Chancellor standing up and announcing that he has got his figures wrong; that the country is borrowing more than expected and that the recession is deeper than he predicted.

Despite Labour saying that Britain was best placed to weather the economic downturn, we were the first in and will be the last to come out of recession. The Government is now borrowing £1 for every £4 it spends, and we are the most indebted we have ever been in peacetime history. What is most worrying is that Labour have no plans to tackle the debt problem.

Today's announcement showed that Labour have decided to delay taking any tough decisions until after the General Election and have refused to be straight with people. The danger is that by taking no action to tackle the deficit, interest rates may have to rise, hitting householders and businesses and prolonging the recession.

Conservative Team Breaks UK Poppadom Record!

The 450 Poppadom Tower at Oxford Street's Poppadom Express

Last night Royston Smith and I took on the Southampton Chamber of Commerce in a Poppadom Challenge to raise money for Oxfam and in celebration of national curry week.

With the help of chefs at Poppadom Express in Oxford Street we built a massive 4ft static tower of 450 poppadoms, beating the previous UK record of 282!

UPDATE 11th December:

I have just heard from the founders of National Curry Week that 450 poppadoms is in fact a new world record, beating the Bombay Bicycle Club!

New Housing Scheme Given the Go Ahead

Conservative Party Chairman, Eric Pickles, meets with Thornhill Reisdents to discuss the new scheme.

Conservatives on Southampton City Council are embarking on an ambitious programme to redevelop the city's council housing estates. We hope to create several thousand new homes this way by 2026. They will be mixed tenure, private, affordable for rent, shared ownership and social.

The pilot project is Hinkler Parade in Thornhill in the Southampton Itchen constituency and today this exciting new scheme was given the green line to proceed.

Hinkler Parade's existing 1950s blocks will be replaced by a new, larger, better quality, higher density development. Better design will aim to ensure that crime and disorder are designed out in the new development. A popular community facility, the ‘Natterbox’ will be retained.

The pilot scheme is funded by Southampton City Council, the Partnership for Urban South Hampshire (PUSH) and the Homes and Communities Agency.

The project was recently thrown into doubt when Southampton MP and Secretary of State, John Denham, cut growth point funding to the area. PUSH’s growth point funding was cut from £9.5m to £5m. Despite this we are still moving ahead with the Hinkler Parade project and today Conservative Party Chairman, Eric Pickles MP visited the site to meet with local Thornhill residents and to discuss the scheme.

Shadow Minister Backs Campaign for Council Tax Freeze

Shadow Local Government Minister, Bob Neil MP meets with local Conservatives

Shadow Minster Bob Neil MP paid a visit to Southampton today to meet with local councillors and council officers. Conservatives have pledged to freeze council tax for two years if we win the next election. Mr Neil explained how this would mean extra funding for Southampton from a Conservative Government to keep council tax down. Mr Neil explained that extra money would also be available for Southampton where new homes are built locally and where new businesses are created.

Backing Small Businesses

Southampton signs the Federation of Small Business Accord

This afternoon Southampton City Council signed up to the Federation of Small Business Accord, committing to work more closely with local businesses in the city.

As a local councillor I have been driving forward and supporting a range of initiatives to make Southampton a more business friendly city.

- The city council has cut car parking charges in the city centre. New pre payment cards provide a 20% discount and two car parks have had charges cut in half.

- Council procurement processes are being made simpler and easier for small businesses.

- I am ensuring that the city council is as proactive as possible in getting eligible businesses to take up small business rate relief and I am backing the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) campaign for Automatic Payment.

As a candidate at the next General Election I am very supportive of the policies announced by David Cameron that a Conservative Government would implement to help businesses struggling in this recession.

- Establishing a temporary National Loans Guarantee Scheme to get credit flowing again and help protect jobs.

- Allowing struggling firms to defer their VAT bills for up to six months.

- Cutting small firms' payroll taxes.

- Helping companies with the costs of hiring new staff by giving tax breaks for new jobs.

- Cutting the main rate of corporation tax.

- Cancelling Labour's planned increase in the small companies tax rate, and cutting the rate instead.

At October’s Conservative Party Conference, Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne announced plans to abolish national insurance for new companies during the first two years of a Conservative government. Under the scheme, any new business will not pay national insurance on the first ten workers it hires.

Ken Clarke also announced details of a new Green Paper, which sets out Conservative plans to combat excessive regulation and win the battle against red tape which is stifling business.

Housing benefit system is failing Southampton’s most vulnerable tenants

Gordon Brown’s changes to housing benefit rules are harming the most vulnerable tenants and reducing the availability of affordable accommodation.

Last year, Labour Ministers introduced a new ‘Local Housing Allowance’, with housing benefit being direct to the tenant rather than to the landlord. But vulnerable tenants often struggle to manage their finances and spend their rent money on other things. Homeless charity, Crisis, has warned that this can result in rent arrears and eventually homelessness.

Landlords who were previously happy to take on tenants on housing benefit have suffered from non-payment of rent. Many landlords now routinely refuse to let to Local Housing Allowance claimants. According to the National Landlords Association, half of all landlords are reluctant to lend to tenants on Local Housing Allowance.

11,662 people in Southampton are on local housing waiting lists, and a sizeable proportion of them are on housing benefit. Housing waiting lists have risen by 401 per cent under this Labour Government – reflecting the shortage of affordable accommodation.

Conservatives have pledged to change Labour’s failed policy. Tenants will be able to choose whether to have their housing allowance paid direct to their landlord. This will increase the availability of quality low-cost housing.

Labour’s new housing benefit rules are failing the most vulnerable in our society. Some tenants struggle to manage their finances and are getting into arrears and trouble as a result. Landlords are put off from renting to those on benefit because it is affecting their businesses, slashing the availability of decent places to live.

As a city councillor in Southampton I am responsible for finance and have overseen the implementation of the new housing benefits system locally. Southampton like other local councils have had to implement new system imposed on them by Government.

I have had landlords coming to me telling me first hand what a disaster the new system is proving. It is causing real problems for local landlords as well as hurting those vulnerable tenants who are most in need. I am also told that it has become a fraudster’s charter.

Tenants should have greater choice, and be free to specify that their housing benefit should go direct to the landlord. I have been lobbying the Conservative Party for some time on this matter and I am delighted that we will reform the system if they form the next Government.

In the meantime I will be working closely with council officers and landlords to find ways to make the current botched system work better.

No To Housing on Redbridge Lane

I am objecting to a planning application for 350 homes along Redbridge Lane.

My colleagues, Cllr Paul Holmes and Cllr Ben Walker have written formally to Test Valley Borough Council opposing the development.

Redbridge Lane is a very narrow country lane and is part of the local gap between Nursling and Southampton. It is also designated as countryside under Test Valley's local planning policies.

I think it is very important that we maintain the local gap between the city and Nursling and I think the traffic implications would be severe for the local area.

A Great Turn Out For Our Troops

Southampton did our troops proud today, turning out in huge numbers to greet the men and women serving in the 17 Port and Maritime Regiment.

The Marchwood based unit which has recently returned from Afghanistan, marched from Mayflower Park, up the High Street, through the Bargate before finally lining up at the forecourt of the Civic Centre. They were met by Princess Anne the Princess Royal who spoke at length with the soldiers and presented them with their service medals.

Lottery Boost for St James' Park!

St James' Park in Shirley is set for a £1.5m makeover after the announcement this week that the park has been successful in winning lottery funding.

The plans for the park include refurbishing the former air raid shelter to provide a café, community rooms, a ranger base and toilets.

The scheme will improve play equipment and provide features for all ages while popular tennis courts will be refurbished and there will be improved access to the park.

£1.1m from the lottery will be added to the £400,000 being invested by the city council.

St James' Park was picked by the lottery to receive the funding largely because of the huge amount of community backing for the scheme. The Friends of St James' Park have over 500 members and local people have drawn up the plans and will also be involved in the redevelopment of the park. Improvement works will be completed by 2011 in time for the 100th anniversary of the opening of the park.

Sorry is not good enough - House of Commons Committee should have ordered Jacqui Smith to repay expenses

The decision by local Labour MP, Alan Whitehead not to require Jacqui Smith to repay falsely claimed parliamentary expenses was quite wrong.

Mr Whitehead serves on the House of Commons Committee on Standards and Privileges and is one of 5 Labour MPs who asked merely for an apology from Ms Smith, refusing to call for her to repay up to £116,000 of expenses wrongly claimed by her between 2004 -2009. The committee’s decision followed an investigation by John Lyon, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, who was scathing of the former Home Secretary’s behaviour.

Ms Smith claimed that her main home was a house in Peckham, a property owned by her sister where she used a room when staying in London. This allowed her to claim expenses and allowances on a ‘second home’, the four bedroom family home in the West Midlands.

Mr Whitehead was quite wrong to let his colleague off the hook. Jacqui Smith has been proved to have acted wrongly. She has been misleading about which house was really her main home and where she spent most of her time and Police evidence directly conflicted with her own account.

Any jury in the land would have said pay back the money. Having a bunch of MPs of the same party make the decision is like picking a prisoner’s cell mates and asking them to act as his jury.

It’s a pretty clear cut case to me. I think the committee should have ordered to her to pay back any expenses that were wrongly claimed.

An Evening Out With The Street Pastors

I had the opportunity to spend an evening out in the town centre and in Bedford Place with the Street Pastors on Friday.

I had heard very good reports about the work of the Street Pastors beforehand, however on seeing them in action I think they are doing a tremendous job.

I certainly feel that the team made a big and positive difference to the lives of several people that evening.

I was also very impressed by how interlinked the Street Pastors are with other services; the Police and the CCTV control room. Also there seemed to be an excellent relationship with the door staff at the various pubs and clubs. I noticed too how helpful it was for the Police to have the Street Pastors deal with the low level disturbances, which then frees the Police up to deal with more serious instances.

The public really value the work and the presence of the Street Pastors. Despite only being up and running in the city for a short time they have a great deal of recognition and are making a huge impact.

I am Committed to Improving and Investing in Our NHS

With a General Election fast approaching it is important that local people in Southampton understand my position and that of the Conservative Party on the NHS.

“The Conservative Party stands full square behind the NHS ... We back it, we are going to expand it, we have ring-fenced it and said that it will get more money under a Conservative government, and it is our Number one mission to improve it.” These are the words of David Cameron and I back him one hundred per cent.

Conservatives are committed to real terms increases in health spending year on year. David Cameron has been clear that there will be no cuts to NHS front line services under the Conservatives. With an aging population and increasing demand for health services I think this is critical.

Conservatives would trust professionals and provide the right incentives for them and to put patient choice at the heart of the NHS. A Conservative Government would:

Give patients choice over their GP and which hospital they go to.

Give more freedom to existing healthcare providers. We want to give NHS Trusts far more freedom to innovate and to adjust the way they provide services in response to their patients’ wishes locally.

End box-ticking and process targets. Instead we would focus on improving the overall results of people’s treatment in the NHS.

Stop political interference.

Strengthen the role of the Care Quality Commission.

Make prevention a priority.

Public health is central to our plan to help Britain become a healthier nation. To do this, we would help people live healthy lifestyles, develop a responsibility deal with business and build a stronger public health infrastructure.

There will be a choice at the next election and local people should know that I am committed to improving and investing in our NHS and protecting front line jobs in our local hospitals.

Weekly Political Diary

The last week has been a busy one, dealing with Council matters and meeting with resident and community groups:

Monday 21st September
- Council meetings, including a Cabinet meeting to support Bitterne Park school in its bid to provide a sixth form.

Tuesday 22nd September
- Helped with the launch of 50 new recycling bins in the city centre in partnership with Coca Cola.
- Meeting with the Federation of Small Businesses.
- Meeting with Southampton University's new Vice Chancellor.

Wednesday 23rd September
- Attended the inaugural meeting of the new Maybush Triangle Tenants and Residents Association.

Thursday 24th September
- Governors meeting at Freemantle Infants School.

Friday 25th September
- Breakfast briefing on the Port Master Plan with Associated British Ports and Williams Shipping
- Met with Shadow Secretary of State for International Development, Andrew Mitchell MP and with the Shirley based charity, The Sailors' Society.
- Mobile ward surgeries and constituency casework: meeting with residents in Redbridge and Freemantle.

Saturday 26th September
- Mobile ward surgeries and constituency casework: meeting with residents in Shirley and Redbridge.

Meeting With The Sailors' Society

Jeremy pictured with Andrew Mitchell MP and Robert Adams, The Sailors' Society Chief Executive

On Friday I met with Shadow International Development Secretary, Andrew Mitchell MP to hear about the excellent work done by a locally based charity, the Sailors' Society.

Southampton is home to one of the biggest and busiest cargo ports in the country. It is also the UK's premier port for cruise ship departures. As such huge numbers of sailors stop off in the city, many coming from developing countries and often out of contact wih their families for weeks at a time.

Based in Shirley Road, the Sailors' Society provides a personal lifeline for seafarers, supporting them when they step ashore.

Labour Should Stop Undermining the City's Schools and Colleges

Southampton's Labour Party seem determined to undermine the city's schools and colleges.

In direct oppostion to their national party position they are anti the city's two new academies. They would send back the £35m secured by Conservatives on the city council to rebuild these schools. They did everything they could to make life difficult for the two academies in their first year; yet despite all their negativity the academies have delivered improved GCSE results for local children.

Southampton MP John Denham is directly responsible for the colleges funding fiasco. Mr Denham pulled the plug on millions of pounds of funding to improve Taunton's, City College and Itchen College. The Government is still refusing to refund the money that the colleges spent on preparing for the promised rebuilds. This is money that should be returned to the colleges so that they can spend it on improving the education of local young people.

Now Labour Councillors are trying to block Bitterne Park School from developing a sixth form. This would provide extra choice for students in Southampton and would help cater for the increasing numbers staying on to study post sixteen. Bitterne Park has been awarded £6m for new sixth form facilities and has received the backing of Conservative Councillors. Yet Labour are doing all they can to put obstacles in the way of the school.

Abandon Fluoride Plans and Invest In NHS Dentistry

It is clear that an overwhelming majority of residents in Southampton do not wish to have fluoride added to their water.

The NHS’ initial consultation attracted 10,000 responses, with 72 per cent against. In a separate and later phone poll of 2,000 residents, 38 per cent opposed fluoridation compared to 32 per cent in favour.

Whichever way you cut it local people have made it clear that they don’t want fluoride.

In a democratic, free country we should respect the views of majority. The NHS should therefore abandon their fluoridation plans for Southampton.

No one would deny that state of dental care in the country and in particular in Southampton needs urgent attention. Nationally tooth decay is now the third most common reason that children are admitted to hospital. The statistics for some parts of Southampton are truly shocking. However there are plenty of alternatives to fluoride.

An incoming Conservative Government would seek to transform NHS dentistry from a service that is currently in seemingly terminal decline to one which delivers high standards of care to everyone who needs it.

There needs to be a far greater emphasis on preventative care and other innovations that improve oral health. The Conservatives would remove perverse incentives, such being paid the same price to put in one filling as for ten, that drive dentists to provide unnecessary or incomplete treatments.

Conservatives also propose restoring access to dentists for the million people who have lost it due to the Government’s botched reforms, providing long term health and cost benefits. As capacity builds, dentists will move to patient registration, strengthened by giving people access to new information about the results dentists achieve, empowering choices.

By using money that is currently spent on carrying out unnecessary treatments we would instead reintroduce dental screening for children in schools, so that children aged five would have their oral health addressed.

We would also give dentists the freedom to charge patients who repeatedly miss appointments. Finally we would ensure that taxpayer trained dentists work for the NHS for at least five years.

Free Bus Travel In Southampton This Weekend!

Black Watch is one of nine cruise liners docking in Southampton this weekend

Southampton's Conservative Council is teaming up with local bus companies to lay on free bus travel this coming Saturday and Sunday.

The city will play host to nine cruise liners and nearly 50,000 passengers this weekend. This will provide a huge boost for the local economy, potentially bringing millions of pounds into the area.

It is estimated that an extra 12,000 vehicles will be on the road this weekend and the City Council is keen to do all it can to cut congestion and keep the city moving. By laying on free buses it is also hoped that more people will be encouraged to use public transport in the future.

Bus travel is free in Southampton until 6pm on Saturday and Sunday. The journeys will be free as long as they start and finish within the city’s boundaries.

The Future is Bright for Southampton

This week Conservatives on the City Council took the decision to award a contract for a new street lighting partnership for Southampton.

Many of city’s 28,000 streetlights are very old and in a poor state due to years of underinvestment by previous Labour and Lib Dem Council administrations.

More than half of the street lights will replaced in the first few years of the new contract.

In addition to the extra council investment Conservative Councillors have secured nearly £30m of inward investment from the Treasury.

As well as good quality, well maintained streetlighting for the next 25 years, Southampton will have better quality, more efficient lighting, helping reduce road accidents and cutting crime and the fear of crime in the city.

Recycling Boost for Ocean Village

Earlier this week I attended the launch of a new recycling facility outside the Tescos at Ocean Village. The new machine, which takes plastic bottles and tin cans and shreds them into tiny pieces, is one of ten trial units being piloted by Tesco around the country. Southampton was chosen because of its excellent green credentials and the strong commitment that the City Council has to recycling.

If successful more of these machines will be rolled out across the city and elsewhere. As well as helping the environment, Tesco shoppers will be able to pick up points on their Club Cards!

Southampton needs more powers to manage Houses in Multiple Occupation

From meeting many residents associations over recent years I know that local people are concerned about the numbers and concentrations of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in Southampton.

Whilst HMOs play an important role in the city economy, meeting housing needs and providing choice, high concentrations are often associated with anti social behaviour, noise nuisance, parking problems and the loss of family housing.

Southampton is a student city with a growing student population. Also as a port city there is a substantial transient population. Given that, there is a considerable demand for HMO accommodation. However this demand needs to be careful managed to protect the character of communities and the residents who live there. In my view the objective should be the creation of balanced communities.

As it stands councils like Southampton have very few powers to manage HMOs. It is great news that the Government is now conducting a review on possible changes to planning laws relating to HMOs. These changes could give Southampton City Council much greater powers. The Government review has come after years of hard work and lobbying by local residents groups and the City Council.

The Communities and Local Government department published its ‘Studentification Paper’ over a year ago which argued strongly in favour of the Government changing the planning laws. It also highlighted the excellent work being done in Southampton by the City Council and the two universities to tackle issues relating to HMOs.

Currently planning permission is not required to convert a family house into an HMO. One of the options in the Government’s consultation is to require planning permission. If the change goes through the Council would be able to refuse inappropriate applications or attach specific condition to any planning approvals that are granted. Such conditions might include a requirement for adequate bin storage or parking provision. Such conditions are a regular feature for new blocks of flats but because of current planning laws they aren’t required for HMOs. Even garages and quite minor extensions require planning permission, so why not HMOs? In Northern Ireland HMOs require planning permission and it works well there, so why not here?

This is a change which I have been campaigning for, for some considerable time. In parts of Portswood and the Polygon now, some roads are already over 90% HMOs. It is therefore important that the Government acts quickly and proactively.

I have written to the Government pushing for urgent action.

Lake Park Improvements

Residents in Freemantle are being asked their views on how they would like to see Lake Park improved.

Yesterday I went along to the park to meet members of Groundwork Solent, the environmental charity who are leading the project in conjunction with the City Council.

£30,000 has been set aside by the Council for the improvements. When planning permission is granted for larger developments such as new houses and flats the developers must contribute funds towards improving the local area. The money for the park improvements comes from this pot of developer funds. In addition, Groundwork will aim to top it up by drawing in grants from other sources.

Across the city the Conservative Council is allocating more funding to local parks. The improvements to Lake Park will follow similar such works to Portswood Rec and Daisy Dip in Swaythling.

Lake Park is popular for families and dog walkers and I would like to see the works focus on improving the general appearance of the park, an emphasis on making it safer and also perhaps providing information on its history.

Policing Priorities in Banister Park and Bevois Valley

Cllr Michael Ball and I attended the first Bevois Valley and Banister Park Neighbourhood Panel Meeting this evening at Bevois Town Primary School.

It was a good opportunity to meet with the beat police, local people and partnership agencies to discuss policing priorities. It was also interesting to hear the good work that the police are doing in the Banister Park and Bevois Valley area.

The police are rolling out similar meetings across Southampton and it is a good way for local people to help set priorities in their communities and ensure faster response times from the police. This evening was the second such meeting that I have been to. Earlier in the month Cllr Vincenzo Capozzoli and I met with the St Denys Neighbourhood Team.

Civil Service Sports Ground Acquisition

The Council is moving to compulsorily purchase the Civil Service Sports Ground in Freemantle. The decision was taken by the Conservative Cabinet on Monday and marks a concrete step towards bringing the former sports field into public ownership. It has been a long standing ambition of mine to return the land to community use. I am hopeful that within the next year it will be owned by the City Council and open to use by local people and schools in the area.

State Of The Art New Sports Facilities At Test Playing Fields

The layout for the new sports facility at Test Playing Fields (click to enlarge)

The Conservative Council is pushing ahead with plans to build state of the art new sports facilities at Test Playing Fields (off Lower Brownhill Road). This will be delivered in partnership with Southampton Solent University and the Football Foundation.

The new community facilities will include a synthetic turf pitch, a Multi User Games Area and associated changing rooms and parking. Holy Family Roman Catholic Primary will benefit from free time tabled use of the Multi User Games Area.

I was pleased to agree the Solent University lease on Monday. The City Council already has a superb sports partnership with Solent, where their students run extra hours of sport for children on the west of the city. The next step is this fantastic new facility which will benefit the local community and nearby schools.

Council Depot Moving to Dock Gate 20

The Council today took the decision to purchase land in the docks near Dock Gate 20. The Council intends to use the site for a new town depot, providing a recycling centre and base for Council bin lorries.

The existing Chapel based facility is in an appalling state and needs considerable investment. Test Lane was one site being considered as part of the study and residents were advised by the Council in the interests of openness. However, it has now been ruled out as land at Dock Gate 20 was considered to be more suitable and better value for money. The land has been acquired from the private owners and development will likely take place by 2011.

Due to commercial confidentiality the Council was unable to discuss Dock Gate 20 before now. Now the deal has gone through I am delighted that Council can now reveal that Dock Gate 20 rather than Test Lane is the preferred site.

The decision is a victory for local Councillor Paul Holmes who has been campaigning hard on behalf of the Old Redbridge community.

Norwich North Goes Blue

Norwich North's New Conservative Member of Parliament

Congratulations to Chloe Smith! She fought a terrific campaign and I’m glad that Norwich North now has a Conservative MP. This result again confirms that the electorate is sick of Gordon Brown and this Labour Government’s disastrous handling of the economy.

If the swing at yesterday’s Norwich North By Election result was replicated at the General Election it would see Southampton turn blue, with both Labour MPs, John Denham (Southampton Itchen) and Alan Whitehead (Southampton Test) losing their seats to the Conservatives.

Southampton Test Projected Result
Conservatives – 32.25%
Labour – 16.01%
Conservative majority of 6786

Southampton Itchen Projected Result
Conservatives – 33.75%
Labour – 21.56%
Conservative majority of 4844

Ropewalk Big Lunch

I had a great time at the Ropewalk Garden Big Lunch today. Well done to Newtown residents who organised the Community Picnic at the Ropewalk Community Garden in Derby Road.

Give Our Colleges Their Money Back

The Government has behaved in the most shameful and inept manner towards our local colleges. It was announced a couple of weeks ago that all the colleges in the city and in Hampshire would lose out on the millions of pounds promised to them for rebuilds.

Today a Parliamentary Select Committee report was published revealing in detail the staggering level of incompetence by both the Learning and Skills Council and the Government department whose job it is to oversee the quango. Responsibility for the fiasco must be laid squarely at the door of local MP John Denham who was the Secretary of State at the time.

Not only have the colleges been denied the money promised them, they have spent huge sums of money in preparation for the rebuilds. This is money that has been spend on planning permission, architects fees, survey work etc. It is money that could could have been spent on improving the education of young people locally. Between them Itchen College and Taunton's College have spent over £1.5m. Multiply this across the country and the figure is more than £200m!

On Wednesday I put forward a motion to Southampton City Council. This called on the Government to return the sunk money that the colleges have spent. This achieved all party support. Today the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Select Committee is echoing this call. I hope that the Government will listen and pay back the money. Under the circumstances that is the least they can do.

Southampton Welcomes Home Local Heroes

Thousands of local people, young and old, turned out on Tuesday to welcome home the troops of the Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment.

The support from local people was fantastic. Over 500 school children, including children from St Marks in Freemantle joined in, enthusiastically waving flags. A 40ft Union Jack blew in the wind over the parade, suspended from a crane.

It was a proud day for those soldiers receiving their service medals. It was also very emotional given the recent escalation of casualties in Afghanistan as the fighting there intensifies.

The important thing is that Southampton showed unequivocally that we are behind our men and women serving in the forces at a time of war and that we value enormously the personal sacrifices that they are making for freedom.

Little Common Litter Pick

Jeremy helping out with Portswood Candidate Matthew Claisse (left) and Portswood Councillor Vincenzo Capozzoli (right)

Well done to everyone who helped out with the Little Common litter pick last Friday. The event was organised by the Common Sense group from Highfield and was a big success. Between us we managed to pick up several bin bags full of rubbish.

A lot of work has gone into improving Little Common, which is the part of the Common next between Highfield Rd and the Avenue. The City Council with help from local people have cleared a lot of the trees and undergrowth between the underpass and Highfield Lane, restoring the historic carriageway.

St Mary's Parking Changes

Changes to residents’ parking arrangements came into effect in St Mary’s at the start of July. The residents parking scheme for the area will now operate Monday – Saturday, 8am – 6pm. Before the hours of operation were 8am – 10pm, seven days a week. Also the time limit for short-stay parking will be relaxed from one hour to two hours for people without permits.

The changes follow a lengthy consultation with local people. Conservative Councillors have been pushing the Council for some time to do more to tackle problems with parking in the area and we are keen to get feedback from residents on the changes.

Cash Boost for Freemantle Schools

Local Schools such as St Marks, Freemantle, Foundry Lane and Banister will gain a share of new funding set aside for Primary Schools by the new Conservative Council. £5.8m has been allocated to provide extra facilities for expanding local schools and to improve standards. The decision to allocate the extra funds was taken today following an extensive review of primary school provision in the Freemantle and Central areas of the city.

Letter to the Daily Echo: Get Behind the New Lord's Hill Academy

Dear Sir

Unlike Labour’s Don Thomas I see the rebuild of the Lord’s Hill Academy as a positive thing for the local community.

The decision to rebuild the school at 5 Acre Field was taken after a lengthy consultation several years ago and received support from all three political parties and the majority of parents. Parents told the city council that they wanted a third, neutral site, so that it was seen that neither Millbrook School nor Oaklands School was taking over the other.

The Conservatives have secured £17m for a rebuild of the Academy. This is money that Labour and the Lib Dems would have turned down.

At 5 Acre Field the school will be located next to a number of sports clubs, including a rugby club, football club and cricket club.

This will benefit the clubs as they will be able to attract new members, and will be good for the school as it will have more opportunities to promote sport amongst local children. The Academy is already working well in partnership with Solent University delivering after schools sports activities.

The Conservatives have allocated money to improve 5 Acre Field, including money to drain the pitches. The safety of children is paramount and so money has been set aside to provide to provide crossings or to improve the nearby underpasses. In total over a million pounds will be spent improving the area around the new school.

The Lord’s Hill Academy has been open less than a year. It has a great future and the new facilities will be a boost to the local community. The pupil numbers entering the Academy for the first time are healthy. The head teacher Ian Golding is doing a superb job.

I would urge Don Thomas to put aside his political prejudices and get behind the new school.

Yours faithfully

Cllr Jeremy Moulton

Labour Betrays Our City's Colleges

Labour's decision to pull the plug on funds to rebuild Taunton’s and Itchen College is disgrace.

Colleges in Southampton and the rest of Hampshire were promised funds for ambitious rebuilds which would give them the facilities they need to equip young people for the 21st century.

At the end of June the Government announced a shortlist of 13 further education projects that would proceed. Southampton has been left waiting for months to hear if its planned projects would be given the go ahead and we have now finally learned that the city is excluded from the list, with the majority of funds going to the Labour heartlands in the North of England.

Southampton's colleges join the list of over a hundred colleges around the country that have been betrayed by Labour and not given the funds they were promised. The 13 colleges that remain on the list are still not guaranteed to go ahead and if they do they may find that their funding is considerably reduced.

More than a million pounds has been spent locally in Southampton in preparation for the rebuilds. Taunton’s College has received planning consent from the city council and building work was ready to start. On the east of the city Itchen College was due to move to the Eastpoint Centre in Thornhill. This was part of a much more ambitious, wider project which would aid the regeneration of the area, supporting the redevelopment of the Eastpoint Centre and Sholing Technology College being rebuilt on the vacated Itchen College site with Building Schools for the Future funds. The city council is now working hard to ensure that these other important projects are not jeopardised by the Government withdrawing the college money.

This is another blow for Southampton from a government that is not interested supporting the city. This comes on top of the decision earlier this year to scrap a planned grant of £4.6m to refurbish the city centre’s Guildhall Square and extra taxes that are being piled upon businesses in the Port.

Despite all the rhetoric from Gordon Brown saying that he is investing in public services, all we see locally is broken promise after broken promise and money being taken away from the city.

General Election Countdown

Change the Government not the Voting System

You couldn't make it up! Our unelected Prime Minister Gordon Brown is now pushing for a change to the voting system by which we elected our MPs.
He wants to tinker with the electoral system but he won't call a General Election. Nor will he honour his promise to have a public vote on the Treaty of Lisbon, which proposes transferring even more power from Britain to Brussels.

During the many weeks I spent knocking doors for the European Elections, not once did anyone say to me that they wanted a change to the voting system. Time after time however people said they want a General Election, to have their say on Gordon Brown's leadership and the performance of this Government.

Call me a cynic but I cannot for one minute believe that Gordon Brown would opt for Proportional Representation for any other reason than to try and cling on to power at the next election. He wants to change the rules because he thinks he will lose. Democracy and the country come last with this Prime Minister. His self interest is all that matters.

Having just gone through a European Election we have seen first hand what a confusing system Proportional Representation is. It gives more power to political parties and their whips and it distances politicians from their voters by breaking or loosening the constituency link that exists in the First Past the Post system. What we want now is more accountability from our politicians, not less. We have also seen the scandal of the first BNP MEPs elected under the Proportional Representation system.

If Gordon Brown wants to reinvigorate democracy in this country I have a few suggestions. Give us the referendum he promised on the European Constitution, scrap the quangos and re-establish the importance of Parliament, transfer powers to local government so that decisions are taken closer to the people, stop the briefing against Ministers and MPs who disagree with him, have an elected House of Lords to replace the appointment of cronies and party donors to the upper house, introduce recall elections for MPs where they have lost the faith and trust of their constituents and most importantly of all have the General Election that the public are demanding to bring new blood and a new culture to Westminster.

The Conservatives are the only challenger to Labour in Southampton

The results of the European Elections for Southampton can be found HERE.

It was a good result for the Conservatives who topped the poll, with 50% more votes than Labour. Labour were very nearly knocked into third place by UKIP. The Lib Dem vote collapsed with them coming fifth behind the Greens.

It is now clearly a two horse race in Southampton at the next General Election with the Conservatives the only viable challenger to Labour in the city.

Vote Conservative Today

Britain cannot afford another year of Labour. Today's European Election is an opportunity to show Gordon Brown that the country wants an immediate General Election and wants change. The only way that can be achieved is with a good result for the Conservatives.

Launch of South East Euro Election Campaign

At the new Southampton Cruise Terminal at the Docks

Last week I helped launch the Conservatives' European election campaign in the South East. SE Conservative MEPs and candidates joined Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling in Southampton Docks to mark the official start of the campaign. Prior to the official launch we met with the Port Director for a tour of the docks and heard how the recession is affecting trade through the port. We also heard how the Government's back dated business rates hike and a huge increase in shipping light dues are harming local firms.


Conservatives are putting their calls for a refurendum on the Lisbon Treaty at the heart of the election campaign. In 2005 all three main parties promised a public vote on whether more powers should be passed from Britain to Brussels. Only the Conservatives are honouring that pledge and only a strong showing for the Conservatives will put pressure on Gordon Brown to put the question to the people.

The Conservatives want a Europe of Nation States and not an EU superstate. We will campaign for a no vote on the Treaty of Lisbon and have ruled out giving up the pound for the Euro.

Shirley Bus Route Restored

A popular bus route was brought back earlier this month. The new 7A route serves Bassett, Portswood, Shirley, Swaythling, the University and the General Hospital.

There was public outcry at the loss of the number 6 bus and the City Council has acted quickly to fund the replacement route which is run by First Bus. This is great news for local people.

Conservative Party Political Broadcast

A Great Time At The Freemantle Festival!

My family and I had a great time at the Freemantle Festival today. Despite the weather being a bit patchy it was a big success. I especially enjoyed the climbing wall - which was a new addition this year! Well done to Rebecca, Cevn and Anne and the Friends Of The Field for all their hard work in organising the day.

Well Done For a Year of Hard Work!

Cllr Brian Parnell at the log sawing ceremony to mark the opening of Southampton's IKEA store

Wednesday was the annual Mayor Making ceremony in the Guildhall and I had the chance to formally and publicly thank my fellow Freemantle Ward Councillor Brian Parnell for the great job that he has done over the past year as Mayor. Brian carried out over 600 civic duties with his typical enthusiasm and good humour. His wife Mary was a great support throughout the year and showed great fortitude, being at Brian's side for most of his engagements.

As Mayor Brian had a varied year, opening new businesses in the city ranging from a milkshake parlour in WestQuay to the new £79m IKEA store. He supported all the city's excellent voluntary and community groups and his official charities were Dreamwall and Street Pastors.

The height of the Mayoral year though was surely being the city's representative at the Olympic sailing events in Quingdao, Southampton's sister city in China.

Action to Tackle Alcohol Fuelled Crime

Southampton City Council has backed calls by the police to curb excesses of late night drinking in the centre of town.

On Wednesday 13th May the Council agreed a new 'Cumulative Impact' licensing policy for London Road, Bedford Place, Bevois Valley and the city centre. The effect will be to make it harder for new licences for pubs and clubs to be awarded.

The policy is a new tool that will help the City Council's Licensing Panel to assess extensions to licensing hours for premises or new applications by considering the potential adverse impact on the area. The onus will now be on the applicant for the licence to prove that the new premise won't add to problems associated with late night drinking.

Needless to say that this is not the sole answer to the problem. However, it recognises that Labour's grand plan to liberalise licensing laws has been a failure. We can now see that the excessive drinking culture in this country has simply got worse with more "fuel" to fan the fires.

The council has also agreed to close Above Bar Street to vehicles between 10pm and 4am on Fridays and Saturdays. This has received the backing of the police who feel that it will cut down on incidents of violent disorder by allowing late night drinkers more space as they come out of pubs, avoiding too many people being packed onto the pavements. The road closure will initially be a three month trial but could be made permanent if it works.

Big Sleep Out (2)

Last night I joined about 400 other people sleeping out in the grounds of Winchester Cathedral, to help raise awareness and more importantly money for the homeless and those sleeping rough.

The event was in support of two charities, the Winchester Nightshelter and Trinity. There were some excellent speeches including former TV journalist Ed Mitchell who talked about how he ended up on the streets.

The Importance of Public Service and Thoughts on MPs Expenses

I recently did a radio show and phone in for Awaaz FM along with Councillor Royston Smith about the importance of public service. The interview came ahead of the forthcoming European Elections on 4th June. I talked about the importance of voting how people can get involved in politics and their community. I also talked about why I first stood to be a councillor and why I am standing for Parliament.

This was all before the row that has blown up over MPs expenses. It all very depressing for someone like me who aspires to represent his local area in Parliament and believes in public service.

Expenses should be just that and should not be an excuse for some MPs to live off the state.

Being an MP is different to most jobs but it is beyond me why they think it is ok to claim all their food and things like tables and chairs.

In Southampton both our MPs, Alan Whitehead and John Denham, make use of their parliamentary communications allowances to pay for their leaflets to be printed and distributed.

As a candidate for Parliament my local political party pays for my leaflets. Why should the taxpayer pay for Alan and John’s? The communications allowance is £10,000 a year or £50,000 in a Parliament. That’s a lot of leaflets paid for by the taxpayer!

I have pledged that if elected to Parliament I will not putting my leaflets on expenses and I am backing David Cameron who has pledged to scrap the allowance if he becomes the next Prime Minister.

I challenge our Southampton MPs to do the same and in fact they should stop claiming this money now. Saying it is within the rules is not an excuse. It is not right and they should stop it.

Alan Whitehead has a long track record for arguing that political parties should receive more money from the taxpayer. My view is the opposite!

I should say that to his credit my opponent at the next General Election, Alan Whitehead has put a list of his expenses on his website. John Denham who represents the Southampton Itchen constituency has as yet failed to do so.

Support For The Malaya Veterans

The whole of SE Asia looked like it would fall to the communists like a pack of dominos

I have signed up in support of the campaign to recognise soldiers who fought in Malaya during the 'Emergency' of the 1950s.

The Malaya Emergency has been called a forgotten conflict and it was not technically a war. However it was hugely significant and the Royal Hampshire Regiment played an important part.

The Malaya veterans kept the country free and paved the way for peaceful democratic independence. The conflict was also of great strategic importance during the Cold War. It came off the back of the ‘fall’ of China to communism and the Korean War and also took place during the early years of the conflict in French Indo China, what was to become Vietnam. There was a real fear at the time that the whole of South East Asia would fall like dominos to the communists. These local soldiers were therefore on the front line against the advance of communism in the early days of the Cold War and we owe them a great debt of gratitude.

The Malaysian Government has awarded the rosette to veterans who fought after independence. It strikes me as an unfair technicality that the veterans who served pre independence should not be similarly honoured.