David Willetts MP will be visiting Wirral West this Thursday 29th Oct 

I’ll be holding an informal gathering offering you the chance to ask David Willetts questions, offer suggestions and take part in the shaping future Conservative Policy.

If you’d like to attend please call the office on 0151 632 1052

• Date of event : 29th Oct
• Time : 6-8.30pm
• Price : £15 – dinner included

Last night I was part of a panel at the Liverpool Guild of Students Student Council to debate the Future of Politics. The Panel was made up of:

Esther McVey – Conservatives
Stephen Twigg – Labour
Colin Eldridge –Liberal Democrats
Steve Radford – Liberals
Tom Crone – Greens

One of the main issues discussed was the environment and renewable energy – most of the panel believed it to be a vital issue, however, I was surprised to find only I appeared to live by our renewal energy message!

 I installed solar panels several years ago and I can genuinely extol their virtues. They have heated all my water for several years now – I’ve  never needed to use anything else and I think they’re terrific. I also saved up and  invested in a rain harvester for it had always seemed crazy to me to use clean, pure water for toilet flushes, washing the car and watering the garden etc.  I’m a strong believer in alternative and renewable energy sources  and that such development is not only necessary to provide us with  a diverse range of energy sources but also to provide future jobs and opportunities.

ps …I also think it’s important politicians lead by example and live by what they preach!

Last night I was one of the guest speakers for a women’s careers night at Calday Grange Grammar School along with Superintendent Julie Cooke and Jacquie Rogers, General Manager of the BT Convention Centre.

The night was divided into 3 sections discussing; stereotyping, world opportunities and steps  to success with break out sessions after each business guest had spoken.

It was a wonderful night and great insight not only into the different  professions but also into the aspirations and views of the girls who attended the event. Well done Calday 6th Form careers department.

Last week in the wonderful setting of the Concorde Conference Centre I was part of the International HSBC Business debating panel. The discussion was on business during the economic downturn, fellow panel members were Sir Digby Jones and Dennis Turner HSBC’s chief economist and subjects included; renewable energy, financial crisis opportunity or threat?, the leisure and retail industry, politics and change of government. As you can imagine with over 200 business men and women from the region we had a lively debate and it all took place under Concorde – which in itself became part of the debate!

Sky TV also screened a documentary last week with Jean Taylor – founder of Families Fighting for Justice – Jean talked about her son and daughter who were both murdered and her campaign for greater justice for victims and longer sentences for murderers. I too took part in the documentary having worked with the group for the last 2 years working with them on the legal stance and sentencing of ‘joint enterprise’ – a form of sentence for all involved in group crime.

I attended a sensational night to help raise funds for the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral. The night was unbelievable – organised by Margaret Harry and hosted by David Gest with Hollywood Silver Screen legend Jane Russell. Yes The Jane Russell! Jane who hates flying arrived in Liverpool on the Queen Victoria Cruise liner.  Some of those performing included: The Temptations, Ben E King, Connie Lush, Deniece Williams.  

Huge good luck has to go to local business man for opening a new business in Hoylake last week. Ian MacLavery opened a Wealth Managment business on Market St and held a small reception to celebrate. Mayor and businessman Andrew Hodson came to wish Ian and his team well.

A team of us were  our working in Pensby over the weekend  - litter picking in areas and working with the local shops and businesses. Adam Sykes our local council candidate led the action day and here we all are below

Finally we held a local fundraiser for Upton at the Victory Hall – the event was a sell out and wonderfully organised by Geoff Gubb (pictured below) and Cllr Tom Anderson.

If you’d like to get involved with the Conservative Party and help in your local area please call the office on 0151 632 1052

Government figures showed that in September 2009 there were 1,715 people unemployed in Wirral West claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, with 17 job seekers chasing every Job Centre vacancy in Wirral West added to that national debt is forecast to double to £1.4 trillion – equivalent to £22,500 of debt for every man, woman and child in Wirral West.

In light of these figures, Conservative policy is to simplify the numerous, piecemeal Labour work programmes into a single back-to-work programme for everyone on out-of-work benefits. This would be backed up with new and additional work pairings, apprenticeships, further education college places and vocational education for young people. There would also be programmes to support self-employment, work clubs and volunteering opportunities to help people prepare for work and find jobs.

Some of the biggest challenges facing Wirral are Labour’s Jobs Crisis and Debt Crisis. There are already 17 people chasing each job vacancy in Wirral West and we will soon each be burdened with £22,500 of government debt. It is vital we work together to rebuild our broken economy, mend our broken society and fix our broken politics. We believe help should be directed towards those in our society who are most in need and we pledge to reward those who take responsibility, and care for those who can’t.

Community matters – Cllr Tom Anderson and Geoff Gubb abseiled for  Meadowside School last weekend raising over a £1000. Tom said never again – he couldn’t believe we got him to abeseil down the Royal Liverpool, over 200 feet…. smile Tom.

A team of 10 including Tom, Geoff and the acting head Paula Wareing did the abseil – here they are back on terra firma feeling ever so much better!!

I woke to the news that Gordon Brown is to announce the sale of £16bn worth of assets by the government in a bid to shore up public finances.

The prime minister will give details of initial sales today which could raise £3bn. He says these sales are an alternative to immediate cuts proposed by the Tories.

The plan is to sell a “portfolio of non-financial assets” held by Whitehall and local authorities over the next two years. They will include the Tote bookmakers, Dartford crossing, the student loan book, the Channel Tunnel rail link and – having protected national security – the government’s stake in Urenco.

As we all know selling off assets can help in the short-term and, given the state the country is in, is probably necessary but it is no substitute for a long-term plan to get the country to live within its means but with Gordon’s past record – selling gold at an all time low price – questions must be asked – Is now really the time to be selling? It might well be that the sale is necessary – with public borrowing this year at a record £175bn but is Gordon grasping at straws?

George Osborne outlined Conservative ideas at our party conference last week – he spoke about freezing pubic sector pay, cutting the cost of bureaucracy, restricting child credits, limiting state sector pensions and raising the pension age to 66 – Gordon a few days later announces his ‘sale bonanza’ – let’s hope this isn’t a knee jerk reaction to the Conservative well planned reduced spending, if it is, we might see a repeat performance of him selling the country’s gold at rock bottom prices all for the sake of a few headlines and not getting to grips with the real problem Brown and Labour’s irresponsible and unfunded spending.

What a week it’s been and at 2pm today we will hear David Cameron’s speech; the views and visions our party has for this country.

It’s been an incredibly busy Conference thousands of people packing into the main events and fringe events every day. I hosted a the Citizens Advice fringe debate on Monday – the debate centred on debt and the ever increasing debt families and individuals are getting into. 

Last night I was with Amber Rudd and Susan Williams in a Q and A panel on Women in Politics. Theressa May was there too along with Chloe Smith talking about winning  a byelection and the impact on her life as well as getting prepared for the General Election.

This morning I was on City Talk 105.9FM breakfast show with Duncan Barkes reviewing the papers and the Conservative Conference.  I was asked about the very ‘honest’ speech George Osborne gave and how well it would go down in the country. People say they want honest politicians, politicians who’ll tell them the situation ‘as it really is’ well that’s exactly what George did.  So I was intrigued today to see the YouGov’s daily tracker poll has the Conservatives up 2% after George Osborne’s speech. It also finds approval for George Osborne’s pay squeeze but the public is divided on the decision to make people retire one year later .

If ever there was a time to celebrate the success of the local community it’s now and with the people of Wirral. Over 60,000 residents; signed petitions, staged protests, attended meetings, lobbied local councillors and have won a significant U turn to keep our local libraries open.

However, there is still one major step to fight for and that is for this Lib-Lab Council to give us full disclosure of the Inquiry Report, not an edited or an abridged version but the full version and added to that the cost it has incurred on the people of Wirral.

Pets As Therapy Wirral & Merseyside Branch are holiding a sponsored walk tomorrow around the three islands to raise £5,000 for Pets As Therapy in association with West Wirral Walks

The sponsored walk takes the form of an educational guided walk over to the three Hilbre Islands and we have set ourselves a target of £5,000 to raise on the day … we do like a challenge!! 

I’ll be doing the walk along with hundreds of others and Pauline Fleming star of TV shows including, ‘Heartbeat’, ‘Doctors’, ‘Brookside’, and ‘Coronation Street’, in which she played Mike Baldwin’s last girlfriend, Penny King. 

All participants will be in the safe hands of the guides at West Wirral Walks and along the way will learn all about the history, flora and fauna of this amazing Nature Reserve.  It is a great way for Pets As Therapy volunteers and others to find out more about their local area from expert guides, enjoy some fresh air and exercise, maybe spot some seals swimming just off the islands themselves, andhelp raise money for Pets As Therapy.  It will certainly be a sight to behold seeing all the lovely Pets As Therapy dogs in their official jackets all heading off across the sands with their handlers in full uniform.  

Pets As Therapy is a national charity and is unique in that it provides temperament assessed/vaccinated PAT Dogs and PAT Cats with registered volunteers to hospitals, hospices, residential care homes, day centres, special needs schools and many other establishments, providing comfort, companionship and therapy. There are approximately 4,500 PAT Dogs and 108 PAT Cats bringing benefit to more than 130,000 people of all ages every single week throughout the UK.

 If you’d like to sponsor me and donate to PAT then please go to

What a night last night at Sands, Dee Lane, West Kirby – music, art, fundraising and a chance to remember a dear friend. Over £1,000 was raised for Macmillan Cancer care. So a huge well done to Fiona and Ali and all the team. For more on Macmillan cancer care go to www.macmillan.org.uk