Hallelujah!! - Last Blog Before the Election

Well folks, this is my final pre-election blog of this campaign.

I will write another entry after the election to sum up my feelings about the results (I just hope that I don’t have to do it through blinding tears).

Last week saw me involved in a lot less canvassing than previously. This was restricted by the number of council committee meetings I participated in and the number of leaflets and personal letters that I delivered.

I was described by a friend as the most casually dressed candidate standing for election. Checking out the photograph, I suspect that many of you would change that description to the scruffiest candidate standing for election.

We are now on the final run up to polling day on Thursday and I suspect that most of you are beginning to suffer from election overload.

Last week saw a plethora of committee papers being passed as the decks were cleared for the new council.

The conservatives tried to get the debate on the effect that the windfarm at Dersalloch Hill will have on the future of Prestwick Airport reopened, but labour councillors refused to allow this to happen and so a cloud now hangs over the future of Prestwick Airport. The minute of the meeting was amended to reflect the fact that a new radar system has to be installed to the satisfaction of Prestwick Airport. This is far too little and far too late. A Public Enquiry was the only way to safeguard further investment into Prestwick Airport by the owners. The irresponsible actions of the labour councillors have now put this investment in severe doubt.

Doesn’t it make you angry and question the lack of commitment shown by labour councillors to Prestwick?

The past week also saw the formal closure of Mainholm Academy and the merging of the Good Shepherd primary school with St Johns. I look forward to seeing the results of the formal consultation on the schools estates which is presently taking place. At that point the future shape of our schools estate will become much clearer. With the building of the new Prestwick Academy and other schools well under way it is an exciting time for our Education department.

Thank you all for your patience with those of us who have delivered leaflets and knocked on your doors. Your civility and willingness to discuss the election was very encouraging.

Here’s looking forward to Thursday (or should that really be Friday?)

Des Browne, Parking and the Seafront

Well, guess what?

Des Browne apologised but did not resign. No surprise there then?

The words of the old song that “saying sorry is the hardest thing” can be rewritten for Labour as “saying sorry is something that can be done at the drop of a hat without even thinking about it”. As well as Des Browne, Tony Blair and the potato famine come to mind, but acting sorry is something else altogether. There is no doubt that the old maxim of ignoring what people say and watching what they do is the best way to judge them. I have no doubt that watching the actions of Labour Ministers will make it very easy to determine their integrity.

Last Thursday I attended a presentation by Erskine the charity which provides specialist care for ex-servicemen and ex-servicewomen. When you hear about the work being done by this charity to care for those severely injured in the service of our country it is humbling.

Even more humbling is learning of the sacrifices made by servicemen and servicewomen in carrying out their duty. We should be eternally grateful and our politicians should be ensuring that no veteran has to plead for help. Help should be a matter of course and no barriers should be put in the way of the fullest recovery that veterans can make.

Another week of beautiful weather; which made walking the streets, delivering leaflets and talking to people an absolute pleasure. I reckon that I am lighter, thinner and fitter than I have been for years. Electioneering can be stressful but the exercise is wonderfully therapeutic.

Over the last four years I have published regular “In Touch” newsletters, three or four per year, with the intention of ensuring that constituents knew what I was up to on their behalf. If elected I propose to do the same for the next four years; it is not good enough to contact people only at the time of elections.

Despite the progress being made by the Conservative administration over the last sixteen months there is still disappointment that some things have not yet been fully tackled. And I acknowledge that we have only scratched the surface of what needs to be done.

Two specific concerns are parking and the seafront.

We have allocated additional funding from the civic pride fund for maintenance of the seafront, but the seasonal workers do not start until the beginning of May. This was a mistake which we must ensure does not happen again. Our seafronts should be cleaned in time for the Easter weekend. It was disgraceful that this did not happen and we will make sure that it does not happen again.

Car parking in Prestwick is a major concern. More and more residents are being inconvenienced by airport customers refusing to pay for parking at the airport and parking in residential streets in Prestwick. Up until now the council’s response is to put yellow lines down in the most vulnerable of places. While this helps those areas it has the effect of displacing the parking to streets further away from the airport. A full review of parking is needed in Prestwick to try and arrive at a plan which will prevent inconsiderate airport parking but will still allow shoppers to access the Main Street. Such a review should have been started by now, but re-organisation of the Roads Department and a lack of resources has prevented it. I will be pressing for this to be made a priority for the new council.

The coming week will be a busy one with many unresolved items being brought to committees to clear the decks for the new council. Business will effectively stop on Thursday 26th April when the final council meeting takes place. It will then be full speed ahead to try and persuade those wavering voters that the way forward is to vote Conservative and keep the good work of the past sixteen months moving forward.

Our Forces and the selling of stories

Another week spent delivering leaflets and knocking on doors. With the weather being so nice it was a great week to be outside walking the streets.

On the doorstep the disillusion with Labour is palpable. Last weeks decision by the Minister of Defence, Des Browne, to approve the selling of their stories to the tabloid newspapers by two of the sailors released by Iran has disgusted the general public who feel cheapened and humiliated by the whole affair. I can talk knowledgeably about this because I share their disgust.

The Labour Party’s obsession with appearances over substance reached a new low.

The fact that they decided within a couple of days that this decision was wrong and that it would not be allowed to happen again confirmed only that this is a Party whose only concern is public perception. Having realised that their cheap public relations stunt had backfired in their faces they did a complete turnaround without taking the time to evaluate the international repercussions of their indecision and dithering. To the rest of the world we must look like a nation without scruples led by “would be celebrities” instead of serious politicians.

For a Labour Minister to sanction the selling of stories, by serving military personnel, to tabloid newspapers is beneath contempt. How previous Labour Ministers must be squirming with embarrassment or turning in their graves.

At this time of conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan our servicemen and women deserve support and encouragement and our politicians have a duty to show that leadership. I am not a great one for advocating that “heads must roll” or for seeking retribution, life is too short and there are too many causes that need our attention. In this case however, I am sorely tempted to sign up to the petition lodged on the Downing Street website, by a former naval serviceman demanding that “heads should roll”. The Prime Minister’s response that he was not interested in conducting “a witchhunt against people who acted honourably and in good faith in very difficult circumstances” just does not wash. Des Browne acted dishonourably as well as incompetently and his response to his failures will speak volumes about both his and the Prime Minister’s integrity.

If you feel strongly enough about this and want to sign up to the petition then it can be found at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Navy-media/

I look forward to posting next week's musings and promise that it will not be another rant, although who knows what will happen in the coming week.

Labour councillors threaten viability of Prestwick Airport

Last week saw the unsavoury side of politics demonstrated all too clearly by my adversaries in the Labour party.

In a clearly cynical and calculated move Labour Councillors on South Ayrshire Councils Planning Committee last Tuesday, 3rd April 2007 colluded to reject the recommendation of the council’s professional planning officials to formally object to the planning application for a Windfarm at Dersalloch Hill, east of Straiton.

The consequence of this action is that the Scottish Executive is now not obliged to hold a Public Enquiry into the merits of building a windfarm at Darsalloch Hill.

Serious concerns had been raised by both Prestwick Air Traffic Control and Glasgow Prestwick Airport who have expressed the gravest reservations about the very viability of being able to maintain safe air traffic control if this application was to go ahead.

As the radar system cannot distinguish between a wind turbine and a flying aircraft there are two main technical problems:
1. The radar clutter caused by wind turbines on the radar screens.
2. Aircraft flying over a wind turbine could not be distinguished from the wind turbine.

So why did they reject the recommendation for a public enquiry, I hear you ask?

I can only assume that political expediency was the reason. If the windfarm goes ahead then Scottish Power will channel some funds into the Straiton and Maybole area. The Labour party are looking for votes in that area and presumably believe that the promise of Scottish Power cash will sway the voters. I suspect, and hope, that they are sadly mistaken.

Prestwick Labour councillor Mrs. Helen Moonie told the committee that she was concerned at the cost of a public enquiry to the council. She does not seem to have taken into account the cost to Prestwick in particular, and South Ayrshire in general, of any threat to the future viability of Prestwick Airport. Untold millions of pounds will be lost to the local economy if the result of the decision taken by Mrs. Moonie and her Labour colleagues is to jeopardise the thousands of jobs that depend either directly or indirectly on Prestwick Airport.

This Council Committee was the only avenue open to those whose work depends on Prestwick Airport to have their concerns about the impact on their lives raised through legal representation at a major public enquiry.

This was no sudden decision by Labour; it was a cold calculated plan to ensure that no Public Enquiry should ever take place. I believe that a three line whip was in operation which means every labour Councillor was party to this disgraceful stain on the democratic process.