Lord oh Lord, Lib Dems get personal

February 16, 2010 — admin

Jonathan (centre) at Woking Community HospitalThere may still be two months to go before an election is called but already the Liberal Democrats are beginning to show that they are far more comfortable talking about personalities than policies. The latest attempt to smear our excellent parliamentary candidate Jonathan Lord comes from Spiderplant Land, where a load of hackneyed drivel masquerades as an informed piece of opinion.

The blogger in question has already got the number of times Jonathan has stood for parliament wrong, amusingly confused Jonathan’s current place of residence five miles away with somewhere 25 miles away and stated quite catagorically that he knew nothing about Woking, despite the fact that she has never met him. She then sought to blame our literature for the faulty information! The Lib Dems really need to learn the difference between blogging and blagging.

In addition, the “anonymous” comments that she quotes from ConservativeHome (and which have now been removed) originate from someone know to be a compulsive fibber, who is not a Guildford party member and doesn’t even appear to be on the electoral roll in Guildford or Waverley. Still, that’s about the standard of reasonsing that underpins most Lib Dem policies, so expect to see these fake “quotes” used again.

I have stated before how impressed I have been with Jonathan’s commitment to Woking since he was adopted as our candidate. Last week, he visited Woking Community Hospital to emphasise our commitment to the NHS, something I know he feels strongly about. This weekend, he is campaigning – by which I mean knocking on doors rather than tweeting friends like @RosieSharpley – in opposite ends of the borough because he wants to listen to concerns and articulate the Conservative message of change and recovery.

People who have seen Jonathan at events and visits will tell you that as well as being a great communicator he is usually the last to leave, wanting to spend time with the hosts who are usually busy during the event itself. Jonathan is a dynamic, intelligent and experienced man with a record of getting things done in the public and private sector. He has fantastic connections within the Conservative Party that will help Woking – should he be elected – get its voice heard at the highest level.

After 13 years of being punished by Labour for being in Surrey, Woking deserves that opportunity once again. Don’t be seduced by Lib Dem untruths and heresay – it may suit them locally but it is not in the best interests of the constituency or the country.

Update 16/2: For those that can stand it, Spiderplant Land has responded at some considerable length here.  It’s typical baseless Lib Demmery. But it gives me a good indication of what we can expect going forward. For the record, I have not smeared Rosie Sharpley above – I’ve talked about Jonathan, save for plugging Rosie’s Twitter account (I think Twitter is marvellous but a very limited campaigning tool).  She’s right though - it’s not worth responding to. So I’m going to get on with our Horsell In Touches instead.

Posted in Conservatives, Lib Dem lies, elections. Tags: , , , , , . No Comments »

Cam's the man

October 8, 2009 — simonashall
The Camerons after DC's speech

The Camerons after DC's speech

I’ve now had a chance to watch DC today and I’ve got to say that I was pretty impressed overall. To a certain extent, he’s played it safe – no new policy and not too much fire in the belly (no-one likes an angry man) except for poverty, where people will think he’s right to be angry. I was impressed with his fluency as always and also with his humanity and straightforwardness. The voters wanted honest, they wanted straightforward, they wanted transparent. Is DC perfect? No – but I think this is about as close as we’re going to get to any leader meeting those requirements.

So overall I was very happy with his vision and values – he appears to understand that voters want a Conservative government that belives in free enterprise, in wealth creation, a small government and low-tax economy but they will not tolerate that at the expense of social injustice, reduced public services, increasing gap between rich and poor and unfettered corporate greed. I think DC projected that sentiment well today.

But he has got a couple of challenges. Firstly, like any opposition leader he can’t show that he is as good as his word until he gets elected – but he would find it easier to be elected if he could demonstrate he was as good as his word. Trust is an important factor in any opposition leader – and let’s not forget no Conservative has been elected from opposition for 30 years. DC has that trust personally but I don’t think the public yet trust the Conservative Party corporately in the same way; it’s a very fine line to tread and there is opportunity here for PM and the PM to locate inconsistency. And every inconsistency will have a dampening effect on DC’s personal trust level, even if it’s nothing to do with him. We need to stay consistent to maintain trust.

In addition, I still feel that the economy is weak point – unusually – for the Conservatives at the moment. Back in 1998/9, when Tony Blair wiped the floor with us about who was more trusted to run the NHS, the education system etc, the economy was usually the only element on which the Conservatives scored well. Ironically, it’s now the one area where Labour still has a chance – partly because of the above ie they’ve had the opportunity to demonstrate action but also because we have a Shadow Chancellor who’s about as economically literate as I am. Luckily, we also have Philip Hammond and Ken Clarke on board, who do understand economics - but it’s hardly ideal.

Finally, there’s the wealth thing. DC isn’t going to escape the jibes over his privileged upbringing or personal wealth (or that of SamCam). I have to say I find it very strange that Labour and the Liberal Democrats think it’s okay to say someone isn’t fit to govern because of their background or schooling. We don’t say that Labour MPs are unfit because they grew up in poverty on a council estate or Liberal Democrats because they went to third-rate universities – so why should it make a difference that DC went to Eton and Oxford?

Many great PMs have come from Eton and Oxford and most have had comfortable, if not substantial wealth – if he’s up to the job what’s the problem? I don’t believe you have to be on a low income to understand the problems of it – nor do I believe you have to be state-educated to be passionate about state education, nor a user of the NHS to “love” the NHS (as it happens, DC has been a user of the NHS). To my mind, reverse snobbery is just snobbery – and I think people will see through it a la Crewe and Nantwich.

I think the Conservative conference has undoubtedly been the most successful of the three. There is still work to do to cement the trust with voters and DC will be vulnerable to certain lines of attack. But I think he’s done enough to convince people he deserves a chance as the next PM.

Posted in Conservatives, David Cameron, Roll on 2010. Tags: , , , , , , . No Comments »

The people who matter

September 18, 2009 — simonashall

It’s easy to forget in the rough and tumble of life about the things that really make a difference. And often it’s the people with no political motivation who stand out.

I’m in awe of those who can offer their time, patience and skills to care for others; the dedication and selflessness they demonstrate puts life in context and the way it flows from them in the most difficult of times puts many of us to shame. My grandmother has needed constant care for 18 months and the brilliant people who provided that, during the end of life and aftermath of death today have been a source of support and reassurance for my mother.

I can’t thank them – and the people like them in the NHS, charitable and voluntary sectors - enough for their kindness and understanding. It’s simply priceless.

Woking Hospice is another example of a place that gives similar care and support to patients and families facing an end of life situation. It’s an organisation that we should be proud of and the people who work there, who without exception would baulk at the suggestion they were doing anything out of the ordinary, are people whose sense of calling we can all learn from. Any politician who makes a difference equal to our carers’ involvement with just one patient can indeed call themselves worthy of their office.

MacMillan Cancer Support and Marie Curie Cancer Care as well as the NHS are staffed and supported by people who understand dignity – something that really matters in our society.

Posted in Charity, Community. Tags: , , , . 2 Comments »

Hannan offence

August 14, 2009 — simonashall

Yes, Minister had an apt quotation for Alan Duncan’s little mishap earlier in the week and it seems only right to furnish Daniel Hannan with one too.

“You know what it’s like with politicians – after a while they start to believe their own speeches”

says Sir Humphrey to a similarly contemptuous colleague.

And the problem with Daniel Hannan is that he seems to believe that one YouTube hit makes a political heavyweight. But for the second time this week, we’ve got a high-profile Tory going strongly off-message on a subject of considerable importance.

In case he hadn’t noticed from the confines of Brussels, the British people are rather fond of the NHS. Or at least, they are rather fond of the idea of it. I don’t disagree that its concept is a noble one and a good deal better than the system currently found in America. Firstly, what the hell is Daniel Hannan doing on American TV? And why is he wading into the debate about President Obama’s healthcare reforms? If the US wants to copy the NHS model, let them. Personally, I think it would be very interesting to see how an NHS startup would look 50 years on. It’s got nothing to do with us.

Secondly, if you’ve got a problem with the NHS, that’s fine and there’s no reason for Central Office to prevent debate on this. No reason, that is, unless anyone is actually stupid enough to start one. This is exactly what Labour wants – a battle in their territory and Hannan has handed a key tactical advantage to Peter Mandelson, who has done what he does best and capitalised in the media.

Thirdly, the time to talk about NHS reform is one year into a Conservative first term, when there are four years of the term left and the reforms can be put down to economic necessity rather than political ideology. The NHS desperately needs reform – Tony Blair himself attempted it with Foundation Trusts - but there is no way of discussing this as Conservatives without ceding the political advantage. So forget it.

The truth about the NHS is that it is not free because we all pay through the nose for it. It is hugely wasteful and over-administered, it is downright unfair in its provision of expensive life-extending drugs and many of the staff – be they angels or not – are not sufficiently well trained or qualified for the responsibility they hold. For many, the NHS is the employer of last resort.

But like democracy, it’s the worst system apart from all the others that have been tried and we must make it work. Conservative politicians ought to understand that there is no value in engaging in the #welovetheNHS hysteria. It is a trap into which they can only fall and not escape.

Posted in Conservatives, Healthcare. Tags: , , , , . No Comments »
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