7/29/2019 News Bulletin from Conor Burns MP #107
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In this edition:
Conor Burns MPs DiaryWebsite of the week:Bournemouth
NaturalScience Society
Photo news:Town Centre RangersConor in Parliament:Conor
questions Chancelloron job creationPhoto news:Moordown St
JohnsSchool ParliamentConor in the papers:Three more weeks
ofroadworks hell forCharminster Road
Photo news:Bournemouth UniversityStudent Union electionsConor in
the papers:Leveson: Ed Miliband tellsMPs to do their duty
forvictims of the pressPhoto news:St Columbas College
visitParliamentConor in the media:The real lesson of Eastleighis
that the Tory grassrootsare dying. Here's how weshould revive
them.How to contactConor Burns MP
Issue 107 Thursday 28th March 2013
Since the past edition, Conor has:
Spoken in the House of Commons to seek reassurance from
the Chancellor of the Exchequer about job creation.
Welcomed pupils from his old school - St Columbas College -to
Parliament for a tour.
Patrolled Bournemouth town centre with the Town Centre
Rangers.
Held a help and advice surgery at Bournemouth Triangle.
Met with church leaders from throughout the conurbation at
the
Life Centre in Winton.
Attended the Celebrating Success awards in Bournemouth
which celebrates achievements of children in care.
Appeared on BBC 2s Sunday Politics to discuss the
Eastleigh by-election and Police and Crime Commissioners,and was
quoted on South Today.
Was published by the Conservative Home website, writing
about the Eastleigh by-election.
Spoke at an assembly at Moordown St Johns School and
met the school Parliament.
Attended a celebration event in West Howe to mark the end of
their Fair Share funding.
Visited Bournemouth University to meet with those involved
with the Safebus.
Been quoted in The Guardian regarding press regulation.
Welcomed the Home Secretary Theresa May to Bournemouth
to speak at a Sixty-Six Club dinner.
Website of the week:
www.bnss.org.ukThe website of Bournemouth Natural Science
SocietyThe Bournemouth Natural Science Society is a registered
charity
seeking to promote the study, interest and enjoyment in all
branchesof the Natural Sciences and History. The organisation,
which wasbeen active in the town since 1903, hosts a number of
events andspeakers which are open to the public as well as
members.Based in Christchurch Road, the Society collects artefacts,
carries outresearch and puts on lectures and speeches on a variety
of relevantsubjects as well as holding thousands of books in its
library. TheSociety has boasted a number of notable members during
itsexistence including Alfred Russel Wallace, the co-author with
CharlesDarwin on the original Origin of Species paper.
Photo news:
Town Centre Rangers
Conor on patrol with the Town Centre Rangers in Bournemouth.
Conor pictured with leader of Bournemouth Council Cllr
JohnBeesley meeting with the Town Centre Rangers at their
headquarters in Bournemouth.
Conor in Parliament:
Conor questions Chancellor on jobcreation
Click on the image above to watch Conorsquestion to the
Chancellor.
The full text of the exchange was as follows:Conor Burns
(Bournemouth West, Conservative): Does theChancellor agree that
rather than sneering at private sector jobcreation, we should
welcome the fact that 1 million new jobs havebeen created since the
general election? Will he assure me, theHouse and the markets that,
in framing the coalitions economicpolicy, he will continue to
listenand indeed listen significantly moreto those who run such
businesses and who are taking on newemployees, rather than to those
on the Opposition Front Bench wholanded us in this mess?
George Osborne (Chancellor of the Exchequer, HM Treasury;Tatton,
Conservative): I agree with my hon. Friend and we shouldlisten to
the demands of the business community. It wants a morecompetitive
business tax regime and additional help with investment,which we
are providing. It wants essential economic infrastructure thatwas
not provided over the past 15 years, and we are providing that.
Itwants a lighter regulatory regime, and we are providing that for
smallbusinesses. My hon. Friend is right: businesses large and
small arethe engine of growth in our economy, and it is welcome
that therehave been 1 million private sector jobs since the
election.
Photo news:
Moordown St Johns School Parliament
Conor with members of Moordown St Johns School Parliamentand
members of Bournemouth Universitys Geography Society
who were contributing to a project at the school.
Conor in the papers:
Three more weeks of roadworkshell for Charminster RoadMelanie
Vass, Bournemouth Echo
Monday 18th March 2013Gas replacement works causing lengthy
delays in Bournemouth willremain in place for another three
weeks.Temporary traffic lights at the junction of Charminster Road
andIddlesleigh Road have caused long tailbacks in both
directions,particularly at peak times.Bournemouth West MP Conor
Burns is one of those to have been
caught up in the jams.He said: In the middle of the day on
Tuesday, I was going for the trainto London. A journey that
normally takes less than 10 minutes tookabout 40.Those poor traders
in Charminster say they had massive roadworksthere last year. There
doesnt seem to be anybody doing anything.People dont mind the
disruption when you can see work being done.But Chloe Boyce,
spokeswoman for Southern Gas Networks,appealed to motorists to be
patient and said the temporary traffic lights
were in a slightly different place to where engineers were
working.She said the works were necessary to replace the existing
metal gasmains with modern plastic pipe.For this project, we have a
one-way closure in place which involves adiversion for
motorists.The diversion route joins the main road at an acute
angle, which wasdifficult to negotiate for traffic turning left.To
allow the diversion route to work properly, we were asked to put
in
a set of temporary traffic lights at this spot by the local
authority.These lights are located further down the road from the
site of ourwork, which may explain why some people have said they
cannot seeany of our engineers working when they drive through the
lights.We are on schedule with this project and have a target
completiondate of three weeks time.We would like to apologise for
any inconvenience that our work maycause.Michael Williams, of
Charm-inster dry cleaners, said: The roadworksare making it very
difficult for people trying to pull out of Stewart Road,
its a bit of a pain. People wont come here if they dont have
to.
Ali Onur, of Sade Bakery, said: It wouldnt be so bad if you
could seepeople working but they are actually working down Alma
Road.A few customers have told us they avoid Charminster because of
theroadworks.
Photo news:
Bournemouth University Student Unionelections
Conor visiting Bournemouth University to encourage students
tovote in the elections to the Student Union.
Conor in the papers:Leveson: Ed Miliband tells MPs to do
their
duty for victims of the pressDaniel Boffey, The Guardian
Saturday 16th March 2013Ed Miliband has called on MPs from all
parties to stop living in fear ofretribution and to do their
political duty for the victims of mediaintrusion by establishing a
press regulator enshrined in law onMonday.
In an interview with the Observer, on the eve of a historic
Commonsdebate and vote on press regulation, the Labour leader says
that fortoo long politicians have been scared of acting against the
powerfulmedia magnates who have the capacity to destroy political
careersand wreck governments. Miliband admits that he was
personallyworried about the consequences when he called for the
resignation ofRebekah Brooks, the News International chief
executive, nearly twoyears ago. His officials at the time were
allegedly warned by onesenior executive of the company, that having
"made it personal aboutRebekah, we are going to make it personal
about you".
But Miliband says that now is the moment to break with the past,
when"politicians were fearful of speaking out because they thought:
'I'mgoing to get bad publicity, it will turn the press against
me'." He saysthat he believes the country is now "24 hours away
from putting inplace a system that I believe will work", to ensure
that the treatmentmeted out to the family of the murdered
schoolgirl Milly Dowler, whosephone was hacked after she
disappeared, and the parents of missingMadeleine McCann, can never
be repeated. "I think it is an importantmoment because we have had
decades of failing to ensure that wehave a system of press
complaints and redress which means thatordinary people aren't left
at the whim of a sometimes abusive press."Monday is the day that
politics has got to do the duty by the victims
and has got to stand up for the victims."The vote follows an
extraordinary week in British politics, with aserious schism
emerging in the government, and a new coalitionformed, as Miliband
describes it, between Labour and the LiberalDemocrats in the name
of press reform. The dramatic developmentswere triggered on
Thursday by David Cameron's decision to call anend to cross-party
talks on a new regulatory regime for the press,describing the
differences between the three main parties on the issueas "too
great".He subsequently proposed a royal charter, a formal document
issuedby the Queen, which Cameron claimed would create the
world'stoughest regulatory system, allowing the imposition of
exemplarydamages on newspapers which refuse to sign up. The prime
minister,however, insisted that his model would not include
politicians voting inthe Commons to lock the royal charter in law,
and challenged Labourand the Liberal Democrats to offer a different
solution. Critics of alegislative lock argue that it would open the
door to politicalinterference in the press.The alternative royal
charter, presented by Miliband and Nick Clegg,would create a
regulator with greater independence from the industry;it would have
more powers to investigate complaints; and it would beable to
instruct on the prominence of apologies in newspapers while,
crucially, the charter would be enshrined in legislation. The
Labourand Liberal Democrat leaders both maintain that the law is
needed toguarantee that the new regulator has teeth.Labour wants
the prime minister to offer the Commons a straightdecision between
the two models on Monday.However, if the prime minister does not
offer such a vote, Labour andthe Liberal Democrats have added their
name to amendments to thecrime and courts bill for a vote in the
Commons on Monday, whichwould place the key facets of the future
regulator in law.If the House votes in favour of those amendments,
Cameron has saidhe will accept that the will of parliament is a
regulatory regimeenshrined in legislation. On Saturday night it
appeared that Labourwith the Liberal Democrats would be able to
build a cross-partymajority to push through their regulatory
regime. Miliband said: "This isquite an important coalition that
has the victims at the heart of it and Ithink that is incredibly
important because this is a test of all of us aspoliticians.Writing
in the Observer, the actor Hugh Grant, a key figure in thepress
reform lobby group Hacked Off, adds: "Tomorrow will be ahistoric
day for Britain's newspapers and the nature of theirrelationship
with the public.
"I believe that the prime minister is facing possible defeat
tomorrow,not because Hacked Off is a mighty instrument of
propaganda or aslick PR machine (it is neither) but because he is
so clearly on thewrong side in this."When he was forced to choose
between honouring his promises tothe victims of years of press
abuses or staying cosy with the owners ofConservativesupporting
newspapers, he chose the press barons."Christopher Jefferies, who
successfully sued eight nationalnewspapers over their coverage of
his arrest during the investigationinto the murder of Joanna
Yeates, described Cameron's position as a"non-starter".
Conor Burns, the Tory MP for Bournemouth West, who has
beenbattling against parliament becoming involved in regulation of
thepress, said that he believed Cameron faced an "uphill battle" to
swingsupport to his plans as around 20 of his colleagues will
potentiallyrebel against the Tory whip.Miliband also appears to
have brought around his rebels, includingDavid Blunkett MP and
Frank Field MP, who have both previouslyvoiced their concerns over
any type of press law.Blunkett, a former home secretary, said: "My
observation at this
moment, and subject to further consultation, is that we may just
havean agreement."
Photo news:
St Columbas College visit Parliament
Conor pictured with 6th form students from his old school,St
Columbas College, during their visit to Parliament.
Conor in the media:
The real lesson of Eastleigh is that the Tory
grassroots are dying. Here's how weshould revive them.Conor
Burns MPFirst published on the ConservativeHome website
Sunday 3rd March 2013I thought carefully before writing this
article. About whether to bother.I write it secure in the knowledge
that cloaked in the anonymity of theinternet it will get comments
asking what right I have to comment onEastleigh given my track
record there.One Hedge End resident in the constituency remembered
me lastweekend and gave me the most memorable doorstep experience
ofthe last few weeks. He assured me that he had voted for me
both
times. Before saying, Well its worked out pretty well for you
son youve got the seaside and Huhne getting a cell!So yes I have a
track record in Eastleigh I fought the constituencytwice. And I
lost it twice. I contemplated a third (because the partyasked me
to) but for reasons I will explain I decided against.However with
over six years as the candidate there and nine years asa local
resident I did want to use my knowledge to help MariaHutchings in
her fight. Over the last few weeks I made fourteen visitsto help in
Eastleigh fortunately its not a long drive fromBournemouth (even
without speeding). I came back as an activist. Idelivered leaflets,
canvassed and asked friends to join me. I had noinput into the
campaign beyond street campaigning.I make no comment positively or
otherwise about the campaign. And Irefute any blame being attached
to our candidate. Maria Hutchings isa lady of authentic decency as
anyone who knows her will attest.But knowing Eastleigh as I do and
having seen our campaign up close(and, yes, accepting that I lost
by more than 3000 votes in 2001 andby 568 against Chris Huhne in
2005) I would make some observationsabout what happened there and
the implications and lessons for ourparty more generally.
Firstly the LibDems are seriously dug in. People have noted that
theLibDems control every seat within the Parliamentary constituency
ofEastleigh on the borough Council. They do. They also have
everyCounty Council seat within the Parliamentary constituency.
Lessnoted was their dominance on the Parish and Town Councils
ofBishopstoke, Hamble, Hound, Hedge End, West End, Botley and
FairOak. There are probably in excess of 130 Councillors at
differentlevels within Eastleigh - working for the LibDems year in
and year outin their areas.Secondly the LibDem local brand is very
strong and the Conservativelocal brand is very weak. This doesnt
mean that we cant win the seatin a general election as Michael
Ashcrofts Friday poll showed. It does
mean we will struggle to win against them on local issues. One
pieceof analysis after my 2005 defeat showed that if people in
Eastleighhad voted in the general election in the same way as they
did in theCounty Council elections (which were held in the same day
and onclose to co-terminus boundaries) Chris Huhnes majority over
mewould have been in the region of 7,500 not just 568. Our local
brandis broken and it is directly related to our local strength on
the ground.Thirdly the LibDem message is accepted as the genuine
one not justbecause of local strength but because of frequency of
repetition.During the by-election we seemed to think that we had
found the silverbullet to discredit the LibDem candidate because we
had proved he
had voted for a development when his leaflets indicated he has
votedagainst. I was asked to tweet late at night after a big
meeting hadfinished and the outcome was a poster that showed the
LibDemcandidate faced both ways on development. Anywhere else
thismight have worked. Not in Eastleigh. For more than a
decade-and-a-half leaflets saying that the LibDems had Saved our
Green Fields orFighting Tory County Council Plans for Building on
our Open Spaceshave been popping through letter boxes every two
months withoutfail. You cannot discredit a trusted regular message
(however untrueit is) in three weeks. Despite seeing some of the
Green Fields theywere protecting in my time at Allbrook Hill and
Dowds Farm nowcovered in houses and flats it made no difference.
Our lack of on theground credibility made our message mute.
Fourthly and perhaps most difficult for me to stomach: the
BoroughCouncil in Eastleigh is pretty well run. It performs its
core functionswell and it keeps the Council tax down. Some of this
is due to thesuccess of Conservative-controlled Hampshire but
without anorganisation heralding that it doesnt really
matter.Perhaps lastly to understand the context of Eastleigh we
have noopposition in any recognisable form to speak of. Yes there
are fourCouncillors who sit on Eastleigh Borough Council from
outside theEastleigh Parliamentary seat. The Leader of the Group
was firstelected to the Council in 1955 and had served continuously
for almost
58 years. No one could ever quite remember when he became
GroupLeader. I leave it to others to wonder why when the LibDems
havetaken every other ward in the Borough including formally
true-blueareas like Hamble, Burseldon and Hedge End. They seem
verydeliberately to leave the Conservative Group Leaders ward
aloneentirely.So knowing what I knew before the by-election and
finding that almostno one raised Huhne as the reason for the
by-election on the doorstep I was not very surprised at the
outcome. And despite what isbeing written about the consequences
and implications for the nextelection I stand by what I told the
Prime Minister before polling day there are precisely none.
Yet I cant help but feel there are huge implications for us as a
party inthe way we operate, campaign and support the Conservative
family inour constituencies.I worry that there has been too much
scorn about the role and value ofour members and our Associations.
There is a tendency from some(often newcomers to the party) to
dismiss the role of those who stuffenvelopes, attend coffee
mornings, do telling on election day. Yet inplaces like Eastleigh
they are our party.Its certainly true that elections in the modern
world cannot be won ona purely constituency/ bottom up approach.
But as the last electionshowed, surely elections cannot be won on
purely on anational/CCHQ basis?I used the word family to describe
the Conservative Party and itsmembers deliberately. When I joined
the party it felt like being part ofa family. We campaigned
together, we socialised together. Firmfriendships were formed.
Party conference was like a great extendedfamily gathering. You met
friends from all over the country who youoften only saw at
conference. We came together as Members of theConservative Party
deliverers, ward Chairman, MPs, YCs, Universitystudents,
Association officers and just ordinary members but asequals who
were there for one reason alone which was a shared
belief in Britain and that Britains interests were best served
byConservative values in Government.Today I feel that too many are
slightly embarrassed by our membersand more comfortable with a
conference of corporates and lobbyists.Im told they help us make a
profit from conference. Perhaps they do.But I fancy that very few
of them will stick leaflets through the doors ona cold November
afternoon in Hedge End, West End, Botley or any ofthe other places
in Eastleigh we need to win to get an MP there.I would like the
real lesson of Eastleigh to be this it is almostimpossible to win
on the ground in areas where you have almostceased to exist on the
ground. And that we should put as much effortand thinking into how
we revive our local base as we do into centraldriven campaigning.So
here are a couple of ideas:
We raise millions every year to spend on CCHQ. Lets devolve
more of that money to the coal face in our target seats.
Our agent infrastructure is close to extinction. Lets not
just
bring in people in the run up to an election and make them
redundant afterwards. Why not bring back a proper agent
career path and ensure shared professional coverage in areas
we need to win?Remove the 25 minimum membership. I remember
joining
when Margaret Thatcher was Leader the fee box was left
blank and the question posed, What price freedom?
Give the conference back to those whose party it is our
members.On that last note I end on, to coin a phrase, a generous
open offer tothe Conservative Party. Our members loved coming to
Bournemouth.We have a plentiful supply of relatively inexpensive
and quality smallhotels and B&Bs. Bring the annual conference
back to Bournemouth:
and its only a short drive for the new members we need to
attract inEastleigh to ensure the new MPs career is
short-lived.
Three ways to contact Conor Burns MP:
By Phone: 020 7219 7021
By email: [email protected]
By post: Conor Burns MPHouse of CommonsLondon SW1A 0AA
www.conorburns.com
More news from Conor Burns MP, Conservative Member of
Parliament for Bournemouth West, coming soon
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www.conorburns.com
Promoted by Andrew Morgan on behalf of Conor Burns, both of 135
Hankinson Road, Bournemouth, BH9 1HR
"Conor Burns MP"
News Bulletin from Conor Burns MP #107
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