Survey prizes up for grabs but you'll have to hurry!

Press release: 

Take part in Ipswich Borough Council’s leisure and tourism survey for the chance to win from £500 worth of fantastic prizes.

The Council wants to find out what visitors and residents enjoy about the leisure and cultural facilities that Ipswich has to offer. Those taking part will have the opportunity to win from prizes generously supplied by local businesses, including;

• An evening of fine dining at the the Salthouse Harbour Hotel
• Debenhams shopping vouchers
• A food hamper supplied by Ipswich ‘Lanes’ independent retailers
• Cruises with Viking Mariners and the Orwell Lady
• Three months use of Ipswich Borough Council sports facilities
• Shows at the Regent Theatre or Corn Exchange 

The survey has been directed to 40,000 people in conjunction with an Ipswich Borough Council newsletter and will be sent out to a further 2,000 people by post. Anyone who has not received one and would like to take part, the survey can be found at; www.ipswich.gov.uk/visitorsurvey and should be completed by 30^th November.

The information gained will be used to identify strengths and weaknesses of the town’s leisure and cultural offering and help inform future developments.

Further information regarding the survey is available from Ipswich Tourist Information Centre, telephone 01473 258070, e-mail tourist@ipswich.gov.uk.

Pannington Farm Wind Turbine Latest

Please find below the November project update for the Pannington Farm Wind Turbine proposal.  

The planning application to Babergh District Council is on target for later this month.  

PfR are offering groups and individuals the opportunity to view the planning application in detail and ask any questions of the project development team by holding two community surgeries, details of which are as follows:

·         Wednesday 4th December 2-7pm Belstead Village Hall, Grove Hill, Belstead, Ipswich, IP8 3LP

        Friday 6th December 2-7pm Pinewood Community Hall, Laburnum Close, Pinewood, Ipswich, IP8 3SL

More Good News for Stoke Park

Another great month for JSA Claimant figures. Those claiming JSA in Stoke Park is DOWN by 0.2% from 241 to 228, that’s 13 fewer people claiming than last month, and DOWN 1.6% in a year, from 312 to 228, meaning 84 fewer claimants in October 2013 than in October 2012.

 

Those claiming JSA in my ward are DOWN 38 since the General Election and is at the lowest it has been since November 2008 when it was 223. It is substantially lower than the peak of unemployment in June 2012, when 339 people were claiming, and getting ever closer to the record low, 169 in December 2007.

 

18-24yr olds claiming JSA is also STABLE at 60, which it has remained at for four months (Jul, Aug, Sept, Oct) and is the lowest since July 2008.

 

For the Ipswich Constituency, the JSA Claimant count is DOWN by 146, from 2860 to 2714. This is the lowest since December 2008, when it was 2472. The claimant count peaked at 3911 in February 2012, so there has been a reduction of 1197 since then. That’s a 30% reduction in claimants over the last 20 months! It is also a reduction of 416 since the General Election, when the claimant count was 3130. That is a reduction in claimants of 13.3% since the General Election.

 

For IBC, the JSA claimant count is DOWN by 174, from 3363 to 3189. This is the lowest since December 2008, when it was 2895. The claimant count peaked at 4551 in February 2012, so there has been a reduction of 1362 since then. That is a 29.9% reduction...

This on top of increases in employment is good news for the whole country and I'm sure the above is being replicated elsewhere.

As I was saying in my last blog post- only my party can be trusted with the economy....

Immigration IS the hot topic

I've been speaking to many residents over the last few weeks on what they are most concerned about locally and nationally.

Locally - it's an obvious one - the state of the traffic in Ipswich. No-one can deny how dreadful it's been over the last couple of years with all the road works, which hopefully are coming to an end soon. It's hell for residents going to and from their place of work.

But the top conversation nationally is Immigration - and who can blame us?

I'm sorry but I will never be convinced that this huge influx of people whether from Europe or outside of it has a net benefit effect on our country. It's a myth perpetrated by the Left with statistics to confuse and bamboozle, to cover up for the fact they failed big time in keeping immigration to a sensible level. We know that they purposely set out to increase the votes for them, by allowing this awful reckless open door policy.

I don't believe that our young don't want jobs in hotels, bars etc - of course they do and I know many of them are trying to do just that.

I don't believe that we wouldn't have had enough nurses in our NHS - of course we would have had! If we were ever in a position where we needed more nurses then we would have instigated a drive to recruit and give incentives, just like we have done in the past with public sector jobs.

It's ludicrous to suggest that we needed all these people when we haven't got enough houses, school places, or jobs. Our housing needs are virtually impossible to solve in the near future. Yes, there are benefits and yes I love the diversity but there is no doubt about it. Labour's open door policy has wrecked our country and I fear it is irreversible. Nearly every person I spoke to, whether a Labour voter or a Tory brought up concerns about immigration as one of their top 3 priorities. As their representative, I have to be their voice. But what power do I have? - None really except to join them in repeating that I feel the same.

And now what next - Romanians and Bulgarians that can claim as soon as they get here? Where Kent council is already planning 2 centres because they believe many Roma children will be dumped on the boats on the way here so that we have to look after them, at our expense, while they settle in and make their child benefit claims? They can only be planning this based on good intelligence - or will the Left say they are making it up?

Are we mad?!! This is why when we are so good and kind and thoughtful and generous and spend our money to help others, it is taken for granted and used against us for selfish ends by those who think we are mugs. They are not OUR children - what about OUR children? Let's spend the money on them.

This is why people are fed up with immigration - British people love to give but do not like to be taken advantage of. It hurts our sense of decency, fairness and good old British justice. And it will cause resentment, whether we think that's right or not. And if there is any sort of emotional unhappiness then that is a sign that things are not right. So obvious, but instead of listening to their side of things, the left bully and mock those who fear for their country.

Unless David Cameron can renegotiate in Europe, eliminating our need to take in anyone in the EU, irrespective of OUR needs, then I will be fighting for us to leave the EU as loud as I can.

And it will be as a Tory - we have achieved so much in such a short space of time and we are the only party that can be trusted to take immigration seriously alongside the economy.

Labour had their chance at both, and they failed us all

including their own children....

Summing up Why I'm a Tory

I love this quote - It's why I'm a Tory. Vote for Ed and his brand of socialism at our peril. 

'Making the rich poorer does not make the poor richer, but it does make the state stronger—and it does increase the power of officials and politicians, power more menacing, more permanent and less useful than market power within the rule of law. 

Inequality of income can only be eliminated at the cost of freedom. The pursuit of income equality will turn this country into a totalitarian slum.'

Keith Joseph, Stranded on the Middle Ground? Reflections on Circumstances and Policies (Centre for Policy Studies, 1976).

And I'll ask;-

What value do you hold higher, Freedom or Equality (of outcome)? 

 We can still have Equality of Opportunity AND Freedom - 
and that's not Labour values - That is Conservative values that I share.

That's why I have always been a Tory, always will be a Tory 
and I will do my best to make others understand the difference.