Sunday 18 April 2010

Winning in Ashford, Kent

My blogging seems to have depleted rapidly since the beginning of the election campaign.

As the agent for our candidate for Ashford and Tenterden constituency said to me "Vince Cable’s book “Free Radical” describes wild optimism as “candidatitis”."

It's absolutely fantastic to get carried away with the election hype.

With the phenomenal success that the Liberal Democrats are now showing in the polls and the support being referred to by Andrew Marr is the "Clegg Effect", I think that probably every member of the Liberal Democrats is suffering from slight candidatitis.

In the last couple of days, when I've got home from work, I've been canvassing my local ward and getting into wonderful discussions about what the Liberal Democrats can do for Ashford and the local area.

Quite simply, people are sick of more of the same, 65 years of the government, elected by tidal voting, booms and busts in the economy, booms and busts in the job market and something of management of cartels through running public services.

For once, people are genuinely engaged with the political climate in this country.

They are genuinely interested in alternative methods of government, voting, ways of managing the economy, the job market and public services as well as looking to embrace a far more democratic and liberal system than we are currently experiencing.

My weekends have been spent knocking on doors or leafleting the town centre. wonderful discussions I had yesterday, and I had so many positive phrases such as "preaching to the converted", "I was so impressed with Clegg on Thursday" and "don't worry, you've got my vote".

Our opposition, the Conservative candidate Damian Green, had been campaigning in Dover, which is one of the marginal seats in the county. However, our increased efforts in recent weeks, from hosting a major question and answer and meet the people are bent on the town centre bandstand, leafleting, canvassing and placing major advertisement in the local press has brought Damien back into the constituency.

If you are interested in what the Ashford Liberal Democrats are doing in the local town centre, have a look at some of our Borough councillors, County Councillors or local campaigners.

Chris Took, your Liberal Democrat candidate at this election, has pledged five key areas that he would like to improve in Ashford.

A Fair Deal for Older People

Chris and myself, along with our local party and regional party, have been campaigning for some time to reinstate resident wardens in sheltered accommodation, where residents are currently left vulnerable and available in their own homes.

In addition to this, we are campaigning for a fairer care system, better medical support, financial benefits to lift 40% of pensioners out of poverty and the pension system that reflects national earnings.

A Fair Deal for The Economy

By implementing the Liberal Democrat Policy to raise the current tax bracket to a minimum of £10,000, this would benefit the poorest in society. In areas of deprivation in Ashford, people would be able to save more money by working than they would do on benefits, allowing them to get out of the welfare state trap and live their lives to the full.

In addition to this, people across the constituency would be better off by an average of £700. Capital gains tax would be raised to move in line with average earnings to prevent people from moving all of their earnings into capital gains and paying low taxes on it.

A Fair Deal for Communities

As a passionate campaigner for democratic participation in planning and community development, Chris Took will uphold the right for people for participate in the development of their neighbourhood, from The North School Farm to Bybrook Barn.

A Fair Deal in Ashford's Growth

With a vast expansion underway in Ashford, including the recently approved M20 Junction 10A, Chris Took is dedicated to campaigning for resources and sensible expansion, including more schools, jobs and infrastructure to support the

A Fair Deal for Local Charities and Businesses

The red tape and bureaucracy encompassing business and charity in Ashford prevents both the delivery of services and people being valued. With performance targets for volunteers, the very concept is undermined. Chris is campaigning to strip out the wasted administration and focus on what Businesses and Charities do best.

And for All of You Who Think the Lib Dem Vote is a Wasted Vote...

One of the Liberal Democrats' key policies if we support a Coalition is to introduce Proportional Representation. If you vote for us, we will be able to ensure your vote will count every time.

Sunday 11 April 2010

Kentish Support for the Liberal Democrats

With the Royal starter's gun we are off galloping towards the General Election.

Not even a week in and there are online polls, analysis and speculation about the election in Kent.

I was therefore delighted to see that the majority of people reading the Kent Online Kentish Express were talking about voting Liberal Democrat over all other parties.

In response to the election being called, I have had the KM on the 'phone, ABC on the 'phone and other local papers and advertisers. I was quite impressed to have my name featured on the front cover of Your Ashford as Chris's campaign manager

Coverage is meant to be impartial, but we live in a fairly "safe seat" in Ashford and although our campaigning attempts are large, it is often difficult to reach everyone in the constituency.

This is why the Ashford Liberal Democrats decided to make use of the Town Centre Partnership's bandstand this Saturday to communicate with the public and provide a real and tangible presence.

Organisation for this event has been going on for months, and in a period of what can only be described as "electoral flux", we are campaigning to make a real change in Ashford.

Chris Took, the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate, lives in Kennington with his wife and has been campaigning in Kent for many years.

This weekend, Chris came to the bandstand and met many local residents, engaging with them on a level that they have perhaps not received with other local politicians.

Questions included issues surrounding the economy, the NHS, older people using iT and immigration.

Our presence alone has gained as members, volunteers and and more support than we've ever seen before.

We will be in town leafleting in the next three weeks in the run-up to the election as well as out knocking on the doors, delivering leaflets and speaking people is much as possible. If you can spare five minutes or a couple of hours, please contact me and let me know!

Please help join the campaign to bring back a Liberal MP to Ashford, the last of which was seen in 1931!

Tuesday 6 April 2010

Open Letter: Future Depends on Skilled Employment in the Town

Dear Sirs,

It would be a delight to see a government department based in Charter House, as it would provide A significant regeneration to Ashford as a whole.

One of the reasons Ashford has not succeeded with regeneration is due to issues with employment resources. Although we live within close proximity of four universities, the job market is very limited in Ashford, and the choice is to commute to another town or indeed to London, or take lower paid, unskilled work in some of the larger corporations in the town.

If Ashford town centre were to attract a larger population of NRS Social Grades C1 and above, including clerical, managerial and professional labour, we would see significant change in the infrastructure within the town centre. Currently there is no “cafe culture” or “restaurant culture” that is so prevalent in nearby cities such as Canterbury.

They would also be able to spend more money in Ashford's large selection of shopping emporiums, invest in the vast amount of housing that is being built and hopefully join the campaigns for more schools, more medical facilities and better community resources.

With a government department here, we would also see a rise in other businesses choosing to locate in Ashford in order to make the most of the talent that would inevitably be here. In addition to this there would be likely to be businesses that support government departments, such as out-contracted stationers, They would also provide additional employment opportunities that would raise the ambition of current residents and bring talented and qualified residents to the area.

Kind regards,

Kelly-Marie Blundell
Ashford Liberal Democrats
Kennington

Open Letter: Pothole Protests

Dear Sirs,

Seeing Ashford featured in The Times and on various online newspapers with regards to Ted Relph's home-made pothole warning signs was extremely amusing.

I certainly think that he should replace the sign within two weeks if the holes have not been fixed to his satisfaction.

I applaud his attempt to get something done about the dire state of the roads in his area, and wonder if perhaps members of the public across Ashford Borough should do the same where ever they have potholes.

Certainly, in my own area, there are some terrible wounds on the road that must be causing significant damage to the heavy amount of traffic that we have in Kennington.

Given that we have recently been informed of a council tax rise, I find it odd that we would require the extra cash boost to help fix roads blighted by potholes.

However, by and district councils are only awarded 25% of the money that they accrue in revenue from council tax. If governments pledged to allow councils to retain 75% of the money accrued, as the Liberal Democrats do, then we wouldn't need to have extra money allocated within the budget.

Kind regards

Kelly-Marie Blundell
Ashford Liberal Democrats
Kennington

Open Letter: Is the North School Farm Truely Saved?

Dear Sirs,

While it is a delight that the North School has been “saved”, there are real issues with relocating the farm that will have a significant impact and should be addressed.

There is likely to be a negative effect on not only on the animals but also on the day-to-day running of the school. In addition to this, the relocation will lead to a reduction of the sports fields and have a subsequent impact on the school.

This is on top of the destruction that building houses around the front of the school will have. Not only is Essella Road already a congested T-junction, but the increase of traffic will endanger school children and families in the area both at building time and once the houses are resided in.

Ultimately, when weighing up the issues, I cannot see that this has been a campaign success.

It does appear that Kent County Council are attempting to sell the land to build houses in order to plug the deficit in their own accounts caused by contracting a company at risk. This is their own failing and they should not be effectively taking it out on the school. At the very least the proceeds from selling the land for housing should be more than adequate to relocate the farm effectively, if the development must go through.

There are clearly significant issues of the communications of our councils and Local Education Authorities. Given that the two are essentially the same body, it identifies a huge issue with communications that should be addressed sooner rather than later.

Kind regards,

Kelly-Marie Blundell
Ashford Liberal Democrats
Kennington

Speeding Privileges Should Not be Allowed.

The Kentish Express reports that magistrates in Ashford decided not to prosecute a Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) officer for driving over 49 miles over the speed limit on the M20.

At what point did being an agency police officer excuse you from committing a crime?

While officers on active duty are entitled to breach speed limits in pursuance of that duty, the diabolical that privilege should be extended to driving to work. By the same rationale, doctors, teachers and politicians should all be entitled to drive at Extortionate, life endangering speeds.

In addition to the professionals within civil service, perhaps we should also consider extending this privileged to their administrative support staff, from the receptionists that let them in the door to those that type the minutes of the meetings.

The officer in question was speeding to reach an undercover operation in another county. This operation resulted in convictions of drug trafficking. However, An ambulance driver rushing to work in his own vehicle who subsequently saves the life of someone when he later drives the ambulance there is not entitled to such a privilege, yet could be by this ruling by Ashford Magistrates Court.

This could potentially create a far reaching precedent that would allow any civil service employee to evade conviction when prosecution for that crime exists to protect the public.

The sort of privilege creates ill feeling and a lack of respect to the law that could have devastating effects. Imagine if everyone who was late for work, whether attending a crime scene or simply needing to clock in to pay the bills, decided to drive significantly over the speed limit.

Monday 5 April 2010

A Rundown on the Smaller Stories in the Kentish Express

Hospital Flower Shop Closes

In spite of dismay from local residents, the final commercial shop in the William Harvey Hospital has been closed. The flower shop, run by Anne Epps, had been placed there for over 30 years.

I remember purchasing a blue teddy bear from the venue in 1985 when my little brother was born. He is now 24 and still has that the bear “Bluey”, although the flowers that were also purchased have long since perished!

As a long-standing local business, it is a shame to see it being forced out of a prime location By the need to “modernisation”.

It will be interesting to see what South East Liberal Democrat MEP Sharon Bowles, Chair of the Economic and Monetary Affairs committee makes of the breach competition law Made by the hospital.

Social Services Failures

It is rather shocking to think that Kent, one of the largest counties geographically in the country has a shortage of up to 40% of social workers.

Is even more concerning that Kent Social Services was awarded an accolade of being one of the best services in the country.

However, it is a good thing that there has been an increase in reports of suspected child abuse following the Baby P scandal. This indicates that the high media coverage given to the story has made people think more about their local community and respond to prevent children from being at risk.

By the same measure, there is likely to be a higher uptake by young graduates to the Social Services profession, in order to combat, prevent and help children at risk.

Friday 2 April 2010

Bring On The Pothole Army in Ashford

There is a dramatic rise in the number of potholes in Kent, which have caused a rush of public unhappiness in Ashford.

Members of the public, encouraged by growing local media reports, have began to play signs warning people of the (alleged) phenomena that is the pothole.

When the Kentish Express showed one spoof road sign warning of potholes on its front cover, humour turned the issue into a public united cause.

This has gained such publicity that is featured in The Times

Make Your Own Pothole Road Sign

Take a spare piece of wood, plastic or board and fashion into an equilateral triangle.

Paint the triangle white and give it a bright red border

Add your own choice of logo. Below are some suggestions:

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