Unfortunately a day late, I’d like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

2008 is going to be an exiting year this year. There are local elections again in Manchester and the Metropolitan Boroughs of Greater Manchester, and hopefully by this time, the Northwest will have far more excellent Conservative councillors standing up for their local areas.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7112654.stm 

Popular Northwest MEP Sajjad Karim has decided to join the Conservative Party. The Lib Dem of 18 years announced that while David Cameron’s Conservatives are tackling the tough questions with exiting answers, the Lib Dems are protecting the past, the Conservative Party has a real vision. David Cameron’s recent discussion of immigration in moderate and calm measure, or announcing support for cooperative schools is far more imaginative than the Lib Dems, who having their second leadership election in less than 2 years.

Many Liberal Democrats across the country are joining the Conservatives, as they realise that only David Cameron can offer a true liberal alternative to the controlling instincts of Gordon Brown’s New Labour. I am sure than Sajjad will continue to represent the Northwest with distinction within our excellent Conservative group in the European Parliament. It is a shame for Northwest Liberal Democrats that while losing true believers in freedom like Sajjad, they will now be represented by controversial and out of touch Chris Davies, who believes we should adopt the full European Constitution, even without the Red Lines and should adopt one child policies!!! (see below for links to Chris Davies, self described, controversial, MEP).

http://www.chrisdaviesmep.org.uk/news/2007/Oct/brown_should_abandon_red_lines.htm

http://www.chrisdaviesmep.org.uk/news/2007/Nov/north_west_mep_calls_for_population_control.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/7098773.stm

Gun Crime is a terrible tragedy for all, but especially in Manchester with such a problem in relation to gun crime. The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown visited Moss Side today, promising to bring tougher sentences for those convicted of possessing firearms. I support him in this aim, as I believe that gun crime is a terrible blight on many of our communities. However, simply putting tougher sentences is not going to on its own tackle the growing gun crime problem. We need to stop our police having to spend the majority of their time ticking boxes and filling forms, and pour the resources instead into frontline police on the beat. We also need to tackle the root cause of the problem, social breakdown across problem, with solutions such as supporting families and putting responsibility into our young people, can we both prevent as well as cure this terrible blight on Britain.

This weekend, yet another great sporting event continues in East Manchester. The 5th Season of the Revolution Series track cycling event continues at the Velodrome. The excellent sporting facilities at the Sportcity complex is great for any sporting enthusiasts like myself. I’m a great cycling enthusiast myself, though not track racing, preferring to either go mountain biking or long distance bike rides, like the Charity Manchester to Blackpool ride I completed for the Stroke Association in July. Its a great way to keep fit, and you really do see a large amount of the country in doing it.

I think its great that East Manchester is holding this event for its 5th year. There will a chance to speak to individuals if you get involved in cycling clubs, or you can just watch. Log on to www.cyclingrevolution.com for details of the event on the Saturday 17th.

“I still need to be fully convinced that we absolutely need more than 28 days and I also need to be convinced what is the best way of doing that.” New Labour Security Minister Lord West before his ’conversation’ with Gordon Brown.  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7094819.stm

I agree with Lord West. I am, as I believe the majority of the country is, also unconvinced by the case to increase the time which suspects can be detained for more than 28 days. Nobody has given any justification that time to evidence for terror trials takes more than 28 days. 90 days, without such justification, is just dangerous. Will it endear us to those wrongfully kept for this long. 3 months is an incredibly long time in jail, and until the case is made, it should stay at 28 days. That is, already an incredibly long time.

http://www.nemadvertiser.co.uk/news/s/1023647_councillors_angry_at_cpo_delay

It saddens me to learn about the delay for the residents of Eccleshall Street for now 2 years in the development of their street. Given that Ancoats and Clayton representative Councillor Jim Battle is Deputy Leader of the Council, it is disappointing for the residents in Clayton that it has taken this long for this matter to be brought up by their local representatives. Hopefully New East Manchester will be able to settle the land swap and regenerate the area in the most effective area.

While this current problem is unfortunate, New East Manchester has some excellent work to show for their time in the area, whether you look at Sportcity, New Islington or the Ancoats Canal Corridor. Hopefully Eccleshall Street can soon become another example of the excellent development work that we can see that they have already performed.

On this day every year it really makes you put everything into perspective. We can only thank the fact that thousands of young troops, many not even in their twenties were prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice. Whether it be in Europe in 1945, or in Afghanistan today, whether we agree with British involvement in a conflict, or whether we don’t, we must always remember that our support of our troops is the least that they deserve.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1023421_the_two_sides_of_manchester

Part of this post was based on an announcement yesterday, and will in part combine two points, but as the news is the same, I will relate them together.

Iain Duncan Smith’s Report on the breakdown of families in Britain, and its huge impact on society is one of the freshest, starkest and most breathtaking announcements in many years. We have for years allowed social problems in Britain to continue to grow, without doing anything to stop the root cause, the effects are staggering.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7084044.stm 

In the above article, the impacts on Manchester are shocking. Teenage Pregnancy is TWICE the national level, and the proportion of men entering hospital due to the effects of alcohol is the second highest in the country. Manchester students have the second worst truancy rate in the country, only one in four teenagers progress to University, and there are SEVEN gun-related incidents EVERY DAY. Manchester is a great city, but increasingly it is dividing into two, one of extreme affluence, and the other of staggering poverty.

Manchester’s transformation over the last 20 years has been amazing. The City Centre is a buzz with life, and draws thousands of people too it every year, such as myself. I came to the city as an 18 year-old student straight from his A-levels, and after university stayed, as the city is, well, great. However, there is the other side to the city. It is the estates where children aren’t given the opportunity to show their potential. It is the city where one in fourteen girls have been pregnant before they reach the age of 18. It is a city where gun crime is rising, and the incidents of murders through a gun is becoming worryingly more common news. The fact is that Manchester has had a New Labour Government for over 10 years, and a New Labour Council for decades. However, after all that time, the divide continues to grow.

That is why I support the announcement yesterday of a new Co-operative Movement. This movement won’t be based on socialist dogma. It will be about encouraging co-operation for all, for the better of everyone in our community. Manchester is an example where its work could transform the whole city like the city centre has been in the past 20 years.

The whole of Manchester needs to co-operate more, and share ideas, rather than be dictated to from Whitehall or Town Hall. Just think how together what we could transform - schools, hospitals, regeneration projects. Lets bridge the divide in Manchester, and build a better future for all of us, not just those in affluent new flats in the city centre.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1023105_metrolink_fares_to_go_up

With public sector pay rises being limited to inflation, it is a major disappointment that Metrolink fares are now planned to rise by a huge 5.7%. After all the problems over the summer with cancelled services, why can’t commuters get a break.

 With higher tram fares, average petrol prices pushing over a pound a litre, and the proposed congestion charge, the cost of living for ordinary working Mancunians continues to rise at a staggering rate.

As a Liberal Conservative, I am naturally cautious of imposing additional taxes or charges on people. However, this is not the only reason that while I support additional investment into public transport, I remain opposed to the proposed Manchester Congestion Charge.

Although I am required to utilise my car quite a lot for my job, I spend a significant amount of time not utilising that form of transport. If I am working in the City Centre, I will catch a bus as I work in a suit, while most of the rest of the time,  I will cycle into the City Centre, as it is Green, Healthy, and one of my passions in life. I believe that one of the great causes of congestion and CO2 emissions is people utilising their cars for short journeys, which could easily be done by walking, cycling or public transport.

However, a large number of people in Greater Manchester, including myself, have times when they must use their cars. We shouldn’t penalise these people, who often will be using their cars not for leisure purposes, but to go to work, and through taxes and services be improving the lives of all of us.

An argument often used by the City Council and pro-Toll lobby is that it will help the environment, because it will reduce car journeys. However, they then argue it will encourage people to work flexible, and move their car journeys. Despite these arguments contradicting each other, I disagree with both. I know, from my own and other experience, that flexible working isn’t as easy as it sounds - many services have to be conducted at specific, and usually office, hours. In addition, the Metrolink plan, which focuses on transport into the city centre, will enable people to move their travel onto public transport.

All the Metrolink routes are focuses on Manchester City Centre. While I agree, that this is a major transport link, it is by no means not the only route for everyone. One of the major reasons that the roads from East Manchester through the Mancunian Way onto the M602 is so busy is due to commuters working beyond the city boundaries.

http://www.gmltp.co.uk/pdfs/GMLTP01_02to05_06/metmapfut_14.pdf 

The link above shows the map of the ‘future’ Metrolink, although none of that is guaranteed. You can quickly see vast amounts of the Greater Manchester area is excluded from the Metrolink. East Manchester is currently poorly served in transport terms in comparison with most of city - roads are massively congested; there currently isn’t a tram; compared to South Manchester, buses are infrequent and expensive; and cycling can sometimes feel terribly dangerous.

That is why I support the Manchester Conservative policy. A Congestion Charge should remain as it should, a last resort. We should invest in public transport, and as vast a Metrolink as possible. Only then we should look at our infrastructure, and then decide whether we should proceed with an additional tax on motorists. The last Conservative Government planned the current Metrolink as a test to whether it would be successful. Seeing its success, it then promised to continue this expansion. The current New Labour Government has stalled on that investment, and now is offering the cash (of which much will be a Loan, not a Grant) only if we tax our motorists even more. This is scandalous - is London expected to do the same in order to get Crossrail?

We need a City Council which will stand up to Gordon Brown, and demand the investment which is Manchester’s right. The current leadership, whether it be over the Supercasino investment, or the Metrolink investment, will just follow Whitehall’s whims, rather than stand up for Manchester.