Andrew has teamed up with neighbouring MP David Davis to sign the ‘Fair Deal on the Docks’ petition which is calling on the Government to scrap changes to the way business rates for companies operating on the ports along the Humber are charged. The changes have lead to increased tax bills back-dated for three years, meaning local jobs are being put at risk.

Prospective MP Andrew Percy says; “David and I have both been down to the docks and have also had discussions with some of the affected businesses. The simple fact of the matter is that if local businesses can’t afford to pay these bills then they may be forced to close and that means local jobs will be lost. The Government really needs to pull its finger out and get this issue, which they have now known about for months, resolved to the satisfaction of all concerned.”

The petition is available to sign at http://www.humberbusiness.com/Petition.aspx.

Education seems to have been my thing in the last two weeks or so. I very much enjoy teaching in schools in our area and have fortunately had quite a bit of work in local schools in the last week or two. I'm surprised by how many of the kids keep telling me they have had my leaflets etc! I shall not say which schools or where as I prefer not to blog about my teaching as that is not really what this blog is for!

However, as schools have featured highly in my life in the last couple of weeks I thought I'd say a little about that. Last Friday I did a Question Time event with sixth form students which was really really good fun. The students asked some really tough questions and there was one in particular that I had to confess to the students that I had no idea at all! I think they appreciated the honesty.

On Wednesday I agreed to go into Hymers College in Hull to talk to the sixth form politics students. Apparently, the have Austin Mitchell coming in at some point soon as well as a Lib Dem candidate so I think they are going round all of the parties. They asked me questions about both UK and US politics but the toughest question came at the end.

A couple of the students actually live in the Brigg and Goole constituency and so the final question went to one of these students who asked me "Why should I vote for you then." I had expected questions on everything from local government to US campaign funding but I hadn't expected any potential Brigg and Goole voters to put me on the spot like that. Anyway, I hope he was happy with the response, I guess I will know the next time we go door knocking in his village.

I had never actually been into Hymers before this year despite growing up and going to school in Hull. My school was, to say the least, a little different to Hymers but I was impressed by the school's efforts to open up and reach out to the wider community beyond just those who can afford the fees. I think private schools should do more of this and there is certainly a role for them in providing support to struggling state schools.

Prospective MP Andrew Percy is demanding that the decision to downgrade Goole Fire Station be revisited following the admission by Humberside Fire Brigade that they are desperately short of retained firefighters at both Howden and Snaith Fire Stations. Goole is presently crewed by two full-time pumps but will be reduced to one full-time and one part-time retained pump.

Andrew Percy says, "I could not believe my eyes when I read that a spokesman for the Fire Brigade had said that the recruitment of retained firefighters was so bad that if there was a fire next to some of the retained stations at the moment, crews would have to come from other areas to fight the fire!

Worse still, we are told that recruitment at Snaith and Howden is especially desperate which is very concerning as these two stations are presently backed-up by the full-time crews at Goole. What will happen if they have similar issues recruiting retained firefighters in Goole for the downgraded second pump.

We could end up with exactly the situation we predicted during the recent consultation on the proposed fire cuts, i.e. the one full-time crew being left to cover the Goole, Howden and Snaith fire areas! When we suggested this during the consultation our concerns were poo-poohed and we were assured this could not happen!

I am frankly astonished that senior fire officers continued to recommend the downgrading of Goole Fire Station when they must have known that the recruitment of retained firefighters was such an issue. I have written to the Chief Fire Officer demanding he revisits the decision to downgrade Goole once again."

Shadow Agriculture and Rural Affairs Minister Jim Paice MP visited Brigg and Goole last week to discuss flooding issues on the Isle of Axholme. Jim met with Andrew and Isle Councillors John Briggs and Liz Redfern.

Prospective MP Andrew Percy explains, "We met with Jim Paice in Owston Ferry where we discussed concerns over the River Trent Flood Catchment Plan which proposes increasing the flood risk on the Isle of Axholme. The plan has been created by the Enviornment Agency who are working to Government directions which require them to protect urban areas to the detriment of rural areas. I also took the opportunity to express similar concerns about the River Aire Flood Catchment Plan which will increase flooding in the Snaith and Rawcliffe areas.

Jim's visit is the latest in a series by Shadow Ministers who, unlike Labour Ministers, are keen to come our area to hear our concerns."

Shadow Minister Jim Paice MP says, "I was delighted to come to Brigg and Goole to hear how concerned local people are about both of these flood plans. For the Environment to simply turn its back on 100s years of maintaining defences does not make sense. It is contrary to local opinion and illogical. The Government must place flood prevention higher up the agenda."

Following his visit to Owston Ferry, Jim Paice went to meet with local farmers from across North Lincolnshire.

Saturday night I went to the Brigg and District Breast Cancer Charity fundraising dinner at the Forest Pines Hotel in Broughton. The night was really good fun and the event raised over £6000 for this important charity. As you can see for the photos, the men were expected to wear pink bow ties! Trying to find one was quite a challenge, I eventually got one in Debenhams but only after visiting every other high street shop. I did worry that I wouldn't get one as we had been out campaigning all day so I didn't start looking until quite late.

Anyway, credit must go to Michelle and the committee for putting on such a good bash and for raising so much money.

Prospective MP Andrew Percy has officially backed the 'A Toll Too Far' campaign which has been launched jointly by The Scunthorpe Telegraph and the Hull Daily Mail. The campaign is gathering signatures from across the region on a petition which demands Government action to deal with the tolls.

Andrew Percy, who has been campaigning for action on the tolls explains, "I was delighted to sign up for this campaign and would urge as many residents as possible to sign up too.

Having the local media on side is a real boost to our campaign as they are in an excellent position to bring everyone together on this matter and to really provide the publicity we need. The Humber Bridge Tolls Study which reported last week showed that  the cost of the tolls to the local economy over the next 25 years will be in excess of £1 billion.

We really need action from the Government to address this issue and hopefully the Scunthorpe Telegraph's campaign will prove to Ministers just how important this matter is to local people."

Photo: Andrew signs the 'A Toll Too Far' petition.

We had a really successful Action Day in Snaith yesterday where we managed to get a lot of leaflets delivered in the Snaith and Rawcliffe and Pollington area We also managed to speak to lots of people on the doorstep about a number of local issues.

People were really friendly and seemed genuinely appreciative of the work we have been doing locally on a range of issues. In particular, we have been fighting the Labour Government's River Aire Flood Catchment Plan which wants to increase flooding locally in order that Leeds can be better protected! The clear message again from residents was that they think it's time for a change of Government.

I hope to have an even bigger turnout for next Saturday's Campaign Day!

Yesterday I attended the launch of the Humber Bridge Toll Study at Westminster. The study was paid for by the four Councils in the Humber area and quite cleary shows that the region would benefit to the tune of £1.1 billion pound if the tolls were removed.

The launch event itself was a little taken over by the Labour MPs and Labour run North Lincs Council and the photos in the local press prove this. To actually get into the event you needed special permission from one of the Labour MPs which is a bit rich considering the fuss they created over David Cameron's visit to Brigg!

Anyway, cheap photo opportunities aside, the important thing is that the study shows quite clearly that the regions economy and workforce would benefit from the removal of the tolls. That's why the response of the Government to the study was a little disappointed as they basically said that it was not a matter for them but was a local matter!

We all need to keep pulling in the same direction on this issue although there will come a point if the Government keeps slamming the door in our faces when we may have to look at whether or not that approach is working. For now though we all have to keep pushing for action to remove or reduce the tolls significantly.

There will be further meetings between all the parties in the near future to try to agree our next line of attack. We need to all push in the same direction and speak with one voice and then just possibly the Department for Transport might listen to us.

Credit to the Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce for all the work they did on this too, and also to the Humber Action Against Tolls campaign group who have been pushing on this for years now.

Photo: Me, Cllr Liz Redfern & Graham Stuart MP (Beverley)  at Westminster with the report.

Prospective MP Andrew Percy took the fight to protect local jobs to the Conservative Party Conference in recently where Andrew raised the issue of recent Government changes to the way businesses operating on the docks in Goole are taxed.

Andrew reports, "As a result of the Labour Government changing the way businesses operating on the docks are taxed, businesses have been left with massive tax bills backdated for three years. I have met with some of the affected businesses who told me that these changes could cause businesses to stop their plans for expansion or, even worse, put some of them out of business.

"This would mean local jobs would be lost and I therefore put my name down to speak at the Conservative Party Conference and was delighted to be called to speak. I explained what impact the changes could have locally and how important it was that local jobs were protected.

"I am therefore delighted that David Cameron has taken this issue up and we must all hope that the Government will see sense and change their minds. We need a Government that supports local jobs, not one that puts them at risk."

So there we are, after the long long long taxpayer funded MP's holiday, Parliament finally went back to work today!

Our MP was there, poised ready to ask a question on the burning issues of the day. Could it be a question about the credit crunch, perhaps a question about the local people losing their jobs or perhaps a question seeking help for those struggling to pay their mortgages locally?

Gordon Brown's Labour MP finally got to his feet, the near empty chamber waited with baited breath for our Labour MP to deliver a powerful message  on behalf of the people of Brigg and Goole. And then, our MP rose to ask a question in the Sport and Culture Question Period on the subject of football club ownership!

As important as I am sure these issues are to many, I would have thought that after weeks of financial meltdown, our MP could have found more pressing issues to address!