Andrew joined local residents and members of Saxby Wold Against Turbines at a meeting in Worlaby this week to discuss the proposed wind farm at Saxby Wold.

Andrew reports, "I was delighted to be invited to attend this meeting which was a follow on from the meeting I attended in Bonby last week. There was a good turn out at the meeting with many of those present expressing concerns about the proposal.

In particular, there are concerns about noise from the turbines which has been well documented at other wind farm developments. Personally, I am very sceptical about the amount of turbines which are being proposed locally as my own view is that turbines should really be set off-shore.

I also support Conservative proposals to re-direct some of the subsidies which are presently directed at wind farms, into developing alternative renewable energy sources such as geo-thermal energy."

It's been a funny few days locally with Labour activists attempting to use all sorts of bully tactics to stop me talking about my opponents expense claims. Former Labour candidates  from West Yorkshire and former Labour agents have all been trying to have a pop at me.

They obviously hate the fact that I have dared to point out that Mr Cawsey claimed £15,000 in food from taxpayers despite earning over £250,000 in salary in the same period. Forgive me for saying so, but I simply think that is just wrong and I am not prepared to be bullied into silence.

It would seem my pledge not to claim many of the allowances available to MPs has really upset them. It shouldn't come as a surprise as I have been saying much of this for years. In addition,  a few years ago I was one of four Councillors who sat on a panel which abolished many of the allowances available to Councillors. I also refused the option of a Council, taxpayer funded, pension when offered to me.

I have always believed that people in positions such as MPs and Councillors should receive a reasonable remuneration and nothing more. Councillors used to be paid on a basis of allowances rather than salary. As that changed and it moved towards a salary, their expenses have tended to drop. That is why the panel I sat on scrapped lots of the allowances available to Councillors. MPs however, have received bigger salaries and more generous allowances - clearly that is wrong.

One Labour member who contacted me, who seems to be quite a nice fella actually, challenged me to declare how much my local newsletters cost.

I am happy to confirm that my newsletters, which keep people updated on all sorts of local issues, cost the taxpayer £0. Similarly, advertising and promotion of myself locally also cost the taxpayer £0.

Contrast that with Mr Cawsey who spent £10,000 of taxpayers in just one year promoting himself via the Communications Allowance in 2007-08, £300 sponsoring a football match in his name and much more buying a caravan to go round agricultural shows promoting himself.

We saw examples a few weeks ago nationally about how Labour plan to use bullying tactics to get at the Conservatives. It would seem they have started to use them locally too.

I don't blog about my work life too much but I recently accepted a new job teaching in a local school. From September, I shall be teaching in a local school two days per week and as such I shall be stopping my current part-time employment.

This means I shall continue to have plenty of time to devote to campaigning for our area, free of charge. Apparently, someone probably connected with Labour, has been trying to suggest that my jobs are funded by the taxpayer so I can;t really comment on MPs expenses. So that would be teachers, nurses, doctors, dentists and health visitors all barred from commenting. An interesting idea that one!!!!

Anyway, I am looking forward to getting stuck back into teaching on a more permanent basis. Obviously, they are aware of my other commitments so its all good!

Oh and by the way, unlike the Labour MP for this area, I shall be paying for my own food at school.

I have just read the response of Labour MP Ian Cawsey on the issue of his absolutely whopping expense claims. Mr Cawsey seems to think that making a claim for £300 every month for food is not excessive!! So despite earning over £60k per year Mr Cawsey thinks taxpayers should pay £300 towards his food as-well!!!

The biggest insult however comes in what he says about his claims that will be released in October. He says that those will show that he has made no claim under the second homes allowance in the past year! So despite claiming over £74k in this expense since 2004, we are now expected to be grateful that he has made no claim in the year before a general election!! Does he really think the electorate are that stupid?

The claims released show that he billed taxpayers for -

• £15,000 in food over a three and a half year period. Included in this are attempts to overclaim during 2005-06 and 2006-07.
• Cleaning totaling over £2000 over the same period.
• A caravan!
• Sponsoring the match between Brigg Town and Goole in his own name. He should be sponsoring it as the MP but he shouldn't use to taxpayers money to effectively advertise himself.
• Nearly £10,000 in one year to promote himself using taxpayers money via the controversial Communications Allowance.
• £40 for Christmas Cards.
• Renting and watering a hanging basket.

Now, I am sure that he would claim all of these are within the rules but you have to ask about the judgment of someone who earns over £60,000 per year expecting the taxpayer to pick up a bill of over £300 for food every month.

I am also sure that sponsoring the football match and the hanging basket were very worthy projects, but he should have paid them out of his own pocket, especially when it is his name getting promoted.

I don't normally blog in the news section of my website but as I haven't updated for a while I am blogging in this section.

I have just come back from the second public meeting in two days which relates to the generation of power here in the constituency. Last night I was in Luddington attending a public meeting on the proposed extraction of Coal Bed Methanefrom the Isle of Axholme. This evening I was in Bonby for a meeting relating to the proposal for a wind farm at Saxby Wold.

Both of the meetings were well attended and there were particularly strong feelings expressed at the Bonby meeting. I personally am very sceptical about the large number of wind farm applications that we are getting in North Lincs and East Yorkshire. However, it is of course up to local people to make their minds up and so I am doing everything I can to make sure residents know how to put submissions in as part of the planning process.

The Conservatives have argued for some of the subsidy that goes into wind farms to be directed towards other technologies such as geo-thermal energy. That is exactly what we should do as we have got to accept that filling the landscape with lots of wind turbines is not the answer.

It's been really hectic recently so my apologies for not blogging for a very long time. There are so many issues going on in the constituency at the moment that I haven't really had time to update the website as much as I would like. Have only just got in from another public meeting in the constituency.

Anyway, the weekend of June 6th I had the pleasure to accompany veterans to Normandy for the 65th commomorations of the D-Day landings. It was a very moving weekend and something I found quite emotional. Every since I can remember I have had a deep interest in the Normandy campaign, perhaps because my Grandad was one of those who went across on D-Day +1. My favourite film is the Longest Day which I have watched more time than I can remember!

This was my first trip to Normandy and so I found the whole weekend absolutely fascinating. Visiting sites like Pegasus Bridge, Omaha Beach, St Mere Eglise, Caen etc was like a living history lesson to me and I only wish I had more time to take in more locations. The cemetery at Omaha Beach, which was the site of the fiercest fighting on D-Day, was particularly moving.

We must never stop commemorating Normandy or other events such Arnham and I therefore hope that we will continue to see official commemorations. Certainly, if I get elected I shall push for the Government to ensure that the 70th anniversary is as well commemorated as the 65th was.

I'm pictured next to one of the many memorials which pepper Normandy. This one is to the Green Howards who are of course a Yorkshire Regiment. They are also the regiment my Great Grandad served in during the first world war.