I attended two really successful crime meetings last week in Belton and Snaith last week. There were more people present then I expected, especially at the Snaith event. My own survey of Snaith which focused on crime has already received a response rate of well over 20% which by industry standards is apparently extremely high.

There were many really important issues raised which we will be following up and some good new information was passed on to the Police who I think felt the meetings were useful.

Sunday I attended the Swinefleet Gala with Cllr Caroline Fox who represents the Marshlands. I had a really good chat with a fair few residents, as well as the team fighting the wind farm traffic plan which affects, Swinefleet, Old Goole, Eastoft, Luddington and Ealand.

I was delighted to be asked to draw the raffle at the Gala which was no mean feat considering there were over 40 prizes!! Well done to everyone involved in organising the event.

Prospective MP Andrew Percy welcomed Shadow Local Government Bob Neill to the Brigg and Goole constituency yesterday to meet with residents concerned about local wind farm developments. Bob met with campaigners fighting the proposal for 18 turbines at Saxby Wold and 7 turbines at Flixborough Grange near Burton.

Andrew Percy reports, "The North Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire area has seen a large number of applications submitted for wind farms in recent months, many of which are located close to properties. We have always taken the sensible view that our area should take their fair share of turbines but no more. This approach means that both North Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire have already hit their 2020 targets for renewable generation.

Sadly, this target is totally meaningless though as the Government require the target to be moved up once it is reached and it does not serve as a ceiling. That is why we are seeing so many applications. I personally believe that we should be diverting much of the subsidy which is presently directed at wind turbines onto other sources of renewable generation such as wave, tidal and geo-thermal.

Bob listened carefully to what was said and promised that the Conservatives were determined to redress the planning system in favour of local residents by restoring local decision making. In particular a future Conservative government would -

• Restrict the right of applicants to appeal once the local Council has refused a wind farm planning permission.
• Require a more robust consultation process for planning applications which takes into account public opinion.
• Scrap completely the regional spacial strategies and regional tier of planning policies which set many of the targets local Councils are forced to abide by.
• Give Councillors more power to speak up on behalf of their local communities.
• Look at allowing Councils to more actively manage potential windfarms sites by allowing them to deisgnate certain areas as unsuitable for wind farm development.

These are important proposals which would give local people far more power. We need to go further by looking at the regulations which presently govern wind turbines such as increasing the distance required between turbines and homes.

This is not about being anti-wind turbine as many people who oppose these developments have no problem with turbines in the right locations. It is about redressing the planning system in favour of local residents to make sure that their voices carry more weight.

The Government has recently announced that it plans to make it even easier for wind farm developers to get permission, even in the face of strong local opposition. We cannot allow that to happen."

I know straw polls are no indication of opinion really but if we are to believe today's straw poll then its bad for Labour!

We were out today in one of the villages on the Isle when I heard quite a funny conversation. I was on the other side of the road but on the other side one of our helpers had the following exchange.

Resident: "Which party are you from?"

Nervous Helper: "Er ... the Conservatives."

Resident: "That's alright then cos if you'd been Labour I'd have shoved that leaflet up ya a***e."

I chuckled to my self on the other side of the road.

In other news, we had a really good tour of the Old Mill Brewery in Snaith on friday  night, followed by a dinner at the Brewers Arms. I then popped in to another pub on my way home where someone came up to me and wished me good luck. I assume for the election!

It's quite funny at the moment as I get lots of that. I've been stopped when filling up on Diesal, stopped buying underpants in Tescos, stopped while eating my dinner and stopped in the street countless times by people wanting to wish me well.

I was on local radio this week and was asked whether I thought I would win. I hate those questions as it always sounds arrogant if you say yes so I always try and avoid them. The results of our canvassing are good and would suggest that we would. However, I am always wary of canvass returns.

A much more reliable measure are the ones outlined above. When people actually stop you while you are out shopping to wish you luck it must surly be a good measure of how strongly people feel at the moment.  

Good news on our campaign to clean up the River Ancholme in Brigg. Cllr Nigel Sherwood met with the Environment Agency this morning who have agreed to clean up the river bank shortly.

They have agreed to undertake this work apparently in return for the Town Council agreeing to put a tender out for the clean-up of the river in general. We will obviously continue to clean up the river until that tender is in place but this sounds very much like excellent news.

Hard work by the Town Council and Ward Councillors looks to have paid off. Lets hope the litter in the Ancholme will be a thing of the past.

I woke up this morning in a really good mood following a great weekend on the doorstep. Lots of leaflets delivered and some very good responses on the door steps, particularly from Labour voters, or should I say ex-Labour voters.

We also held a really successful fundraiser in the Brigg area on Sunday afternoon which raised more than we expected so my mood was lifted even more. This was short lived though this morning when I picked up the Daily Telegraph to see a headline saying that the Tories are failing to make a breakthrough in the North.

I scratched my head a little bit as I couldn't quite square that with the results we are getting on the doorsteps at the moment. Anyway, a little digging soon put my fears to bed. Apparently, the poll on which the story was based does indeed show that in the North of England (defined as the North East, North West and Yorks and Humber regions) the Tories trail Labour Labour by 2% overall.

However, this represents a 8.5% swing on the 2005 election result, which is higher than the swing being recorded down south! That's enough to deliver this seat to the Tories with a majority in the thousands! Apparently the Tories trailed Labour in the North by 19% at the 2005 election.

So the story in the Telegraph could just have easilly read, 'Tories Making More Progress in the North than the South.' I despair . . .

Prospective MP, Andrew Percy, has added his support to the Conservative Party’s ‘Support Our Small Shops’ campaign, which aims to keep small shops at the heart of local communities.

Small shops are at the heart of our high streets and town centres. They offer diversity and choice and provide a personal service to their community. Yet in many communities these independent retailers are under threat. They face a rising burden of regulation and tax, a daily battle against crime and violence, and competition from the growth of out-of-town shopping centres. It is estimated 2,000 shops close every year.

Business rates are universally unpopular with small shops and businesses. They are often the third most significant overhead, and are fixed, regardless of how well or badly a business is doing. So in a recession, business rates can push a firm over the edge.

Many small shops are entitled to relief from business rates – yet more than half of firms don’t claim the money they’re entitled to because they don’t know about it or because it’s too complicated. The relief could save shops up to £1,100 a year.

A Conservative Government would make Small Business Rate Relief automatic. That means scrapping the forms and bureaucracy of handling thousands of claims. It also means providing the help straight away, cutting the fixed overheads of small businesses each and every year.

The Conservative Party has also teamed up with Leaseholders United to provide an outline tool to find out what relief – if any – shops are eligible for. To access it shop owners can simply log onto www.conservatives.com.

Andrew said: “The centres of many of our town have suffered a gradual but persistent decline over the past few decades. The most obvious symptom of this has been the near disappearance of the independent small retailer from our high streets. They provide diversity, interest and a level of personal service that is sometimes missing in out-of-town shopping centres.

“We need to restore the health of our small shops by helping business owners with the cost of their annual rates, which can sometimes be crippling.”

Photo: Andrew and Cllr. Liz Redfern in Epworth town centre.