The election call!

Read Anne Marie’s views in her weekly column; an advertisement sponsored by Conservative supporters.

The election call!
This week Gordon Brown finally went to the palace to call the election.

This election will be the most important in a generation, for Teignbridge and the country as a whole – this is a seat the Conservatives must win for there to be a change of government. A hung parliament will not achieve change. The most likely outcome would be another election in less than twelve months time if history is anything to go by.

Fighting for a better future

Living in Newton Abbot with longstanding Devon roots, I am proud to be fighting for Teignbridge residents. Together we can change things for the better. Our children can have a better education, our families can feel valued and supported and our pensioners can be respected and cared for.

So we need to get Teignbridge working and make it an attractive place to work – by building the bypass, reinvigorating our towns and building affordable housing. We need to play to our strengths – building our tourism, kick starting local manufacturing and making farming profitable.

.....Together

But we can only do this together. I will team up with local councillors of whatever political persuasion to get the best result. I know I have the cabinet “in waiting” under the leadership of David Cameron right behind me. Michael Gove is committed to fair school funding; Andrew Lansley is committed to good local health care. Mark Prisk and Ken Clarke are championing small businesses.

Together we can make it happen.

Out and About

....public meetings
With the gun going off all the public meetings and debates have begun. South Dartmoor College ran an excellent question time event to get us all warmed up supported by Creativity, Culture and Education, an organization enabling schools to promote students voices. Along with other panel members we grappled with a number of issues about how to make politics more effective.

....industry groups
I met up with Barry Griffiths, the regional director of the Institute of Civil Engineers in Newton Abbot to better understand the issues in the construction business. As for so many, the challenge is attracting young people to the profession. Science subjects are just not popular at school – that has to change if we are to become more productive as a nation.

....community groups
The Dawlish Warren Traders gave me an update on local issues. The big issue is the state of the beach at Dawlish Warren, as many of you will have read in the press. There is much to be done – and sooner rather than later. This week also saw me at the quarterly meeting of the Senior Council for Devon, where I am an Assembly member representing Newton Abbot and Kingsteignton.

....and we ran a great cake sale to raise money for Epilepsy in Highweek on their national awareness day – and ended up at the Jolly Abbot for a karaoke evening!