Speech at William Hague Fundraiser
- 11 Jan 2005
Commonwealth Club, Northumberland Avenue. Joint dinner with Mark Fox, candidate for Great Yarmouth. William Hague was the guest speaker. Ladies & gentlemen I would like to echo Mark’s welcome to you all tonight. I can’t tell you how honoured we are that so many of ...
Stalham Debate
- 5 Jan 2005
Just got in after the debate in Stalham. The UKIP Candidate came out with a classic. "An MP from a small independent Party has little or no influence." I couldn't have put it better myself. About 70 people tonight. Very good questions. And a 23 year old guy came up to me at th...
Cromer, Crematorium, Will Young and New Year Blowout
- 23 Dec 2004
I discovered the most brilliant shop in Cromer today. It's the Garden House giftshop in Garden Street. I bought about a dozen presents there which essentially meant I'd done all I needed to. Hurrah! I'm a day ahead of myself. Normally I buy all my presents on Christmas Eve! ...
A Boxing Day Dip
- 19 Dec 2004
I've done it again. On Boxing day I'm going to brave freezing temperatures to take part in the annual Boxing Day dip at Cromer. I'll be joining the intrepid North Norfolk Beach Runners for the festive swim to raise funds for BREAK. Funds raised will be used to provide seaside ...
A Visit from IDS
- 18 Dec 2004
It's 1am and I am about to go to bed. Very frenetic day. IDS arrived over an hour late due to traffic. What is it with me and visiting speakers? Boris Johnson went to Peterborough instead of Norwich, Cecil Parkinson ended up driving down the M11 the wrong way and now this! IDS...
The Wisdom of the Electorate
- 12 Dec 2004
The Sunday Times Atticus column is a regular reader of this blog. Today's column quotes my local residents survey. Enjoy... The voter suggestions a Tory hopeful must ignore What are going to be the big issues at the next election? Keen-as-mustard Tory candidate Iain Da...
Brass Monkeys
- 20 Nov 2004
God it was cold today. This morning a team of us were out on the venerable doorsteps of Sheringham. I keep being told that Sheringham is a LibDem stronghold but that's not my experience at all. At lunchtime I drove over to Happisburgh to see Di Wrightson whose tearooms are abo...
Oh Dear, I've Upset Auntie
- 17 Nov 2004
It seems I have upset the BBC. Yesterday I was interviewed by Nicky Campbell on the 5 Live Breakfast Show, ostensibly about mavericks in politics (why did they ask me, I wonder?!). Nicky ended up asking me why Michael Howard had sacked Boris Johnson for lieing rather than havi...
Rebecca House
- 12 Nov 2004
Apologies for the length of this press release, but please do persevere to the end. I hope my anger comes across. Iain Dale, Conservative Candidate for North Norfolk, today organised and chaired a meeting for relatives of Rebecca House patients to discuss their plans to ca...
Catching Up
- 10 Nov 2004
Apologies for the fact that I haven't posted anything for a few days. No excuses. Here goes for a quick catch up. SUNDAY: Spoke at Cromer Conservative do at lunchtime. Good event. Nice people, including a very nice young blonde lady who wants to stand for the Council. I'm ...
Euro Debate in Fakenham
- 8 Nov 2004
What a fantastic evening. Fakenham Chamber of Commerce invited me to take part in a debate on the European Constitution with the Labour Candidate Phil Harris and LibDem MEP Andrew Duff. I had a fantastic time and really enjoyed myself. Phil Harris is a very nice chap and the d...
Campaigning in Fakenham
- 6 Nov 2004
We had a good team of 7 people out this morning tramping the streets. We covered a huge area of Fakenham. Here's what one voter said: "I was taken in by Norman Lamb last time, but I won't make that mistake again." And here's a comment from a LibDem voter: "I always thought Nor...
A Day of Contrasts
- 1 Nov 2004
I think I can safely say this was a varied day. It started with me attending the first meeting of the Coltishall Task Force, which I have been appointed to. About 20 of us met in the Church Hall at Coltishall to thrash through the remit of the group and map out the way ahead. ...
Speech on the Proposed European Constitution
- 9 Oct 2004
Speech at a debate with Phil Harris, North Norfolk Labour Candidate and Andrew Duff, LibDem MEP at Fakenham. I’d like to thank you for inviting us here tonight to talk about what I think is one of the most important issues of our time – our future relationship with th...
Harvest, Holkham & Holt
- 27 Sep 2004
Whay a typical dingy bank holiday weekend. I'm off to see my parents near Saffron Walden today to help my Dad with the harvest. Weather permitting of course. I'm looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the combine for the first time this year. This weekend in Norfolk ha...
Cheers Charles!
- 25 Sep 2004
It's not often I open the Eastern Daily Press and am left open-mouthed. But today it happened. Their political editor Chris Fisher interviewed Charles Clarke (Labour MP for Norwich South and Secretary of State for Education) in advance of the Labour conference. This is what he...
Buck Up EDP!
- 19 Aug 2004
I banged off a letter to the EDP about their ridiculous editorial yesterday. I honestly despair of them sometimes. Why is it that they sneer at anything a political party proposes, calling it "opportunistic" or horror of horrors "populist". Far be it from a politician to propo...
A Busy Weekend
- 13 Aug 2004
Just got back from the Cley Branch seafood supper at which my old friend Sir Alan Haselhurst was the guest speaker. We had a turnout of more than 100 which was excellent. I've known Alan since I was a 15 year old school kid in Saffron Walden. Interestingly there were quite a f...
House Magazine Article: Summer Reading List
- 17 Jul 2004
So, what books should you take to the beach this summer? Let’s start with those you can safely leave at home. Sometimes you wonder why people bother to write books, and Hillary Clinton’s memoirs (Living History, Hodder, £20) certainly fall into this category. The book is so cl...
Cecil Parkinson Comes to Visit
- 11 Jul 2004
Just got home from the Conservative Summer Fair at Gresham's in Holt to discover in the Sunday Times that I am "much RESPECTed". I guess that's quite good to TROT out on the odd election leaflet! Yesterday I took a carload to help in the Leicester South by-election. We spe...