ASB

For some reason Harlow gets a bad press when it comes to anti-social behaviour and crime. Yet Harlow is at the front of some ground breaking preventative on anti-social behaviour. Led by the remarkable Marysa Rudgely and others, Harlow is at the forefront of anti-social behaviour and is doing some ground breaking working on getting young people off the conveyer belt to crime.

I was pleased to make another visit yesterday to Marysia and the team, especially as I bought with me, Caroline Spelman MP(Shadow. Secretary of State for Local Government and Communities. Caroline, who also visited the amazing Crucial Crew told Marysia that she would like to try and replicate her work in her own area in the Midlands.

Good news on our Green belt

One of the issues that I care deeply about is preservation of our countryside and green belt.

For some reason Labour has decreed that thousands of buildings will be plastered across our countryside and green belt, without local residents having any real say. They have also put power in the hands of unelected quangos.

That is why I was delighted that in a major visit today to Harlow Constituency, Shadow Local Government Secretary Caroline Spelman MP set out Conservative plans to curtail Labour's plans to build over our Green Belt.

Visiting the Nazeing Green Belt Action Group, Mrs Spelman confirmed that:

* A Conservative Government would abolish the East of England Regional Assembly &

* Would abolish Housing targets and scrap the Government's Regional Spatial strategy.

I was honoured to welcome Caroline Spelman MP into Harlow and pleased she confirmed that local people would decide housing needs not unelected quangos or Gordon Brown!