Straight talking from Lord Tebbit at the Churchillian Dinner

"Who would have believed the Irish threw out the British, only to find themselves governed by Brussels."   So said Lord Norman Tebbit, last night at the Harlow Conservative Ladies Churchillian dinner, explaining the EU bail-out of the Irish economy.

As former MP for Harlow and Epping during the 1970s, Lord Tebbit's return to the constituency - forty years after he had been selected - marked a very special occasion.   So much so, that some of the guests at the dinner, had not only been at his original selection meeting in Potter Street, but had helped him during the 1970 election campaign.  The picture above shows Potter Street residents Don and Anita Horton, who worked with Norman Tebbit (as he was then), as Candidate and as MP.

Our Churchillian dinner at Canons Brook Golf Club was a wonderful event.  Organised over many months by Harlow Conservative Ladies Committee, (chaired formerly by Sarah Dangerfield, and most recently Linda Pailing), over one hundred and fifty people attended.  The room was packed with visitors from Harlow, Roydon, Nazeing as well as Epping and Saffron Walden, including Geoffrey Van Ordern MEP, who gave the vote of thanks.

Every year, the Churchillian Dinner has two special awards: The Alan Pond Cup, for long service to the party, and the Vince Dunn Cup for campaigning.  This year, the winners were Andrew Shannon, for his many years of hard work, and Cllr. Guy Mitchinson, for his record as a party campaigner.  Both awards were richly deserved.

After the awards, there was the auction, with some great goodies on offer:  this included a bottle of House of Lords Whisky signed by Baroness Thatcher and some Rotary watches.

But, back to Lord Tebbit.  It was a great honour for Harlow Conservatives, to have him at our dinner.  Lord Tebbit was central to Conservatism during the 1980s, and had his wife not been tragically injured by the IRA, he perhaps would have become leader after Mrs Thatcher.  Many Conservatives certainly wanted him to.  He has always been known for his straight talking, and he did not disappoint last night.  Whilst Lord Tebbit doesn't like the idea of coalition very much, he acknowledged the important reforms the Government is making to deal with the economy. He did urge a full throated return to red-meat conservatism, and countenanced against any deal with the Liberals at the next election.

Not surprisingly, this Grandfather of Thatcherism, and the Conservatism movement, received a standing ovation as he left the building. It was a very proud moment for Harlow Conservatives, our award winners, and especially the Ladies Committee, who had worked so hard to make it happen.  I have to say that I felt very proud too - addressing my first Churchillian dinner as MP for Harlow.

P.S.  The Churchillian dinner is so named because like Lord Tebbit, Winston Churchill was also MP for Harlow and Epping (between 1924 and 1945).

P.P.S.  I hope to add some more pictures later, as there are problems with uploading some at present.

by Robert Halfon - www.roberthalfon.blogspot.com

IDS to visit Harlow today

It should be a really good day. Iain Duncan Smith MP, Chairman of the Centre for Social Justice is visiting Harlow.

We have a jam packed visit. IDS starts off as Guest Speaker to the Essex Chamber of Commerce Lunch.

After, he will be visiting the Canal Boat Project and Raktrain. Both - in a different way - are community ventures which transforms the lives of young people.

The Canal Boat Project gives youngsters - many with disabilities - the chance to explore our canals and enjoy our beautiful scenery through the eyes of a canal boat.

Raktrain helps equip young kids - who may have dropped out of full time education - with the skills they need to give them a chance for the future.

After these visits, IDS is guest speaker at Harlow Conservatives Ladies Committee annual dinner.

We have over 100 people attending in what should be a remarkable event. Ladies Chairwoman, Sarah Dangerfield - with her committee - has been working day and night to make the event run smoothly. It is a mammoth task: organising the venue, selling tickets, doing table plans and much more besides.

Our dinner is called 'The Churchillian' in recognition that Winston Churchill represented Harlow when he was MP for the Epping Constituency.

I am looking forward to IDS coming very much. He is a man who has transformed Conservative politics with his emphasis on social justice and helping the vulnerable through empowering community organisations. It should be fascinating to hear what he has to say.

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A few days as Prospective MP!

Sometimes people ask me what a Prospective MP does, so I thought I would give you a small illustration!

Thursday -

Such a good day! After spending hours doing constituency correspondence, with my long suffering volunteer assistant, Ann Russell-Day, I then went to the Harvey Centre to meet a determined Harlow student, who is a real go-getter and offering to help on my campaign. He is currently studying in London, but comes back regularly. I am sure he will be a great asset. It is a great feeling when someone pro-actively offers assistance, especially someone like this chap, who is clearly going places. Later I have a long meeting with my Constituency Chairman, Cllr Lee Dangerfield. His home is like the Pentagon, with every manner of computer and serious hi-tech gear.He downloads Twitter on my Blackberry (telling me Facebook is so yesterday), and at last I feel I have joined the Twenty First Century. Over delicious Bolognese (without spaghetti for me - diet), we discuss our campaign plan. The Campaign Team arrive a while later and we go through a check-list of various activities. We have so much to do and like every anxious PPC, I always feel I am not doing enough. Everyone else tells me I am doing too much and to pace things a little! I am lucky to have such a great team of volunteers, who have spent days, months and years, doing everything they can to turn Harlow blue. After the meeting, I rush home to watch Margaret on BBC2. As I settle down to a glass of whisky, I feel like such a Tory!! In the end, the programme was disappointing and ended rather flat.

Friday -

I put on my nice dry-cleaned suit (from M&S – I am still a fan) and get ready for a day of constituency activities. Fridays are always packed as I visit a range of community organisations and meet local residents with problems. First, off to Epping Forest District Council, with some Hastingwood residents to meet with officials. For years, the residents have had to put up with a waste contractor in the village. Their homes and cars have been covered in dirt and dust, there is constant noise, a rat infestation and the grass verges have been ruined. What amazes me is the confusing plethora of agencies there are to approach to deal with the problem. The residents have been campaigning for years to little avail, so this meeting – which lasts for two hours – is with some of the agencies concerned, to get things moving. To be fair, the officials were reasonable and understand the problem, and a follow up meeting is scheduled. But how much will really be done to improve the lives of residents?
After this it was back to Harlow to Nandos - to meet an amazing woman, Anne Wafula Strike. On the way, I got a call from my local paper about a donation Lord Ashcroft gave us back in 2005 – have Labour got nothing better to do?

I park my car in the Water Gardens, and as I put money in the parking machine, it keeps spewing it out. A kind pigeon then decides to make a deposit on my formerly very clean suit. The pleasures of being a PPC.

Anyway, back to Anne. She is a disabled Olympic Athlete, and expected to compete in 2012, having participated in Athens (she was injured for Beijing). Anne is a true hero and I am proud she is in Harlow. I was amazed to learn that Anne has had her grant funding cut by sporting organisations.

After another party meeting, I rush off to meet David Gauke. He has come to meet a very successful small business, Top Form Clothing (which supplies school uniforms and equipment to parents and children). Top Form is run by an inspirational lady, Claire Harrison, who is a real entrepreneur. What struck me in our discussions with David, Claire and her partner Kath, was the disillusionment felt with all politicians. Nevertheless, I feel that with the right policies - and if we convey a sense of trust - these voters will choose us next time. I doubt they will be voting Labour.

At a superb dinner later with Harlow Conservative Women’s Committee, David gives a first class speech and is just so personable and friendly to everyone. I, of course, overdo it with the cheese. Will I ever learn?!

Saturday -

A Campaigning day! Our Association is out in full force to deliver leaflets and canvass. I do a stall in Staple Tye with my best Canvasser, Clive Souter, who has done his back in – thanks to canvassing. Despite some difficult issues going on locally, we get a fantastic reception, and are fortified by some McDonald's cappuccinos. Then I go home, watch some Gavin and Stacey on DVD and get ready to meet my mother. It’s her birthday and I promised to take her to dinner (being a good boy, present was already bought). The diet goes down the pan (in this case Italian), yet again...




Rob Halfon ~ Working hard for Harlow, Hastingwood, Nazeing, Roydon & Sheering.

Praise for “community focused" council over council tax rise

A proposed 2.5 per cent increase in Epping Forest District Council's share of council tax bills for the next financial year should be welcomed.
The Conservative-led authority is set to approve a 2.5 per cent rise - one of the lowest district council increases in Essex.
During these times of economic hardship I know that local council tax payers will be relieved that Epping Forest District Council is able to control its budgets and spending levels so that council tax payers can stomach a relatively small increase in their council tax bills for the next financial year.
It would have been easy for the authority to have increased its fees and charges, and added a few more pounds to council tax bills to make life easier for the budget-setters, but this has not been the case.
We have already seen the district council freeze pay-and-display parking charges, and it is welcoming to see it continuing to be community-focused and putting its residents at the forefront of its decision-making when it comes to next year's council tax.
“It remains true that Conservative councils cost you less.