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I was lucky enough to be at the Spectator's Parliamentary awards last week and had a seat next to Lord Lawson who was full of great anecdotes over dinner.

I asked him what he thought of Sarah Palin, and his response was.. " I love a good joke as much as anyone". Well it made me laugh anyway. More on my take on last weeks awards later.

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Last week on my daily commute I saw one of the Nottinghamshire Labour MPs trot down the platform and get into the lovely first class carriage. Amazing how I manage to commute to London each day and manage with a standard ticket - but perhaps that's new Labour?

The day after as the train pulls into the station I recognise the face of a man asleep sitting in my usual carriage. Warm cardigan on. Airline style pillow around his neck, and fast asleep. Yes it was none other than my previous nemesis (having been Chairman of the party in Chesterfield) and true Old Labour stalwart, Tony Benn. If standard class is good enough for the former Lord Stansgate then I guess it's good enough for me

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According to their own website apparently their quality of service is good.

An 86 year old relative has a fall in the town centre on Wednesday but managed to get herself home. She is in quite alot of pain so her 86 year old husband calls for an ambulance. They are told it will be 30 minutes. An hour passed and when they call again they are told, and I quote that they "are not a priority".

They get a taxi, and get themselves to hospital and it turns out that the fall has resulted in a broken wrist and broken shoulder. Sounds easy - but given one of them was in severe pain from their fall and live in a first floor maisonette, and the other can't walk at the best of times, quite a task in itself.

Only an anecdote, however I wonder just who exactly is a priority?

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I am getting the feeling that certain energy companies are trying to take advantge of their customers by bumping up their monthly direct debit payments when there is no need.

Take our house for example. During the current quarter we used less gas than we did the previous quarter. We were in credit with the company yet we received a letter telling us that our monthly direct debit payments would be increasing by approximately 150%. A few calls later and we established that given we were in credit we would not be increasing our payments - and would look at the situation should our current payment programme not cover the amount we were using.

Funnily enough the same company had also written to my wifes Grandparents trying to bump up their monthly payments, in spite of them being £250 in credit. It must be great to have a business when even if you owe your customers money you feel it acceptable to ask for more money for something they haven't yet used. The more people I speak to, the more I hear the same has happened to them Is this a concerted effort by the energy companies to get people paying money well in advance just in case people's bills increase? Funny how they aren't so quick at refunding money when you get in credit by a considerable amount.

I'm wondering when we will see gas prices falling (aren't they linked to oil prices for some reason). I won't hold my breath. 

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I remember when I first worked at the post office in a media relations capacity we were looking to have something translated from Swedish if my memory serves me correctly into English. It took an absolute age. First of all I had to track down various companies who might or might not be able to do the translation. Then I had to get quotes from each company, which included working out exactly how many words needed to be translated. Finally I had to get a timescale as to how long it would take to get the whole thing done. The cost was prohibitive and the timescale even more so. 

How the internet has changed things. Not only can you monitor parliament from anywhere in the world, but if you were looking to get something translated you can literally get it done within the hour from by going to somewhere like OneHourTranslation.com.

The great thing is that  it can all be done online. All you have to do is upload whatever content you need translated. The task is then sent to a niche language specialist and its literally back with you in a matter of minutes - and under an hour on average. I wonder if it would work for some of John Prescott's speeches?

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We have had rain since the dawn of time.

The leaves have always fallen from the trees.

The railway has been around for a good few years too, so why oh why in the year 2008 can't we find something that means "sorry for the delay which was due to slippery rails" is no longer a valid reason for getting home late.

Moan over.

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There is no TV or equipment that can receive a TV signal in the house we are selling and hasnt been for quite some time.

We receive a letter months ago telling us the address has no licence ... (yes we know) so we call and tell them it was trasferred to our new address (happens to be on the same street).

We then continually get letters (quite threatening) telling us that we need a licence at the old address - and will be prosecuted if there is a TV there. So I give them a call and tell them there is no TV.

Yesterday they send us a further letter saying the enforcement division will be paying the property a visit and listing the various penalities that will be imposed if we do not have a licence and have a TV.

Good - please come and look for yourself. While you there you can tell the local council its unfurnished to save them a visit if they happen to feel the need. But perhaps realise that there are people (my wifes Uncle for one) who actually have a house and do not have a TV, and actually they are not criminals and really don't need threatening letters constantly beng sent.

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Afraid it's true!!

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Apparently it's true. Great eh. Though I trust no serving officer is in anyway using their time on this as opposed to solving crimes?

Funnily enough the East Midlands police have an email address to follow up committed crimes - and they seem to struggle to even respond to enquiries. Is this just another case of paying lip service to the latest fad.

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I remember at the last General Election going past an old fashioned bingo hall and thinking what a great place to canvass. The clients were, well lets say, ladies of a certain age - all likely to vote I thought.

These days bingo seems to have undergone something of a renaissance. Probably the greatest innovation is that it now seems to take place online. If you are wondering How to Play Bingo then take a look at the Ms Bingo website. Apparently playing bingo online is the new going out!

Who knows. You could even win yourself a pretty substantial prize for such a small outlay.

this is a paid for post

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As with all things, when somone is suffering economically someone is generally laughing all the way the bank (or the stash underneath the mattress which may now be the safer bet).

So who has done well out of the economic crisis? Well all those city types who still get their lovely bonuses including the bosses of some our top high street banks haven't done too bad have they. Then of course anyone who has a pile of cash who likes can pump money into the market just as it bottoms out will do quite nicely thank you.

Of course there may well be the possibility of those first time buyers who if there are any mortgage product still on offer, could finally afford a house that has been out of their reach for so long.

And of course there will be a few rather rich people who may add to their fortune too.

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With all the talk of economic gloom and doom I wondered how you were meant to know whether the economy was back on track? Only yesterday I read about how its a buyers market now in most things - new cars, houses, dare I say it stocks and shares.

Maybe you know the economy is back on track when you can get yourself a superb deal on garden furniture. After the summer we have had I suspect there will be plenty of bargains, but its always worthwhile going somewhere where you can Compare Garden Furniture.  A choice between a few nice gardeb chairs to enjoy what's left of the nice weather or putting my money in banking shares.... I know which will give me mot enjoyment!

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Poor old Robert Peston is really getting it in the beck. Apparently the financial crisis is all down to him. His blog now reads like a crystal ball. What he writes today seems to happen tomorrow.

In spite of his forensic ability to cut to the chase and inform economic illiterates as to what is going on, even Robert Peston surely doesn't have the power to move markets does he?

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How I chuckled.

Pizza Hut is to become, wait for it...... Pasta Hut! Inspired!

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Having done the rounds of the Conference stands people often ask what was the best "give away". The Top Trumps given away by Total Politics on behalf of Sky were good. The post cards from Royal Mail always go down well with delegates, however the team at Weber Shandwick produced what I think must be the most useful item of the party conference season.

Their Conservative Party Policy Guide sets out the polices and ideas that will be implemented when the party forms a Government. If only I had such a great item from the party itself!

So much "lobbying material" can be complete rubbish that often ends in the bin. I suspect many in house PA practitioners along with quit a few MPs will find this guide extremely useful! Top marks from me on this one!

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I have to admit that once as a child I went to a Barry Manilow concert with my Mum. Yes it is so true. But this Mandy story is so much better. More on my Conference highlights and the reshuffle later.....

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Politicians are frequently criticised for having pre-packaged opinions on every subject under the sun, so it's a refreshing change to take stick for not having expressed a view on a current issue.
 
A recipient of my newsletter is upset that I haven't written about the global financial crisis.  More than that: he insists that I should drop everything to campaign on the issue.  I should write articles, call public meetings, go out on the street.  This is an interesting idea, but what would I actually say at such public meetings?  My failure to act, he says, is proof that I don't take it seriously.  But of course I do indeed have opinions on the issue.  I believe that the financial crisis is a very serious threat to our prosperity.  I think the US administration is right to consider a substantial bail-out, but I also think that House Republicans are right to urge that other solutions, including an insurance guarantee scheme, should at least be considered.
 
I believe that US public opinion is wrong to regard the proposed bail-out as a tax-payers' bung to rich bankers, or a freebie for Wall Street at the expense of Main Street.  If the US economy goes pear-shaped, Main Street will suffer most as jobs are lost and banks fail.
 
The media are stuffed with news reports and opinion pieces on the subject, and while of course I have my own opinions, I don't believe I have much that is new or original to add to the debate, which is why I haven't written about it (until now).  Some are saying it is the end of capitalism.  That of course is nonsense.  As long as people instinctively believe in their natural right to own property, and a consequent right to trade property, there will be capitalism.  As Winston Churchill didn't quite say, capitalism is the worst way we know of organising an economy -- apart from all the other ways.  Over the last century, we've seen all the other ways tried out, and they manifestly lead to greater disasters than our current problems.
 
Others are calling for Draconian new regulation of the banks.  This advice should be approached with caution.  We are all too familiar with the dangers of knee-jerk reactions.  We have seen the dangerous dogs act and the post-Dunblane gun laws.  Closer to the financial world, we have seen in America the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation of 2002.  This was a well-meant attempt to clean up Corporate America, but it is widely seen not only to have failed, but to have done huge damage to the US, and indeed to have driven capital markets off-shore -- to the great advantage of London.  Excessive bank regulation could damage the City of London, could make it much less attractive to invest in the UK, and much more difficult for UK companies and citizens to borrow the money they need.  We should also apportion blame to Gordon Brown's show-case reorganisation of financial oversight, between the Treasury, the Bank of England and the FSA.  His initiative has failed at the first serious challenge, and it can be credibly argued that if the Bank of England had retained full responsibility for banking supervision, it would have acted earlier over suspect mortgages and derivatives.
 
Of course we need to look at bonuses in the financial sector, so that they incentivise long-term prosperity, not short-term deals (and note that Richard Fuld, the Chairman of the failed bank Lehman Brothers, actually lost much of his personal fortune which was tied up in the bank's shares and share options).  We also need to look at the capital ratios and lending practices of banks.  These are issues that shareholders are likely to address anyway, without new regulation.
 
Looking more broadly at threats to our prosperity, I personally believe that serious as the financial crisis is, there is an even greater threat to Britain, and that is the question of energy security.  On current energy policies, and especially with the Labour government's over-reliance on wind power, we could see rolling black-outs in a few years' time.  We could see the lights go out.  This is an issue where I do indeed feel that I have something important to add to the debate, which is why I have written articles, organised public meetings, and published a DVD about it.  I prefer to concentrate on issues which are not only important, but where I have a genuine contribution to make.  For a copy of my DVD, "Straight Talking on Climate Change", send a pre-addressed A5 envelope to me at 9 Prospect Court, Courteenhall Road, Blisworth, Northamptonshire, NN7 3DG.

Roger Helmer MEP

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Robert Peston's crystal ball was spot on again when he predicted the impending nationalisation of Bradford and Bingley.

So Government (or us the taxpayer) owns Northern Rock, owns Bradford and Bingley and own the Post Office. Hmmm.. Interesting... very interesting....

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Maidenhead, England (18th September, 2008)

Leading provider of dedicated servers, RapidSwitch, today announces the results of the first quarter of the 2008/9 financial year, showing excellent and continued growth at the company.

Revenue was up by 87% compared to the same quarter in the previous year, showing the growing groundswell of support that RapidSwitch is receiving from the decision-makers buying dedicated servers. With most industry reports estimating the sector is growing 30% year-on-year, RapidSwitch is vastly outperforming its peers.

Over the past 12 months RapidSwitch has introduced some key differentiators and benefits for its clients. These range from a unique "Recovery and Reinstall" service through to protected Intellectual Property that allows clients unique control and visibility over their network presence with RapidSwitch. The services are delivered from RapidSwitch’s own bespoke control panel which is developed around a joined-up philosophy, with all parts of the service interacting with each other.

Rather than sitting on its laurels the staff at RapidSwitch are focussed on delivering some exciting and trend-setting features to the dedicated server market. There are several developments that will be announced before Christmas, which will be of significant benefit to clients.

For more details about RapidSwitch, please visit our website www.rapidswitch.com or call 0808 238 0033.

About RapidSwitch:

RapidSwitch is a leading server hosting company in the UK. We have installed over 5,000 servers for a wide range of clients, employ over twenty staff, and have a multi-million pound turnover. The company is privately held by its board of directors, is cash flow positive, and has posted a profit in every financial year to date.

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I just wanted to share small piece of pleasing news with you. Yesterday I learned that I had been elected to the post of Deputy Chairman for the East Midlands region which is really pleasing. I will be concentrating on the political side of things which should be good fun - but hard work all the same.

The midlands is going to be a key battleground in the weeks and months before the next General Election, so I am very much looking forward to doing my bit to help return a Tory Government to power.

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Those who know me, know what a gadget freak I am. I have a couple of blackberries (with spare handsets for both) about 5 laptops, and my most recent purchase was an Iphone.

Recently I decided to upgrade my Office software from Office 2003 to Office 2007. I had heard about the new features that were available, and given I do a bit of writing and lots of presentation using Powerpoint I thought I should at least have the latest version.

For those who thought swapping to Vista was a pain, you ain’t seen nothing yet, when you compare it to upgrading your office version.

I suspect its when we get so used to the features of certain software, that when there seem to be quite drastic changes you find yourself feeling like a complete novice. For example, I think it took me about half an hour to find where you could find the “save as” function. Then of course there was the “past special” function which also took me another half hour to find.

In fact there are still old features in both word and powerpoint that I am still trying to find out where they have disappeared to. Where the hell has the wordcount tab gone? Under the review tab it seems!

How I wished for the old look of Office but with some of the new functions. Then I came across something  called Classic Menu for Microsoft Office.

One question I was particularly interested in was how to use the original keyboard shortcuts.

So is there any way that the alt keys for the top level menu can be activated? For example, pressing Alt-O-E would open the format cells dialog box in Excel 2007?

What you need to do is press Q, Q before the original shortcuts. For example, just press Alt-Q-Q-O-E, you will open the format cells dialog box in Excel 2007.

You can also browse toolbars and menus without remembering the shortcuts. For example, press Alt-Q-Q and the 'All' menu displays as following, now, press O-P you can change the Paragraph setting.

Anyway - why not just take a look yourself. You will be able to get the best out of Office 2007, with the familiarity of what you love about Office 2003.

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A year ago I was at party conference in Blackpool handing out Tory Radio CDs. The view was Brown could/would call an election and the smart money was that he would probably have pulled of an election victory.

Nick Robinson has whose blog really is a must read has an interesting piece on whether the party is the Government in waiting. Having attended the Labour conference in Manchester last week - it was clear Brown had to perform to save his skin.

Cameron has an equally tough challenge. The expectation for Brown were so low that anything half decent would and did suffice. The expectations for team Cameron are so high that the leader and his shadow cabinet now have to show they are really ready to return to power.

I have to say, this is one conference I am really looking forward to.

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As a devotee of their previous publication ’Direct Democracy’, it was with great anticipation that I awaited phase two which it turns out lives up to the high quality free thinking of it’s predecessor.
 
Since Direct Democracy there has been great changes both technologically and politically. Blogs and grassroots websites have taken on the mainstream media, and given the public thousands of sources of information where previously they were restricted to TV and Newspapers. Politically, the public are growing tired of a big unaccountable Government and it’s various agencies poking its nose into every aspect of their lives.
 
So how is The Plan different from Direct Democracy? Well for a start the title is a confliction for it conjures up images of Stalin and Brown with Tractor Production figures which couldn‘t be more different from its content.
 
Instead it extends previous ideas with adaptations and additions to deal with different conditions. In the book stays moves to make Councils self financing and election sheriffs to make local services properly accountable. The additions include action to make quangos, senior judges and ambassadors accountable, even more proposed devolution to counties and cities in much matters as social security, and a "Great Repeal Bill" to annul unnecessary and burdensome laws.
 
The topic I think will really be taken on quickly is the way the internet is changing politics. The old structures of the local Party and Branch, Trade Union’s ect are dwindling and a new internet based single issue politics is emerging. As the Authors predict, the political party that realises and "gets" the this will be the one that starts to do so called "digital politics" in Britain correctly.
 
In summary this is a radical, thought provoking book which sets out a truly democratic accountable Britain and is well worth a read.

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Cameron's visit to the Prime Minister of Georgia during the South Ossetia crisis, was seen by many as a positive and admirable action to take. It came against a backdrop of silence from senior Labour politicians, with the Prime Minister speaking out against the Russian invasion, only after Cameron had announced his visit.

This action, expected more of a Prime Minister or Foreign Secretary, displayed an increased confidence within the Conservatives that they will form the next Government. It also exhibited Cameron's willingness to usurp the Prime Minister’s position, in an attempt to shift public and the world’s perception of him, from a slick, media operator, to a distinguished statesman, worthy of a place on the world stage.

Brown’s premiership has been marked by his reluctance to take firm action on international issues. Classic examples of this include his unwillingness to hold the Olympic flame, yet still be seen with it, his aversion to host the Dalai Lama on his own and yet meet him with the Archbishop of Canterbury, and his signing of the EU Treaty long after his European counterparts.

Cameron’s issue in the past has often been his lack of political weight, particularly evidenced by his disinclination towards foreign affairs. If he continues to supersede the Prime Minister's position on major issues, it will undoubtedly help to transform this view of him and secure his future in Number 10.

Peter Kearney

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