To all my Facebook and Myspace friends:

Dear Friend

I am just back from the conference in Bournemouth and am really excited about the prospects for the Liberal Democrats going into the next election.

The polls, commentators, European and local elections, council and parliamentary by-elections are all showing that Labour is not going to win the next election.  The choice for people who want change will be between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives.

Nick Clegg and Vince Cable have set out our stall this week.  They have been upfront and honest about the challenges facing us and how we might meet them.  They were also clear that when we face them is just as important as how, and that simply cutting public expenditure as soon as possible could turn recession into social and economic catastrophe.

For me the highlight of our conference was Vince Cable’s speech where he exposed the Conservative Party for what it lacks; talent, experience and values.  Qualities that Vince and his front bench colleagues exhibited in spades.

It made all the more woeful the attempt by David Cameron to portray his party as being on the same side as the Lib Dems.  Clearly they are not.

While the Conservatives want tax breaks for millionaires: we want the rich to pay more so we can cut taxes for the least well off.

On the environment, we are resolutely opposed to nuclear energy, which is dirty, expensive and will not help against climate change.  The Tories back nuclear, and for good measure are siding with climate change deniers in the European Parliament.

Mr Cameron commits his party to the same spending as Labour on the NHS, while we argue that it is how we spend, as much as how much we spend that matters and we can deliver better services across the public sector by decentralising decision making.

Even when it comes to the familiar Tory agenda of cuts to services where you would expect Cameron to have some well thought through ideas, all we have is a Tory commitment to increase the price of a cup of tea in the Houses of Parliament, while the Liberal Democrats are proposing to save billions of pounds by cutting the Trident replacement programme.

I believe we have an ideal opportunity to make inroads nationally into replacing the Labour Party as the alternative to a Conservative Government.  Like many seats in the South West it has been a straight fight between the Conservatives and ourselves for some time now. 

Our biggest challenge is competing with the Conservative Party that can outspend the Lib Dems ten to one.  This financial backing threatens the progressive direction of British politics.  Our only source of funding is support from local people.

Getting our message across is not all about money though.  Many volunteers in Torbay are working very hard delivering leaflets and speaking to voters.  We need everyone’s help to ensure the next election is going to be a fair fight.  If you liked what we were saying in Bournemouth this week, please get in touch.

Best wishes

Adrian Sanders MP

PS: If you would like to join my team in Torbay, message me.  If you can make a donation - UK citizen's only - visit my website: www.adriansanders.org 

My first ever party political broadcast - it was easy, it was cheap, go and do it!

When I saw the newspaper hoardings announcing Plymouth Argyle had launched a bid to host World Cup matches I thought they must mean the Subbuteo World Cup – for the table football game.

But no, the local professional soccer club, Plymouth Argyle, hope to build a new 40,000-capacity white elephant, or stadium as they describe it, partly paid for by the taxpayer.

They already have the support of the Conservative controlled Councils in Plymouth and Devon pledging council taxpayer’s money.  Government funded development quangos are expected to throw in taxpayer pounds that might otherwise have gone on sustainable job creation schemes elsewhere in Devon and Cornwall, while other monies may come direct from central government backing the main bid to host the competition in England.

The theory is that such a proposal will create huge economic impetus for both Devon and Cornwall and put Plymouth on the map.

I have two words for those who think this is going to make a difference to how Plymouth is perceived in the world.   Gelsenkirchen and Kaiserslautern.   If you haven’t heard of them, they were two of the twelve venues that wanted to be put on the map as hosts of the last World Cup, hosted by Germany.

Without wishing to prick Plymouth's balloon Argyle only manage to fill just over half of their existing stadium’s 19,500 capacity.  A 40,000 seat stadium costing £50 to £100 million for just 3 or 4 games for one month in 2018 is ridiculous.

The tragedy is how big one-off projects like these seduce normally sensible and careful decision makers into pledging other people’s money towards them.  Experience must show them that just about all big venues whether sporting or entertainment, or both, require long-term taxpayer subsidies. 

Experience must also show them there is no short-cut to economic success, certainly not here in the far South West.  

I wish Plymouth Argyle well as a football club and hope they can reach their goal of premiership football when perhaps they will start to fill all of their existing seats.  I support all sensible moves in our region to create employment and increase prosperity.  

In Plymouth and across the rest of Devon and Cornwall the successes have nearly always been incremental and slow. 

Our priority ought to be how we respond to the long-term decline of the traditional pillars of the South West economy; defence, agriculture, fishing and tourism.  For Plymouth that would suggest mounting a campaign to replace the dockyard jobs that will inevitably go whoever is in Government. 

For the whole region it means supporting our existing small businesses to help them to grow, investing in education and skills to keep jobs in the region, and improving our transport links with the rest of the country to attract investment, assist trade and grow the economy of the region.

And if you still think World Cup Plymouth is the answer to the challenges facing the city, just remember 1966 and the 7 venues of that World Cup in England.  Can you name them?  Four of them, Sheffield, Liverpool, Middlesbrough and Sunderland, were and remain among the most deprived and economically unsuccessful cities in the country. 

My point being that hosting the World Cup will make little or no difference to the perception of the area or performance of its economy, but it could cost the taxpayer dear and misdirect funds away from where they make a real difference in the creation of ong lasting sustainable economic and social improvements for local people.

 
I'm afraid my response to the promoters courting political support from MPs in the region is count me out, unless it really is for the Subbuteo World Cup.

In the Presidential election one of Barak Obama’s key pledges was to reform healthcare provision.

The United States is home to some of the best hospitals, most advanced medical research and leading healthcare professionals in the world.  In fact the US spends nearly twice as much on health care as the UK.

Despite this the US has one of the worst child mortality rates and lowest life expectancy rates in the developed world, mostly due to having 47 million citizens who cannot obtain healthcare insurance.

I remember seeing a report on television about a Californian family facing the repossession of their home because they could no longer afford the cost of prescription drugs as well as the mortgage repayments, and something had to go.  I thought then what a cruel system where one illness, chronic condition or need for a costly operation can transform your life to one of abject financial struggle.  Thank heavens for our National Health Service was my reaction.

You would think is was a no brainer to switch to a public health care system, but there are some very powerful groups resisting Obama’s efforts.  The insurance companies and special interests who profit from the status quo are spreading brazen lies that stir up anger, and Conservative Republican leaders are chiming in with over-the-top rhetoric that detracts from the public debate.  

The right-wing radio shock-jock, Rush Limbaugh has insinuated that President Obama was comparable to Adolf Hitler.  Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin claimed that future decisions over treatment would be made by “death panels”! 

I wonder what they call the decision making bodies inside private health insurance companies who currently reject applications for health care cover, or turn down claims for medical treatment?  They wouldn't be death panels by any chance?

Our NHS is far from perfect but no one is denied treatment on the basis of their inability to pay, and unlike the US system it does not condemn nearly a quarter of the population to poor health, debt or an early grave.  

Very similar objections to those being aired in America were heard in 1910 when Lloyd George's National Health Insurance Bill was going through the Commons.

For example, many doctors were not keen. Sir James Barr, chairman of the BMA, said it would "destroy individual effort and increase the spirit of dependence," and that "only loafers and wastrels will benefit".

Some newspapers were also hostile to a public health care system. The Daily Mail declared its opposition to "the hateful task of collecting this unpopular tax thus thrust upon Mr Lloyd George's hapless victims". For, "it is not only 3d a week we shall lose, but our independence, self-respect and character" .

And a reader was quoted as saying: "If the Insurance Bill becomes law it will be advisable for us to leave England"

How ironic that today many people who have lived abroad return home as soon as they require medical assistance, including from the USA. 

The task of making our NHS even better will be a good deal easier than Obama’s task of creating a universal system for the first time.

Norway 4, Scotland 0

"William Wallace, J.K. Rowling, Sir Walter Scott, Sir Jackie Stewart, John Logie Baird, Adam Smith, Robbie Burns, vi har slått dem alle sammen, vi har slått dem alle sammen [we have beaten them all, we have beaten them all]. Gordon Brown, can you hear me? Gordon Brown your boys took a hell of a beating! Your boys took a hell of a beating!"

In memory of Norway's 2 – 1 world cup qualifier victory over England in 1981, when Maggie Thatcher was PM

Following his failure to win the open primary in Totnes many people are calling on him to resign.  This may seem a little unfair considering he was asked to resign when he applied for the position of Conservative candidate, and asked if he would go if he won the nomination, as well as to stand down were he to win at a General Election.

Personally I thought if he had resigned to fight for the nomination the Totnes electorate might have noted his seriousness and voted for him in larger numbers. 

Nick did himself no favours when he initially said that were he selected he would continue to exercise executive power in the bay.  Both Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnston resigned their Parliamentary seats in order to concentrate on being an elected Mayor, not the other way round.

It is an honour and privilege to serve your area in Parliament, but how much more of an honour to be trusted with almost unfettered power over the policy and resource distribution decisions that directly affect your community.

And what a challenge presents itself for the only executive Mayor in the region to show how the position can be used for the benefit of the people served.

Nick’s problem now is that he has to convince people and win their confidence that being the elected Mayor of Torbay is what he wants, that he is going to do things differently, and that the job will have his undivided attention from now on. 

I think there is a way to lead ..Torbay.. towards a brighter and more prosperous future, and this is how he could do it.

Of all the regions in the ..UK.. the far South West, and ..Torbay.. in particular, face the greatest challenges over the next few years. 

The four pillars of the region’s economy have been in various states of decline over the past three decades.  Tourism, fishing, agriculture and defence all employ fewer people today than one, five, ten or thirty years ago. 

The invention of the jet engine and the development of the package holiday offers people a bucket and spade vacation with guaranteed sunshine, often for less money, from a regional airport closer to their home than the English coast.

Fewer fishermen and boats are required for the same sized haul, as new technology has increased the catch to the point where some species of fish are near extinction. 

Modern farming techniques and global competition have increased yields while forcing the small family farmer out of business.

The end of the Cold War and the reappraisal of ..Britain..’s role in the world has already led to a reduction in the amount of defence related economic activity, even before Devonport loses its role housing ....Britain....’s submarine fleet.

Tourist resorts have been particularly affected as today’s visitor is less likely to patronize locally owned business and instead stay in branded accommodation or self-catering, stocking up in a national supermarket.  If they venture out to eat or drink it will be to a national branded pub or restaurant.  The result is less of their money stays in the local economy.

Tourism is, and will continue to be, a major contributor to the local economy but the days of the mass exodus from our cities of bucket & spade holidaymakers heading down the A38/M5 for their main holiday are long gone.

We should concentrate on what we do well and hospitality, in all its forms from catering to language schools, health to heritage, alongside the electronic, new technology and creative industries are what we do best.

We start with a number of advantages.  We have one the world’s most beautiful natural harbours and one of the most pleasant climates in all ....England.....  We have first rate hotels and conference facilities together with nationally renowned restaurants and good leisure facilities.  With high performing schools, an outstanding further education college and a skilled workforce, ..Torbay.. ought to be easy to market to the visitor and the inward investor.

We know there are a number of local and national barriers to investment – our poor transport links with the rest of the country are top of the list.  However, for far too long we have looked outside the bay for salvation.  For a silver bullet to solve all our ills when the answer has been staring us in the face all along.  The people and place that is ..Torbay...  And perhaps we can use the position, influence and power that comes with having an elected Mayor to do something different, and to do it for ourselves.

Who else but a Mayor could invite all the movers and shakers in an area together to plan a strategy to meet the needs of the communities that make up ..Torbay.. over the coming years.  A summit to determine the options that could then be put to residents in a formal consultation exercise to develop a ‘People’s Plan’ for the bay, rather than a ‘Mayoral Vision’.

It is not too late to rescue a plan for the future that originates locally and has public ownership and support to replace the oft criticized Mayoral Vision dreamt up by external consultants.

Without public ownership of where we want to be we will never unite the community behind the necessary changes the bay needs to address and meet the challenges that face us.  Until we have a plan for the future shaped and owned by the people who live here, we won’t get the single unified voice that we need to get things done our way.

Perhaps the lesson Nick can learn from this is that it matters not who sits in the driving seat in the town hall and who sits on the Green benches at ....Westminster.... if the vision of the political leadership in the town hall doesn’t command widespread support outside.

What really matters is engaging the public with the decisions that need to be taken and letting them own the process of change.  With no Mayoral election until May 2011 there is time to host that summit, get people together, and start the ball rolling.

That’s the challenge.  A very different kind of elected Mayor, working with the people to realise their vision and plans for the future. 

Can Nick change, drop his 'Mayoral Vision' and put the people of the bay first, or will he hang on as a lame duck Mayor whose term of office will only be remembered for his inflexibility and failure?

Hats off to the Conservative Party for trying to involve more people in politics with their full postal ballot in Totnes to select a candidate to take on Lib Dem challenger Julian Brazil at the next election.

And congratulations to Dr Sara Wollason who won the ballot with nearly half the votes case.

Poor old Nick Bye, 3,088 votes (less than 20% of those cast) and mostly I suspect from people hoping that if they voted for him he would have to resign as Mayor of Torbay! 

The Tories didn’t have to do it this way.  They could have simply restricted votes to members, or to anyone who could turn up to a hustings meeting.  Instead they spent an estimated £40k on a full postal ballot of 69,000 people within the boundaries of the new Totnes constituency.  As an aside I wonder if they might have to select again if there is a by-election before the General Election on the existing boundaries given several thousand Totnes constituents were not sent ballot papers?  Unless Anthony Steen MP was minded to resign I hope this doesn’t happen.

I do not share the cynical view that this was a desperate exercise to draw a line under the embarrassing circumstances of Anthony Steen’s decision not to stand again at the next election.  I hope the Tories will repeat the exercise in future selection to prove the cynics wrong.

Sadly, I can’t see my party ever having the funds to engage in such an exercise.  Unlike the Tories we don’t have super rich tax exile donors to help us out financially.

The result:

Sarah Wollaston            7914 (48%)

Sara Randall-Johnson     5495 (33.3%)

Nick Bye                       3088 (18.7%)

Turnout 24%

Looks like ..Torbay.. is left with a lame duck Mayor who wants to be somewhere else. 

Michael Crick and a Newsnight crew popped up in my back garden this afternoon filming a report on the Totnes selection battle for broadcast tonight.

No one really knows how the three candidates are doing or how many of the 62,000 plus ballot papers will be returned in their free post envelopes.

I keep saying it’s a great idea to involve everyone but the short-list the Tories have chosen could come back to haunt them.  When I say the two women are fairly indistinguishable I do not mean it in a derogatory sense.  It's a fact they share a similar first name, are both blond and neither has a direct connection to the constituency.  To make an impact in a short campaign is going to be difficult even with the generous amount of media interest the contest has attracted.

On the other hand, Nick Bye is much better known but is very unpopular with Conservtiaves.  That's not my claim, just what self confessed Conservatives have been saying to the press, declaring on the radio, or commenting on the web. 

If it's running neck and neck only a few Tory opponants using their vote could tip the result in Nick Bye's favour and that would only be good news for the main challenger for the seat, Lib Dem prospective candidate, Julian Brazil.

The ballot paper below is for illustrative purposes only and shows one of the ways you could fill it in!

New video blog - comments welcome