Nick Bourne AM

 Today the party has disclosed ideas for consultation about tackling climate change with a switch from direct taxation to a tax on air travel. This seems eminently sensible given the need to take action on this front and it was predictable that the airlines would react with less than massive enthusiasm. It also seems sensible to recognise that people are still going to fly out of the country on holiday so that those travelling less will be taxed at a lower rate. A worthwhile target is domestic air travel where there are other possible forms of travel available. We as a party in Wales are seeking to address this and I was happy to confirm this week that we are opposed to a North South air link in Wales. Will other parties do the same?

  Ken Clarke was on rumbustious good form on Andrew Marr’s breakfast show this morning. He was reminding us that he was green when it was less fashionable with a  tax on landfill. He was also disparaging of Gordon Brown’s green credentials.I have just finished reading Simon Jenkin’s book, ‘Thatcher and Sons’ about Major, Blair and Brown adopting her political inheritance. One incident recalled by Jenkins is that amusingly when Brown’s Scottish home was burgled the police said it was the worst case of trashing they had ever seen and the Chancellor said that actually nothing had been disturbed!

 I must say that little surprises me in politics but the sight of Labour politicians protesting against council tax increases especially when two of those protesters look uncannily like Sue Essex, Finance Minister and Alun Pugh, Culture Minister  in Cardiff Bay did cause  even my eyebrows to go up.

 Was this the same Labour party that had presided over 100% increases in council tax since they came to power — increases that had hit pensioners particularly hard given the snail like increases in the state pension? Yes it was!

The immediate cause of this synthetic outrage was,of course, that the opposition parties in Wales had voted to ensure that the North Wales police had enough  resources to protect the people that they are charged with defending.

  Then this is the way the modern Labour party behaves. Cardiff Bay distances itself from decisions made by Labour at Westminster; Labour closing post offices : Labour announcing unnecessary police mergers in Wales:  Labour then not reimbursing the full cost of the aborting of those plans; Labour at Westminster going nuclear– the cry goes up from Wales not us Gov!

An object lesson in this endearing hypocrisy is provided by the Labour party Chairperson.Hazel Blears,  formerly that most Blairite of ministers and the one who could always be relied upon to be Tony’s little ray of sunshine, has been  campaigning against Labour’s health cuts with  more than a hint of I can be  a little ray of sunshine for Gordon too if he picks up the phone.

  Let there be no doubt after 10 years of Labour  at Westminster and in Wales these messes are Labour’s and nobody else’s!

  Last night, up in London, Lisa Francis scooped  the Dod award for Welsh Assembly Woman of the Year. I cannot think of a worthier recipient of this prize than Lisa and nor obviously could those selecting the winner.

 Lisa is a committed and passionate fighter for the people she represents  and a real team player in the Welsh Conservative Group and she did well to see off challenges from Kirsty Williams and Trish Law for the prize.

Today she was surveying the London skyline from the London Eye, but I would not have been surprised if she felt up their on cloud nine without the Eye

  Well done Lisa!

Yesterday I agreed to be interviewed for the Young Interviewer of the Year competition being held by the Rotary Club of Caerleon.  This was an opportunity for youngsters up to the age of 19 to prove their skills as a young interviewer.   William Graham, as a prominent member of the Caerleon Rotary Club had asked me to get involved. 

It is good to do these sorts of things which are a break from the normal political round, and the Comprehensive School at Caerleon is clearly an excellent school.  The event had been organised by Rotary Club President, John Dare, and Hugh Edmunds.  There were a group of judges including Nick Partridge of HTV, and I had to present evidence as to whether or not we should build more prisons in the United Kingdom and then be questioned by the four students.  The students were Daniel Edwards, who is studying ‘A’ levels and hoping to go on to read medicine at Birmingham and is a keen musician, then Funminiyi Obilande, who is doing science based ‘A’ levels and hoping to qualify as a doctor.  She is a representative in the European Youth Parliament, then James Pickering who is studying languages, history and maths and has already gained a place to read Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oriel College Oxford, and finally Sophie Morgan who is also a member of the European Youth Parliament and studying ‘A’ levels at the school, and apparently and rather frighteningly a very accomplished kick-boxer. 

All four students were really excellent.  The degree of preparation that had been put in to the research that they had done when questioning me for the allotted time was extremely impressive.  I had a far harder ride from the four of them than I often get from political journalists. 

At the end I would not have liked to choose amongst the four of them as to who was to be victorious.  I am glad that this task was one for Nicole Garnon of the South Wales Argus, Nick Partridge and Rotarians Mel Harris and Jean Watson.   They eventually awarded the prize to Sophie Morgan who, indeed, was excellent. 

My thanks for such a splendid evening and for organising such a worthwhile event to the school and to Serena Lewis who was there representing the school and to the Rotary Club of Caerleon.  

This is the first venture into this territory, and I know that they are intending that it should be rolled out more widely, and I hope indeed that is what happens. 

The most important thing that came out of our conference at the weekend was the unmistakable sense of change. The Welsh Conservatives have changed. And with the support of the public we can bring about a change of government and a new direction for Wales.

Our focus is clear – our environment, families, communities, our NHS, and our Welsh language. The stage is set. We need to go out there, to every community in Wales to get our message across.

Rhodri Morgan’s government has been meddlesome, interfering, bossy and bureaucratic. We believe that we must trust our teachers, our doctors, and our nurses to make the best decisions for their communities.

We have been determined to offer a manifesto that is carefully thought through – an honest, coherent, realistic platform for government. It is a proper, costed, alternative programme for government. The public is tired of broken pledges, abused trust and empty words.

Welsh Conservatives want to make Wales a nation that provides opportunity for everyone in society. No-one must be left behind. Our policies will benefit every family, every community in Wales. Old and young, families and individuals.
 

“Vote Welsh Conservative for a change”