Over To You

The campaigns have been run, the arguments have been aired and the battle buses have toured the country. Tomorrow it's over to the people of Britain to vote. This election has been fascinating, surprising and conducted at a heck of a pace. It seemed to go into overdrive after the first leaders' debate on ITV. In 36 hours most candidates will know their fate. I have enjoyed the last two years campaigning across Spelthorne, and I've got to know a lot of people over that time. Tomorrow, I hope local people will vote Lib Dem, for fairer taxes, a better start for our children, a sustainable economy and to fix our broken politics. I really want to see these fundamental things delivered by the new Parliament. We cannot expect the people of this country to back difficult choices unless we give them fundamental reforms that bring fairness to our society.

Hustings Part Two

Well, as I said last night, we had a great hustings meeting in Staines last night. There was an excellent turnout, and a broad range of questions. We were asked about everything from Education, to Trident, Government support for Faith Groups, and Immigration. We were well tested on our respective parties policies, and also on issues that are traditionally left to individual MPs to make personal decisions on. The audience were keen to hold us to account, and talking to many people afterwards, they said it had been helpful for them to hear us live, and it would inform their voting intentions considerably. Facing a large audience is a good test of a prospective MPs mettle. It is amazing how quickly the microphone seems to reach you as you gather your thoughts (very quickly!) to give your answer. When a question comes out of left field, suddenly even the keenest of candidates looks at the mic as if it was on fire! We have another hustings event tomorrow night at Kempton Park, and it will be interesting to see how that goes now we have heard each others answers to a lot of questions!

Class Debate

I'm not talking about background, but about class sizes at schools. Today we focussed on our education policy. One of our four key pledges for the next Parliament is that we will invest an extra £2.5bn in schools through a Pupil Premium that will raise funding for the poorest pupils to private school levels. The money will be targeted at schools taking on children who need more help, but will benefit every child in every school. The cash can be used to cut class sizes and provide one-to-one tuition or catch-up classes, ensuring every child gets the individual attention they need. An average primary school could cut class sizes to 20. An average secondary school could see classes of just 16. We want to give children the best possible start, whatever their background or circumstances. Until we put this essential building block in place, we can't begin to tackle other issues in our society properly. That's why it is right at the top of our priority list. Shortwood Infant School has been threatened with closure for having small class sizes. We believe all schools should be like this.

Manifesto

Today Nick Clegg launched our manifesto. Inside you will find the only fully costed and detailed manifesto of the General Election. Lib Dems have put together a programme for a fairer Britain, with less tax for the less well of, paid for by the better off. It commits us to investment in smaller classes for children, and it spells out how we would reform politics from top to bottom. We have been honest with the British people about how we would tackle the crippling deficit Gordon Brown has handed us. We have set out those things we think are priorities, and those which are not and we cannot afford in these difficult times for the public finances, like the hugely expensive replacement for Trident. We want a fairer Britain, built on a sustainable economy, where the banks are kept in check, and we invest in green technology. We have optimism for the future, and have a vision of a better Britain. We will deliver our promises.

And Away We Go

Finally we have an official date for the General Election on May 6th. Although the starting gun has been fired, some of us have been campaigning for a long time for this. I was selected 2 years ago, and have been campaigning here solidly since. Some of my opponents have been here rather less time, as in those 2 years I have seen the Tory MP step down due to the expenses scandal, and the Labour candidate simply disappear. Their replacements have barely had a sniff of what has been going on in Spelthorne and have had a lot of catching up to do. In terms of the big policy themes, we have been clear that we want fairer taxes, putting £700 in the pocket of the average worker. We want a fair start for children, investing in early years education. We want a sustainable economy, built on solid foundations and with the future of environment at its heart. We want to clean up politics, and reform the system from top to bottom. Politicians must be more accountable to the people. Over the next 30 days I will be taking this message with my colleagues across Spelthorne. I have campaigned in every corner of the constituency, and found support wherever I have been. So off we go, into the heat of a General Election campaign, with a great message and huge optimism about our chances of a fantastic result!

No New Answers On Shortwood

There was another public meeting tonight on the future of Shortwood infant school. As with the previous meetings, the school was packed to the rafters, and this time the parents and residents were more prepared, having had time to gather more information. The questions were superb, to the point, directly relevant, challenging and well delivered. The answers from the Council representatives were not. Despite having had 3 weeks since the last meetings to gather information that had been promised, and to cover key points of residents questions, there was nothing new tonight. With the consultation running until the 19th March, there is still time for local people to get there views heard. Then the officers of the Council will make a recommendation, and the Cabinet of Surrey, made up of councillors, will make there choice. With the man in charge of the education portfolio saying today Surrey faces huge pressures on places, and will need to build more schools, it seems that the first port of call should be to use all the places currently available, and then build as necessary. Closing Shortwood must be crazy in this context. A school that is working well will surely be able to gather more pupils with the campaigners committed to bringing numbers up.

Shortwood - There Are Questions To Answer

The consultation on the proposed closure of Shortwood Infant School continues. The document produced by the County Council to inform the debate on the schools future seems a very flimsy article, when you consider it effectively puts the case for closure. What it does do is repeatedly suggest that the school's educational performance may get worse in the future. At the public meeting, council officers repeatedly said they were not criticising the education provided. But the consultation says things like "we are concerned about the quality of education that may be provided in future to the children at the school". There are other parts of the document that cast the same aspersions. So not attacking the education today, but innuendo about the performance tomorrow. This is crude and unneccesary. There are a number of other questions that I will be suggesting are put to the council too. Current capacity, birth rates, transport, new building and Government policy all seem to add weight to the argument to keep the school open. But all these subjects need questioning in detail to get to the facts, not just a 3 page proposal from the County Council.

Back on the Campaign Trail

Now that Evie has settled at home (my lovely daughter!), I am back in full swing on the campaign trail. Quite a lot has been happening since I battled through the snow to get to the hospital. Tony Blair has suggested we invade Iran. Gordon Brown has suggested changing the voting system. David Cameron has talked about big cuts/some cuts/ only a few cuts (delete as applicable depending on poll out that day). Nick Clegg has put forward more details of our plans to give every child a fair chance at a good education. Plenty for me to blog on by the weekend then!

It's a Question of Cuts

We've already heard a lot about cuts in spending in the aftermath of the deep recession we now seem to be tip-toeing out of. We've also heard about budgets that are protected, talk of investment, and priorities. What we need to see now is exactly what the priorities are and where the cuts will come. That is going to be key for people in the coming election. We have spoken already about making the tax system fairer, supporting early years education. We've pledged to cut big ticket expediture like the replacement to Trident, as well as reforming and shrinking Government. I think we will only finally see what each party will cut or support when the manifestos are published, although any party that tries to fudge it will come a cropper at the election.