Vote for me.......won't you?

When I moved to Huntingdonshire – to Godmanchester, actually – in 1987, from St Helens, probably the last thing on my mind was politics. Settling into an area which was new to both me and Ailsa, we quickly started to enjoy our new life in the South, and we have lived down here ever since, moving to Hartford in 1995.
I joined the Liberal Democrats for two reasons: I liked their national policies, but I was impressed with the way they communicated LOCALLY with the electorate, all the year round. I have never been keen on any system which sees a large majority, whether that was the Thatcher government of 1983 or the Blair one of 1997. Nor, come to that, the majority of Conservatives on the Huntingdonshire District Council. There needs to be a balance of views; a different opinion, if you like. But other than putting leaflets through doors, I have never been “active” in politics before.
So why should you vote for a bloke who has real NO political experience....or should I say, HAD no experience until he started knocking on your doors?
My answer is that you have to start somewhere, and sometime. My time is now. I am an accountant, though people who have worked with me would say I am anything but a typical one.
· For four years, I worked for Homepride Foods in Cambridge – I was Fred the Flour Grader’s money man.
· I spent eight years with Cambridge United during their highly successful years in the 1990’s – I sold Dion Dublin to Manchester United
· I was headhunted to Norwich City by Delia Smith
· I spent time working for Anglia TV’s multimedia arm, marketing and promoting their CD and web-based material for Schools
· My present job is Financial Controller of Pro-Spray Automotive Finishes Ltd. We are now based in Biggleswade after a serious fire threatened the company’s future. I steered the company through a £4.5 million insurance claim, and we are doing well in our new HQ. Our current credit rating is 97 out of 100.
· I was PTA Chairman at Houghton School for a year, and drew up the financial case for lottery funding for Houghton School’s very successful Out Of School Club.
· I have been heavily involved with Youth Football – Brampton Spartans – for eight years. I won the Hunts FA Administrator of the Year award four years ago.
· I have been the Snowy Way Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator.
· I have had a family membership of Hartford Conservation Group for 8 years.
I hope that gives a brief flavour of the drive, professionalism and enthusiasm I have for my work and my spare time. I will bring all of that experience with me if elected. Huntingdonshire District Council faces severe financial problems in the years ahead. I will use my expertise to make those figures understandable, in simple terms, to the people of Huntingdon East, and beyond. Looking at the Council’s own current projections, the reserves they built up over the years are going to run out in 2014. That is just four years away. The Council has been relying on interest earned on its reserves. If you have a savings account, you’ll know how the interest you earn has fallen away, and if you have a level of spending that you don’t cut, you have to eat into your savings to keep going. That’s what the Council have been doing, and borrowing as well, to help pay for the new Pathfinder House.
The Liberal Democrat group on the District Council has a voice, but we need it to be a louder one. Nationally, the Tories have been saying how, after thirteen years in power, the Labour Government is tired, and there is a need for change. Locally, I believe there is a need for change. More Liberal Democrats are needed on your Council – the one which sets your Rates and spends your money.
The statement that politicians hear views "at the doorsteps" is a very true one. I have had, for example, immigration, the guided bus, MPs expenses row, closure of Huntingdon toilets, council tax, jobs in the public sector and Hinchingbrooke Hospital, plus many more, but specifically those. The last one in particular is dear to me. I have twice had brilliant outpatient treatment there, but I shall always have a huge fondness for the place as Ben was born there in 1994. I will pledge, if elected in Huntingdon East, to learn about the issues from all sides, but of one thing I am sure. With much uncertainty surrounding the future of the hospital and how it works, I will use every endeavour to keep it in our community, and in the hands of the NHS. I will seek to talk to all, from union reps, cleaners, nurses, office staff....right through to those who by the stroke of a pen on a contract, decide how it will be run.

The situation with toilets in town would be laughable, if it were not happening before our eyes. Money spent on refurbishments, wasted because the loos are locked. I thought the District Councillors wanted to encourage people to visit the town. Seems that idea is 'down the pan'. Lib Dems on the District Council tell me that alternative proposals fell on deaf ears. Ah well, if elected, I will shout down those same ears.

The guided bus. Well, David Cameron is on record so many times of saying how the Conservatives will cut waste. Pity he didn't get the local Conservatives "on message" when they voted through £300,000 worth of "corner cutting" in Hartford. Sadly, Councillor Dutton, pictured in the Hunts Post complaining about the situation, either did nothing, or not enough, to persuade his fellow Conservatives on the council that it was a bad idea. I'll give Jeff credit for at least saying it was a waste of money. If elected, I shall be asking how many buses per day are using that road, and how much time is saved.

As an accountant, I look forward to reviewing the Council's accounts, as from what I am led to believe, problems lie ahead. I intend to make a start by proposing that ALL Councillors take a 10% cut in expenses and emoluments. It may be a small gesture, but it will help when trying to explain any future cuts which may happen.

Above all, I will bring the same enthusiasm, vigour, drive and fresh approach, locally, which Nick Clegg has brought nationally. Whatever happens on May 6th, you can be sure that in Huntingdon East, Lib Dems will be working for fairness.

People are starting to realise that a vote for the Lib Dems is NOT a wasted vote, and in Huntingdon East, it is a vote for action, not words.

If you ever want to contact me, use ste.greenall@ntlworld.com or join my group on Facebook

List of Famous Diamonds

On-line encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA has a page listing famous diamonds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_famous_diamonds

For some reason, it is yet to list the recently discovered Greenall Diamond.

Printed on Liberal Democrat orange, with bold black writing, this strain of diamond has been found recently in various parts of the town of Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire. Sometimes affixed to wood by means of a white backing and screws, this flawed gem has also been seen in the windows of homes. Experts have been baffled by the sheer numbers of these previously rare stones, but they predict that they will be around for some time to come.

Notice of polls

I hope I can get one of these for my scrap-book, for when the campaign is over.

This bloke came up to me ......

....well, I tell a fib. He came up to one of our people, David Lewisohn, and showed him a poster he had made for his car. It said "I am 72 and have voted Tory all my life. Not any more."

Anyone with interest in politics would have to agree that this campaign has been unlike any before it, with style being measured as well as substance, but with people REALLY taking more than a passing interest in what is going on.

A house that we canvassed earlier this week has yielded an excellent site for displaying a board, and here it is, in all it's highly visible glory, seen by thousands daily.

Where's Ste been ???

Apologies all, I managed to lock myself out of my Blogger password and in the pressure-cooker atmosphere of the local elections, I managed to keep myself locked out. But it's good to be back.

A lot of people have been asking me about what the issues are that I am fighting this campaign on, so I am going to summarise them below. Before I do, though, I have to say to anyone thinking of getting involved in a campaign like this:

1. Make sure you have plenty of stamina
2. Be prepared to expect the unexpected
3. Don't be afraid of dogs - most won't bite you
4. Promise nothing you cannot deliver
5. Be nice to those who are probably not going to vote for you, but even nicer to those who are!
6. Watch out for letter boxes with brushes in them - it is hard to push single page leaflets through them
7. Hope for fine weather
8. Observe the nice things you see and learn from them
9. Respect your opponents - but disagree with them if you think they are wrong
10. Get plenty sleep

In the case of number 10, I have failed miserably!

At the time of writing there is less than a week to go now before the polls open. Over the weekend, and because there simply isn't enought time/space to put a full description of what I am about on the last leaflet we deliver, I will post it on this blog, so you can read more, always assuming you want to, of course.

With a few short days of campaigning left, most of The Birds Estate has been covered and the rest will follow. After that, it's a case of filling in the gaps, and persuading more people to support my campaign.

· I will insist that the ludicrous toilet-closure policy is revisited
· I will urge that allowances are cut by 10% immediately, and expenses reviewed
· I will request an immediate assessment of vacant properties to bring them back into usage
· I will fight tooth and nail for the retention of our green spaces, such as Riverside Park
· I will communicate all the year round every year
· I will work to ensure that the town centre is vibrant and a place that people want come to
· I will do what I have always done – I’ll work with vigour and enthusiasm

8 sunny days in a row

Can't wait to get out again today and keep the campaign going, but having done the papers first thing, and seen another diamond, the next job is to go into town and get the shopping done.

After that, there's the small matter of making sure that the various helpers we have deliver the leaflets that arrived last night. The way it works is that the 'constituency' is divided up into chunks of about 800 homes, and then subdivided to about 100, and bundled, so each distributor can do 100, and not take up too much time. I did have input into my parts of the leaflet, but the back of it has a message from Martin Land, who is standing for MP, and Nick Clegg. And one of Nick's lines is......A strong vote for the Liberal Democrats .....means an end of the stitch-up between the two old parties.

The Sky TV debate on Thursday did see David Cameron make a stronger showing, but he had to; as I thought the week before he was poor. Not that I am complaining. But if Thursday were a boxing match, you would have to say Cameron failed to land a decent punch.

Keep smiling :-)

Running for Election

Don't we all have occasion to see a photgraph of ourselves and think "Oh no....look at that lardy bloke". I do anyway. Not that we should ALL think that way. But for someone who preaches careful eating and exercise to my teenage son, as you can see, I don't practice what I preach!

However, with thanks to Ian Percy, who runs each weekend with me, here's someone genuinely running for office, with my LibDem rosette. Ian and I take a 7 mile run, from Houghton, across the meadow to Hemingford Abbotts, then Hemingford Grey, back into St Ives over the town bridge, and back to Houghton down the Thicket.

Two weeks of canvassing to go, and I am gradually getting through the piles of work needed, with lots more doors to knock on.