Julian Sturdy

A few days ago I had the opportunity to show Stephen Hammond one of the Conservative Shadow Transport team around York Outer, highlighting to him the transport problems we face in and around the City. We started with the notorious Northern Ring Road and the problems it creates for local residents and business on a daily basis. We then looked at the existing rail hault in Poppleton before going on to Haxby to look at the proposal for a station there. We discussed the local bus services and the issues faced by some residents especially in the more rural areas through lack of regular services. I also pointed out the traffic congestion problems on the A19 and the safety issues on the A1079 to name but a few other hotspots we looked at.

The idea is to make sure the Conservative transport team are well briefed on the current situation that we face around York, so that this can be feed into the transport strategy of a possible future Conservative Government.  

Thank you to everyone who has responded to our ‘Keep it Local Campaign’ launched to support local shops and businesses, the nominations have been flooding in. We are currently compiling all the responses and the nominated shops and businesses will feature in future leaflets under ‘York’s Villages Roll of Honour’.

I was recently lucky enough to welcome fellow Yorkshire man and Conservative Party Chairman Eric Pickles to York to discuss this campaign. He met with some of the shopkeepers and business owners who have been nominated by local residents for providing a particularly good service to the community, during which he discussed the problems faced by independent retailers during these difficult economic times.

Our National Health Service is a fantastic institution – there for all of us when we need it, regardless of our background or our ability to pay. That’s why the Conservative Party has made the NHS its number one priority and promised to improve it for everyone, which I am personally delighted about.

I met with Andrew Lansley the Conservative Party Shadow Secretary of State for Health just after his conference speech, to discuss health care issues in York and the surrounding villages, and I was extremely encouraged by what he had to say.

He pledged a million more people would have access to an NHS dentist by the end of the next parliament and there will be school dental checks for every child. This will be a new start for NHS dentistry here in York and across the country.

Andrew Lansley went on to say “We will cut the cost of health care bureaucracy by a third during the next Parliament. We will tolerate no waste. No inflation. No poor value for money in NHS budgets. We are committed to real term increases for the NHS in the next Parliament.

“We will give people the security of the health care they need, when they need it. Our vision is to make the NHS the finest health service in the world.” 

I have launched a campaign in support of local shops and businesses asking residents to nominate their favourite local shops.

The campaign is throughout the villages and communities that make up York Outer, to encourage people to support their local independent shops and services such as; butchers, post offices, greengrocers, pubs, local farm shops and other family run businesses.

Local people tell me they are concerned about the decline of our community shops and facilities, and sadly that has only been too evident with the loss of local Post Offices recently. We need to protect and support our local shops as they provide a valuable service to our communities and I hope through our ‘Keep it Local Campaign’ we can help to do just that.

As part of the campaign I am asking people to show support for their local independent shops and services/retailers by nominating those that provide a particular good service to the community. In the future our leaflets and on the website will feature all nominated shops under ‘York’s Villages’ Roll of Honour’.

Nominations are already coming in thick and fast including; the Farmer’s Cart , Dunnington News, Wigginton Stores and Copmanthorpe Post Office, to mention a few. If you would like to nominate your favourite local shop you can email me at supportyourlocalshops@juliansturdy.co.uk

I am always a great supporter of summer fetes, carnivals and fairs as I know how much hard work goes in to make them such a success. They are a great example of communities pulling together, sadly sometimes the British weather can play its part, this year though the sun has shone, with Copmanthorpe Carnival, Dunnington Fayre and Woodthorpe Fete all enjoying good weather, however sadly Tockwith Show did not escape the rain.  

I am delighted that David Cameron has set out his plans under a Conservative Government to control the power of the state and make it more accountable to people. In a speech at Imperial College, he attacked Labour for having “diminished personal freedom and diluted political accountability” over the last twelve years. He promised, “At the heart of our programme for government will be our intention to change fundamentally the balance of power between the citizen and the state so that ultimately it is people in control of their government, not the other way round.”

David said a Conservative Government would revoke the “unjustified and unreasonable” powers that let authorities enter your home without your permission, and strengthen the right to trial by jury. He promised to scrap the ID card scheme and remove innocent people’s records from the DNA database. And he announced plans to open up information and set public data free:

“In the first year of the next Conservative Government, we will find the most useful information in twenty different areas ranging from information about the NHS to information about schools and road traffic and publish it so people can use it.”

David stressed that, taken together, these measures would “increase personal freedom and political accountability, restore trust, and help bring about the new politics we need so badly.”

Read David’s speech on giving power back to the people

These are difficult times in politics and there is a lot of questions that still need answering, but as we go to the polls today for the European Elections and also County Council Elections outside of York it is worth remembering that this week also sees the 20^th anniversary of the crushing of China’s hopes of democracy in Tiannamen Square. These elections are important today and I would urge everyone to exercise there democratic right to vote, for some 1.3 billion Chinese elections are still a dream. 

We have a very good team of candidates for today’s European Elections, Edward McMillan-Scott and Timothy Kirkhope our two local MEP’s who have worked so hard to fight for our regions interests in Europe, are re-standing and they are joined by four other very able candidates. You can read more about our European team, including pictures and profiles, online at www.yorkshireconservatives.com/europe

Also watch what David Cameron has been saying about these elections. He has stressed the need for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty and explains that voting Conservative on June 4^th is the best way to force Gordon Brown to keep his promise to hold one.

Watch David’s latest video messages here>>

Michael Gove the shadow Children, Schools and Families Minister was in North Yorkshire on Tuesday to launch the Conservative Party’s manifesto for the County Council Election. However, before he had to head back to London for an Education debate, Michael accompanied me on a visit to Creepy Crawlies adventure play park on Wigginton Road where we met with the owner and members of the Play Providers Association to discuss issues that they are facing within the industry at the moment.

This is a fantastic facility for children which enables them to play and learn at the same time. I have taken my children there on a number of occasions and would recommend anyone with children or grandchildren to give it a try.

Local residents living on the edge of Copmanthorpe are up in arms at the potential loss of their bus service. York City Council has decided to re-organise the bus route which currently runs down Temple Lane serving Drome Road and Temple Garth. The new services will completely by-pass this area leaving local residents without any direct access to public transport.

The strength of feeling amongst local residents against this proposed cut to their bus service was demonstrated at a recent public meeting which we organised. At the meeting the Council Officers who attended were asked to look into alternative arrangements whereby a service could be provided. We have since followed this up by organising a petition of local residents against the Council’s decision to cut these services which was presented at the full Council meeting last week.

This would be a devastating blow for local residents if the Council carried through with its plans to cut this service. The Temple Lane area is isolated from Copmanthorpe village centre by the East Coast mainline, and consequently many people rely on this bus to visit the local shops, access the doctors or dentist and without it they will be completely cut off. I believe this is unacceptable and action to secure this service has to be taken.

Following a number of meetings with the bus companies and a huge response to our local campaign, York Pullman Bus Company have stepped in to run the evening services for the number ten route that First York will stop running on the 26th April. The Yorkshire Coasterliner has also agreed to divert through Copmanthorpe village to cover the number thirteen route after 7.30pm.

In the middle of March First York put forward proposals to cut evening services on a number of their bus routes. This proposal would have had a huge impact on a number of villages on the edge of York. The Villages of Upper and Nether Poppleton, Dunnington and Copmanthorpe would have been particular badly affected so I am delighted that these evening services have been saved.