I am very pleased to report that on Saturday evening I was successful in being selected as the Conservative Party candidate for the Bracknell constituency at the next General Election. It is truly an honour to now be the PPC for such a fantastic constituency. My website is due for an update and hopefully by next month it will include features related to my up-coming campaign to become the next Member of Parliament for the Bracknell constituency.
Yesterday’s announcement of the resignation of Tim Lincoln, Chairman of Heatherwood & Wexham Park Hospitals Trust, brings into sharper focus the challenges that future Bracknell politicians will face to defend the healthcare services we have now. The Bracknell HealthSpace is a welcome development as it places the care of people who have chronic illness firmly in the centre of the community. Heatherwood Hospital also provides convenient services for local people which are much valued and need to be protected. As a local GP, I have the professional understanding to campaign hard for sustainable healthcare services in the area. The Department of Health, along with the local PCT and Hospital Trust managers, will not be able to pull the wool over my eyes. I fully understand the health needs of the people of East Berkshire and will see my role as a local MP in the future to improve healthcare for all in the region. Believe me, as a healthcare campaigner, I will be a formidable advocate who will fight to secure good health for everyone in Bracknell constituency.
Today, I was out meeting people throughout the entire constituency. Travelling around in my car, I tried to take in as much of the surrounding countryside as I could. Too often in the past when working in the constituency, I have been concentrating on getting to and from my surgeries, rather than taking the time to fully appreciate the beauty of the place. One view in particular took my breath away. The war memorial in Finchampstead is in a wonderful position overlooking the Hampshire countryside in the distance. The sight of the fields and hedgerows was a timely reminder of the importance of the countryside in the health of any community. Bracknell constituency has areas of outstanding natural beauty, and within Bracknell Town itself, it has an enviable proportion of woodland and green spaces. If selected and then elected as the next MP, I promise I would campaign hard to protect that environment from unnecessary over-development, as I firmly believe that a good environment leads to healthier, happier people.
I was in Hanworth again today, campaigning for the up-coming Bracknell Forest council By-Election. So far, responses on the doorsteps have been very positive. Although political campaigning on-line is becoming more sophisticated and relevant in the 21st century, I still believe that nothing will ever replace the need for, and importance of, ‘face-to-face’ campaigning. Over the last two decades I have worked in numerous local and national elections throughout England and Wales. On every occasion the value of effective canvassing and good campaign literature could not be overstated. If selected as the candidate in Bracknell constituency, I will be out on the streets of Bracknell Town, Finchampstead, Crowthorne and Sandhurst immediately, getting my face and values known by people ‘face-to-face’.
I have just returned from the Conservative Party conference in Manchester. It was my twelfth conference and what struck me most was a genuine feeling of excitement about the possibility of a Conservative win at the next General Election. Interestingly, though, that excitement was tinged with a real sense of the profound challenges that we are set to inherit from this dreadful Labour government. At each fringe meeting I attended, Conservative politicians and many activists eloquently expressed their desire to see a genuine change in the way in which public services were run in this country. Be it health, education or public transport, Conservatives all wanted to see authentic improvements in standards.
Listening to the policies expressed both by panel members and attendees, I was convinced that if the Conservative Party can secure a strong mandate at the next election, real change and progress in British society can be achieved. I hope to be part of the parliamentary team that delivers on our pledges for a brighter future for Britain, and hence I continue to campaign hard to do so as the next MP for the Bracknell constituency.
