Neil MacDonald

Stonham Barns

Stonham Barns was the latest stop on the campaign trail.  It's a mixed leisure and retail development in rural Suffolk.  The economy of Suffolk is changing as agriculture becomes less important in terms of jobs and Stonham Barns is a place which has allowed many small retail, leisure and craft business to set up and flourish.

I took a keen interest in the pottery business set up by Hoxne man Chris Soule.  He has had alot of help from Business Link for Suffolk which has helped with advice and government funding.

We need to encourage more small businesses in Suffolk.  Stonham Barns is a great place for entrepreneurs and an example of what can be achieved.

Debenham

On Friday I visited Debenham High School and spoke to the whole school - all under 16 unfortunately!  All the candidates we given the opportunity to speak to at an assembly, on different days.  The school are running a mock election and I had a brief chat to the two Labour candidates, Mary and Rachel.

They are interested in environmental and animal welfare issues as well as helping people who are less well off, especially in the third world.  Labour has a good record in these areas and I covered two of them in my speech and then answered a few wide ranging questions.

Dropped in on some supporters in Tuddenham, laid out another leaflet, visited the printers with the copy, dropped leaflets off to party members in Wickham and Kesgrave and then went door-knocking on the Whitehouse estate.

Just another day on the campaign trail!

Let's be 'aving you!

Just had a reporter on the phone.  Unfortunately, he wasn't that interested in me but he had heard that Delia Smith was going to campaign on behalf of the Labour Party!!  He reckoned that the top TV chef and Norwich FC director lived in my constituency and would be coming out on the stump!

It was news to me and, unfortunately, Delia lives just over the boundary in the next constituency.

Would be great to have celebrity backing but I'm not sure that the football mad residents of North Ipswich would take kindly to a candidate who hobnobs with a leading canary!

Second Week

Have been canvassing in North Ipswich on a daily basis - seems like it anyway!  Will be in Kesgrave tomorrow.  Have a slot on Radio Suffolk next week.

I have also finalised all our leaflets and arranged with the Royal Mail for delivery of our freepost leaflet.  As part of standing for parliament, the state pays for each candidate to have a leaflet or letter delivered to every property in the constituency.  Royal Mail took 50,000 leaflets on Tuesday and postmen will deliver them over the next seven days.  Certainly saves my shoe leather!

In the main, the voters are not hostile, although there is a degree of apathy.  Still, the national polls look good but maybe they don't count the apathetic?

Out of Ipswich

Campaigning in Kesgrave, East of Ipswich,  and Bramford, West of Ipswich, today.

At Kesgrave I was joined by Richard Howitt MEP and a small team to meet the people outside Tescos.  Given that Kesgrave has five Tory councillors and one Liberal Democrat, I was pleasantly surprised by the positive reaction we received.

At Bramford we went door to door.  Both Kesgrave and Bramford seem like great places to live and it was good to get out and about in them.

First Week

That's the first week of campaigning in now.  We have been out knocking on doors around North Ipswich and I have spent time writing several leaflets which are now at the printers.

I was formally adopted as candidate for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich on Friday Night at a well attended meeting in Debenham.  My agent, Bill,  still had us out door knocking beforehand, despite the bitter wind!  I gave a short acceptance speech, outlining what we were fighting for - getting people into work, help for families and more community police.  Bill then outlined the campaign and ten people signed my nomination paper.  We rounded off with a lively debate on MRSA - it seemed like everyone contributed to the debate.

The party members seem in good heart and this bodes well for the rest of the campaign.

Armalite or ballot box

Amid all the hype of the General Election launch, I picked out Gerry Adams telling the IRA that the way forward "is by building political support for republican and democratic objectives".  He did fall short of calling on them to disband, but he is telling them that he needs them to do something to get the peace process moving. Of course Adams also needs them to do something to get his election campaign moving.

The £26million bank raid and the scandalous murder of Robert McCartney have shown the IRA to be a criminal band and I'm sure their activities are hugely unpopular with the voters that Adams needs to be elected.  Hopefully, the IRA will respond positively, and not just for Adams' election prospects.

The Northern Ireland peace process has had many false dawns.  I am tempted to say it has had more false dawns than Welsh rugby - and look what happened to them this year! 

The Phoney War is over

Politicians are always campaigning for re-election and indeed the campaign for the 2010 General Election will start with the victory speeches in the early hours of 6th May.  It is good that the election has been called as we can now get on with the campaign.  The public are certainly more interested now that there is an election in prospect.

The term "Phoney War" was used in the Second War War to describe the Western Front in 1939-40 when nothing much happened.  This was rudely ended by the German Blitzkrieg.  Politicians will all be hoping for a blitz that will lead them to victory.

Garret Anderson

Elizabeth Garrett-Anderson was born in Aldeburgh, Suffolk and was one of the first female doctors - read her story here. It has taken a long time for her to be recognised in her home county but it seems fitting that the new expansion at Ipswich Hospital will be named the Garrett-Anderson Centre.

This will be a wonderful facility and will hopefully ease the pressure on many overworked departments.  The hospital have just applied for planning permission, having sorted out the finances.  The Garret Anderson centre will be opened in 2007.

This new £26 million centre will bring much-needed capacity to the hospital:

• new Accident and Emergency department
• a critical care centre
• day surgery suite
• theatres and beds solely for planned operations - so patients don't have their operations repeatedly cancelled

All good stuff.

University Campus Suffolk

It's been a good month for Further and Higher Education in Suffolk.  First HEFCE, who fund universities, gave £15m to underpin a new university in Suffolk and secondly the LSC, who fund colleges, announced £18m for re-development of the existing Suffolk College.  This will create an absolutely fantastic education quarter in Ipswich for the county of Suffolk. A network of linked learning centres will provide learning opportunities across the whole county.

Institutions like Essex University and UEA are worth £60-80m to their local economies.  It's time Suffolk had a slice of that.  The new institution will provide a focal point for improving the skills of pupils, students and adult learners, which will benefit both the individual and the economy of Suffolk.

University Campus Suffolk will combine building for university, college and student welfare.  The project team have an interesting website and the college website also carries news of the new developments.

The development will cost £190m over ten years.  I can't see a Tory government, committed to spending cuts, putting the money up.  Can you?