The Central Suffolk & North Ipswich Constituency Labour Party has been enjoying a boost in its membership since the General Election of 2010. People were so incensed by the manner in which the conservative led coalition came to power that they felt it was time to act to ensure it couldn’t possibly happen again. Campaigning across a constituency that stretches from Whitton, Whitehouse and Castle Hill in NW of Ipswich through Kesgrave, Wickham Market and Framlingham up to Fressingfield in the North of the County is certainly a challenge. To reach out to our membership across such a large area whilst working to a tight budget we need to embrace modern technology. In September we launched our new website which will feature prominently in our Suffolk County Council Election Campaign strategy as we approach the May Elections next year. Our Election Campaign machine is being ably and energetically managed by Kevin Archer who hails from Kesgrave. All of the details of our campaign and social events can be found on the website. If you are a new member yet to take the plunge into leaflet dropping, mass canvassing or simply attending a meeting then I would urge you to get in touch. Whether it is constantly rising energy prices, wholesale privatisation of the NHS, the savage attacks on our public sector or you are simply losing count of the number of disasters bedeviling this hapless goverment then now is the time to make the change. The CS&NI team are looking forward to meeting you. Get active now.

This has been another busy week delivering the last rounds of leaflets in support of Jane Basham, Labour candidate for Sufflok Police and Crime Commissioner. She has fought an intelligent and far ranging campaign, always focusing on the issues and listening to what the people of Suffolk require from their PCC. In contrast I was shocked to discover that Tim Passmore, the Tory candidate if selected, intends to continue as a District Councillor although he has said he will stand down as leader. He obviously believes he can carry on giving the people of Mid-Suffolk the representation they deserve even with another full time job. A substantial challenge for someone with expert knowledge let alone a novice.

The other election reaching a climax this week is, of course the US Presedential Election. I’m confident that the US Electorate will return President Obama for another term and start to see the benefit as the US economy starts to recover. It would be great to see the UK economy recovering but I can’t help thinking with the Tory led coalition in charge this is a forlorn hope. They just don’t understand that austerity has choked off growth exactly as Ed Balls predicted in 2010. One way or another we will know who will be leading the world’s most powerful nation by the end of next week.

With less than one month to go before the election for Police & Crime Commissioner in Suffolk the campaign to get Labour candidate Jane Basham elected is reaching a climax.

Thursday saw Jane debating with her opponents twice in one day. Firstly at Copleston Sports College where she was quizzed by students and later at the St Nicholas Centre in Ipswich where she tackled questions from an invited audience from across the County. The event in Ipswich was organised by BBC Radio Suffolk and was chaired by Terry Baxter. Questions ranged from how the candidates intended to make themselves accountable to the people of Suffolk to why they were standing. There is little doubt that whoever finally gets elected will face financial challenges but there is similarly little question about which candidate is best placed to tackle them. Jane Basham’s fluent grasp of the issues and expert knowledge of practicalites of policing in Suffolk placed her in stark contrast to the other candidates. Tim Passmore (Conservative) sought to reassure the audience about his committment to maintaining frontline policing whilst agreeing it was likely there would be fewer uniformed officers if he were elected and some privatisation of aspects of the service.

One way or another the November 15th Election is going to see important changes to the management of crime in Suffolk, let us hope that the the electorate use their votes wisely to select the best candidate.

A crazy week of meetings this week, only Friday is a free evening. Plenty of important work to be done with important elections approaching and Conservative led coalition cuts beginning to bite. To ensure that the most vulnerable members of our community are protected from the worst excesses of Tory dogma will be a substantial challenge but we are determined to suceed.

The Councillor walkabout in Whitton postponed since the summer finally happened this evening. Lots of residents keen to talk about all sorts of interesting local issues that are of direct concern to them.

Looking forward to tomorrow’s Full Council Meeting, it promises to be very lively. A packed agenda and some potentially controversial items to resolve.

Greatly looking forward to the ‘Understanding Ramadan’ presentation at UCS tomorrow evening. Understanding Ramadan

Another fine example of the July weather has scuppered out chances of getting out on the doorsteps of Whitton today.

We had a terrific NW Area Committee meeting at the Sikh Temple on Bramford Road. Cllr Albert Grant was in the chair and a good selection of local residents turned up to hear what was said. The issues ranged from parking around the Doctors Surgery in Castle Hill to the possibility of a 20’s Plenty zone over the whole of Whitton. With Suffolk County Council busily divesting itself of services all over the County traffic calming measures in Ipswich seem a remote possibility. Better news is much more likely as we stand to benefit from the Big Local Trust lottery funding earmarked for the NW. With £1m to spend over the next 10 years

This isn’t my first effort to create a Blog but I’m looking forward to using this space to sound off on issues of current interest.  Apart from the ridiculous mess that the Coalition has got itself into over Olympic security the top news of the day is that Brett Lee is retiring from International Cricket.  A fantastic sportsman, a terrific competitor and a worthy adversary during that fabulous 2005 Ashes series.  I’m sure that Cricket Australia will be quick to snap him up as part of their coaching set-up.  If they aren’t he is always welcome here!

Welcome to my Blog where I might sound off about politics, cricket or simply publish the occasional snippet of nonsense.  You have been warned!