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Archives for April 2010

Salisbury Lib Dem shuns song shock

Peter Henley|18:03 UK time, Friday, 30 April 2010

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songIt's a 300 year-old tradition in Salisbury - the victorious MP thanks his new constituents with a song. It's an old army song "The vly be on the Turmut" (honestly, not a typo)

Former MP Robert Key used to perform his duty with gusto - singing from the balcony of the White Hart.

John Glen has been chosen by Conservatives to fight the seat now, and says he will continue with the tradition. He's got the words and has been practicing the tune.

But Liberal Democrat Nick Radford is having nothing to do with it.

"It's a silly tradition, symbolic of many things that are wrong with politics." he says. "It's broadcasting at people rather than listening to them. It's not what people want to hear and I'm against it on principle."

Mr Radford admits that he's also not really comfortable with singing in public. And he says if he's victorious he would make a speech from the steps of the Guildhall and take questions.

The Labour candidate Tom Gann is less po-faced.

"I'm a terrible singer but I would sing it as lustily as I could." he says. "It's a harmless tradition which is worth keeping, and let's face it - I'd be so surprised and overjoyed to win I'd be quite prepared to do anything."

Here's a quick snatch of it just to whet your appetite.

T'were on a jolly zummer's day, the twenty-fust of May,
Jhn Scruggins took his turmut hoe, with this he trudged away,
Now some volkes they loike haymakin', and some they vancies mowin'
But of all the jobs as Oi loike best, gi'e Oi the turmut 'oein'.

Chorus:

The vly, the vly -
The vly be on the turmut,
'Tis all me eye,
For Oi to try,
To keep vlies off them turmuts.

There's even a history of the song (with the words) - from BBC Wiltshire.

Sick as a Labour politician

Peter Henley|15:07 UK time, Friday, 30 April 2010

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John DenhamReports of Southampton cabinet minister John Denham's appearance at the early morning press conference this week included a reference to the "low profile" he had supposedly been keeping.

I can exclusively reveal that it was a bit more than a low profile. A stomach bug completely knocked him out of campaigning for 48 hours.

He told me that he only just managed to keep it together to shake the PM's hand on his visit to Southampton.

Which set me thinking... surely there couldn't be more effective dirty tricks than to pass on the virus to the other side? With all the hand-shaking and kissing babies it wouldn't be that difficult!

Still waiting for policies in Brighton

Peter Henley|10:43 UK time, Thursday, 29 April 2010

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Policies pageSome candidates have spent a lot of time on their websites and social media presence. Others prefer to win votes door-to-door.

Perhaps Brighton Conservatives have been too busy pounding the streets to pay much time to their website. But to admit they're still waiting for policies at this late stage seems rather more of an admission.

As you can see from the picture I took of the page this morning, they're well aware that time is running out. According to the ticker 123,182 people have already visited the site...

When I rang the office to ask what was going on there was the sound of some frustration: "People keep asking about that, and I told them to sort it out three weeks ago!"

The South Today Election Debate.. and more!

Peter Henley|19:32 UK time, Wednesday, 28 April 2010

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debate audienceLast night at the Hexagon in Reading we had a feisty audience of South Today viewers, probing on how to cut public spending, immigration to the South East and what is the biggest unfairness in our region .. as well as stopping along the way to consider which public schools produce the most polite politicians!

John Denham, Nigel Farage, Michael Gove, Chris Huhne, and Caroline Lucas spoke. Who do you think came out on top?

Watch it again on by clicking HERE for the iPlayer.

It's worth also mentioning that BBC Local Radio has been doing some great debates within different constituencies.

You can listen again to Wokingham's candidates with Andrew Peach on BBC Berkshire HERE

And the Portsmouth South debate with Julian Clegg is HERE

Cameron caught by student Chloe's questions

Peter Henley|10:46 UK time, Tuesday, 27 April 2010

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Chloe GreenAs ever we're looking for the unexpected on the campaign trail, and my interview with David Cameron was somewhat eclipsed by an impromptu one demanded by Chloe Green, who's a nineteen year-old student at Southampton University.

It's been number one most watched video on the election website for 24 hours now, and gets reported in this mornings Telegraph, Mirror, Daily Echo and the Wall Street Journal!

Chloe had just finished a session in the gym when she spotted the Conservative campaign bus outside, so still wearing her exercise kit she dashed out and caught him on the stairs.

When I caught up with her later she said she's not a member of any political party. But living at Bridport in Dorset she'd support the Lib Dems as the best chance of removing Conservative mastermind Oliver Letwin.

The thing that really fires her up is the chance that other people like her might not be able to afford to go to university under the Conservatives.

While the rest of us were in hard negotiations to be granted an extra question on this subject or another Chloe managed to engage the party leader in a detailed debate which it's well worth setting down here in full.

If you watch the video which I'll put at the bottom, it's clear this was a running debate on the hoof, which is never easy.

CHLOE: What about me? If I didn't have government support I wouldn't be here.

DC: Well I want government support, we support government support, we think it needs to go on, we need to go on having bursaries for instance...

CHLOE: Really?

DC: Yes, who's told you we don't support bursaries - don't believe what you read in Labour leaflets I promise you!

CHLOE: I'm not voting Labour, I want real change

DC: No no, you won't get real change, if you look at what the Liberals are saying, it's quite important, they're going to get rid of tuition fees. camchloe.jpgRead the small print - they aren't going to do it for 6 years. 6 years! I think that's a complete con for people. I think it's better to be upfront as I am and say we can't get rid of the tuition fees and the top-up fees because we want good university places. We must always help people from lower income families to go to university that's why we keep bursaries and expand bursaries. But don't be fooled by people who say they'll get rid of tuition fees. We can't afford it when we have this big budget deficit - the numbers just don't add up.

CHLOE: No that's fine but about bursaries - are you definitely going to keep them?

DC: Definitely keep bursaries, and look at ways of expanding bursaries. Do you know today there are 80,000 people on free schools meals. Do you know how many of them get to Oxford or Cambridge? Just 43 - I think that's terrible in our country.

CHLOE: I don't think that's going to change with your government though.

DC: Well it will change with our government 'cos we're going to improve the state of secondary education.

CHLOE: What about comprehensives?

DC: Well that's what a secondary school is. We believe you've got to open up the system and allow new schools in you've got to have greater diversity, choice, competition, excellence in our schools. The ones who are actually arguing for real change in secondary education are us, it's the government and others who say oh keep things as they are, don't break open the system. We're really quite radical, I was at a rally in Yorkshire yesterday with parents who want to establish a new school, an excellent new community school, so their kids get a really good start in life. It's the Conservatives who have very radical new education policies 'cos we're not happy with the status quo, it's not right that opportunity's so unequal in our country. OK? Good to see you.

CHLOE: I don't believe you.

DC: Well, I do my best. Nice to see you.

On Twitter and the blogs too Chloe has been an instant hit, just search for the hashtag #chloegreen. She tried to say she was embarassed by all the attention when I caught up with her last night, appearing on the BBC Campaign Show, where she was a star for a second time.

She did take a bit of abuse on-line for not understanding that a Comprehensive was a secondary school. She's in the first year of an English Literature degree and wants to be a writer, not a journalist.

Some have said David Cameron also comes out of the encounter well. His explanation is patient, honest and engaging. It's a way of operating that I've seen over seven or eight years as he built up to this push for PM, but which seems to have failed to come across in the TV debates.

So on reflection what is Chloe's opinion of Cameron? She remains as unconvinced as she was in the video.

"He's very slippery." She says. "He was avoiding the question. He just told me Labour were talking rubbish, as he always does."

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Some bad medicine to come?

Peter Henley|08:09 UK time, Sunday, 25 April 2010

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The damp and grey weather greeting four thousand nurses in Bournemouth today pretty well sums up the mood at their annual conference.

The Chief Executive of the Royal College of Nursing Peter Carter is warning that job cuts will be much worse than the financial crisis five years ago when thousands of jobs went.

Health trusts in the South were hard hit then, and some have began pre-election trimming in anticipation of the squeeze to come.

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But Mr Carter says in this interview that the public have to take the opportunity to ask politicians who want their vote now, what will happen to local health services after May the 6th.

So what of the "ring-fencing" of the NHS? Promises that "front-line care" is protected?

The three main parties have all said savings can be made by improving productivity, by tackling management waste and redesigning services.

hospitalBut Mr Carter said he felt politicians from all sides were being overly optimistic.

"There are obviously efficiency savings which can be made, but it is pie in the sky to think that the £20bn figure can be achieved through better productivity alone.

"The reality is that plans are being drawn up to take money out of the NHS and it will be disastrous for the future."

The Chief Executive of the Health Service Sir David Nicholson has talked about a search for savings of between £15 and £20 billion by 2014.

In Dorset already there have been recruitment freezes. In parts of the NHS where job turnover is high won't that inevitably impact on services? Is the NHS really capable of providing such huge efficiency savings?

We'll be discussing health care, along with other public services on the Politics Show today, starting later, at 2pm, because of the London Marathon.

Many of those runners will be raising money for medical charities. How much more may be needed from them if the taxpayer runs out of cash for the NHS?

Not pulling the plug

Peter Henley|19:41 UK time, Friday, 23 April 2010

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Vince CaldicotVince Caldicot's company sells taps, toilets and other bits for bathrooms in Farnborough. Premiere Contract Supplies has a good reputation, and plenty of business. The thing he really needs to keep his company afloat is cash.

"We have a full order book which we really need to fund." he says, "But we're working hand to mouth on stock, because we still can't get funding from the main banks."

Half of us work for small businesses like Vince's. His 30 employees have all agreed to join him in taking a pay cut. They've cut overheads by 38 percent this year - so what are the politicians offering to help him?

Conservatives suggest a National Loan Guarantee Scheme to underwrite lending.

Labour have put aside four billion pounds capital to encourage growing businesses.

Lib Dems want to put taxpayer representatives on bank boards - forcing them to lend.

Shouldn't this be at the heart of the election campaign? The voters are not mugs. We've seen the impact of the credit crunch in our daily lives. Friends and relatives have taken pay cuts and lost jobs. The final debate on the economy could be the crucial one.

Hampshire Conservative candidate says vote Lib Dem

Peter Henley|13:54 UK time, Thursday, 22 April 2010

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What was it David Cameron once said? - "Too many tweets makes a ..."

George Hollingbery has been rather too busy on Twitter. He's just deleted the one below - which I think was meant to be ironic. But it may well be exploited by his Lib Dem opponent Liz Leffman, given the close contest in newly-created Meon Valley.

George

Election fun shows we're taking it seriously

Peter Henley|18:51 UK time, Wednesday, 21 April 2010

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beer.jpgWhen you see the rosettes on the beer pumps, like these at Winchester's Fulflood Arms, you know that people are starting to take this election seriously. Or not seriously in fact.

The other milestone is always the list of crazy names that emerges from nomination day.

My favourite has to be the candidate in Dorset South for a party entitled "Go mad and vote for yourself".

But he's got to be run close in Mid-Sussex by the Moster Raving Loony candidate Thunderclap Baron Von Bundys.

Just a little dose of that stuff is the perfect antidote to all the pontificating about the next leader's debate.

And in the interests of balance, mine's a pint from each of the three pumps. Hic!

How to vote - on the Isle of Wight

Peter Henley|20:15 UK time, Tuesday, 20 April 2010

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It's the largest constituency in the country, with 11 candidates when nominations closed at 4pm today, and now the Isle of Wight stars in the BBC online guide to voting.


Returning officer Clive Joynes demonstrates what happens to a ballot paper in a mocked-up count at the Medina Leisure Centre. In the short film there's also a shot of the secret location where ballotpapers are stored for 12 months in case anyone demands a recount.

The idea of the website came out of focus groups who said one of the basic reasons they felt people didn't connect with political life was a lack of knowledge about the actual voting process.

House-to-house, blog-to-blog, pub-to-pub

Peter Henley|19:51 UK time, Sunday, 18 April 2010

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CandidatesWhilst waiting to go live for today's Politics Show Hustings in Oxford the candidates were comparing campaigning techniques.

Lib Dem Evan Harris is full of his social media activity, planning a new Facebook page, and blogging fit to burst. He's put in 70 of the Twitter short text updates today! And they are no-holds barred. Here's a sample:

@andy_s_64 That's rubbish as you know from my website. Get a life

@RealMGHarris Not sure if that was satire, but I would say that Jesus C offered more reliable advice on the good Samaritan than St Maggie T

and this - not sure if the spellcheck helped the humour -

Just doing politics show south tv opt with nigel garage of ukip and the 2 other small parties.. Ed vaizey and andrew smith on too..
The Conservative arts spokesman Ed Vaizey is a tad more sceptical, though he too Twitters, Facebooks, and even has a You Tube link. Right now he's absorbed in what he calls "The Good Book" - the slim blue hardback 2010 Tory manifesto.


Labour's Andrew Smith is adamant the doorstep slog is the only way to really connect with the voters, and is showing off his teak brown tan and worn down shoes from pounding the pavement.

Over the last two years he's probably met more of his constituents than any other candidate, "It's not street-to-street campaigning," he says "It's house-to-house."

As ever, UKIP's Nigel Farage is the wild card. "I've done 28 pubs in the last four days," he boasts. He's on a marathon house to house campaign, only these are public houses.

And after the You Tube success of his confrontation with Herman Van Rumpuuy, President of the European Parliament, he's a convert to new media.

He's now found time to Twitter too. The latest entry is triumphant:

I had a great time this morning! Paid my deposit in ££££ COINS! at Aylesbury Vale District Council.

Talk about retro-tech!

He reminds me of this year's official election artist Simon Roberts. He's a photographer, a first, but he uses an old fashioned plate camera.

Danielle's report on this week's campaigning features him at work in Hove:

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Politicians not welcome here

Peter Henley|18:07 UK time, Friday, 16 April 2010

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Sign on door refusing politiciansIt was clear from the sign that one household in Brighton has already had enough of this election.

And that was before the Prime Minister turned up in Sussex this afternoon.

But then a plaintive e-mail arrived from Sara Warren just down the road in Worthing, complaining that no politician has come to call.

I have no idea what local issues each party is supporting and as I am an undecided voter it would be much appreciated if I received some sort of information to help me make up my mind.

When I go to the polling station I do not wish to look a complete idiot and have to ask which candidate is standing for which party.

I know that most people are inundated with letters, leaflets and newspapers from all the relevant parties and I find it hard to believe that I have received absolutely nothing.

It's really struck me that people see it as the politicians' job to tell them about their policies rather than the other way around. Many of us have travelled abroad and seen the damage that poor government can cause. Is it not also our job to find out what impact our vote will make?

As a first step, why not watch the Politics Show Hustings on Sunday? We're live at Lady Margaret Hall in Oxford, with a panel including Evan Harris, Ed Vaizey and Nigel Farage answering viewers' questions on the economy.

Where will you be watching?

Peter Henley|16:32 UK time, Thursday, 15 April 2010

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The debateJohn Prescott will be there. Cheering on his leader from a working mens club in Southampton.

BBC South Today will be there. I'm off to report live from a Neighbourhood watch group in Ferndown Dorset.

But what are YOU hoping for from tonight's first, historic, debate between the three major party leaders?

We're a demanding lot, you know. I've spent the last fortnight asking people across the South of England what they think of the show so far.

There are a few whose response is immediate - Politics is not for me, mate - Fair enough, I always say. We like a firm opinion.

There are a few who are starting to get bored.

There are a few genuinely undecided, but pondering the question. Always interesting.

But it has surprised me how many people are waiting. They want the politicians to come to them. They feel that after all the expenses they're owed that much at least.

So you could look at tonight's leader's debate, for all its contradictions (we are NOT voting for a president, duh) as the chance for the political class for make up for all their patronising, cackhanded arrogance and present themselves honestly to the British people, in their living rooms.

Is this the political equivalent of X factor? The accessible politics we've been waiting for. Or will people be left disappointed?

I'll be on Twitter tonight (@peter_henley - don't forget the underscore in the middle) and online looking to see what chatter there is. And I'll be on Radio Solent, Berkshire and Oxford tomorrow morning to chew the fat. Why not ping me a comment on what YOU made of it?

Class war in Weymouth

Peter Henley|14:11 UK time, Wednesday, 14 April 2010

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Candidates being interviewedIt was a sparky debate in South Dorset today, In the middle of this picture above you'll see the Harrow educated Local landowner Richard Drax. He's the Conservative candidate, up against Work and Pensions Minister Jim Knight.

He was also a former colleague of mine when he worked for South Today as a reporter, and then hit the headlines himself when it was suggested he should change his quadruple barrelled name (Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax)

Well today Lib Dem Ros Kayes took the class war to a new level, claiming Richard is too posh to be an MP "He probably has difficulty undertanding the lives of people on a low income. I think that is a serious handicap. I wouldn't want to be in that position"

Richard Drax replied "I don't think it's where you come from that counts, it's where you're going. I will work my socks off for this seat."

Labour Cabinet minister Jim Knight is defending a majority of 1812. He said "I'm standing for the working people of this constituency. That's what I worry about, not his long name or his long wall."

Pulling Rank

Peter Henley|19:37 UK time, Tuesday, 13 April 2010

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Terry Scriven and Julian LewisThe posters are going up everywhere. And in the New Forest an interesting case of one-upmanship emerges.

The sitting MP is Conservative Julian Lewis, a front bench defence spokesman pictured on his website in an RAF Tornado as part of a parliamentary scheme. But the Liberal Democrat candidate also has a service background.

Terry Scriven was an army red cap for 37 years, rising through the ranks. His name is up on all the posters as Colonel Terry Scriven.

Julian Lewis has written to the returning officer asking him to put a stop to this saying,

"I have no doubt that Colonel (Retired) Scriven will seek to use this title on the ballot paper. He is no more entitled to do this than I would be to call myself an MP now that parliament has dissolved."

Terry Scriven says the thought hadn't occurred to him. But agrees he did have a phone call "from a very friendly brigadier" at the MOD warning him that regulations had changed and he needs permission to wear his old uniform when campaigning.

An interesting situation in South Dorset, where the Work and Pensions Secretary Jim Knight is trying to fight off a challenge from local notable Richard Drax (notable in that he was once a BBC South Today reporter, but also that his family are big local landowners)

Richard has election leaflets showing him with the Chief Constable. Jim cries foul, saying that using the top cop in uniform suggests an endorsement and is against the rules.

Dorset police agree that force guidelines require serving officers to act impartially, but say Mr Knight's criticism goes too far. This statement arrives from HQ:

"It would be ridiculous to prevent serving MPs or prospective parliamentary candidates from undertaking any visits to the force, ever, in order to be better informed as to policing issues locally. In fact the force operates a patrol observer scheme to enable the public at large to do just that."

"All Dorset MPs and prospective parliamentary candidates have met with members of the force from time to time and on many occasions have taken photographs."

Do we just need a dose of common sense? Or are rules there for a reason?

We asked for MPs from the real world - but are we stopping them from showing their true colours?

An election broadcast for the Facebook generation

Peter Henley|13:49 UK time, Monday, 12 April 2010

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Teenager using computerLabour's personalised message on cancer proved controversial over the weekend, but an even more closely focused bit of marketing hit my son Harry's inbox this morning.

It's a Party Election Broadcast - full moving pictures with music and voiceover - that's addressed directly to him.

"Hello Harry..." says the Voice, "...as a student, who's interested in finding a job..."

Hang on. How did that happen?

This is a totally seamless, very smart video and it's clear from the word go that it's been put together by someone with a pretty clear idea of what young Harry is up to.

It's not from one of the big three parties, this has been produced by the England and Wales Green Party who've used Glue, one of the smartest London ad agencies, to produce a range of interactive material.

Green online form c/o Green Party

If you go to this site you can see how it works. One of Harry's friends has filled in details about him, and the video is then adapted to fit.

It relies on people being prepared to make that sort of personal data available to the party. Which they will only do if they're confident that it will be well received.

Apart from the political message, for the Facebook generation that means it has to have the ring of geek confidence - no bugs, not fiddly, not cranky.

Only if the result is something people really want to pass on do you get that ultimate online accolade - it goes viral.

Get personalisation wrong and the message is simple spam. It's a fine line.

The official election photographer

Peter Henley|04:30 UK time, Sunday, 11 April 2010

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Simon's Mobile HomeSimon Roberts will have an unusual perspective on the election. He will see it from under the dark hood of his large format camera, as he travels the country in a mobile home.

The Brighton based photographer has been asked to produce a photographic record of the election contest for display in the House of Commons.

It is the first time a photographer has been asked to be the election artist, commissioned by the Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art.

Simon sees it as a true responsibility, a chance to capture a slice of history. Rather than look for strange angles or effects he says the use of a large format camera slows the process down "Even if a scene is quite mundane it is still important."

"I hope that the multi-layered and detailed tableaux images will provide an enduring and unique artistic response"

"My main focus will be the relationship between politicians and the voting public: you and me."

And he's reflecting that democratic process by offering other photographers a chance to show their pictures alongside his at theelectionproject.co.uk.

Simon thinks that pictures uploaded from mobile phones will provide a contrast.

"This will add a collaborative and democratic dimension to the final artwork. The public's images will also help to provide an antidote to the more stage-managed photographs increasingly seen of the campaign trail."

We caught up with him for this Sunday's Politics Show in the South of England, photographing the launch of the Green Party's campaign.

Simon Roberts

Is it your first time too?

Peter Henley|18:04 UK time, Friday, 9 April 2010

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Politics Show logoThey say familiarity breeds contempt. In politics as in so many aspects of life we can get caught in the cynical routine rehearsal of arguments: left vs right, red vs blue vs orange and green and on and on and on...

So how do you recapture the sheer pleasure of discovering someone who shares your political passions.. the first tingle of winning backing for your ideas with others of fellow spirit?

On the Politics Show in the South this Sunday we're bringing together a group of first-time voters, bright youngsters untainted by political baggage, with a panel of politicians fighting their particular seats for the first time.

One of them is the Olympic athlete Funda Pepperell, who is standing for Labour in Basingstoke. Liberal Democrat candidate Martin Tod has a baptism of fire fighting the parliamentary seat of Winchester for the first time, and local GP Dr Philip Lee was picked from more experienced campaigners by the people of Bracknell after the scandal surrounding Andrew MacKay.

As ever the discussion will be closely focussed on local issues. BBC 1 South from 12:00. If you're not in the region, and you're a digital satellite viewer, you can find us at channel 984.

Clegg visits Cable Factory...

Peter Henley|15:50 UK time, Thursday, 8 April 2010

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Nick Clegg and Charles Kennedy"It will be a good photocall" the PR assured me, "Nick Clegg's visiting a cable factory."

Now there's a thought. The Lib Dem Chancellor has a rare ability to charm the public. What if they have really found a factory that can make Cables?

No longer the smaller party, Vince could be everywhere. Straight talking the same message from Brighton to Dundee.

The reality was rather more straightforward.

Prysmian Cables is a manufacturer of copper and fibre-optic telecom cables. They're the sort of green business Lib Dems believe we could do more to encourage and Nick Clegg had stopped here on a flying visit to launch the South of England Lib Dem election campaign.

We asked about the small issue of all those air miles Nick was going to clock up over the next four weeks.

(Lib Dem transport policy, you may know, is to tax flights 'per plane' as well as a surcharge on all domestic flights where you make the same trip in less than six hours on the train)

Mr Clegg pointed out that the party had signed up to make various "carbon offset" payments but actually seemed rather pleased that he now had the chance to criss cross the country rather than rely on smaller pockets of support.

The Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne was at his side. He ran Clegg very closely for the leadership of the party - couldn't he have done the launch?

CablesNick made a speech and we had a good look at the cables - they were making yellow ones that day, by co-incidence.

The talk has been all about the economy. One third of the cables are exported, and the bosses here worry that cheap labour abroad means they're more expensive. Yes a hike in National Insurance doesn't help.

But many of the workers warmed to meeting the Lib Dem leader up close, and gave him a couple of decent rounds of applause as he spoke to them from the top of an upturned drum.

They called it a flying visit, but it was really more of a swoop. The Liberal Democrat bird dropping into Eastleigh en route from Scotland to Bristol.

In the South of England the Lib Dems are eyeing up target seats in Dorset, Guildford, Bournemouth and Reading. They need to defend Romsey in Hampshire where Sandra Gidley has a majority of just 125. In Eastleigh Chris Huhne himself has a majority below a thousand.

Nick Clegg will try hard to be everywhere. But what if there really was a factory that could knock out another quick cohort of his popular Chancellor?

PM's tribute to Southampton fire deaths

Peter Henley|15:24 UK time, Wednesday, 7 April 2010

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FirefightersThe roll call of servicemen killed in Afghanistan or Iraq has always been a sombre moment at the start of Prime Minister's Questions.

Today each party leader also paid tribute to Alan Bannon and James Shears of the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, who died tackling a blaze last night in a 15 storey block of flats.

The Prime Minister Gordon Brown praised the "bravery and commitment demonstrated by all our public services".

Later Southampton MP and Communities Secretary John Denham said, "Our thoughts and condolences are with the families of the two firefighters who have tragically lost their lives in the fire in Southampton.

"The incident brings home to us the professionalism and dedication of the men and women working in our fire and rescue services and of the debt of gratitude we owe them."

According to a Parliamentary answer, 10 firefighters died on duty in England between 1997 and the start of 2007.

Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said firefighters across the UK "will be devastated" by the events in Southampton.

"Firefighters work extremely closely together and share challenges and danger," he added.

"Losing a colleague is something that touches everyone and that firefighters never get over."

House of Commons souvenirs going cheap

Peter Henley|12:48 UK time, Wednesday, 7 April 2010

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CoastersThere's a shop deep in the House of Commons that sells expensive presents decorated with the portcullis design. They had a sudden run on Michael Martin's Speaker's whisky shortly after he resigned, but they're usually not too busy.

And now they've got a sale on. I spotted a set of coasters reduced from £45 to £35!

But you might find a few MPs keen to spend their resettlement allowance on a keepsake or two. After all many of those standing down next week have spend a lifetime on the green benches.

At Prime Minister's Questions today I spotted several MPs from the South paying a fond last visit.

East Hampshire's Michael Mates chuckled jovially in his traditional place as Gordon Brown and David Cameron hammered it out. Mark Oaten popped in for one last time sporting a new sun tan to cheer on his leader.

I didn't see so many of our retirees on the Labour benches. But from all parties those on smaller majorities had the slightly nervous look of people making sure they made the most of the final PMQs - taking one last look around, just in case they don't come back.

Let's have a good clean fight

Peter Henley|15:15 UK time, Tuesday, 6 April 2010

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PledgeThat's what they used to say in boxing, isn't it?

Seconds out, round one... a clean fight with nothing below the belt.

Fat chance! I hear you jeer.

But in Reading East they have a piece of paper, a pledge which you can see here being signed by the two Robs - Conservative Rob Wilson and the Green Party candidate, Rob White.

At the moment there's no word on whether other candidates will sign. They seem to have launched a pre-emptive strike (Is that questionable in itself?).

Here's what they're promising:

(1) To show by our actions that politics need not be a dirty game, but can be a clean and positive activity, engaged in genuinely for the good of all.

(2) To tell the truth about what we have achieved and stand for, and about what others have achieved and stand for.

(3) To refrain from making personal attacks against, or misleading statements about, other candidates in written literature or verbally.

(4) Not to mislead the public about who is doing well and about who is likely to win in these elections.

(5) To make only honest and reasonable promises.

(6) To fight a clean, positive and honest campaign around the issues that concern the people of Reading West.

(7) In particular, to be honest about public spending, and not to scaremonger in ways that may frighten the most vulnerable members of our society, such as children and elderly people.

(8) To take money only from organisations and individuals whose motives in giving us money we do not have reason to suspect.


So what do we think? Any chance the other candidates will sign?

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