Friday 23rd July 2010

08:00 I visited the constituency office to go through some correspondence and case work notes. I had time to ruminate on the peculiarities of parliamentary life. Yesterday my meeting with Gopra Mitra and Rachel Di Leva had been interrupted by the Division Bell and I had to leave them for ten minutes while I went to vote on an amendment about which I had heard little debate. This is a real dilemma I face. I hate voting on something when I have not taken part in the debate, but I now realise that it is impossible to spend all my time in the Chamber listening to debates, because if I did none of the other important work in which I am involved would ever get done! On this occasion I had checked out in advance all the amendments on which we were expected to vote and had come to the conclusion that the Opposition was simply going through the motions of opposing since most of the amendments would have negated the whole thrust of the Academies Bill, which I support. I was therefore happy to troop through the No Lobby, without hearing a word of argument for or against that particular amendment, but on other future occasions I might have a battle with my conscience!

09:00 I have a meeting with the co-owners of the Coniston Hotel who want to brief me on the problems that forced them into administration. I explain that I am happy to help them where such help is possible and where any problem falls within my sphere of influence, however, it is difficult for me to involve myself in what is fundamentally a commercial matter, particularly now that control has effectively passed to the Administrator and the courts.

10:00 I am at the dentist. Earlier this week one of my fillings fell out, but luckily my dentist decided that no drilling was needed and he simply replaced the filling. What a result!

11:00 I visit a couple in Kemsley Fields who have a problem with subsidence. They are seeing Taylor Wimpey later today and wanted my advice in advance of that meeting. I was happy to help, but no doubt I will be hearing from them again soon.

11:30 I join John Burke at the Fox and Goose in Bapchild. It is “Proud of Pubs” week and I am visiting a couple of pubs today to show my support for an industry that is going through a pretty tough time right now. The Government must do something to protect pubs from the unfair competition they face from supermarkets. We need to ensure that beer cannot be sold in supermarkets at a price lower than pubs buy it for. Equalising the price will encourage more drinkers to use pubs and ensure that alcohol consumption takes place in a controlled environment.

13:00 I am in Ashford to visit the head office of Eastern and Coastal Kent NHS Community Services where I meet with the Chairman of the Management Board, Mike Barkway, and the Managing Director, Philip Greenhill. The NHS is about to undergo the biggest transformation in 60 years, with the scrapping of primary care trusts and strategic health authorities, with future health commissioning being undertaken by groups of general practitioners. It was a very useful meeting that gave me a better insight into the changes and opened up lines of communication which I hope will be of use should I have any future constituency problems.

15:30 My second pub visit of the day; this time it was to the Royal Hotel where, in addition to highlighting “Proud of Pubs” week, I also presented an award on behalf of the Sheerness Times Guardian which runs an annual competition to select the best pub on the Island. This the second award’s second year and both times it has been won by the Royal Hotel. Well done to David Ingram and his staff. I had a long chat with David and it soon became apparent why the Royal is so successful, here is a man who knows his business inside out.

19:00 Louise and I went for a meal at Charlie Lam’s Chinese restaurant in Halfway. Bliss!