James Wharton

A friend of mine came to the end of his term as President of the Cambridge Union this week.  Traditionally an outgoing President takes part in a final debate and I was invited to be one of the speakers.

The motion was:
“This House believes the comprehensive system is failing Britain’s poor”

I was speaking against the motion, along with the Labour MP for Bury North, David Chaytor and Thomas James, a student member of the Union Society.  In proposition, along with the outgoing President, was the Master of Wellington College, Anthony Seldon, and the Mail on Sunday columnist Peter Hitchens.

It was a close run thing but, I regret, the motion was carried by a wafer thin margin.  The evening was an enjoyable experience and it was a privilege to speak to such a respected and historic society.

Tonight I went along to another meeting organised by Village Park Residents Association to discuss the future of Parkview care home in Thornaby.  Again this was well attended and feelings were running high.  There is a real feeling that this home must not close.  Cllr Walmsley repeatedly interjected with “over my dead body”, a sentiment shared by most everyone present. Our Labour MP did not turn up, again, but sent her researcher to argue on her behalf.  It is good to see that pressure from this group has already caused her to shift her position in favour of keeping the home open.We all decided to go along to the Council Cabinet meeting in December to make our feelings known.  I genuinely believe that this particular fight can be won and that there is a good chance Parkview can be saved.

Tonight was the Asian Business Forum (NE) Dinner. The Conservatives had a table and it really was a superb evening. Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion, was the guest speaker and I have to say she was excellent. A good mix of down to earth experience and humorous anecdotes kept everyone enthralled throughout her speech.

Amazingly I was approached at the pre dinner reception by a constituent from Ingleby Barwick who wanted to thank me for my support of Ingleby Barwick residents at the recent Building Schools for the Future meeting. It illustrates the strength of feeling amongst Ingleby Barwick residents that even at a drinks reception in Gateshead people are taking the time to make their point on this issue. There can be no doubt that Ingleby Barwick must get more school places as soon as possible.

An enjoyable evening at the York University Conservatives Christmas dinner.  I didnt go to York but have become something of a regular at their events as a good friend of mine was York Chairman whilst I was at Durham and I started attending to support his events then.

I am happy to report that, as usual, an enjoyable evening was had by all.

Tonight we had a good meeting of my local team.  The response to the recent in touch newsletters that have gone out across the area has been huge.  All of the feedback is helpful in highlighting which issues are worrying local people and the whole exercise has been a great success.

I was pleased to also welcome Nigel Boddy to tonight’s meeting.  Nigel stood for the Lib Dems in Hartlepool in 2001 but now wants to help out with what we are doing in Stockton South.  It’s great to have him on board and his experience in fighting against cuts to Hospital services in Hartlepool will be invaulable in ensuring that we can effectively defend service provision here in Stockton.