James Wharton

I have been having a few problems with my emails over the past couple of days so if you have emailed me and not received a reply please re send, I have no way of knowing if I lost any whilst the system was down.

I am off to Conservative Party conference at Birmingham tomorrow and will be back late next week, there is already a large pile of correspondence to catch up with and a number of local issues raised by residents which I will be contacting Councillors about across Stockton South.

A busy weekend.  Yesterday I was in Yarm meeting residents to discuss issues both local and national.  The new Town Council, which is now dominated by Conservatives, is doing exciting things for the town, including Yarm Gala which was a great success.  Everyone I spoke too was pleased that teh Gala was re introduced and with plans to make it bigger and better next year the Town Council seems to be going from strength to strength.

Earlier today I was in Ingleby Barwick, collecting signatures in support of the non-political campaign for a new secondary school.  As ever the level of public support was staggering.  There can be no doubt that the people of Ingleby Barwick want a new school and their views should be properly taken into account by the Council.

Yesterday Stockton hosted the Cleveland and Durham area Conservatives annual general meeting.  It was attended by aera officers, candidates, Lord Bates and a numebr of the new Durham County Councillors who were elected in May.  We discussed a variety of issues including the economy and internal difficulties facing the Labour Party.  There was also some exciting discussion on regional policies which I am sure will have real benefit to the North East.

Congratulations to Ian Galletley, who was elected Area Chairman and Richard Bell, Mike Smith and Charles Johnson who were elected to the various Deputy Chairman positions.

Last night I attended a number of meetings of local Conservative Party members, including the executive council of the local party.  There was a lot to discuss, including the upcoming annual ball and other events as well as the ongoing work we are doing right across Stockton South.  Council group leader and the leader of Stockton Council, Ken Lupton, gave an insightful update about what is happening in local government there was a lively debate about what should be discussed at conference at the end of this month.

I was out all morning in Ingleby Barwick delivering the most recent edition of intouch.  I spoke to a few residents whilst giving them their newsletters and the response was entirely positive.  Intouch keeps people informed not just about what I am doing but also of events and happenings in their local area.