A video made during the Third Sector Magazine Online Masterclass Series in Autumn 2011.
In this sequence I talk about the use of social media to drive donations for charities, and the full session including the slides used is available from Third Sector Magazine at: http://www.donationsthroughsocialmedia.com/
After Red Nose Day there was a great deal of interest in the technology that my team built to support it.
Computer Weekly, the UK’s leading technology magazine, invited me to present at their CW500 Club – an event for technology leaders from a range of different organisations across the UK.
This event took place at the British Computer Society (BCS) and was a lot of fun!
Many thanks to Computer Weekly for sharing this.
(Copyright Computer Weekly 2011)
As I predicted, the Labour administration in Enfield has chosen to close three libraries, targeting some of the poorest parts of the borough.
Enfield Advertiser Front Page - Wednesday 13 April 2011 - Labour closing local libraries
Libraries are an absolutely essential service, but we knew that there were likely to be problems when Cllr Stafford, (Cabinet Member for Finance) announced at an Area Forum that he believed that there were too many libraries in Enfield.
Many families, especially those on lower incomes, rely on the services in libraries to provide essential access to books and to the Internet for their children to help them with their studies and general education. Closing these libraries will hit those families hard, forcing them to purchase books or – even worse – be forced to neglect their children’s education.
Under the previous Labour Government, educational standards declined rapidly in this country, and this Labour Council’s decision to close the Bullsmoor, Enfield Highway and Ordnance Road libraries reflects the utter contempt that they have for maintaining educational standards.
Libraries are a very important part of a young person’s development; I would never have made it to Cambridge University and built successful career without the access to books that enabled me to learn effectively and without great expense to my parents – I feel passionately that these libraries must stay open, and I will fight these closures through every possible avenue.
The people of Enfield Lock really need to ask themselves why their local councillors, like Cllr Ozzie Uzoanya, promised to deliver them improved services and investment in the east of the borough, but are clearly lacking when it comes to real action.
Will he and his fellow local Labour councillors stand with the people of Enfield Lock in fighting these ill-judged cuts, or will he tow the Labour party line and remain silent yet again?
The people of Enfield Lock must be regretting their decision to vote Labour; I’m sure that they will not make the same mistake at the next election.
One of my favourite public speakers – Colonel Bob Stewart DSO MP – is coming to Enfield to speak at the annual Chase Ward dinner on April 12 and the excitement is building!
Colonel Bob Stewart DSO MP during his time in Bosnia
Col. Bob is now the MP for Beckenham, but is best known for his role in Bosnia as the first British Commander of Nato forces, earning him the name ‘Bosnia Bob’.
It was my great pleasure to have completed my Parliamentary Assessment Board alongside Col. Bob and he was great entertainment, but also impressed with his knowledge, strength of character and great sense of humour.
As Chairman of Chase Ward Conservatives, I cannot wait to welcome him to Enfield for our annual dinner on April 12 – if you’d like to come along, email us at office@enfieldnorth.org for a ticket – there are just a few left!
2010 seems to have gone incredibly quickly, and a lot happened – I got elected, made it through my first Comic Relief campaign and moved-up to Enfield to name just a few highlights!
However, I have a feeling that 2011 is going to be even more hectic and much, much busier; roll on the New Year!
Reprint from Enfield Independent on 29 September 2010. All Rights Acknowledged.
Despite the obvious and overwhelming public opposition to the Tube strikes currently blighting London, Enfield’s Labour Council refuse to acknowledge the negative impact that they are having on our residents.
Instead of reconsidering their position, they have chosen, through Councillor Ozzie Uzoanya, to return to the tribal politics of old and try to position the dispute as class war.
He is missing the point; my concern is not with politics, but with the people of Enfield. They deserve better than a Labour administration that puts the needs of its union comrades before theirs.
I was interviewed by Angelica Mari of Computer Weekly as part of their CW500 Club which is a group of the UK’s top CIOs, CTOs and IT Directors.
I talked about the challenges of managing an IT strategy and function in a dynamic, resource-constrained environment – something not unique to Comic Relief!
Computer Weekly Interview 18 May 2010
Click the picture to read an electronic copy of the full article at the Computer Weekly website.
The Conservatives are the natural allies of America – our Atlanticism and Eurosceptism always play well in Washington DC, and Prime Minister Cameron’s compassionate conservatism fits well with President Obama’s focus on individual responsibility and social liberalism.
Labour has traditionally had a difficult relationship with the United States, shunning the world’s largest capitalist economy in favour of its socialist-leaning European neighbours, and Prime Minister Blair was the first Labour leader to break the mould, forging a strong relationship with President Bush Jr.
His close relationship with George Bush sometimes led to accusations that Blair was acting like a ‘poodle’, demonstrating unswerving loyalty to his friend.
Ultimately, this created a less than healthy situation where America’s actions did not receive full scrutiny and where Britain had no choice but to follow its cousin ‘shoulder-to-shoulder’, which led us into two poorly-planned wars costing thousands of lives.
Blair’s instincts were, however, correct: America is our most important ally; It is his approach that was flawed.
He attempted to build upon Margaret Thatcher’s impressive legacy in which she created the ‘Special Relationship’ through her uniquely close bond with President Ronald Reagan.
PM Margaret Thatcher dancing with President Ronald Reagan at his Inaugural Ball in the White House following his election in 1984.
Blair mistook the mutual respect and admiration that Thatcher and Reagan had for each other as simple friendship and affection; his relationship with Bush Jr had a similar level of warmth, but not the depth and true objectivity that defined the Thatcher / Reagan era – and shaped world politics for nearly a decade.
Whereas Thatcher and Reagan were trusted confidantes and peers, the way that George Bush called out “Yo, Blair!” to Tony Blair reflected what was obviously a very different level of understanding.
Gordon Brown, as Prime Minister, was simply unable to build any kind of sensible working relationship with President Obama, New Labour’s totalitarian approach sitting much more comfortably with the neo-conservative Republican approach than with Obama’s democratic one.
It is no surprise that President Obama was so quick to congratulate David Cameron on his becoming Prime Minister; the new Conservative administration under dynamic young leadership is exactly the sort of partner that the President needs in Europe; he was quoted as saying of David Cameron:
“…smart, dedicated new prime minister… is somebody we are going to be able to work with very effectively…”
Hopefully, the Special Relationship is back; that will be good for Britain, good for America and good for the world!
This (rather poor quality) video was made by me on the morning of May 7 2010 as Nick made a most gracious speech following the announcement of his 1,700 majority following a very tough election campaign.
Well done, Nick!
A great day for him, and for Enfield North…
Friday 7 May 2010 will stay in my mind for a long time to come…
The euphoria that I felt after learning that Nick de Bois had finally removed Joan Ryan to become the member of parliament for Enfield North – and when it was announced that I had been elected as a councillor for Chase ward – soon subsided when I realised that we had lost control of the council to Labour.
It is many years since Labour has controlled Enfield and it is disturbing to think that the financial mismanagement and class-oriented social policies employed by them previously may soon be returning to Enfield.
Between 1994 and 2002 Labour drove the council’s finances into the ground and quality of local services was incredibly poor.
Since taking control, the Conservatives have built strong finances and improved services sufficiently to earn four-star status. The result of this election puts all of this at risk.
As councillor for Chase ward, I am determined to protect Chase from the worst excesses of a profligate socialist Labour administration in the Civic Centre and will, in particular, be a vigorous protector of our beautiful green spaces.
We know from previous experience that Labour eyes the open spaces of western Enfield with contempt, determined to build as many tower blocks and council estates as possible – something that is just not in the best interests of our residents.
The Conservative group will fight hard in the coming months and years to prevent that happening, and to ensure that Enfield does not become like Haringey – our crime-ridden, one-star neighbour to the south.
Unfortunately, a huge increase in turnout in the east, coupled with a significant voter registration drive by Labour has put the future of Enfield in jeopardy.
As one of the 26 Conservative councillors that will now form the opposition, I will do everything in my power to contain Labour’s excesses, and to prevent them from destroying the great work that was done by the Conservatives under former leader, Michael Rye.
