So what do UKIP, Lib Dems and Labour all have in common?

Hard to imagine really. Three very unlikely bed fellows.

But their is one common factor which unfortunately has nothing to do with improving anything for the electorate but I guess could be seen as fun for those involved. If they all join up they can give the Conservatives a cuffing.

They can dismantle effective ways of working because …… they just can. Power to do mischief, to disrupt, to change anything and everything and all under the false banner of improving things. I can see the temptation after being in a non effective opposition role for a long time but …………. I thought delivering for the electorate was much more important. Not anymore it seems.

Have a look at the electoral map for Norfolk. http://elections.norfolk.gov.uk

A quick glance of the political map and you would be forgiven for thinking the Conservatives would be in charge, with a Conservative leader. But no. It seems that all the protest parties have joined together to elect a Labour Leader??????? So, a split Conservative vote, by UKIP has resulted in a Labour administration. Worse, LIb Dems, who are pro EU, are now in the Cabinet. How many of the UKIP voters would have wanted that I wonder.

This is always the danger of mixing protest votes against central government with local politics. Still, the people of Norfolk can now sit back and enjoy the coalition of the left, ultra right and the can’t make their minds up. Oh Dear.

Post election wash up

Today is a very interesting day for me as it is my first day of not being a councillor and more importantly not being the leader of the county council. The sense of laying down a heavy load is very energising with the expectation of new challenges and opportunities ahead.

Perhaps even a glorious summer of cricket, tennis and gardening. Some chance looking at the weather. I am playing cricket for the county over 50 side this afternoon but the skies look grey.

Since the elections I have deliberately kept a low profile to allow all the new councillors to take up the slack without any interference from me. In my experience their is nothing worse than someone hanging around when you know they are going. I wish them all the best. In particular I wish Martin Curtis the very best of luck in his difficult task of running a minority executive.

I have changed my twitter name from cllrnickclarke to nickclarkecambs for obvious reasons but if I have sorted the technology out correctly current followers will remain attached.

My daughter was thrilled to bits with me not getting elected as it means we can go into business together. Brainstorming sessions abound. Loads of energy and ideas. A chip off the old block.

Politics has been a real break but I’m now looking forward to seeing what business opportunities or non exec positions might exist.

I fell into politics four years ago and have now fallen out. During that time I have tried to give 110 % effort and focussed on getting stuff done rather than the internal processes of political life. This approach was well received by the business community and by the general public but not so well by opposition politicians.

Clearly living 12 miles from my division was an issue that I recognised might trip me up and clearly it did. John Williams, the successful candidate, included a map of where I live on his leaflets just in case someone might not know

I fear that yesterdays council meeting signalled a big shift in attitude from getting things done for the people of Cambridgeshire to focussing in on councillors and how they wield power.

No one should be surprised by this as the minority parties smell blood. But it is a shame that a protest vote about immigration, which is a national issue, should derail an energetic and enthusiastic council that was gaining a national reputation for getting things done.

But as they say, thats democracy.

Beating bowl cancer – charity cricket match last night

Lat night it was brilliant to play cricket over at Needingworth to raise awareness and some money for the “Beating Bowl Cancer”.

Paul Cox, a past Needingworth wicket keeper developed the disease and now fortunately has been scanned as clear. His efforts along with club captain Ian Armstrong raised over £2000.

Thanks to BBC Radio Cambridgeshire for giving it a plug on my behalf.

I last played for Needingworth in 1997. In the club house I spotted my name on some winners shields which took me down memory lane. The Needingworth of today play at a much higher standard than I remember so it was with some reputational trepidation that I went into bat. A four off the first ball steadied the nerves and I went on to make a reasonable score not out.

Playing in a team of youngsters, except for Ian of course, was a pleasant change. I managed to take a catch at point. I then took a wicket bowling although I felt sorry for the chap I got out given how my bowling was up to its usual rubbish standard.

Despite it getting chilly later on it was fun and for a good cause.

Well done to everyone.

Lib Dem meltdown in Cambridgeshire?

It has been interesting to watch the campaigning across Cambridgeshire. A few years ago the Lib Dems seemed to enjoy increasing popular support. It is likely that this was as a result of a backlash against Labour over the Iraq war rather than any positive policies put forward by the Lib Dems.

During this Lib Dem high point each election was seen as a chance to increase the number of seats won.

Today things feel very different. The teams of Lib Dem supporters criss crossing the county seats have not happened this time. In fact it looks as if outside of Cambridge Lib Dem candidates are operating very much as individuals with little or no support from anyone else.

Now, this could be because the Lib Dems have run out of supporters, all increasingly fed up with the spin and untruths of the party. Or a decision to pull back from the county seats to focus on Cambridge is the order of the day. With Cambridge elections next year, with the very real possibility of the Lib Dems losing control of the city, it feels like they are fighting a rear guard action.

This will be particularly important in 2015 when the Lib Dem MP Julian Huppert is up for re-election. I think he is likely to lose his seat given he seems to be backing an increasingly ideology based set of policies.

Julian Huppert does not support the upgrade of the A14. He does not want the police to have the tools they need to police our county. He seems to support legalising drug use. His party is very pro Europe and seeks further handing over of powers to them. This all feels like Julian is out of touch with real people and increasingly sounding like a shrill ideology based theorist.

Phil Rogers has carried out some excellent analysis here. If he is right the Lib Dems could be wiped out. http://philrodgers.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/the-county-elections-in-cambridge-ward-by-ward/

Electioneering

Response on the door step in my Fulbourn division remains very positive. People seem to get the difficult times we are in but like to see our focus on helping to stimulate the economy whilst at the same time supporting vulnerable people.

This afternoon I took time off from my own division to go and help James Hockney fight the Waterbeach seat. James is very well thought of locally and clearly understands the local issues.

I was very surprised to hear that the Lib Dem candidate was waging an unpleasant negative campaign. Michael Williamson, the previous Lib Dem councillor is standing down this election. I always got on well with Michael who I always considered to be on the sensible side of the Lib Dem party at Shire Hall. It looks like he is distancing himself from the antics of the prospective Lib Dem candidate. He needs to.

I think James has proved himself to be a fair, honest and hardworking local politician and I expect to see him in Shire Hall on the 3rd May.

This afternoon,I took a call from Bob Neill MP who is the Vice-Chairman (Local Government) of the Conservative Party. He was interested in how things were going in Cambridgeshire and was pleased with the feedback I was able to give him.

Lib Dem candidate celebrates A14 might not go ahead because Lib Dem City council wont support it. – Madness

On twitter at 4:30pm on the 29th April, Lib Dem Belinda Brooks-Gordon states:

“I am totally delighted that the A14 massive expansion may not go ahead. SUCCESS ACTION”

This comment is so daft from so many different perspectives I don’t know where to start.

How can a responsible politician in any way be pleased about the numbers of individuals being killed, the huge numbers of people injured and the many millions of pounds this overcrowded road is costing the people of Cambridgeshire and beyond?

From a commonsense perspective it is mad. From a compassionate perspective it is cruel. From a business perspective is is extremely damaging.

It seems that only a Lib Dem perspective can justify such a ridiculous statement. How anyone could vote for an individual with these views is beyond me. Amazingly, Cambridge City Lib Dems also think like this and have refused to support the current initiative to get this road upgraded.

Charity cricket match – Needingworth – Wednesday evening in aid of beating bowel cancer

I am playing in a charity cricket match Wednesday evening starting at 6pm, at the Needingworth cricket ground in aid of bowel cancer. The electioneering can wait for an evening

If you can help promote this event that would be great. Tweets and retweets especially welcome.

I used to play for Needingworth many years ago and am looking forward to a guest appearance for this excellent cause.

The easiest way to donateis to visit the website Beating Bowel Cancer on www.beatingbowelcancer.org and there is an easy online donation option or calling 0208 614 3853 for a verbal transaction.

Labour leadership hopeful Ed Balls ‘forgets’ he was a Tory at university (and once dressed as a Nazi).

The Mailonline has an interesting piece on Ed Balls.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1286627/Ed-Balls-forgets-Tory-Oxford-dressed-Nazi.html

Student days: Mr Balls at a university party in 1986, dressed in a Nazi.

Ed Balls was accused last night of airbrushing out his Tory past to try to salvage his campaign for the Labour leadership.

In an interview designed to shore up his support, Mr Balls, the standard bearer of the Labour left, declared his passion for the party was inspired by a hatred of Margaret Thatcher’s policies when he was at university.

‘I started studying [the economy] in 1983 when Thatcherism was at its peak – and I realised immediately that I wanted to show you could run an economy in a way which delivered social justice,’ said the former Schools Secretary.

‘All through my university days and my career I’ve been driven by the desire to prove that Labour could run the economy well.’

But it seems Mr Balls, an outside bet for the leadership behind David and Ed Miliband, is having difficulty with his memory.

While he was studying Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Keble College, Oxford, far from being utterly wedded to the Labour Party he was in fact a member of the university Conservative Association.

The secret Tory past of Mr Balls, who was Gordon Brown’s most trusted friend in the last government, had lain undetected for more than three decades.

It was revealed by Philip Hollobone, the Tory MP for Kettering, who was a member of the same Oxford Conservative Association between 1984-87.

‘I was the secretary of the Conservative association and I can tell you without a doubt that Ed Balls, who no one knew back then, was a paid-up member,’ said Mr Hollobone. ‘I imagine he is more than a little shy about talking about it.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1286627/Ed-Balls-forgets-Tory-Oxford-dressed-Nazi.html#ixzz2Rvctark1

Treading Wind Farm public inquiry – Wisbech

In Wisbech today it was my pleasure to speak at the public inquiry to strongly oppose the wind farm.

I made the point that whilst I am not an expert on planning I do have the largest democratic mandate, representing all 680,000 people of Cambridgeshire. I made three points.

Firstly, I believe that the will of Parliament is not being heard. Government is clear. A key plank of its policy is localism which means decisions being made at the lowest practical level. In this case, local people, the parish council, the district council, the local county councillor and local MP don’t want the wind farm. Local opinion should carry significant weight or we create a democratic deficit.

Secondly, the planning system is being brought into disrepute. What is the point of the planning process, which embeds democratic accountability at its core, if the decision can be overturned by a planning inspector? This seems out of step with localism.

Thirdly, I explained my Cabinet felt it necessary to not allow any further wind farms on the 33,000 acres of county land because faith in the planning process had been lost. We are elected to represent the views of local people and their voices must be heard.

Some fine words from Steven Barclay MP and Cllr Steve Tierney both who are very passionate about the local area.

Interestingly, a Lib Dem candidate for the county elections also opposed the wind farm. Common sense prevailing at last or perhaps a good understanding of where the votes are to be found?

Well worth the drive to Wisbech.

Twentieth anniversary of the Teversham Warden scheme

Yesterday I attended a celebration of the warden scheme in Teversham. It was set up twenty years ago by Dave Kelleway, and is supported by the county council, SCDC, the Parish Council and the Marshall Group.

This combination of public and private finance has meant this scheme has survived and is thriving. It is unusual because the warden checks on people in their own homes rather than sheltered accommodation.

I want to see if we can use this model or working elsewhere. It was fantastic to talk with some of the vulnerable people who we say are our priority. Cost effective schemes like this help to keep people living independent lives and save us money, as the alternative might be residential care.

This scheme is managed by Age UK.