The Ups and Downs of the Campaign Trail

The last week has been another full week on the campaign trail. As always we made our priority to give as much time as possible to be out meeting people, listening to the things that matter to you and answering your questions. We have visited streets in most of the communities in the constituency. It is such a pleasure to be out meeting people like this and we are getting such a positive response – it is clear that people believe it is time for change, both nationally and here in mid-Cornwall.

We have had two visits from members of the Shadow Cabinet this week. On Thursday Chris Grayling, Shadow Home Secretary, came to Newquay. This is the 2nd time Chris has visited Newquay in the last 12 months. We are all aware of the challenges Newquay faces and it was good for the Police to be able to talk to Chris about what things are really like ‘on the ground’. I know Chris found the visit useful and yet again Cornwall was given the opportunity to inform national policy making.

Then on Saturday Jim Paice, Shadow Agriculture Minister, paid a visit. He visited a farm in St Dennis and we gathered a group of local farmers to ask questions. I always love meeting with farmers – they are so honest about what they think and have a real understanding of the real issues and what they want from their politicians. They were able to ask Jim about important issues such as TB, EU regulations, Single Farm Payments and GM crops. Jim was able to demonstrate to the farmers how supportive he and a Conservative Government will be to farmers and how we will cut much of the unnecessary red tape they have been burdened with by this Labour Government.

Another highlight for me this week was to be able to speak at the Incinerator Inquiry. This issue has taken up much of my time as a candidate and I am pleased I was able to speak up for the local people in opposing this proposal. I have received lots of messages of appreciation and support since.

The down side of this week has been that my political opposition is increasingly playing dirty and making their attacks more and more personal on me and my family. It is somewhat ironic that their leaders keep appearing on TV talking about cleaning up politics, but anyone who has to deal with them day to day in this constituency knows that they need to talk to their own party members before lecturing other parties. I have been appalled at their behaviour and tactics. But my commitment has always been to fight a clean, honest and positive campaign and although our natural response would be to fight back, I am determined not to descend to their level and to stick to my principles.

We now enter the final full week of this election campaign. This is such an important election for our new constituency of St Austell and Newquay. Many people are waking up to the fact that we have been failed by the Liberal Democrats. Both in Westminster and County Hall they have not delivered what they have promised and played politics with Cornwall’s future. My team and I will be working as hard as we can in the final days of this election to positively get our message across. That message is increasingly getting a positive response on the doors. We all know it is going to be a close call and every vote will count, but we are confident that I can win and be elected as your MP and provide our communities with the strong and influential voice in Government this constituency deserves and has missed for many many years.

Last few days

Sorry for the ‘radio silence’ on this blog for a few days – it has been a busy time.
On Thursday we spent the whole day canvassing - St Austell Bay, Foxhole, Quintrell Downs and Crantock. As always it is so good to get out and meet people and listen to their concerns. Its wonderful just how engaged so many people are in this election. The national press keep telling us that the general public is just not engaging and are disinterested – well as is often the case, this part of Cornwall is quite different.

Friday, as usual, started with our campaign team meeting and then off to Newquay for more canvassing. One of the unwritten rules is that you shouldn’t knock on any doors until after 9am. However, in my eagerness I knocked on the first door and then noticed, when it was too late, that it wasn’t quite 9 o’clock. I was quite relieved to find the person had been up surfing since 6am and was more than happy to talk.
Mid-morning we stopped for brunch at Andy’s Café in East Street (recommended!) for a break. Some people noticed my rosette and a small crowd quickly gathered and we had a great time sat out in the sun talking about the real issues of this campaign.
Then we headed for St Dennis and as usual the main topic for discussion was the incinerator. Again I was able to confirm my support for the fight against this proposal. I will be speaking in support of the local people to the public inquiry this coming Wednesday.

We started the day on Saturday in Newquay where I called into the golf club. It reminded me that it is over a year now since I last played golf. I imagine that few MPs get time for a regular round either so I guess this something I will hopefully have to get used to – I'm not very good anyway and apart from it being something I could do with Mark and the boys, secretly think its a good walk spoiled if like me, you spend most of the time hunting for balls in the rough.

We then set off for Roche in the campaign bus. As we were heading down the A30 some people in a lay-by flagged us down, so we pulled over. It was a group of people from Par who were there supporting their friend, Dave Atkinson, who is cycling from Lands End to John O'Groats to raise funds for the Haiti orphans. You can donate to Dave's campaign through JustGiving at - http://www.justgiving.com/David-Atkinson0 They pledged their support for my campaign which was great.

We had a great response from people in Roche, but we experienced one of the issues that concerned many of them first hand. The traffic through the village was heavy and fast and we took our lives in our hands a few times as we went door to door. This is something I will look to address with the police and local councilors.


We headed back To Kingsley village for lunch and a meeting with Shadow Minister Nick Herbert - Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. I was delighted to show him around and introduce him to David Simpson, one of the owners. Nick was amazed at the range of local produce. It is an example of all that's best about Cornwall, which our policies for rural communities will continue to nurture. The Conservative Party have pledged to return power to rural communities and make sure they get fairer funding, as well as help our fishermen and small farms and local food producers, give incentives for rural business growth, bring in clearer food labeling to clearly show where food is from and support initiatives that improve the natural environment.
Then it was off to some Park Home sites near Mevagissey where I heard, not for the first time, the issues residents have with services and rentals. This is clearly a growing problem for people who live in these communities and something I want to look further into if elected.

The day finished with a refueling stop at St Austell's biggest hostelry and then the team hit the streets in the Gover Valley area of St Austell. We knocked on one door just as Doctor Who was on TV – this gave me the chance to shamelessly mention my eldest son Ben's claim to Dr Who fame as an actor in the series.

Sometimes it can be difficult to know how effective all the literature we send out is, so it is especially encouraging when people respond to let us know they have read our leaflets. I have had lots of emails telling me how much people are appreciating the fact that I am not engaging in negative campaigning but simply stating my case and what I stand for. An example of the many emails I'm receiving along these lines is this extract below, from a Newquay couple.


Hello Caroline,
Just a quick message to wish you well for the coming election.
My wife and I have, rather ashamedly, not voted for over 16 years, but feel inspired and compelled to this time around, mainly as a result of various difficulties the Country, and us as a family, are facing.
We have decided we will be giving you our vote of support, with a big part of this being down to the positive nature of all your locally focused literature......... I find myself getting frustrated at Lib Dem's wish to always criticise opposition and them also banging on about being the "local" choice...whatever that's meant to mean in a County that has so many people moving in and out.
So....Good luck and fingers crossed.


On Sunday I tried again to spend the day relaxing, catching up on household chores and doing some therapeutic cooking.
However, I did spend time planning the week ahead – the campaign is now gathering pace and I look forward to keeping you informed of everything that will be happening in the final 17 days!

Tuesday and Wednesday

Tuesday started with a visit to a local, successful business, and significant employer – TaylorMade. Sitting in the canteen we were able to meet lots of the staff, listen to the issues that concern them and answer their questions. The main areas of concern were: employment, housing, immigration and people on benefits. It was really good to have the time to just sit and talk to people about the things that affect their everyday lives. This is something that I am determined to make the time to continue to do if I am elected MP for this area.

Then the team travelled with me to the St Columb area where we visited the numerous small villages that surround the town. These small communities can often be overlooked as politicians focus on the main population centres, but I love visiting these places. They really do have a special feel to them and everyone is so friendly and welcoming – we cold have drowned in the cups of coffee we were offered.

Then we headed south where we were joined by more local supporters as we visited Fowey and Tywardreath. Farming is a big part of this area and it was good to be able to talk with local farmers. TB is such an issue but I am promised their support because as the Western Morning News said ‘The Conservatives will put the 'F' back in farming’.

Wednesday was another very full day. We started in the Mevagissey area and worked our way back towards St Austell, calling in on some of the beautiful hamlets such as Porthpean, Trenarren, London Apprentice and Tregorrick. These places are so rich in history and form an important part of the heritage of this part of Cornwall.

Local Precious Lives fundraiser and key member of my campaign team, Jill Trewhella, showed me the site of the new children’s hospice. It was good to see that work has begun on what will be a very special place.

Lunch was a pasty from Queenies as we took a break on the Pentewan trail. However, one woman spotted me and marched towards me with her husband in a manner which I thought meant she was going to take me to task over something . However, she simply gave me a huge hug and pledged her support.


Then it was a dash to Victoria to meet with Andrew Lansley, the Shadow Health Minister. We talked about the Conservative Health Policy. We have made the NHS our top priority and it was good to be able to talk to Andrew about the needs of Cornwall’s health care services. Cornwall is a unique place in that not only do we have to provide care for the people of the Duchy but we have to look after the influx of visitors during the holiday season.

The Conservatives have pledged to increase the NHS budget, in real terms, year on year - It is vital we get fair funding for Cornwall and I am determined to fight our cause. Cornwall has for too long missed out and we need strong voices within the government which cannot be ignored – I am determined to be one of those voices.

Andrew and I were able to compare our campaign vehicles and I think there was a bit of ‘bus envy’ going on!

Then the night was finished off with Mark and I being guests at the Mayor of Newquay’s dinner at the Great Western Hotel. It was a great event, Alec Robertson, Conservative leader of Cornwall Council was there along with lots of other local councillors and business people. It was really encouraging to have so many people come and wish me luck and pledge their support for the election.

The evening finished off with my favourite comedian Johnny Cowling providing the entertainment. Johnny soon had us all laughing and ended up with us on the dance floor – campaigning aches and pains forgotten for a while as we danced the night to a close.

Three weeks to go!

The Deep Fried Debating Society

Well, we had another good day on Monday with new people coming forward to give their time to help with our campaign.

We started the day in the south of the constituency visiting some of the small communities around Mevagissey. It was another beautiful day which showed off the National Trust coastline at its stunning best, even if James found some of the narrow roads a challenge to negotiate in the Campaign Bus.

It was then back to the office to touch base with the campaign team and check up on how the distribution of our latest piece of literature was going. It’s so good for me to have such good people working with me to take care of all this so I can just concentrate on meeting people. We have also had lots of people offer to put up posters on their properties, which is great. These will all be going up in the near future, if you would be willing to put one up for us then please get in touch.

Whilst at Fraddon I also checked in on the latest with some of the participants in the Incinerator Public Inquiry at Kingsley. This is such a major issue for St Dennis and mid-Cornwall and I am keen to show my support for it as often as I can – I will be taking part myself next week as one of the public speakers to the Inspector.

Then in the afternoon we headed for Bugle.

We met a large number of Portuguese people living there – many of whom spoke very little English. This has obviously brought challenges to that area. One of the things I have noted in the Liberal Democrats’ immigration policy is their intention to place immigrants into the less populated areas of the country. Clearly this could include Cornwall and would have an impact on our communities. If elected I would oppose this as strongly as I could. Cornwall just does not have the capacity or infrastructure to support any more significant immigration at this time.

We then visited Roche. Here we found lots of undecided voters – many who have voted Lib Dem in the past but are wondering if it is time for change and to vote for an MP in one of the main parties – it is 35 years since St Austell had an MP in the government! People keep telling us that there is a great deal of apathy amongst the public – certainly not the case in Roche. I found lots of people wanting to engage in debate on the real issues.

Then I had two Shadow Ministers come to visit – one for his first visit. This now makes 24 Shadow Ministers who have come to visit this constituency. I have really appreciated their support and it clearly demonstrates that Cornwall will certainly not be forgotten as it has been by Labour with Lib Dem representation. We need a Conservative Government with Cornish Conservative MPs to get the support we need.

First Jeremy Hunt, Shadow Minister for Culture, Media and Sport, paid a visit. Jeremy’s responsibilities include tourism and heritage and it was good to hear him talk about the importance Cornwall would play in his department should he be in the new government. He acknowledged how much our county has to offer. It would be great to work with Jeremy, if elected, in order to get real support from the government for our tourist industry.

Then Mark Prisk, Shadow Minister for Business and Enterprise came to visit. Mark is originally from Cornwall and has paid many visits to give his support to me over the past 3 years. We headed into St Columb, my home town, with another new team of local people who helped us knock on doors and talk to more local people, listening to the issues that concern them. We had a great response once again. We ended the evening by getting some fish and chips from the local chippy only to find our work was not over. We were soon engaged in some great discussion on the real issues and what needs to be done - the Deep Fried Debating Society was born! Almost an hour later I finally got my chips!

Then it was time to head home to catch the Ten O’clock News and log on to find I had 130 emails to answer. All in all another fulfilling day, meeting lots more people and hearing about the issues that concern them –which is exactly what politics should be about.

Looking forward to the launch of our manifesto today.

Communities and NHS

Well it certainly feels like we are well and truly into the campaign now, so here is a quick update on what I have been up to.

Friday was a very special day for more than one reason. It was my youngest son James’ 21st birthday. My gift to him was that he got to drive me around in our ‘campaign bus’ for the day! Bus is a bit of a grand name for it (it’s basically an old camper van) but it is proving a popular attraction as we get lots of thumbs up and toots as we drive around.

We spent the day focussing on local communities. This is an issue right at the heart of this constituency. Under Labour’s centralising big government so many people feel that there lives are now run from Westminster and we have very little influence over the decisions that affect us. The Conservatives have a number of policies that will return real power and influence to local communities on issues such as planning. This is something I am committed to make sure happens as soon as possible.

We started the day with our weekly campaign team briefing over breakfast – these weekly meetings have been going on now for almost 5 months. They have become very special to me as we regularly have up to 30 local people who get up early every Friday to keep in touch with our campaign. It is so important for me to know that I have the backing of so many local people who give up so much of their time to help.

We then headed into St Austell to deliver leaflets and talk to people in Bethel. Then we visited St Stephen. Here we spoke to lots of local people as well as visiting some of the local businesses – it is so important that we maintain small businesses in the villages to provide services and employment where people live. We spoke to the hairdressers, laundrette and the Hawkins Motors car dealership where I was able to talk about the Car Scrappage scheme and the Conservative Party’s plans to continue to support the motor trade as we come out of the recession.

We then called into the campaign office for lunch and to catch up with our campaign team and deal emails and some requests from the press. Then it was off to Trevisco – this beautiful small community is right next to the proposed site for the incinerator and I was able to again confirm my support for the fight against it.

We finished the day off with a special family meal to celebrate James’ birthday including a surprised visit from my sister.

Saturday was another beautiful day and the focus was the NHS with the Conservative Party launching the NHyeS campaign. We believe that the National Health Service is vital to every household in the country and we have made it our No1 priority. We are the only party that has not only committed to ring fence the heath service to protect it to any cuts but also to promise to actually increase spending year on year throughout the net Parliament.

We started the day in St Austell where we visited the Local Produce Market – this has been a great addition to the town and came about with the active support of Conservative Town Councillors. We then gave out leaflets explaining our policies on the NHS and spoke to lots of people in the town.

Then it was over to Newquay where we visited the hospital, and again spoke to lots of local people about their concerns for the NHS, before finishing the day knocking on doors in Treloggan, Pentire and Newquay Central.

I am so encourage by the response we are getting as we get out and talk to people. A recurring theme is numerous people who have in the past voted for other parties but have pledged their support for me at this election. It is clear that more and more people believe it is time for change after years of the Lib Dems failing to deliver for Cornwall.

On Sunday I had a day to relax a little with the family, catch up on house work and deal with emails. Looking forward to much more activity in the week ahead - 24 days to go and counting!

Coast to Coast

I have always known that our constituency of St Austell and Newquay was a very special and diverse place. But yesterday highlighted again for me just what a wonderful place we live in as I spent the day visiting every community in the constituency.

My day started bright and early as I visited a farm near St Dennis to assist with milking the cows. Our farmers are so important to Cornwall and it is vital we support them. If elected I have promised to do all I can to fight for them and I believe that the Conservative Party understands best the needs of our countryside and farming community.

Then it was home for a quick change, before heading off to spend the rest of the day travelling from coast to coast and back again. Starting in Newquay, my son Ben driving me and my team, we set out to visit as many communities as possible. It was a beautiful day that showed off all that this part of Cornwall has to offer.



This is the route we planned to enable us to meet new and old supporters, helpers and local people who I have worked with over the last three and a half years on local issues, concerns and campaigns.

St Dennis – Newquay Killacourt – Crantock – Quintrell Downs – Summercourt – Fraddon - Indian Queens – St Deny’s Church – St Dennis – Nanpean – Foxhole - St Stephen – High St – Trewoon – St Austell –Holmbush – Tywardreath – Golant – Fowey – Par – Carlyon Bay – Charlestown – Pentewen – Mevagissey - Portmellon – Gorran – St Ewe – Heligan – Polgooth – Sticker – Grampound – St Austell – Carluddon – Penwithick – Roche - Castle an Dinas – St Columb Major – St Mawgan – Newquay Airport - Mawgan Porth – Pentire – Newquay Harbour.

The day ended with a great gathering with the Newquay gig teams at the harbour and an opportunity to have a closer look at the newly restored gig ‘Newquay’ – the oldest wooden rowing boat in the world! I’ve been promised a row in her after the election.


The weather was incredible and the new constituency of St Austell and Newquay sparkled showing us all it has to offer in its natural environment and rich heritage.

We all know what a special place Cornwall is with our stunning coastlines and wonderful scenery but of course it is the people who make it really special. It was so good to meet so many of you. I was so encouraged by all the support I received. I really do sense there is a mood for change growing. People are coming to realise that the Lib Dems have had their chance and have failed to deliver for Cornwall. We need a strong and effective voice in Westminster that can have real influence to fight for a fair deal for Cornwall. I want to be that strong voice and with your help, and most importantly your votes, I can be.

Welcome to my Special Election Blog

Welcome to my blog. This is where you will be able to read about my thoughts and what I have been up to, during the next four weeks of the election campaign. I hope to be able to post something most days so please keep coming back to check.

So at last, after three and a half years of campaigning and working on behalf of the people of mid-Cornwall the election has been called. Now all of the work and planning of the past weeks, months and years comes to a head. During this time I have really appreciated all the support and help I have received from local people. We have built a great team of unpaid volunteers; local people who simply want to see a change in St Austell and Newquay. Without them I would not be able to do what I do and so I wanted to thank them all at the start of this campaign.

At times I have been overwhelmed at the way people in this constituency have responded to help me, there are over 200 people who are helping – delivering leaflets, knocking on doors and talking to residents or stuffing envelopes. I also want to thank the literally hundreds of people who have, very importantly, donated money to the campaign fund. Despite what my opponent keeps saying, over 70% of everything we will spend on my campaign has been raised locally – given by lots of local residents who believe it is time for change. All those helping me fight for this seat (apart from the occasional visiting Shadow Minister) will be people who live here and care about our communities.

As we enter the campaign for real, I want to again state my commitment to fight a positive and honest campaign. I will correct any lies or misinformation put out by my opponents, but other than that I want to simply put forward my case and why I believe a Conservative MP will be the best for St Austell and Newquay.

I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible over the coming 29 days as we work together to bring about the change this constituency and our nation needs.