Posts Tagged ‘mp’

May 6th has now been officially declared as the date of the next General Election.

Over the last two years I have been a serious political Candidate and campaigned hard during this time.
Visiting every area,  holding regular coffee mornings and surgeries, canvassing and leading from the front.

The people of this region deserve to be heard and the weakness shown by those currently in office, to properly represent the people of the Highlands needs to come to an end.
My main motivation for standing is to ensure that real support is brought to the Highlands and the people of Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey. My desire to bring the high degree of support that a Conservative Government would bring and to do so it is imperative that this region elects me to represent them in Parliament.

Out of every other Candidate who is standing, only I will have the ability, as a member of the party in power to get the investment and infrastructure to ensure that the businesses and people of this region get the top support they deserve.
All  the other Candidates will be in opposition and can only ask what they will of a Conservative Government.
I would remind everyone  that I would be the MP of the party in power and it is  that thought that I ask you to seriously consider.

This General Election is a clear choice. A vote for any other party will help to keen Gordon Brown in power.
Do you want Gordon Brown for another 5 years or David Cameron as Prime Minister?

I would ask that every person in this region look closely at what I can offer. It’s time to play this to your advantage and ensure this region gets the strongest support from a Conservative Government possible. If you have never voted Conservative before, you need to seriously consider doing so now.

I am not a career politican,  I have worked hard all my life with a family business that I started from scratch 16 years ago.
If you invest your trust in me, you can be certain of having an honest and hard working MP who understands what you are all going through and who acknowledges that your concerns and interests are my concerns and interests.

It’s time for change and true representation for the people who live and work in this region.

Make your vote count – there is much at stake!

Jim Ferguson

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Gordon Brown now leads a discredited Government.

The latest revelations regarding the three Labour MP’s who were caught in a sting operation offering to influence  Government policy for money is sickening. Confidence in the members of Parliament is at an all time low as people form the opinion that none can be trusted with even the basic decency of someone expected in such high office.

I find it quite embarrasing to see the greed of people surface like this and ofcourse as a political candidate I feel uncomfortable with the fact that as a political candidate people are looking at me and asking if I am the same. Would I also conduct my self in this greedy dishonest way ?

The answer is no. I am horrified at how far those we trusted to run the country have fallen but perhaps we are also to blame !

Thats right we as in the electorate are also to blame. Let me explain.

Its not political parties who elect MP’s to parliament. Yes they select the candidates but its the people who vote and give those people they elect the mandate to enter parliament.

Perhaps we need to look at what we base our decisions on not only on party policy but to look with a far more critical eye at those we are preparing to vote for.

I believe that the general public need to be very certain that they know exactly where the political candidates stand on the fundamental issues of importance to them and to the good of the country.

Why vote for someone who has never experianced the real working world for example. ? A Career politician who knows noting of the pressures or issues of everday life ? Some career politicians are perfectly capable ofcourse but the question remains valid.

Scrutiny of the candidates views is fundamental to ensuring that only candidates of good character and trustworthiness should enter parliament. If there had been more scrutiny of the candidates themselves and a hard look at what they may have already achieved in life instead of a blind vote cast purely on party lines then I believe we could have avoided a lot of the problems that we have seen.

Patricia Hewitt, Geoff Hoon and Stephen Byers are now disgraced former Labour cabinet ministers who have shown their true nature. What appals me is that these people were involved and sat at the most senior positions in Government. The question is did they conduct themselves in this way while in those positions of power and influence.

Are there more Government ministers on the take ?

As for myself I will stand with the people of the Highlands in this region and give every support and assistance in a truthful and honest way. If I am elected to Parliament then the trust that has been invested in me will not be wasted but I will lead this region with strength and integrity.

I have been involved in business and hold positions of the highest order in other organisations where truth and honesty are beyond doubt.

There would be no distinction made as far as my views on parliamentary affairs are concerned.

The people require politicians who can be trusted and who will assist the country to go forward with honesty, hard work and above all who they can trust.

Jim Ferguson

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BBC BRIAN TAYLOR

As the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Inverness Nairn Badenoch and Strathspey at the forthcoming General Election I was delighted that the BBC had invited the various political parties to attend a live radio show in Avimore in the Scottish Highlands.

A number of us agreed to attend but on arrival despite having been on the list I was refused entry due to the fact I was a political Candidate.

The BBC told me that they had to remain impartial and that Candidates were not allowed in so that no one had an unfair advantage.

However Danny Alexander the LibDem MP who’s seat I am contesting is also a candidate. Not only was he allowed to attend but he was also on the panel. I pointed this out to the BBC,  but they refused to listen. When the SNP Candidate arrived we discussed the situation and agreed that we would simply sit in the audience and not take part in the debate. Once again we were refused.

Later I spoke to security staff who had controlled entry to the room where the broadcast was taking place. They confirmed that they had been specifically told to refuse entry to the Labour Candidate Mike Robb as the BBC had been concerned that he was going to disrupt proceedings. I spoke with the hotel staff who also confirmed they were simply acting on instructions from their client.

While I accept that the BBC wish to remain impartial, why on earth then would they allow Danny Alexander to remain on the panel. It would have been easy to arrange to have a LibDem MSP to join the Conservative, Labour and SNP MSP’s who were also on the panel.

Danny Alexander should therefore never have been allowed to attend this event let alone sit on the panel.

With a General Election just around the corner this gave him a distinct advantage and high profile that was denied to the other political Candidates.

The BBC have been accused of left leaning, liberal bias before, but now I have experienced it for myself.

I have written to the BBC demanding a full and detailed explanation as to why they acted the way they did including the political editor Brian Taylor who Chaired the debate.

So far they have not even acknowledged my email.

I am sure that Danny Alexander is relieved. However he will have to face me on the various hustings where there will be no liberal bias allowed.

Bring on the General Election.

Jim Ferguson

Candidates barred from BBC debate

Anger over reception at Aviemore

By Iain Ramage

Published: 22/03/2010

A WOULD-BE Tory politician who was among three election candidates barred from a live BBC lunchtime debate at Aviemore Highland Resort claims they were “treated like terrorists”.

Jim Ferguson, the Conservative candidate for the forthcoming contest for the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey constituency, is the boss of an Inverness security firm.

Stunned by the reception the trio had on Friday, he has written to the corporation asking for an explanation.

SNP candidate John Finnie and Labour’s Mike Robb were equally amazed to have been refused entry to Brian Taylor’s Big Debate on Radio Scotland despite being on the original audience guest list.

Mr Ferguson said: “We were treated like terrorists. It was totally bizarre.

“I was astonished to have been refused entry to a public debate. I explained that Danny Alexander was the MP, and also a candidate, and asked why he was allowed in and I wasn’t.

“It was embarrassing. It was humiliating. I felt this was absolutely undemocratic and very worrying of the BBC to be allowing the proceedings to happen like that.

“John Finnie and I even offered to observe the debate without asking questions, but they wouldn’t accept that.

“They have given Danny Alexander an unfair advantage.”

Mr Robb said: “I was initially told by the programme’s researcher that I could attend the event. However, I was later called by the programme to say that, as a declared local candidate, I would not be allowed to on the grounds of political impartiality.

“I was astonished to find out that the Lib Dems were to be represented on the panel by local MP Danny Alexander, rather than a Lib Dem MSP.

“He therefore had a platform to put his views to local voters whilst his political opponents at the coming general election were barred from even being allowed in the room.”

Mr Finnie, the opposition SNP group leader on Highland Council, said: “It does seem very peculiar.”

A spokeswoman for BBC Scotland said: “Participants and audiences at our debate programmes reflect our guidelines on impartiality.

“We are confident these guidelines were met.”

Mr Alexander declined to comment.

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Danny Alexander LibDem MP

MP’s and their expenses are under ever greater scrutiny than ever before and rightly so. Some are legitimate expenses and others are bordering on outright fraud.

I found it interesting to note from the article in the Press and Journal the amount of expenses claimed by a number of Scottish MP’s which were well into the top 50 as far as amounts actually claimed.

Danny Alexander is among the highest expense claims of MP’s at Westminster. It led me to wonder if all that money for these MP’s was money well spent. While the likes of Danny Alexander claim a large geographical area as the reason for such huge expenses claimed we cannot forget the fact that its not all fares.

Not so long ago he was approached as were all the local parties to make a contribution to the Blythwood food bank appeal that was trying desperately hard to assist the poor who had no food to eat here in the Highland capital of Inverness and the surrounding area.

I had raised close to £1000 of food aid which had also come from donations from Conservative Party members and I had thought that a cross party effort would have gone a long way to helping those in need.

Danny refused to help and stated that he thought it more important to talk about the situation than to donate anything to it.

Ofcourse at that time few of us knew that every piece of food that Danny put in his mouth was paid for by the taxpayer from expenses he claimed. All legitimate ofcourse. At least as far as the law was concerned.

I am wondering what actual worth some of these MP’s actually bring though. Sure they can appear in the newspapers and opine on this and that on a regular basis.

Danny talks a lot but in my opinion and many others actions speak louder than words.

Are MP’s like Danny Alexander worth the investment ? With a bit of luck we will find out soon enough once people here in the Highlands look at the real worth of those who claim to be working so hard on our behalf.

Jim Ferguson

North and north-east members in top 50

Chairman of Scottish affairs committee was most expensive in 2009-10

Published: 05/02/2010

NINE MPs representing seats in the north and north-east were revealed last night to be among the 50 most expensive at Westminster in the last financial year.

The MP with the highest expenses for 2009-10 was Glasgow East Labour MP and Scottish affairs committee chairman Mohammed Sarwar, who is retiring at the general election – expected in May.

He racked up £192,986 in second homes allowance claims, travel expenses, office costs, computer costs and staff pay.

But his example was closely followed by MPs north of the central belt.

Moray MP Angus Robertson, ranked third most costly, last night defended his £188,164 claim. He said it was partly caused by the extra expense resulting from opening a second constituency office at Keith, and partly high travel costs.

He said: “Given the unpredictability of parliamentary schedules, weekly commuting arrangements often have to be made at short notice, which sadly adds to the travel costs.

“Constituents rightly expect you to attend to issues and events locally as well as with matters at Westminster on a weekly basis.”

He added: “The biggest cost saving from Westminster will come when Scotland is independent and we don’t need to send MPs there at all. I am focused on making that happen as quickly as possible.

At just £539 a year lower, Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey Liberal Democrat MP Danny Alexander, also blamed travel costs, driving round one of the biggest constituencies in the UK and commuting back and forth between Inverness and London.

Linlithgow and Falkirk East Labour MP Michael Connarty and Falkirk Labour MP Eric Joyce, at fourth and fifth, were only a few pence less.

Mr Joyce — frequently at or near the top of the expenses league — also cited travel between his home in Falkirk and London as the reason his expenses remain high, pointing out that MPs have to fly on expensive open tickets because they do not know their arrangements very far ahead.

Aberdeen North MP Frank Doran came in at No 12 in the table, claiming £182,139.

Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross Lib Dem MP John Thurso, at No 22, claimed £178,689, Dundee West Labour MP Jim McGovern, 23, £178,597, and Gordon Lib Dem MP Malcolm Bruce, 24, £178,230.

Perth and North Perthshire SNP MP Pete Wishart was 34th with £175,896.

The cheapest was First Minister Alex Salmond, also SNP MP for Banff and Buchan, 533rd, but he rarely appeared in Westminster, claiming £131,316, mainly in staff costs. Western Isles SNP MP Angus MacNeil was 431st, claiming £141,583.

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