Peace will come to earth when the people
have more to do with each other
and governments less.

Voted early with Beth and, of course, for myself, which felt weird. I almost wanted to keep the ballot paper…

Dashed off to get out the vote, then lunch with the team before trooping around the committee rooms and polling stations. We found a warm and welcoming atmosphere everywhere. Great messages of support from friends and family.

Throughout the day, there was some furious psephology, but the only result that matters is the one I will be leaving for shortly…

Via conservatives.com:

David Cameron has welcomed the official announcement of the General Election date.

The election is a choice between five more years of Gordon Brown’s tired government making things worse – or change with the Conservatives, who have the energy, leadership and values to get Britain moving again.

Speaking to supporters this morning, David Cameron will say that the Consevatives are “fighting this election for the great ignored”.

“Young, old, rich, poor, black, white, gay, straight. They start our businesses, operate our factories, teach our children, clean our streets, grow our food, keep us safe. They work hard, pay their taxes, obey the law”, he will say.

“They’re good, decent people – they’re the people of Britain and they just want a reason to believe that anything is still possible in Britain.”

“This election is about giving them that reason, giving them that hope”.

At last, we can begin to look forward to the Big Society replacing the Big State:

What I have spoken about today combines optimism about the potential for social renewal with realism about the role of the state in fighting poverty and inequality.

If we stick the course and change this country then we will have a national life expanded with meaning and mutual responsibility.

We will feel it in the strength of our relationships – the civility and courtesy we show to each other.

Just as we have felt this coarsen in the past decade, so I believe we will feel it change for the better in the years ahead.

And we will feel it in our culture – a new can-do and should-do attitude where Britons once again feel in control of their lives.

This is not the work of one parliamentary term, or even two. Culture change is much harder than state control. It will take more than a generation. But it is because I believe the appetite for change is there that I know that change will come.

The era of big government has run its course.

Poverty and inequality have got worse, despite Labour’s massive expansion of the state. We need new answers now, and they will only come from a bigger society, not bigger government.

That’s why it’s now clear to me that the Conservatives, not Labour, are best placed to fight poverty in our country.

Click for my campaign

Via the Bucks Free Press, Health bosses slammed for not appearing at public meeting:

HEALTH bosses were lambasted tonight for sending no one to face questions from members of the public worried about the future of Wycombe Hospital.

Speakers slammed The Primary Care Trust and NHS Buckinghamshire for saying nobody was available to attend, describing their decision as “appalling” and “scandalous”.

Around 200 residents attended the meeting at Great Marlow School, Bobmore Lane, Marlow, which was organised by Marlow People’s Action Group.

Many expressed their fears for the future of Wycombe Hospital and Marlow Community Hospital in Glade Road – despite strong denials this week from health chiefs that either is in danger.

Members of the public are quite right that the NHS is insufficiently accountable to local people. Buckinghamshire health services are underfunded. On top of it all, clinical professionals carry an unacceptable burden of bureaucracy and reorganisation.

This is why I am calling for fair funding, local control and freedom for clinical professionals. As Paul pointed out, becoming a self-governing Foundation Trust would help enormously and we can only achieve that with fair funding. Further local control can be achieved with local commissioning by GPs. Please show your support by signing the petition below.

Meanwhile, we must pursue our campaign for local hospital services against the backdrop provided by today’s Daily Telegraph, which claims:

Tens of thousands of NHS workers would be sacked, hospital units closed and patients denied treatments under secret plans for £20 billion of health cuts.

The sick would be urged to stay at home and email doctors rather than visit surgeries, while procedures such as hip replacements could be scrapped.

The plans have emerged as health chiefs draw up emergency budgets that cast doubt on pledges by Gordon Brown to protect “front line services” in the NHS.

Documents show that health chiefs are considering plans to begin sacking workers, cutting treatments and shutting wards across the country.

Before voting, the public deserve to know the choice they face.

I was delighted that Labour agent Mr Barlow hailed Paul as a “fantastic MP”. I can assure him and all electors that I have every intention of diligently taking forward Paul’s great work.

Sign the petition

Our draft health manifesto

Recently, I had a good discussion about online campaigning with Graham at Mendip Media. It was an excellent cross-check for what we have been planning in Wycombe.

Anyone who underestimates the significance of the web in the campaign for 2010 is missing a trick. Since 2005, the Internet has evolved into something more than a series of brochures for companies and products. It is now a valuable mine of information for voters and would-be-voters. For example, through this site, you can find out about my political views and the literature which has informed them.

The Internet doesn’t replace meeting people face-to-face — thank goodness! — but it does allow candidates like me engage more fully than traditional doorstep canvassing and literature will allow. For one thing, it is ‘pull’ rather than ‘push’. If a certain issue is troubling you, you can look it up instantly, anywhere, without having to wait for my leaflet to drop through the letterbox. If you have a burning question, you can discuss it with me online.

Millions of younger voters now expect this – they’re regularly active on websites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. These are the platforms where peer groups are forming, discussing what matters to them and influencing each other’s decisions. And it’s not limited to the young – indeed, according to Graham, the fastest growing sector on Facebook is 55- to 65-year-old females.

I am looking forward to the full-blooded campaign, online and on the streets of Wycombe, and I am delighted to reveal that fellow Wycombe Conservative Tim Hewish, a Policy Exchange veteran, will be helping online.

You can find my campaign in these locations:  Facebook,  Twitter and myconservatives.com.

An excellent new tool via MyConservatives.com:

Welcome to MyConservatives.

MyConservatives is a new online network that gives you the tools to campaign for the candidates you support, and issues that you care about.

Here are some of the things you can do:

• Take part in campaign activities and social action
• Donate directly to individual campaigns
• Ring voters from the comfort of your home
• Set up fundraising events with online ticketing

And you can learn more about the site by watching the video on the right.

MyConservatives is open to anyone who wants to make a difference in their community and in our country. Just click on the Register button to get started.

My profile is here.