Be seeing you!

It was a remarkable thing to sit in a crowded Commons chamber today for the first time.  For all that has happened, it is still the place within which we will make the decisions which will turn this country around.

Persuaded by both Jonathan Isaby this morning and Rt Hon Sir Malcolm Rifkind MP in the chamber, I was among those new members who abstained in the election of the Speaker. I would have voted in a division. I trust Mr Bercow will live up to Sir Malcolm’s recommendation.

Douglas Carswell commented that the chair has been moved and that the LibDems are a little cosier. Of course, I could not possibly comment.

Yesterday, I was first publicly introduced as Wycombe’s MP. It is an awe-inspiring responsibility.

Unsurprisingly, this new back bencher was not called upon to advise the leadership over the weekend, so I was able to accept a couple of invitations, one to participate in the launch of Walk Wycombe and another to enjoy a concert by Wycombe Orpheus Male Voice Choir.

Walk Wycombe seems to divide opinion. On the one hand, volunteers and participants clearly enjoyed one another’s company and the opportunity to promote a sociable activity which is good for individuals, the environment and the town. On the other, some commentators have complained about the cost. Walking is so obviously a good thing, particularly around High Wycombe, that I am slightly surprised an initiative is required to promote it, but it seems this is so. Public health is not all it might be and we are all carrying the cost. Since the investment has been made, let’s make the most of it.

Wycombe Orpheus Male Voice Choir and their guest performers gave a magnificent evening’s entertainment to a full house. The programme was deeply moving. The Impossible Dream was impishly dedicated to all those for whom the election result was not all they hoped, of which, more on another occasion.

And to be introduced in the theatre to so many people as their representative at a time like this, well, it certainly puts steel in your backbone.

Today, a civic service and the presentation of a chess prize. After exchanging a gesture of peace with my LibDem opponent and speaking positively with a good number of people after the service, I can’t help wondering if politics was rather gentler before the Internet.

Tomorrow, we have a meeting of the Parliamentary Conservative Party and my involvement in events begins in earnest.

And the news is:

Wycombe Conservatives
150A West Wycombe Road,
High Wycombe,
Buckinghamshire HP11 3AE
Tel: 01494 521777
Fax: 01494 510042
email: agent@wycombe.tory.org.uk.

Steven Baker selected as Wycombe’s Conservative Prospective Parliamentary Candidate

Wycombe Conservatives are delighted to announce the selection of Steven Baker to contest the Wycombe Parliamentary Constituency for the Conservative Party at the next general election.

Steven is a professional aerospace and software engineer, bringing with him a wealth of experience from service in the Royal Air Force and work within entrepreneurial businesses.

As a former resident of Walter’s Ash, Steve is looking forward to settling in the Constituency with his wife Beth, a general practitioner. Commenting on his selection, Steve said,

“I am delighted and honoured to be selected to represent the Conservatives in Wycombe. I am a recent entrant to politics, so this represents a victory for a renewed Conservative Party determined to reconnect power and people.”

The Association was particularly impressed by his balanced views, personal drive and tenacity to get the right things done: “I am determined to tackle such issues as the withdrawal of services at Wycombe Hospital and to advance Conservative plans immediately  to support our schools and teachers”, Steven said during the Association’s rigorous selection process.

Steven paid tribute to Paul Goodman MP and the other candidates, saying, “It is an honour to follow in the footsteps of an MP as accomplished and well-respected as Paul Goodman. I congratulate the other candidates, all of whom were excellent.”

Steve is a Director of the Cobden Centre, a think tank for bank reform, and an Associate Consultant to the Centre for Social Justice.

I am very much looking forward to working with Paul Goodman MP, Wycombe Conservatives and the people of Wycombe over the coming weeks and, I hope, years.

The weather was superb for skydiving yesterday and Weston was alive with skydivers, tandem passengers and their families. Beth caught me on camera a couple of times under canopy:

I jumped three times. The first two were solo jumps for fun — one in shorts, one in my FS suit — allowing me time to survey Mr Cameron’s constituency at my leisure: it looks good. For both exits, I gently forward rolled onto my back for a good view of the Dornier G92 flying away: beautiful.
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David Cameron writes, in the Guardian, four articles on reforming politics:

The public reaction to the political crisis over MPs’ expenses is far too serious to be assuaged by any instant package of measures, or even the sight of MPs paying the price for unethical behaviour. I think the British people’s fury at politicians today indicates a much deeper problem in our political system, that’s been growing for years. That’s why the Guardian’s A New Politics debate is so important. It’s vital we examine the deeper political problems Britain faces, and consider all potential solutions. And while I think much of the recent excited talk of “revolution” is overblown – we need to keep a cool head and a sense of proportion – we mustn’t let ourselves believe that a bit of technocratic tinkering here, a bit of constitutional consultation there, will do the trick. No, this crisis shows that big change is required. We do need a new politics. We do need sweeping reform. But we’ve got to get it right.

via A new politics: We need a massive, radical redistribution of power | David Cameron | Comment is free | The Guardian .

See also:

• A new politics: Electoral reform
• A new politics: Democratic accountability
• A new politics: The post-bureaucratic age

Time for change? Certainly – it’s past due and this is the right stuff.

Watch the speech: