Brockenhurst AGM

Conservatives in Brockenhurst held their annual meeting in the church hall when officers and committee members, including branch president John Allsopp and chairman Dr. Bruce Simpson, were re-elected for another year. Also in attendance were New Forest East MP Julian Lewis, the Leader of Hampshire County Council Ken Thornber who is also the member for Brockenhurst, and district councillor Maureen Holding. Cllr. Thornber was confirmed as the area's candidate for the County Council election to be held on May 5th.

Among the topics covered by Cllr. Mrs. Holding were planning decisions and changes in Brockenhurst; the role of the South East England Regional Assembly, which she criticised for imposing government targets on house building (an incoming Conservative Government has pledged to abolish SEERA); also the problems facing the New Forest Primary Care Trust.

Cllr. Thornber reported that Hampshire County Council had received the third lowest level of funding from central government, but even so, had the thied highest level of efficiency in the country. The county was totally opposed to plans by the Deputy Prime Minister to impose huge housing starts which would anyway need prior spending on infrastructure such as roads, sewerage and other utilities, education and social services. He also reaffirmed the great importance of local interests being properly represented on the New Forest National Park Authority.

Finally, Dr. Lewis adressed the meeting. He said that while the majority of Labour MPs were moderate, sensible and fair-minded, there was also a minority of unscrupulous people who would stop at nothing to maintain their grip on power. His opposite number in the House of Commons, Alan Milburn, had risen to the top of the Labour Party by using dubious techniques whilst abandoning old Labour ideology. The Freedom of Information Act was being misused to try to "dig the dirt" on political opponents, but files embarrassing to the government were being shredded and answers to legitimate questions of current policy were ignored or sidestepped.

In the New Forest, Dr. Lewis stressed the importance of making the Conservative point of view felt throughout the constituency where local issues would be the basis of his campaign in the forthcoming election.