Labour Candidate's Campaign Goes Off The Rails

Labour Candidate Donal Worsley suffered a minor setback to his canvassing when asked to leave Folkestone Central station yesterday (Tuesday).

Handing out flyers with a colleague, Mr Worley was initially asked to leave the platform. Having complied moved to just outside the entrance doors, Mr Worsley was then asked to move down the slope to the junction with Cheriton Road.

Clearly upset, Mr Worsley protested that Labour had done more for the railways than any other party, but the Southeastern official insisted Mr Worsley and his colleague move.

Mr Worsley and colleague complied with the request.

Despite this minor setback, Mr Worsley remained upbeat about the result on Thursday, though conceded that Conservative Candidate Damian Collins would almost certainly win.

“I am sure the Labour vote in Shepway will hold up. We are getting a generally positive response from our canvassing.

“I am looking forward to Thursday evening as the results come in. I will congratulate Damian on his victory, and also offer my commiserations that he will be forming the opposition to a Labour government.”

Mr Collins is the clear favourite for the seat, with odds of around 1/100 being offered. According to a report in The Herald, Conservatives are expecting a drop in the Conservative vote due to incumbent Michael Howard standing down, but are still predicting a healthy majority of around 9,000.

Mr Collins’ main rival is Liberal Democrat Lynne Beaumont, with Mr Worsley predicted to come in a distant third.

Labour Candidate Blog Online

Labour Candidate for Folkestone and Hythe Donald Worsley has started a blog.

This is the first started by the Labour candidate. His Conservative and Liberal Democrat opponents both have active webpages.

Recently the Herald's gossip column reported that Mr Worsley missed the chance to attend a debate as he was too difficult to track down.

Donald vs Adonis Ding Dong

Labour candidate Donald Worsley has again taken his own party to task over the Eurotunnel fiasco that disrupted travel over the Christmas break.


In a letter to Secretary of State for Transport Lord Adonis, Mr Worsley suggests Lord Adonis should visit ‘the Tunnel at Longport and passengers at Ashford Station to instill confidence in the travelling public that measures have been taken to ensure the chaos that reigned before Christmas will never be repeated on your watch.’

Mr Worsley had previously written to Lord Adonis to air his concerns that the independent review into the disruption was far from independent, that the board should be sacked and that the franchise should be taken under government control.

These suggestions were dismissed in a letter from Lord Adonis’ staff.

Mr Worsley has previously disagreed with his own party on the issue of a referendum over signing the Lisbon Treaty and the decision to not use Dungeness C as the site for a new power station.

Mixed Response to Budget

Conservative, Lib Dem and Labour politicians in Shepway have criticised the Government’s budget, announced March 24.

Shepway Liberal Democrats posted an article ‘Stealth Income Tax Increase will hit Folkestone and Hythe hard’ which opens with; ‘The 2010 Labour budget has frozen income tax threshold limits, meaning a real terms rise in income taxes on tax payers across Folkestone and Hythe. The Lib Dems had announced plans to take all those earning under £10,000 out of income tax entirely by raising the lower tax threshold.’

The article has a quote from leader Nick Clegg but little about the specific impact on Shepway’s economy and voters.

In a statement on the Shepway Conservatives website parliamentary candidate Damian Collins criticises the budget as offering ‘more of the same debt, taxes, and waste that have got the economy into the terrible mess it’s in.’

Mr Collins then offers opinions specific to Shepway around the changes to taxes on holiday lets, stating; ‘local businesses who offer self catering holiday accommodation could be particularly badly hit, and will lead to higher prices, putting off visitors.’

Mr Collins also criticises the 10% tax increase on cider, although his joining of the Kent Cider Company on Facebook was criticised as ‘shameless electioneering.’

Labour Candidate Donald Worsley has also criticised the budget, though he does not think it will lose the election for Labour. Talking to FUTS, Mr Worsley described the budget as ‘Too little, too late – this should have been done a year ago. It will not win the election – neither will it lose it.’

Mr Worsley has past form of disagreeing with Labour Government decisions such as Dungeness C and the failure to hold a referendum on ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, although he has maintained any disagreements with the national party are for the benefit of Shepway.

Lib Dem Lynne Leads After Debate

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate Lynne Beaumont proved more popular than her rivals at a public debate in South Kent College.
Around 100 students attended the event to hear the candidates’ views on jobs, education and the future of Shepway. In a ballot after the debate, Ms Beaumont polled 66%, Conservative candidate Damian Collins 19% and Labour candidate Donald Worsley 15%.

Mr Collins did not explain why he thought Ms Beaumont polled most votes, but did say he thought it was ‘a very good debate and enjoyed meeting with the students.’

Labour Candidate Donald Worsley took heart from the result, reasoning that it was an improvement on Labour’s disastrous showing in recent county elections and could represent a fall in Conservative support.

Mr Worlsey also stated ‘the meeting Shepway has had a Conservative MP for the last 27years yet unemployment continues to go against the national trend, in a District in that time which has also seen a Lib Dem administration but not a Labour one.’

This is one of several events where all candidates will be speaking. The result is interesting as it goes against all expectations of an easy Conservative victory. However, at the moment this result is an aberration rather than a trend and Mr Collins is still clear favourite to win the seat.

Silver Lining for Labour After 'Disapponting' Day Campaigning

Labour Candidate Donald Worsley took cold comfort from the opening of Labour campaigning in Shepway last Saturday.

Mr Worsley was disappointed that few Labour members turned out to help, but was positive about the reaction from members of the public.

Speaking to FUTS, Mr Worley said; ‘it was a bitterly cold day with leaflets blowing everywhere in the wind.

‘The main concerns expressed were the need for jobs and the need to protect the NHS. Given Shepway is a deprived ward we should be more successful here. We need to rebuild a Labour presence in Shepway.’

Labour are currently languishing in third for the seat and do not have any councillors sitting on District and Town councils.

Mr Worsley hopes to improve on previous Labour performances. In 2005 Labour polled only 12.5% of votes.

However, without an internet presence or a reliable party membership to call upon it is uncertain that he will be able to do this.

Labour Campaign Kicks Off on Saturday

Labour Parliamentary Candidate Donald Worsley will begin his campaign tomorrow in the town centre.
Although Labour is a distant third in the district to the Conservatives and Lib Dems, Mr Worsley says his campaign will show the national Labour Government is delivering for Shepway, citing the High Speed rail link the Little Cheyenne Windfarm and the new academy schools among its achievements.

Talking to FUTS, Mr Worsley denied that this was part of a long term strategy and that he had little chance of succeeding in the forthcoming election. ‘This is about showing the voters we care about the constituency.’

Promising to ‘put employment at the heart of everything we do’ Mr Worsley emphasised the importance of existing technical colleges and academies of the area and road and rail network saying ‘all we need now is industry.’

When challenged that industry has either already established other bases in the country or died out in the face of global competition, Mr Worsley countered that ‘we need a council that will create employment rather than take it away.’

Emphasising the importance of Dungeness, Mr Worsley vowed to fight for the power station. Questioned that his Conservative rival Mr Collins had stolen a march on this issue, Mr Worsley countered that ‘he might have the high ground on publicity, but I think I win the argument when it comes to commitment and determination.’

Listing the granting of Gurkha settlement rights as one of Labour’s achievements, Mr Worsley countered the observation that in fact the Labour government initially went against this saying ‘Yes, we listened. Yes, we bowed to pressure. It wasn’t a Conservative or a Liberal Democrat that did it.’

When asked about his chances against his Conservative rival’s, Mr Worsley said ‘I accept he has a good chance of winning. Sadly he will be in opposition for the next decade or more, and we will show the people of Shepway that they made the wrong choice.’

It is almost certain that membership of the local Labour party is lower than that of the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives. When asked if the local party had the resources for campaigning, Mr Worsley said ‘the journey of a thousand miles starts with the fist step.’

Labour PPC Worsley Slams Eurotunnel Report

Labour PPC Donald Worsley has reiterated his call for heads to roll at the highest level over the pre-Christmas chaos which engulfed the Channel Tunnel on the night of December 18 – 19.

Hundreds of passengers were stranded in the tunnel as five trains to broke down in succession. The story made headlines across the UK, with most reports concentrating on the dire conditions endured by the passengers.

The independent report initiated by the Board of Eurostar and also requested by British and French governments, released on January 21, found that ‘a large quantity of fine snow entering the power cars…created electrical problems.’

The report strongly criticised Eurostar, stating ‘the winterisation procedures were not suitable for the weather conditions; that routine maintenance procedures were inadequate; insufficient account was taken of the age of some parts of the power cars; and the motor units failed to combine powerful ventilation with the need for protection of sensitive components against water ingress.’

The report also describes the confusion, poor conditions and a lack of communication experienced by passengers. Temperatures in the tunnel were such that passengers opened the doors of the trains for ventilation. Passengers ‘including pregnant women had to sit on greasy floors.’ Crew are criticised for being ‘generally unhelpful’ and ‘appeared intimidated by passengers.’

There was little to no provision of food and water. Some passengers were allowed to smoke in the tunnels and during the evacuation of one train, amid heated discussions, passengers were allowed to take their heavy bags, slowing the evacuation process.

17 pages of the report list 21 recommendations, broken down into three main areas of train reliability, evacuation and rescue and managing disruption and improving communication.

In a press release, Mr Worsley blasts the report as ‘a lamentable state of the blindingly obvious [which] could have been written by any first year undergraduate.

‘What was required above all was a list of the heads that should roll for those responsible for the chaos in the first place, from those in research and development who failed to take into account the effect of adverse weather conditions on the train’s power supply , those incapable of getting the stricken trains out of the tunnel within minutes not days, through to those with overall responsibility for passenger’s safety who let them stew in the Tunnel in conditions more insanitary than a cesspit.

Mr Worsley calls on Lord Adonis, Secretary of State for Transport ‘to take immediate action against Eurostar … starting with the ending of its monopoly on running passenger trains through the Tunnel to compensating the council taxpayers of Shepway and Kent for the extra burden placed upon them by Eurostar’s negligence.

Dismissing Eurostar’s offer to invest £30 million as a ‘token gesture’, the press release ends with ‘nothing short of the wholesale resignation of Eurostar’s Board of Directors will suffice to lance its festering incompetence. And if they don’t go voluntarily then I for one will gladly contribute towards their one way tickets through the Tunnel and out of Kent for good.’

Mr Worsley has consistently called for the removal of the monopoly for operating the Channel Tunnel service. He previously wrote to Lord Adonis immediately after the problems last December, though has not announced if he has received any response.

Although widely reported by the national press, the release of the report has not generated comment from Shepway’s main political parties, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.

Interview with Donald Worsley [conducted Sunday 10 Jan]

This is the first of a series of interviews with the Parliamentary Candidates from the three main parties. Interviews with Lynne Beaumont and Damian Collins will follow.

Being the Labour parliamentary candidate for Folkestone and Hythe must be a thankless task. The seat was created in 1950, and has always returned a Conservative MP. Incumbent Michael Howard has held the seat for over 26 years, and in the last general election Labour were thumped in third place, their share of the vote falling by 7.7% on the previous election down to 12.5%. Labour’s last councillor in Shepway District council seat went in 2005, and after the 2009 county elections only two Labour members sit on Kent County Council.

However, Donald Worsley is prepared to stand and be counted. Without the public profile or exposure of other candidates, he has gained publicity in recent times for criticising his own party over key decisions. Mr Worsley says this is not done to gain headlines, but for the benefit of Shepway residents. As a member of the Labour Party since the 70s his loyalty is not in doubt, rather one gets the feeling that the party he joined has changed almost beyond recognition and Mr Worsley, an extremely principled man, has not changed in the same way.

Holding forth on a wide range of subjects and possessing a dry sense of humour, Mr Worsley is engaging company. Generously giving up his free time, FUTS met Mr Worsley and talked at length about issues concerning the Labour Party both nationally and locally.

Will Labour win the next election?

I think we will come close, if not winning it outright. It comes to the difference between the party which brought us out of the economic crisis rather than taking the easy decision. Voters don’t want soundbites.

Surely Tony Blair and Alistair Campbell were the masters of soundbites?

The Tony Blair leadership was of its time. The problem was they didn’t deliver on sound policies. They gave the electorate the wrong impression inviting glitterati to number 10 when they would have done better to invite out of work miners and nurses.

Expanding on this, these mistakes were compounded by taking us to war in Iraq, and made worse by going to war in Afghanistan. The billions spent fighting terrorism would have been better spent on home security, protecting people on our own streets. I hope we are out by the end of the year, far too many are being killed unnecessarily.

The July bombings in London were ‘home-grown’. Is it possible to stop this entirely?

We should be more concerned with who we let in. We must not allow people in who preach hatred.

If we can move onto domestic issues, The Labour government is considering a ‘firesale’ of certain national assets, including the Channel Tunnel. Isn’t this harmful in the long run?

If it helps to cut the national debt then it is necessary. I would rather see spending on infrastructure, but we need cuts. We should cut the number of government quangos. We should be addressing the issue of money going abroad. We have been trying to attract investors, but in my opinion we should be investing in industry.

On Eurotunnel specifically, I would like to see the monopoly of the operators taken away. This has been abused, with high ticket prices the result. Why does it take the best part of a day to get a train out of a tunnel? Eurotunnel’s criticism of Kent Police was scandalous. We should be taking back the railways; privatisation was the last act of a desperate Tory government.

Isn’t there a problem for Labour in that Gordon Brown’s ‘light touch’ policies were the reason for the crisis?

The economic crisis was caused by massive bank frauds in the USA and subprime mortgage defaults. Gordon Brown responded to the crisis and saved our banking system here in the UK from total collapse. With hindsight we should have stopped RBS and Northern Rock from putting billions at risk. The Bank of England let us all down in that respect and must share the greatest burden of the blame for failing to put a stop soon enough to the banks cavalier approach to risk. Personally I was then of the opinion that with the near meltdown of Northern Rock the Governor should have been sacked at the time.

Where do you stand on immigration? When Nick Griffin was on question time, Jack Straw struggled to answer a question about the problems of immigration.

We can’t have a population of 70 million if we need to build cities and the infrastructure that goes with it. It just isn’t possible. We should quadruple our efforts to remove those here illegally, even if we depart from the European Convention of Human Rights. The United Nations should be helping to solve the problem. The UN can’t ask for 0.7% of our GDP and not tackle the problem. The problem started under Mr Howard as Home Secretary and has continued to this day.

But surely given that we are now in the European Union, and the majority of immigrants are from these countries, talk of tackling immigration is just sloganeering?

Immigration from within the EU is a tolerable price we have to pay for economic prosperity and lasting peace in Europe and for some their Spanish villas or stag nights in Prague or Dublin.

Tackling illegal immigration with an iron fist is not sloganeering: it's a strong belief I hold to. We can't allow illegal care home workers, waiters, cabbage pickers and others to slip under the radar. Likewise we should not stand by and let Asylum Seekers tie up our courts and politicians in Political Correctness gone mad.

People who have travelled thousands of miles to get to the UK to seek Asylum and travelled through numerous other countries to get here are really the problem of the United Nations not the UK. The UN should resolve the issues of Asylum and people trafficking and in the continents and countries where it originates from not on the doorstep where it ends up. Exporting aid and importing Asylum seekers is not an equation that holds good.

What is your opinion of the Conservative and Lib Dem policies in the run-up to the election?

The Tories have to answer – ‘What will they do?’ Ken Clarke is criticising his own party while David Cameron does not say in any detail what they will cut. The most insidious cuts are decisions not to raise public sector salaries, and to cut benefits. This benefits only the rich.

I am not sure what the Lib Dems stand for. Nick Clegg wants savage cuts while Vincent Cable wants a tax on mansions. These are not serious policies.

Michael Howard has been re-elected for the last 26 years. Why is this? What credit would you give him?

I haven’t stood against him before. Personal loyalty follows a hard-working MP. I’m not saying he isn’t hardworking, I disagree with his policies. The last year for him has been very bad. Had he not been standing down I would have been calling for this. I think all MPs have a lot to answer for over expenses. MPs have long been misappropriating the public purse, and the issues over second homes have been inexcusable. I wonder if the next Folkestone and Hythe MP will commute from the area - I would.

But the voters must agree with the Conservative policies?

I don’t believe they have had a credible alternative. It is up to me to put forward a different view and a clear distinction between the Conservatives and Labour.

Let’s move to Labour in Shepway. You regularly have letters printed in the Herald, but where is Labour in Shepway? There are no local councillors and it doesn’t seem possible that Labour will win the Folkestone and Hythe seat.

There is not enough national input into Kent, and certainly none in Shepway. There isn’t enough money in Shepway to compete with the other parties. But it is important to stand. Never criticise if you are not prepared to stand up and be counted. Of course, I think a Labour MP would be better for the area.

How do you campaign in the local area?

We will have devised a campaign by the end of the month. The campaign will be to show that nationally Labour is delivering benefits for Shepway that the local authorities, (Kent County Council and Shepway) are not. There are 4 key points.

1. The high speed rail link.
2. The Little Cheyenne wind farm.
3. The academy schools.
4. We will show respect to the Gurkhas by giving them pensions.

The local authorities have avoided making a decision on Lydd airport for far too long. They have also not tackled a second rate, two-tier education system which has allowed low pass rates to continue in some schools. In addition to this, a Tory government will inevitably lead to a local lorry park between Sellindge and Aldington.

Why are there no Labour councillors?

The County Council elections were a disaster, coming in the middle of the financial crisis. We didn’t put our message across loud and often enough. Now it is difficult as you have to be in opposition to have opportunities. I recall that the Shepway Lib Dems had the chance to make changes, but then lost this over the ‘tax and toilets’ fiasco.

On the Labour Party website there isn’t a page for Folkestone and Hythe or Shepway Labour group. Why not?

We don’t have the resources. Without a regional MP here Shepway will be forever ignored. The website takes time and costs money. The local party couldn’t afford it.

Surely it can’t cost too much to maintain a website? There are free alternatives. Doesn’t this show there is no will in the party?

At the moment we don’t have the ability to attract new members with larger pockets and people are disillusioned with the way the party is run from the centre. Labour Party members are not wealthy people, and as we don’t have a sitting MP we do not see much of our membership subscription returning to this area. We get a pittance back from central office.

But there doesn’t seem to be a Labour presence in the District. Will we see more Labour councillors standing? Will you be in opposition at District level?

We have an aspiration to. That’s one of the reasons I am standing at the moment. I don’t think socialists have fought hard enough to challenge the local status quo. I do my bit. It’s a start and with lots of local issues such as Lydd I think we can make a change.

Do you support the plans for Lydd airport expansion?

I support the plans as a hub for jobs for the local community, for development and engineering apprenticeships. There will not be ½ million passengers, but there must be improvements to infrastructure. You can’t expand Lydd airport without expanding the road and rail links.

But why aren’t there any votes for Labour here? People know the party exists, and there are some Labour candidates, so why aren’t the voters choosing Labour?

Elections are won by people on the ground, delivering a message and showing people the difference it can make. I think for too long people have stressed soundbites, media releases and television appearances as a way of winning elections. There is no substitute for foot slogging.

So does this mean you have lost members? Can Labour fight a campaign here?

Our membership has suffered. I think there is a forgotten part of the Labour party philosophy where the party listens to its members and is open to ideas. The 2008 Party Conference was more like a presentation, and this has been bad for membership. People want honest answers, not bland platitudes.

Will politics return to how it was before the age of presentations?

I think it will. That is the way I shall be addressing the campaign, with real policies no matter how radical.

It has been noted before that you are willing to criticise the national Labour Party and some of its decisions, most notably Dungeness and the failure to hold a referendum on the EU. Can we expect more of this?

I don’t go out of my way to speak out of line, but neither will I always follow what is coming from Party HQ. My criticism is always for the benefit of Shepway.

With that the interview ends, we finish our drinks and go our separate ways. It seems impossible that Mr Worsley will be off to Westminster, and unlikely that we will see a Labour presence in the District council anytime soon. Given the scandals that have marred the perception and engagement with politics nationally and locally, that may be Shepway’s loss.

Mr Worsley's latest blog, 'Heroes in the Snow', is up on Romney Marsh Times here.

Labour Parliamentary Candidate Slams 'War Criminal' Tony Blair

Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Donald Worsley has called for Tony Blair to be 'prosecuted as a war criminal' after Mr Blair appeared at the Chilcot inquiry into the decision to go to war in Iraq.

In a press release sent to all the main press outlets in the region, Mr Worsley says 'Tony Blair's evidence to the Chilcot Enquiry has confirmed my worst fears.


'He took the country to war with Iraq to satisfy his own ego regardless of the cost to the country of the deaths of tens of thousands of Iraqis and hundreds of British troops.

'Blair has disgraced the Labour Party and should now be prosecuted as a War Criminal before the International Criminal Court at the Hague.

Mr Worsley ends with praise for current party leader Gordon Brown, saying 'Gordon Brown's actions in forcing Blair's resignation as a Labour Prime minister has saved the Party from policitical oblivion and eternal odium.'

It will be interesting to see how the local press react to this release. With only a small presence on the local political scene Labour have long been in the wilderness, something Mr Worsley is keen to reverse. Not afraid to go against the party line, Mr Worsley has also spoken against the Labour government over the Dungeness C decision and the failure to hold a referendum on a new European Union treaty.

Worsley Watch - Labour PPC Tears into Lib Dem Marsh Plans

Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Donald Worsley has launched a sensational attack on Lib Dem plans for a tourism driven economy on the Marsh.

Comparing tourists to 'locusts', Mr Worsley forsees 'population decline, a low wage economy and our children emigrating in search of work'.

Never one to shy away from airing his views, Mr Worsley also criticises councillors in general for the 'appaling' public transport structure' on the Marsh.

Labour currently have no coucillors at local level, and it seems near impossible that Mr Worsley will be returned to parliament after the national election. Mr Worsley's forthright opinions and criticisms, sometimes levelled at his own party, have generated debate locally and on the web. Mr Worlsey's other posts are included in this blog and on the Romney Marsh Times.

Green behind the Ears

So Lynne Beaumont has decided to kick off her march on Westminster with the call for a conference of Town Hall and Parish Council delegations to attract eco-green tourists to Romney Marsh. How very vain. How intriguing.

One can only wonder in amazement what future attractions she has in store for us all. Glowing Geiger counter tours of the Dungeness Power Station once the eco warriors in her Party have closed it down for good. A 21st Century style Greenham Common encampment at Lydd Airport to stop future development and to ensure the only thing that flies across the Marsh is on the RSPB protected species list.

A new Model Railway along the Lib Dems "Nuclear Waste Line" from Appledore to Lydd on Sea to complement the appalling public transport structure Cllr Beaumont and her fellow Councillors have presided over these past decades.

And last but not least, never forgetting Shepway’s history Blue Plaques and Statutes to mark the spots where latter day Macbeths slaughtered their previous Lib Dem candidates and betrayed their party for the odious whiff of power.

Attracting tourists to the Marsh is a laudable ambition but seeking to preserve it in aspic without developing its industry, agriculture and infrastructure is not the way forward. We need look no further than the Scottish Highlands to see what can happen if an area is changed to rely exclusively on tourism for it’s prosperity. Population decline, a low wage economy and our children emigrating in search of work.

People on the Marsh from Brooklands to Dymchurch need jobs on their doorsteps not tourists passing through like a flock of locusts leaving nothing behind but a barren wilderness and more chaos on the A259.

But good luck to Cllr. Beaumont with her jolly on the Marsh. I hope it attracts thousands of Lib Dem delegates keen to clock up more expenses on the public purse. Perhaps however before the 1st of March someone had better warn them all it has long been their Party’s policy to shut down every public toilet in the area to discourage people coming here in the first place.

Donald Worsley
Labour’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Folkestone & Hythe.

Worsley Watch - David Cameron and his band of Flagellating Zealots.

Another classic from Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidate, Donald Worsley. While this post is essentially given over to an irate letter of the highest order, there is a counterpoint from Damian Collins at the end. Not a traditional article but frankly it's too late and I need to get to bed!

Get me to the Tax Collector

The Tories' proposals to lavish £5 billion in tax relief on married couples just shows how out of touch they are with social reality.Marriage may have been the Holy Grail of social harmony in the days of Prince Bishops and the Divine Rights of Kings, but no longer.
Happy contented families is and should be the Holy Grail of the 21st Century.

It’s families with young children we should focus our tax relief and our tax credits upon regardless of whether the children are brought up in single parent families, extended families or a same sex family environment.

Child benefit, working families tax credit and Sure Start Children’s Centres are much more deserving when it comes to spending huge amounts of public money than subsidising childless married couples for the sake of political dogma.

Telling a young mother that she should stay married to a violent husband or lose tax relief is adding insult to injury. Telling a war widow she should remarry or lose tax benefits for her family is worse than blasphemy.

And giving tax relief to married couples when in some areas of the country over 50% of children are born out of wedlock is just a cruel and shameless indictment on unmarried mothers by any other label.

Supporting families with young children must be our priority. Persuading people of the virtues of marriage is best left to the Archbishops of Canterbury and Westminster and others; not sanctimonious politicians.

Marriage should be because you truly love someone not because it comes with a tax free dowry courtesy of David Cameron and his band of flagellating zealots.

Ends
 
'nuff said. Damian Collins, in comments made in a *shameless plug* soon to be published interview with yours truly, disputed that the Conservative proposals on tax breaks for married or civil partnership couples  were unfair saying 'Current Labour policies offer a financial incentive to couples to split up. These proposals are seeking to correct a distortion.'

Worsley Watch - Near Death Experience

Folkestone and Hythe was almost left without a Labour candidate for the seat after socialist hopeful, Donald Worsley, survived a harrowing near-death experience on the county's roads.

Mr Worsley's car cut out on the A20 between Folkestone and Dover as Mr Worsley was returning home. Unfortunately for Mr Worsley, Kent's roads and ports were free of ice, snow, operation stack and other closures, leaving him stranded as juggernauts thundered past.

FUTS is pleased to report that both Mr Worsley and car survived the incident though his thoughts on the Southeastern train service he has been forced to use are still unknown.

Labour's Donald Worsley Calls For Action to Prevent Traffic Chaos

Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Folkestone and Hythe Donald Worsley has called on Secretary of State for Transport Lord Adonis to visit Kent and take action to prevent traffic chaos in the region caused by bad weather.

Roads were blocked in a pre-Christmas cold snap, which was also blamed for causing trains to break down in the Channel Tunnel leaving hundreds of passengers stranded for hours.

Cold weather and snow are expected to disrupt travel this week, with South Eastern trains already having announced a much reduced service on Wednesday (http://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/index.php/news/news_items/view/131).

In a letter to Lord Adonis, Mr Worsley urges him to ‘take decisive action now on behalf of the long suffering travellers of Kent before further snowfalls or [train] engine breakdowns ruin yet more journeys or holidays … No matter how many heads must roll at the highest level.’

Mr Worsley also criticises Kent County Council for failing to grit roads sufficiently and for blaming ‘everyone but itself for the chaos caused when Operation Stack blocks the M20 or snow brings our A & B roads to a complete standstill.’

In a press release on the Kent County Council website, Kent County Council Cabinet Member for Environment, Highways and Waste Nick Chard states ‘We salt the priority roads, which are about a third of the county's network – that is 1,500 miles of road. The motorways and trunk roads are salted by the Highways Agency.

‘We are mindful of how difficult it has been in the towns…but our priority has to be to keep the main roads open.’

KCC declined to respond directly to Mr Worsley’s comments.

Worsley Watch

Having been suspiciously quiet in the letters pages of the Herald of late, FromUnderTheStone was beginning to worry that all was not well with our favourite Labour PPC, Donald Worsley.

Fears were allayed on receiving this rather wonderful Christmas wish list. The timing is right, although it looks as though the ‘goodwill to all men’ sentiment has been lost along the way:

Donald Worsley's Christmas List

A time to be magnanimous and hand out gifts to the needy, so in the Spirit of Quantitative Easing this Christmas may they all enjoy my Bankers little Bonuses. T’is the Season to be Merry;

1. To Cllr. Bliss and his faithful band of traffic counsellors - A Pre-Privatisation British Rail Car Park Pass with Japanese High Speed Sat Nav to guarantee them a speedy exit from Folkestone.

2. To Cllr. Carter and his Stack of cronies at County Hall - A second Sea reclamation scheme to house his troublesome Lorry Park in Mid Channel and save us all the cost of Michael Howard’s funeral.

3. To the Lib Dems - A Crystal Ball to see if their next Parliamentary Candidate will survive until the General Election or be cut down by Johanna Lumley and her Kukri.

4. To the good citizens of Calais - A fleet of Red Crescent JCBs to keep the Jungle clear and levelled in a humane manner.

5. And finally to Michael Howard on his last Christmas in the House of Commons - A post Kelly Expenses Claim Form to remind him of the Green Green grass of home he had cut at our expense over the past 26 years.

Merry Christmas to one and all.

The People's Darling

OK, it's not strictly 'local news' but FromUnderTheStone was delighted to receive another missive from Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Donald Worsley with his reaction to Mr. Darling's pre-budget announcement.

Praising Mr Darling as 'courageous' and 'the people's chancellor', Mr Worsley has some choice words for the '10,000 plus mercenaries in the City of London.'

This also caught FromUnderTheStone's eye as it represents Mr Worsley agreeing with the party line. Mr Worsley notably slammed his own party over the decision not to consider Dungeness as a site for a new nuclear power station.

Letter in full:

The Chancellor’s tax on Bankers Bonuses is long overdue but spot on.


Long seen by themselves as “Masters of the Universe” this bunch of shysters with their over inflated egos and short term memories have at last been brought to book.

Not content with leading the country to the edge of financial meltdown, a year on , led by the board of The Royal Bank of Scotland, they still have the nerve to threaten to resign en bloc if their Christmas Hampers are not stuffed with gold bars and caviar from Harrods.

Alistair Darling has now served notice on these 10,000 plus mercenaries in the City of London that henceforth they have a simple choice. Pay up and shut up or ship out to Dubai, the Cayman Islands or whatever other tax archipelago will tolerate their arrogance until a second financial Tsunami sweeps them away as some overpaid flotsam and jetsam.

Never again can we allow Bankers or their like to hold the Government or the Country to ransom to bail them out.

Northern Rock, The Halifax and RBS may go down in history as financial failures of the 1st order but nevertheless thanks to Alistair’s courageous decisions their customers still retain their savings, despite their directors best efforts to gamble them away on the stock market.

The Chancellor may not be The City’s favourite person after his budget but by emphasising that Bankers should have more in common with Captain Mainwaring than Sir Fred Goodwin he is most certainly the Peoples Chancellor.

His tax on bonuses may only raise £500m but it brings home a very clear message; greed and avarice have no place in our society when millions are out of work and millions more fear for the future of their homes, jobs and families.

It’s money nevertheless that will go a long way towards helping our 16 -17 year olds in Shepway remain in full time education or training and may just possibly help unemployed bankers find their way back to work with a social conscience.

Donald Worsley

Labour’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Folkestone & Hythe.

9th December 2009

Worsley Welcomes Howard Opposition to Local Lorry Park

It is always a pleasure to receive letters, notes and emails from 'the big guys,' especially those of a more polemical nature.

In this vein, From Under the Stone was delighted to receive a letter from Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (and Herald letters page regular) Donald Worsley.

Kent County Council (almost totally blue) favour building a lorry park capable of holding thousands of vehicles in the countryside near Sellindge to help alleviate motorway problems associated with Operation Stack. Opposition to this proposal has predictably been near unanimous.

Michael Howard MP recently announced that the proposed lorry park would be built "over my dead body." In a letter dated November 18, Mr Worsley welcomes Mr Howard to the fold:

Howard’s Interment.

So at long last Michael Howard has seen the light and now finally opposes the unwanted Lorry Park at Sellindge.

Shame he didn’t make his views known before the County Council elections in June returned dozens of Tory Councillors hell bent on concreting over the green fields of Sellindge and polluting the village with Juggernauts and diesel fumes.

If he truly opposes the building of Britain’s biggest Truck Stop in his own back field then he should now park himself at County Hall until his Tory colleagues there withdraw their planning proposals and halt their groveling appeasement of the Road Transport lobby.

Martyrdom takes more than just laying down one's ageing body to stop the march of the Leviathan. It takes sincerity, commitment and above all a zeal that the present MP for Folkestone and Hythe certainly hasn’t shown in the past.

Michael Howard is entitled to a peaceful retirement after 25 years service to the constituency. He does not deserve to end his days run down by the County Council’s bulldozers.

But welcome to the fight Michael and welcome to the committed thousands ready to lay down their bodies next to you if Cllr Carter and County Hall don’t get the clear message that Sellindge will fight the Juggernaut Park with its every last breath.

Donald Worsley

Labour’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Folkestone & Hythe

Labour PPC Worsley Disagrees with Miliband Over Nuclear Decision

Largely ignored by most of the media, Folkestone and Hythe's Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Donald Worsley has given his reaction to the government announcement that the Dungeness site will not be considered for a new power station.

In a press release sent to From Under the Stone today but dated November 9, Mr Worsley calls the decision a 'hammer blow' for the Marsh and states 'Ed Miliband’s decision to rule out a new Nuclear Power Plant for Dungeness is to be deeply regretted and one with which I fundamentally disagree.'

Claiming that the work could have provided up to 4,000 jobs for the area, Mr Worsley also criticises Kent County Council for not investing in infrastructure and Shepway District Council for opposing the expansion of Lydd Airport.

Noting that it is necessary to protect the 'wild beauty and serenity' of the Marsh, Mr Worsley highlights the economic effects of the decision.

'Its inevitable consequence will be a yet further decline in the area’s economic fortunes so much so that in years to come the only people who will be able afford to live across the Marsh will be the very rich , the retired or the long term unemployed on benefits.

'Protecting the environment is an admirable goal but not if it destroys communities in the process.'

The Lib Dems have yet to respond to the news.