"On Sunday we participated in the Havens to Havens Family Walk, I did worry whether my toddler son would have trouble with the walk, but he must have done at least half of it with the rest on my husband's poor back!  It was a great afternoon out, brilliantly organised by the Havens staff and volunteers.  And we're grateful for all the support we got from everyone who sponsored us."

The latest news about Labour Ministers already on six-figure salaries milking their Parliamentary allowances is very depressing and can only further lower the esteem in which MPs are held by the public.

I would have thought that if you stayed the night with your sister, or housed your parents in your Constituency home, you would want to make a virtue of saving the taxpayer money.  Instead, these MPs seem to regard allowances as an entitlement, rather than compensation for money spent to help them do their jobs efficiently.

I think all MPs should be given a fixed amount for all their legitimate expenses.  Anything they didn't use could be reallocated to deserving charities in their constituencies.  That way MPs would have a fresh incentive to bear down on their costs.  And the various charities they visit during their work would serve as a constant reminder that there are people far more in need of tax-payers money than ministers are!

“Some 25’000 vehicles a day use Canvey Way to gain access to and from the Island, the vast majority of which drive sensibly within the current 60mph limit. These road improvements will not only keep traffic flowing at a steady and safe pace they will also help us put an end to the devastation to both local traffic flow and the affected families that accidents on this road cause”

After visiting Church Road at Hadleigh I was delighted to see the quick response by ECC Highways Dept to reinstate the road surface which completely broke down following the recent heavy frosts & snow, the programme of footway reconstruction work is to vital to the local community.

"It has been an exceptionally busy year for the Association with Borough elections, Rebecca’s selection and a bye election on Canvey Island, a real baptism of fire for me personally in my first year as Chairman”

“Members of the Association have quickly become friends and I wanted to let them know how happy my family are living here in Castle Point”

“At last, pedestrians have a safe path to walk down to Hadleigh Castle or the Tearooms.  This path is long overdue.  It had got to the point that people had to take their life in their hands in order to get access.  I am sure that this path is going to become one of, if not the most used path in Hadleigh.”

“Following on from the successful trial over the Christmas period the St James Ward councillors are pressing for the Rectory road car park to be free on Saturdays as well as Sunday” 

Pathway and Road improvements have started at Church Road in Hadleigh.

"I am delighted that works are now well underway.  Church Road has always been a very busy road, the recent spate of bad weather only exacerbated the bad state that it was already in. I am sure that not only drivers and cyclists will appreciate the new surface but also pedestrians"

I don't normally need an excuse to go out to the pub, but now I've got one.  We have some great pubs in Castle Point, in perfect locations and offering good value food. We need to support them. Because the traditional British pub, which has for centuries been a feature of British life, is now disappearing at the alarming rate of six a week!

The big problem is the amount of tax levied on beer by the Government, 33 % of the price of a pint.  And Labour intends to raise this further, supposedly as a means of tackling problem drinking.  Pubs are losing customers as people turn to cheap alcohol from supermarkets to drink at home.

I met 150 cows the other day... They belong to John Frost who grazes his herd on Benfleet Marshes and Canvey. I wanted to learn more about the problems facing the livestock industry from the farmer who looks after them.

A key issue is food labelling.  I think many of us here want to buy British produce to support our own farmers, at least if the farmers markets on Canvey and at Hadleigh Salvation Army farm are anything to go by.  But it is ridiculous that certain products can get a "British" label even when the meat is foreign and just processed here.

As John showed me, such meat may not have the same high welfare standards as British animals.

Conservatives are fighting for more honest food labelling.  When British businesses are struggling it's time Government was honest with British shoppers and supported our farming industry, not hindered it.

PMQs this week was its usual, rowdy, knockabout stuff.  But I was struck by one part of the exchange between William Hague and Harriet Harman.

William was making the point that the business loan scheme, like a list of other measures announced with such fanfare by the Government, had yet to be implemented.  Harriet Harman countered that the scheme was being "finalised".

Labour has always considered the announcement of policy, as opposed to its implementation or benefits, as success.

I often wonder whether Labour leaders have any conception of the pressures facing small firms.  Certainly, desperately few Labour MPs have any hands-on business experience. Sure, they have some corporate superstars providing advice, the type of people who can't see that a half a million pound a year pension for a fifty year old whose decisions will cost the taxpayer billions, might cause public outrage.

My background is small business, and I speak to businesses in the Borough.  Small and medium sized employers are the bedrock of our economy, responsible for over half of private sector jobs. We need to make sure good businesses don't go to the wall, or lose permanently the capability to exploit their markets whenever the economy does pick up.

In short, we need Gordon Brown to concentrate more on making sure his polices work, and less on spinning himself as the saviour of the world. 

Or better still, get out and let us sort things out!

Very few tickets remain for the Castle Point Conservative Associations dinner with Shadow Immigration Minister, Damian Green MP http://www.damiangreen.org that is to be held at the Oysterfleet Hotel on Canvey Island.

The evening will comprise of a four course meal followed by an entertaining speech by Damian.

Tickets can be purchased from the Association offices at 8 Green Road, Benfleet or by calling 01268 792992.