Gordon Brown has been doing some stupid things recently.  But few of them more idiotic and shameful than his treatment of the Gurkhas.

These are truly brave men, first-rate soldiers, to whom this country owes a great debt.  They put the fear of God into our enemies, and have always stood by us.  But it seems that we're giving them no more rights than we do those who come to this country illegally.

It is great that MPs stood up for these soldiers and defeated Gordon Brown on the issue.  And I think the actress Joanna Lumley, whose father served with the Gurkhas, has done a spectacular job highlighting their cause and making things happen.

Cllr Colin Riley, Lead member for Safer Communities seen viewing the special appliance used to help train the Young People from all over Essex who are included in The Fire Break & Young Fire Fighters courses run by Essex Fire Authority on a regular basis. The courses are used to help with self motivation around teamwork skills with support & leadership in mind”

"I am very grateful to Stephen Hammond for visiting Castle Point. I was keen that someone likely to be a future Minister for Transport came to see our traffic problems first hand - problems that the current Government are planning to make even worse by forcing Castle Point Borough Council to build so many new houses both on the Mainland and Canvey Island"

A friend - not political - rang me up last night to ask whether the Government had simply given up.  You can see his point.

In the last few years, Labour budgets were greeted, at least immediately, with grudging admiration by commentators.  It was only later that the tricks and gimmicks were exposed, the double-counting, the repackaged funding.

This year, even Labour couldn't spin a positive message, although the tax the rich headline was an attempt at diversion, at least politically.

What we have is truly dreadful levels of debt, with unreliable forecasts for recovery. 

Unless we confront our predicament honestly, and look at what has gone wrong without defensiveness, we will extend the bleak years that lie ahead of us.

Happy St.George's day!
 

“After the success of the recent clean up of Canvey Lake it is great to see that Jackie Humberstone’s Greengrid team have again managed to attract so many community minded residents to create these fantastic gardens at Canvey Seafront"

“Presented awards at the Marie Curie Swimathon at Waterside Farm Sports Centre on Sunday. It was fantastic to see swimmers as young as eight taking part in this healthy activity whilst raising funds for such a worthwhile cause. This event underlines Castle Point Borough Councils commitment to Leisure services within the Borough”

“We were delighted to be able to have our son baptised at St Nicholas on Easter Day. It was a very special service, and I'd like to thank David Tudor, his team at St. Nicholas, and the congregation who made our family and visiting friends so welcome”

I spent yesterday morning helping volunteers clean up Canvey Lake. Whilst it is difficult to stop some items of everyday litter from ending up in the Lake it is disappointing that the mindless few continue to dump larger items without regard for the wildlife and visitors who enjoy this fantastic local beauty spot”

"Castle Point Conservatives now have pages on the Facebook, social networking site. Why not visit www.facebook.com and search for Castle Point Conservatives and Canvey Conservatives to view our group"

"Thunderley shoppers now have somewhere to stop and watch the world go by. We have been able to make some very real and noticeable improvements to the local area – this new tree seat is just the latest in a long line of achievements. We hope that having this resting point will encourage residents to shop locally and support local businesses"

"We were lucky to be visited by Shadow Immigration Minister, Damian Green MP on Friday evening. I am grateful to Damian for giving Castle Point Conservatives his support and for a fascinating talk on how a future Conservative Government would get to grips with the immigration system."