Robert Buckland Weblog

My first mobile blog;  Millie, George and I are being driven by Sian through the rain and I am confident enough to try typing.  My feet have recovered from a European Election day spent pounding the streets of Swindon, being joined along the way by Council Leader Rod Bluh, Deputy Leader Fionuala Foley and Dorcan Councillor Kevin Parry.  There was plenty of Tory activity in West Swindon and my thanks go to everyone who worked so hard – particularly to Cllr Michael Dickinson, who had accompanied me on an eve of poll delivery session and an early morning leaflet drop.  His cold finally claimed him at about 8pm.

The Verification process in the Oasis Leisure Centre was a poorly attended affair.  I met the Labour team as I came in – they were on their way out.  Apart from a group of Conservatives, the only other party representative present was Jenni Miles of Swindon Green Party, who will be one of my opponents in South Swindon at the next election.  From our conversation, it seems that there will be several areas where we will be in agreement.    There will be arguments about nuclear power, for example, but the development of renewable sources of energy, which is what the Greens want to focus on,  has to be part of the strategy.   A UK that is largely self-sufficient in terms of energy sources is what I am keen to see.

The key issue for South Swindon in the years ahead will be the scale and nature of development.  Questions hae to be asked about the planning process, the role of developers and the problem of poor infrastructure investment.  Whilst I certainly do not accept that the Green Party has the policies or the wherewithal to govern the country, their presence helps ensure that environmental issues have become an important factor in mainstream politics.  I very much hope that despite the “hairshirt divide”  between Tories and Greens,  we will make real progress in this area.

National politics is dominating the airwaves; whilst turnout in Swindon just edged above 30%, this does not mean that the public is not interested.  Labour is crumbling, but it seems to have little to do with policy.  When the Conservatives self-destructed in the 1990s, it was all about policy, but Labour’s crisis is all about personalities.  I wonder whether the intense media interest in all of this has more to do with our voyeuristic tendencies, exemplified by Big Brother and Jade Goody,   as opposed to a genuine interest in policy?  The Blairites are divided, which probably means that Brown is safe for the time being.    In terms of politics and the media, he will have to deal with continuing leadership speculation and increasingly fevered debate about the timing of the election.  He can do something about the latter by  doing a Callaghan style indication in early September.  It is likely that by that time, he will have little alternative.