Follow the Red Rhino
The future is bright for British engineering. This is the discovery that Nick Boles made on 22nd January when he visited Winfield Engineering, manufacturer of Red Rhino Crushers and winner of the Grantham Journal's 2009 award for Business Excellence. Winfield Engineering is a family business whose highly skilled employees pride themselves on being able to produce a wide range of fabricated metal products ranging from crushers to cherry-pickers and agricultural machinery.
On being g shown round Winfield Engineering's state-of-the-art plant in Alma Park, Nick Boles said, "It is fantastic to see world class products being made on our doorstep here in Grantham and being exported all around the world. Winfield Engineering is holding its own against competition from India and China and showing what British engineers can achieve. We need the next generation of British engineers to follow the Red Rhino!"
Going for growth in Grantham
The Xmas rush was hotting up at Asda in Grantham when Nick Boles went to find out how the town's biggest employer has weathered the recession. Nick met with a group of local employees and they had a lively discussion about plans for new housing, the bypass and the local hospital. Nick said, "Growth in Grantham is essential if we are to get high quality public services and revive our town centre. Some Asda colleagues were worried about the effect of a big increase in the town's population on our infrastructure - if I am elected as Grantham and Stamford's MP, I will work with the local councils to ensure that the town gets the facilities it needs to support a larger population."
Trees bring jobs to Grantham
Londonthorpe Wood near Grantham was the setting for a meeting between Nick Herbert, the Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Nick Boles and Sue Holden, the chief executive of the Woodland Trust on 30th October.
Nick Herbert praised the work of the Woodland Trust in preserving Britain's ancient woodland and encouraging the planting of new woods to benefit local communities, wildlife and the climate. Nick Boles emphasised how important the Woodland Trust was to Grantham, not just for its trees but for the jobs it provides local people.
Stamford salutes Sir John Major
The Stamford Welland branch of the local Conservatives welcomed former Prime Minister, Sir John Major, as the guest of honour at its annual dinner on 23rd October. Sir John addressed a packed marquee at the Lady Anne's Hotel, covering the war in Afghanistan, the state of the economy and the chances of England retaining the Ashes in Australia. After the dinner, Nick Boles commented, "Sir John has reminded us that it is possible to have a Prime Minister who is sensible, decent and honest. The next election will give the British people a chance to restore these values to our government, by electing David Cameron to No. 10."
Hi tech harvest for local spuds
Lincolnshire farmers are wrapping up the potato harvest and, last week, Nick Boles joined the Levertons, who farm in the fens near Dyke, as father and son managed the harvest of a good crop from a field in Witham on the Hill. "The technology is highly sophisticated," said Nick, "with a screen in the tractor cab showing a real-time video of the spuds passing through the harvester and being gently shaken free of earth. It is a delicate job. With the ground so dry, there is a big risk of damaging the crop. I am always keen to lend a hand but somehow I don't think that the Levertons will be offering me a job next harvest time!"
Nick Boles
Let the voters have their say
While most people in the country have been worrying about how to get to work through the snow and ice and who's going to look after their children while their school is closed, everyone in Westminster has spent the last two days talking about the latest Labour plot to get rid of Gordon Brown. I don't know about you but I am heartily sick of these stories. Gordon Brown has been Prime Minister for the last two years. The British people had no say in his election to that office. At the very least, they deserve an opportunity to pass their own verdict on his tenure of it. And a general election is the way to let them do it.
My NHS, your NHS, our NHS
David Cameron has kicked off the Conservatives' campaign for change with a billboard promising cuts in the budget deficit and not the NHS. Our opponents doubt the depth and sincerity of the Conservatives' commitment to the NHS. But I hope that no-one will doubt David Cameron's - or mine. David has talked of the huge debt he and his family owe the NHS for the way doctors and nurses looked after Ivan and helped make his short life a more bearable one. What some of you may not know is that I have my own personal reason to thank the NHS. In the spring of 2007, before I moved to Lincolnshire, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease, a cancer of the lymph system. Although I had private health insurance at the time, I relied on the NHS for every aspect of my treatment. And the care I received throughout several months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy was superb. Can the NHS be reformed and improved? Of course it can. But can I countenance a Britain without it? Over my dead body.
