NORMANDY D DAY INVASION 65TH ANNIVERSARY

President Barack Obama & Prince Charles at the D Day Ceremony


Normandy D Day Invasion 65th Anniversary events in Portsmouth and Normandy, France

Today marks the first day of my new life after nearly 20 years public service as a Councillor in Bedfordshire and North Hertfordshire.

This morning I went to Elstow Abbey Church, read the Epistle and the Gospel and listened to the beautiful singing of the Amity Singers from Jersey. They are part of the Bedford-Jersey Arts Festival, celebrating a 60 year link between Bedford and Jersey children who were evacuated to Bedford during the Second World War.

Yesterday marked the 65th Anniversary of the Normandy D Day Invasion by the British, American and Canadian fleets, which led to the Allies winning and ending the Second World War in 1945. Ceremonies were attended by the Heads of State of France, USA and Canada, plus Prince Charles and Gordon Brown, British Prime Minister. The Queen should have been invited but was not due to errors by both the French and British Governments, and Prince Charles was only invited at the last minute after protests.

Britain was Germany's chief opponent at the beginning of the War, and thousands of Britons died during the Normandy Invasion to save France from the Nazis. This was a gross discourtesy and yet another example of the incompetence of Gordon Brown and his tired Labour Government. It 's time for a General Election and change!

President Sarkozy. the French President is only interested in hitching his waning star to the glamorous President Obama, the most poopular world leader, which is perhaps unsurprising as he hopes that some of the stardust will rub off on him.

My late father was decorated by the French Government with the Croix de Guerre for his role in the 1944 Normandy Invasion. He was a navigator in HMS Frobisher, the leading frigate in the British fleet, one of the first ships to arrive in Normandy.

The photographs above are a sample of the various events taking place in Portsmouth, where I grew up as the child of a naval family, and Normandy, including the beach at Arromanches. All the remaining veterans are in their 80's and 90's and very frail.

TWITTER

Yesterday my friend Cllr Andrew McConnell persuaded me to join Twitter. Within a very short time I had 30 followers including Barack Obama, No. 10 Downing Street, the BBC and Sarah Brown, wife of the Prime Minister. I am a reluctant recruit because I have very little free time and do not intend to 'tweet' boring trivial details of my daily domestic routine to the world every five minutes.

However Andrew says that I must use 21st Century technology to communicate with my electorate - so here I am!!

OBAMA WINS US ELECTION

Hi folks.
I am just back from my short family holiday in Tenerife and today we learn the fantastic news that Barack Obama is to be the next US President.

I have been an Obama supporter for a long time, not because he is black (and white!)but because he is a highly intelligent, thoughful, inspirational and charismatic leader who will bring change to America and build bridges with the rest of the world with his international background and outlook. He already has an 80% approval rating in Northern Europe, and huge support in Africa, partly due to his Kenyan father and I believe he will transform America's attitude to foreign policy which is crucial if we are ever to achieve world peace.

Obama's acceptance speech brought back memories of John Kennedy who I remember well and his modesty was very noticeable - Obama gave full credit for his victory to the American people, which he said was of the people, for the people and by the people.

I fully endorse the comments made by David Cameron, our Conservative Leader who will be Britain's next Prime Minister:

"In electing Barack Obama, America has made history and proved to the world that it is a nation eager for change. This has been an exciting and inspirational contest with two great candidates. In these difficult times people everywhere are crying out for change. Barack Obama is the first of a new generation of leaders who will deliver it - he has my whole-hearted congratulations. This is an important moment not just for America but for the world. Barack Obama's victory will give people a new opportunity to look at the United States and see her for what I believe she is - a beacon of opportunity, freedom and democracy"

I'M A COUNCILLOR GET ME OUT OF HERE! - FIRST EVICTION

Cllr Dave Lewis, Leader of the Borough Council Labour Group was the first Councillor evicted from the "I'm a Councillor Get Me Out of Here" contest this afternoon. There are 5 Councillors left - 2 Conservative, 2 Liberal Democrat and 1 Independent and by Friday afternoon there will be only one - the new Youth Champion.

This morning I was interviewed on BBC Three Counties Radio about Local Democracy Week and "I'm A Councillor..." and the interview was repeated so there was some good publicity for me and John Bunyan Upper School, which is a rapidly improving school. The Bedford Times & Citizen also quoted my comments in an article last Thursday.

I have answered 83 questions online so far, including one today asking me "Obama or McCain?" My choice is Obama as I think it is time for a change in America and Obama is very intelligent, thoughtful and has more international appeal than McCain.

At 72, McCain has had 3 cancer scares and could die in office, leaving the gun toting 'hockey Mom' with her finger on the nuclear trigger - a scary prospect.
My vote would not be swayed by either gender or race as I assess politicians on their ability, and have read Obama's inspiring book "The Audacity of Hope".

This morning I went back to school and shadowed a bright 16 year old GCSE student at 4 lessions - PSHE, Mathematics, Science and ICT. After my early start this morning, and a weekend spent looking after small grandchildren, by 12 I was exhausted!

In the PSHE lesson, the students asked me lots of questions about Local Democracy.
I was very impressed by the lively and intelligent students I met. The dynamic new
new Head of School, Ursula Byrne, believes that in 2009 John Bunyan School will continue to improve its GCSE results which were the best ever this year.

Tomorrow I shall be going online at 10am to have a live chat with more students.

US ELECTIONS - OBAMA v McCAIN/PALIN

Elizabeth Cordell, a New York resident originally from Bedford asked for my opinion on the surprise choice of Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska, as John McCain's Vice Presidential running mate for the forthcoming November US Presidential Elections.

Sarah Palin is an amazing woman and mother of 5 who has had a meteoric rise from Mayor of a small Alaskan town to Governor of Alaska in December 2006 - a true 21st Century Superwoman! However her heavyweight political experience is thin and her right wing conservative views make the prospect of gun-toting Sarah "being the second most powerful person on the planet" slightly worrying, as John McCain is now 72 and vulnerable to ill health. Sarah may have the ability to be the Vice President but I cannot support her candidacy simply because of her gender.

John McCain is a war hero and an experienced politician but as a Republican he is closely associated with President George Bush who became unpopular over the Iraq War and many Americans are hungry for change. John McCain will now find it harder to attack Obama for his limited experience - 4 years as a Senator.

Barack Obama is a highly intelligent senator, lawyer, professor and a charismatic family man with powerful oratory and writing skills - at present I am reading his inspiring bestselling 2006 book 'The Audacity of Hope' discussing the importance of empathy and inclusiveness in politics and his hopes for change and a renewal of America's democracy.

During the Democratic battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama I was not swayed by gender and race issues, but I considered the candidates as individuals and found Barack Obama more appealing. Hillary Clinton seems cold and calculating, is strongly influenced by Bill Clinton who wants to return to the White House and did not give us a modern vision. She also expected to win just because she is a woman.

Barack Obama is very popular in Europe and would find it easier to build a stronger US relationship with Africa, Asia and the Middle East partly because of his mixed race and Kenyan father and his more international and conciliatory outlook on life.

Normally Conservatives support Republicans but today the boundaries are blurred between Republicans and Democrats, and the 3 main British political parties are increasingly fighting over the middle ground in the UK. I believe in a caring but pragmatic and modern Conservative philosophy and think that Barack Obama's ideas have much in common with David Cameron's modern Conservative Party ideals.

We are still a few weeks away from the November US Elections and 'a week is a long time in politics' - what are your views?