04/10/07 - Cllr Tomlinson, First Local Government Article

first - Local Government Association Magazine Article

Cllr Justin Tomlinson (Conservative), Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Recreation, Swindon Borough Council & North Swindon Parliamentary Candidate.

A Day At - Conservative Party Conference

The Swindon contingent arrived in Blackpool on Saturday and over breakfast on Sunday we planned which of the main bits of conference and which fringe events we were going to go to, then went off in different groups.

I went into the main hall because there were issues to do with local government. Lord Heseltine talked about urban regeneration, and we also heard from Arnold Schwarzenegger governor of California, via video link. I was impressed by the extraordinary conviction of Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City. His key message was always be prepared to challenge and be prepared to fight for what you think will make a better area. People said it wouldn’t work, rolling out excuses but he had the courage and strength to lead pressing ahead to change things. They have seen a huge reduction in crime, boosted the local economy, and developed their work on climate change. Being prepared to lead and challenge – that was why New York was transformed, that’s what I took away from his speech.

We took control of Swindon Council Council in 2004 from Labour. At the time, we the joint worst council in the country, one of 13 with zero stars for performance from the Audit Commission. We had to take some tough decisions and sometimes people said you can’t do this or shouldn’t do that. But since then, we have transformed the council and are now nearly a three star authority.

I also heard Boris Johnson speak, fresh from his selection as the Conservative’s candidate for London mayor. Boris is exciting for politics because all politicians would like to see greater voter engagement. It doesn’t matter what political colour you are, no-one celebrates low turn-out.  Both Boris and the current mayor, Ken Livingstone, are larger than life characters. The London mayor election has the potential to be very exciting and spark interest across the electorate. And that can only be good for politics. It’s good for politicians to have competition and characters: both appeal to non-political people.

On Swindon Council, I am fortunate to be dealing with a positive and fun area – as the Cabinet Member for Leisure, Culture and Recreation; effectively responsible for things that people do in their free time.  In terms of fringe events, a lot of our choices tended to be council-related ones. The environment is a big issue in Swindon, particularly as the government has asked us to build another 32,000 houses in what is already a fast-growing town. So I went along to the climate change clinic fringe events, for practical tips on how to minimise the impact of the house building programme on the environment, something we have tried to lead on with our plans for Eco-homes.

The other part of conference is meeting up with friends and colleagues I have worked with. It’s been a good conference and the members are in good spirits.  As the Parliamentary candidate for Swindon North, we also had a number of meetings arranged for Parliamentary candidates to discuss the implications of a potential election, and to share best practice and ideas to help maximise our own local campaigns – this also included a really positive personal briefing from David Cameron.  We are expecting an announcement next week as to whether Gordon Brown wishes to send us all out campaigning in the cold autumn weather and on dark nights – now where did I pack my winter coat?!