Antony Little for Norwich South

I don’t know why everyone gets so excited about the govenrment losing votes. Today’s opposition day motion on Iraq, tabled by the Nationalists, was a classic example. First it wins LibDem support then also the Conservatives. Then a few typical Labour rebels play up. Then the bloggers go bananas saying Labour will lose and then the media pick up on it. Everybody goes over the top and … hey presto a small but workable government majority of 25.

I knew Labour would win this one … the perenial rebels have isolated themselves and the middle ranking trouble makers haven’t got the guts to rebel when they should do. And do remember that there are still hundreds of clones on the Labour side ready to do Blair and Brown’s bidding.

So next time you hear the inevitable phrase “government set to lose” … just calm down and think it’ll never happen. Not because of the Labour whips, but because the hearts of Labour MPs aren’t in ousting Blair (yet).

A while ago a LibDem activist told me that he thought that then-Deputy Leader Cllr Hereward Cooke may have bene losing it a bit. The now-Leader of the Opposition thinks he is an MP … well, given some comments from tonight’s council meeting anyway. Take a look…

“This motion bought before the House” – for House, read Council Chamber

and…

“What is written down here on the order paper” – for order paper, read council agenda

A few of us in that council want to be MPs, but pretending you are is going a bit far!

p.s. Interesting that outgoing LibDem Leader Ian Couzens insisted on speaking to nearly every debate as well as incoming Leader Hereward Cooke. Whilst the real Deputy Leader Brian Watkins said nothing. Does Couzens think he’s made a mistake?

Last night I went to a residents meeting and to a Conservative Campaign Group. Tonight was full council – it was great! However I am now official shattered so will give you all the gossip tomorrow!

During the last few weeks we distributed personalised surveys to local people in Town Close. We enclosed freepost envelopes and the return rate was well over 25% – not bad for a party political survey. Here are the results (more or less) in full.

Take careful note of the voting intentions – as this survey was sent to people of all political sorts and none. All figures are percentages.

How would you vote in an election tomorrow?
Green Party 30
Conservative 27
Liberal Democrat 22
Labour 21

Are you in favour of Norwich going Unitary?
Yes 20
No 35
Don’t Known 45

Are you satified with the state of your local park?
Yes 20
No 80

Do you think that council tax is…
Too High 72
Too Low 1
About Right 27

What should happen to the junction at the corner of Brazengate and Grove Road?
The no-entry sign should be abolished 45
The no-entry sign should be strongly enforced by the police 36
Don’t Know 19

Are you concerned about parking in your area?
Yes 37
No 45

Would you like to see your area become a 20mph zone?
Yes 49
No 36

What is your view of the bus service in Norwich?
Good 26
Poor 26
(The rest do not regularly travel by bus)

Where are the local litter hotspots?
These all appeared several times: Tesco Express (Grove Road), Lakenham Way, Brazengate, Trafford Road, Unthank Road

Do you support a twin bin system for Norwich with waste one week and recycling the next?
Yes 10
No 81

I will let you decide which of those are worthy of note, but keep in mind that roughly two thirds of respondants would vote for a left-wing party and less than 30% are out-and-out Conservatives so you cannot say that the response group is biased.

I think the council should note the numbers of people not informed about unitary as a priority (we shall see if this is matched in other areas).

What do you think?

My day has been in three very distinct parts today. Firstly I was made to clear out the room which is to become the nursery (again). I did it, with only a minimum of whinging. Then I went off for a couple of hours to a Group Leaders Meeting at City Hall. All very interesting but highly confidential. All I can say is that Adrian Ramsay and I sat in the wrong room for a quater of an hour like a pair of plums – typical City Hall plot! Then when all the serious stuff was over I met up with friends and we went off to the Norwich Beer Festival to enjoy some of the cultural offerings! Crawled home some time later … although a few people wanted to extend the drinking (much braver than me and with fewer small children). The Beer Festival is one of the best thing about Norwich and is a time when everybody comes together. They should have been proud of their efforts this year.

Instead of putting quotas on the religion of pupils in schools, why don’t we have a quota on Labour Education Secretaries who are good at their jobs?

Well, actually, a single one would do!

George Osbourne already has one of the hardest jobs in Westminster – being Shadow Chancellor. But to do so when you are young, posh and best mates with Cameron must make it worse. So every utterance of the Shadow Chancellor is analysed and he is being torn to pieces by a press determined to prove that the young turk cannot take on Brown and win.

However the most recent episode – an apparent rebuke for using an F-word about Brown in the Commons isn’t what it seems. Whilst the pres sbang on about a lack of judgement etc. I wonder if they bothered to look at this in context.

Osbourne was quoting the Pensions Sevretary John Hutton who had said that Brown would make “an effing awful Prime Minister.” Such division is good play for the opposition.

Speaker Martin was right to ask Osbourne to apologise – and, by the way, his apology was excellent (”I withdraw the quote from the Work and Pensions Secretary”) – but the press are wrong to persue Osbourne in this way.

Osbourne is a very intelligent guy who is doing a fine job as Shadow Chancellor. I think the media always like to pull down a winner, perhaps?

I love opinion polls (it’s the teacher in me…) and tonight Sky is reporting that YouGov have Cameron on 39%, Labour on 31% and dear old Sir Ming down there on 16%.

That puts Yarmouth and Norwich North into the blue column still but does at least give Charlie a majority of 970 over the Conservatives, according to the Baxter site.

He’s still in our sights…

Bob Russell is the Member of Parliament for Colchester and has a reputation for being clever and a decent constituency MP. So why does he get involved in stupid things like this?

Bob got upset when a Downing Street briefing referred to the “black market”. Bob believes this, like persumably any phrase with the word “black” in it, is racist and tried to make political capital out of slamming No.10.

Bob thinks we should call it the “grey market” – although apparently senior citizens groups are outraged at the LibDem MPs suggestion. Can’t think why…

I don’t like the PC culture but have to admit that it has benefited the country in many ways. The good work of the PC culture is being drowned out by this nonsense. And to think, we mere taxpayers forked out for Bob’s time to make such a silly complain.

…is tomorrow and to celebrate I am going to a Group Leader’s Meeting whilst Emily has her jab at the Lakenham Surgery! I have been very busy with a number of constituency issues this week, in particular the case of the play equipment on Toftes Place and the parking issues that continue in Three Score. I will be in a position to sort through the last of the surveys this weekend and should have some scores on the doors for you early next week. I am also quite worried that my Alfie, our big fat ginger Tom, is being bullied by another cat. Ho-hum!