I cease to be an MP tomorrow. Once Parliament is dissolved all MPs lose office and cease to qualify for salary or expenses.
This website is not an MP website, but my personal website paid for out of my own income. I will continue to run it during the election period. Any previous reference on this site to my work or role as an MP remains on the historical record but relates only to my past role.
I become the Conservative Parliamentary candidate for the Wokingham constituency. I will use my local pages for the Wokingham campaign. There will be a daily piece on local and party matters. This will be my voice as Wokingham’s Conservative candidate.
I will continue with the general blog as well. This will provide commentary on UK matters and on wider international issues as before. This will not be an official Conservative site, and will not change style because there is an election on.
March 29, 2015
You are a giant, JR. If only there were 649 others.
March 29, 2015
Thank you so much. With this website you perform one of the essential functions of a statesman – to inform and educate people about public affairs. Good luck at the election, for our sake as well as yours.
March 29, 2015
I suspect that everyone understands, although I also hope that some (no names, but the contributors & their favoured parties know who they are) will understand if you feel that anything other than your own blatant electioneering doesn’t get published! Before objecting perhaps people should try putting themselves metaphorically (or indeed in reality…) into the position of a PPC who is using their own website to get (re)elected…
March 29, 2015
Wokingham is rock solid, blue rinsed, Conservative. A few anti EU leaflets and anti immigration leaflets and JR will clock a 50% plus vote.
If the Party wanted him retired out, to put the next generation in a super safe seat, we would have heard by now.
March 29, 2015
@acorn; I wasn’t suggesting that our host might not win!
My point is that his site will also be read by those not in Wokingham, quite possibly by those in marginal seats, I was suggesting to others that they be understanding if our host wishes to avoid publishing calls for people to vote for another party – I think the last time PPC called for the electorate to vote for a party other than their own was in 1974 (a certain Mr E. Powell) and strangely enough that was also due to the “Europe” question…
March 29, 2015
Thank you for the info John, keep up the good work.
Your record as my local MP means you are assured of at least one vote, but it is a shame that by me doing so, Mr Cameron may think I am supporting him and his policies
I wish you success in your campaign to be re-elected once again.
March 29, 2015
I completely agree with you Alan. You have summed up the dilema which many of us, who consider themselves to be Traditional Conservatives, face.
John is a great local MP and has a high level of support locally despite and not because of, being part of the party which has Mr Cameron at the helm.
I hope that if The Conservative Party(sic) does gain a workable majority in May, that we will see a more Conservative government but, I won’t hold my breath. In the long term, it may well be a good thing for us to lose the election just to get a change of party leadership which is more true to Conservative beliefs however, I don’t think the country could survive Five years of a Labour led socialist coalition. Imagine Ed, The SNP, The Greens, Plaid etc all playing happy families…..Now that is frightening!
I cannot remember a time when I have been so fearful about the future of our country and so frustrated and dissillusioned by our politicians….Obviously, I don’t include our host in this generalisation!
March 30, 2015
Yes Cliff, This General Election does have the potential to be one of the scariest of modern times.
For me – The SNP tail wagging the UK (English dog). I notice that they are talking about interfering with Income Tax (50%), which I thought was a largely devolved power. Listening to Nicola Sturgeon talking in the Scottish Parliament the other day – didn’t answer a single straight question and spent all her time criticising others…
CMD is scaremongering about a leap in to the unknown as far as getting out of the EU. More facts from independent rather than those with vested interests would be good. Back to a good old “Common Market” would suit me. Just look at Norway and Switzerland.
Immigration – As the son of an immigrant I can’t really criticise allowing some amount of immigration, but it needs to be matched to resources available i.e. Schools, Health Care, Housing and of course Jobs.
March 30, 2015
Oh…
And did I forget Foreign Aid – Should only be paid when there is a budget surplus, to pay out of borrowed monies is crazy….
March 30, 2015
Indeed, I heard Ms Sturgeon say that she would ensure change which would benefit the whole of the UK….I can’t see how any increase in socialism would benefit anyone. I think the real irony regarding the SNP is that they make a big thing of how Scotland ends up with a government they didn’t vote for, I suspect after May, England (am I allowed to say that word) too will end up with a government we didn’t vote for.
I agree with your comment about foreign aid and I think what makes it even more crazy, is that sometimes, the very country we provide with aid is the one which is lending our government the money. I am thinking India, China etc although, as I understand it, steps have been taken to change this situation.
March 30, 2015
Alan Jutson
Absolutely that is entirely why our so called democracy is unfit for the 21st Century. Its exactly why we keep getting the same moribund talentless governments running our country
March 29, 2015
John,
as usual, very well said and I regret that, sadly, you are not my MP; if you were you’d get my vote every time. I wish you well for the GE and look forward to seeing you re-become a MP!
March 30, 2015
I’m not particularly interested in JR being my MP, I want him to be my Chancellor of the Exchequer though ( the most important job in government) yet there is absolutely no way I or any other voter can influence that.
We urgently need democracy in England
March 29, 2015
Best of luck Mr Redwood. I wish that you were my MP.
March 29, 2015
Mr Redwood,
The amount of effort you put in to this Blog is very much appreciated.
No double it will continue after you return to Parliament in May 🙂
March 29, 2015
Good luck on re-election John, I just hope the idiots who signed the CCA and voted against e referendum get shown the door.
I see CMD lays out his position on wooing people like me back. Is he completely stupid or is he joking.
To little Too late methinks.
March 29, 2015
Best wishes for the Election, JR, I’m sure you will be retained and thank you for this Blog – a daily ‘must read’ of mine and many others.
March 29, 2015
All the best for the election campaign.
I vehemently disagree with you on Europe but I always find what you have to say interesting and thought-provoking.
March 29, 2015
Good luck John.
March 29, 2015
Many thanks. Oh, and good luck.
March 29, 2015
Your blog has been top of my favourites list for years and I see that you are also (unsurprisingly) odds on favourite with the bookies which speaks volumes.
March 29, 2015
Very good luck !
Thank you for your amazing blog ,required and enjoyable reading every day .How do you do it ?
Wokingham is lucky to have you as their MP and the Conservative Party to have you as a member.
If only the Party would listen to you more on the fundamentals of conservatism.
Instead they behave like an ‘anxious to please ‘ left liberal blob . Sadly that is why there is such dissatisfaction among the grass roots.
March 29, 2015
Well, JR, if:
a) I lived in Wokingham, and
b) You were defending a small majority,
then I would very seriously consider voting for you rather than for UKIP.
But neither of those conditions obtain; firstly I live in Maidenhead, and I will NOT vote for a Tory who doesn’t care whether I or any other of her innocent constituents get carted off to rot in a foreign prison for many months without charge let alone trial, and who dodged and weaved and abused parliamentary procedure to keep that vile system in place, and if she lost her seat I wouldn’t care even if she was replaced by some LibDem; and secondly I reckon you are pretty safe in Wokingham, with your 13,492 majority in 2010, and you really wouldn’t need my vote to help you get re-elected, whereas the UKIP candidate could do with getting more votes than the 1,644 recorded last time.
March 29, 2015
Good luck JR. I can’t vote for you but certainly would were it possible.
March 29, 2015
Yes, my thoughts too. Living in Canada I was wondering what to say but this fits the bill.
March 29, 2015
On a general note, Electoral Calculus has moved to more frequent updates:
http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/polls.html
Labour’s downward trend over the past two years or more may be coming to an end, while the Tories may have made some little positive progress after more or less flatlining over the same period; the FPTP “squeeze” on UKIP may now have gone about as far as it will go, while the support for the Greens may have peaked and the LibDems may be recovering a little support.
It’s “may” all the way through because the changes are small and well within the margin of error; of course it is only my guess, but personally I doubt that anything will happen over the next five weeks to have a major impact and significantly change the outcome of the election as predicted here:
http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/homepage.html
“Current Prediction: Labour short 36 of majority”
And now with the Tories on 33.0% and winning 271 seats while Labour is behind them on 32.5% but winning more seats, 290 seats or 7% more than the Tories, we can more clearly see the folly of those Tory backbenchers who were so determined to defend the indefensible with regard to the Lords that they gave Clegg an excuse for blocking the boundary changes, the Tory leaders having previously failed to make sure that they would go through irrespective of what happened about Lords reform.
March 29, 2015
I am not a voter in our host’s constituency and I will not personally be voting for the Conservative party but I sincerely look forward to his re-election in May….and to continued informative and thought provoking diary entries in the meantime.
March 29, 2015
I second this.
I always voted for John Randall who was a fine local MP and helped me a couple of times so kept my vote even though he did not vote the way I would wish on European issues.
Boris Johnson being selected ahead of the excellent David Simmonds (whose knowledge of the education system would give Michael Gove a run for his money) has freed me to vote with my head instead of my heart.
I wish you well Mr Redwood, you are an excellent politician who mostly is on the side of the populous. (Even your move against Major was populist outside Westminster).
March 29, 2015
Well, yes. Good luck Mr Redwood
March 29, 2015
Good luck Mr R. Not that you’ll need it.
March 29, 2015
Like others here, I wish you well and would vote for you if you were representing the constituency were I live.
The main thing to do is to keep calm and to speak up. It’s going to be a battle.
March 29, 2015
Good luck.
March 30, 2015
Change of subject: when do kings cease to be kings? I notice that Richard III has just been reburied and given a proper funeral and a site at Leicester cathedral.
What should have happened is that his remains should have thrown into the nearest main sewer, accompanied by the following epitaph written on toilet paper: “Richard III – usurper and mass murderer, including regicide and infanticide”.
The royal and ecclesiastical establishments don’t need any help in harming themselves – they are so very good at shooting themselves in the foot.
March 30, 2015
That’s a bit harsh: he can really only be judged by the standards of his own time, when such things and worse were commonplace, not by our standards.
More than anything else, I think that the whole story is a marvellous tribute to enduring English qualities of individualism but also traditionalism.
Who would have thought that a small group of people who could be dismissed as eccentrics, and especially one woman, could have persisted and persisted over the years until they actually found his remains against all the odds?
And who would have anticipated that after valuable new historical information had been extracted during the scientific examinations the reburial of his remains would have been turned into a public ceremony, indeed a pageant, which engaged the interest of so much of the population, and even among some of those whose ancestors were never his subjects?
It’s been a great story, as far as I’m concerned.
March 30, 2015
A bit late with a comment but I wish you every success in the election Dr Redwood. I was at school near Wokingham and while my career sent me far away from the UK the Thames Valley has always been the real England.
You are not just a local MP but a national figure (see cartoon in this week’s Economist). I wish the Conservatives had the sense to elect you as leader when they had the chance.
March 30, 2015
Good luck in Wokingham. Your party needs a few real Conservatives. In Brighton it looks like a a battle between Green and Labour in which a large proportion of the electorate doesn’t know which way is down. Last time I voted for an excellent Conservative candidate who was a lady engineer. The winner was one who thinks a windmill on every hill would keep the country going and was arrested for anti fracking obstruction. She has a degree in English.
Cameron and Osborne have been as treacherous as any Labour leader would have been and as daft as any Green.This time, if there is a token UKIP candidate, I will vote for them, if only to add to their overall vote and make the absurdly anti-democratic result more obvious to the conservative electorate (including ex Labour) in England. With a minority socialist government backed by the enemy up North, the scene will be set for a sort out. Make sure you keep standing up for England and don’t pull your punches.
If Cameron wants to make your party appealing to disgruntled ex Conservatives, tell him the best thing he could do is to jump in the Thames and take his next door neighbour and Mrs May with him.
March 30, 2015
You mention that MPs are no longer MPs, but on a point of interest what about Ministers – are they still in post? If so, then presumably they could only work by ‘Orders in Council’?
Reply Ministers remain in post just in case there4 is a crisis etc. They are not allowed to do new things as Ministers.
March 30, 2015
Nothing new, except sign the UK up to an illegal bailout of Greece!
March 30, 2015
On a technical matter, JR, please could you resist any blandishments to change to a different commenting system on your blog? Your present system is not perfect but it is far better than the Disqus now so widely adopted, and as far the Livefyre system recently adopted by Open Europe for their blog it is close to unusable.
March 30, 2015
Just watched the recorded TV coverage of the Tory party campaign launch from Wiltshire…
A plea to the Tory party HQ campaign, three things that look or sound so naff in 2015, 1/. the now over used group of party “noddies” (because they dutifully nod) sitting behind the political talent making the speech, it really does look oh so USA politics from the early 2000s. 2/. Rolled up shirt sleeves. 3/. the political talent asking the party “noddies” if they agree with his or her and them dutifully nodding and clapping, it’s going to fool no one in 2015! John if you get a chance, please have a quite word… Regards from an average Pleb!
PS, if you don’t wish to publish this I will understand but the comment is sent as honest criticism.