Alistair Thompson: The Strategic Defence and Security Review was not strategic and has not increased our security

Alistair Thompson was Conservative candidate for West Bromwich East at the general election. He also runs Media Intelligence Partners with business partner Nick Wood, the former press secretary to Conservative leaders William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith.

Today I will be attending the decommissioning ceremony of HMS Ark Royal. As this proud symbol of British Maritime power is consigned to history I worry that we might have botched the Strategic Defence and Security Review, which could have consequences long into the future.

Last year, in an attempt to clear up the mess left by the previous Government, the Coalition undertook the SDSR. The Ministry’s budget, under Labour stewardship, had been managed so disastrously that on an annual operating budget of about £13 billion, commitments on equipment and overspends totalled £36 billion, or nearly three years worth of funding. 

This could have possibly been justified if our armed forces were the best equipped soldiers, sailors and airmen in the world, but they are not. Vital equipment was all too often simply not available to the men on the ground. While US soldiers travelled around in heavily armoured trucks, our boys and girls had to make do with Snatch Land Rovers designed for the streets of Belfast, not IEDs in Helmand.

There has also been wide reporting of helicopter shortages, body armour and other items (that should have been in plentiful supply) forcing our troops to make do with what is available and sometimes relying on clothing sent from concerned family members. Is it any wonder that our US allies refer to the army as "the borrowers"?

Alistair Thompson: Labour’s moral recession is worse than the economic one

Alistair Thompson was Conservative candidate for West Bromwich East at the general election. He also runs Media Intelligence Partners with business partner Nick Wood, the former press secretary to Conservative leaders William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith.

Reading the papers last week, I came across an article in the Daily Mail that not only perfectly sums up the moral bankruptcy of the Blair/Brown Governments, but also the sheer ludicrousness of much of the State’s spending.

For those who missed the article, the story was about a young disabled man, whose identity was concealed, but who has received money from a Government fund to go to Amsterdam and... wait for it... visit a prostitute!

I could hardly believe my eyes as I read the story. At a time that our country is facing the worst economic climate since the 1930s the last Government set up fund, which we are told is ‘legitimately’ being used to fund sex tourism.

You don’t have to be an expert to know about the problems associated with prostitution, the involvement of organised crime, how many of the prostitutes are trafficked, the high STD infection rates and drug and alcohol addiction rates, so why is he Her Majesty’s Government contributing to this vile industry?

Where was the Gordon Brown’s famous moral compass when this madcap scheme was dreamt up? And why were no restrictions placed on how this money could be used?

Alistair Thompson was Conservative candidate for West Bromwich East at the general election. He also runs Media Intelligence Partners with business partner Nick Wood, the former press secretary to Conservative leaders William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith.

Reading the papers last week, I came across an article in the Daily Mail that not only perfectly sums up the moral bankruptcy of the Blair/Brown Governments, but also the sheer ludicrousness of much of the State’s spending.

For those who missed the article, the story was about a young disabled man, whose identity was concealed, but who has received money from a Government fund to go to Amsterdam and... wait for it... visit a prostitute!

I could hardly believe my eyes as I read the story. At a time that our country is facing the worst economic climate since the 1930s the last Government set up fund, which we are told is ‘legitimately’ being used to fund sex tourism.

You don’t have to be an expert to know about the problems associated with prostitution, the involvement of organised crime, how many of the prostitutes are trafficked, the high STD infection rates and drug and alcohol addiction rates, so why is he Her Majesty’s Government contributing to this vile industry?

Where was the Gordon Brown’s famous moral compass when this madcap scheme was dreamt up? And why were no restrictions placed on how this money could be used?

Alistair Thompson was Conservative candidate for West Bromwich East at the general election. He also runs Media Intelligence Partners with business partner Nick Wood, the former press secretary to Conservative leaders William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith.

Reading the papers last week, I came across an article in the Daily Mail that not only perfectly sums up the moral bankruptcy of the Blair/Brown Governments, but also the sheer ludicrousness of much of the State’s spending.

For those who missed the article, the story was about a young disabled man, whose identity was concealed, but who has received money from a Government fund to go to Amsterdam and... wait for it... visit a prostitute!

I could hardly believe my eyes as I read the story. At a time that our country is facing the worst economic climate since the 1930s the last Government set up fund, which we are told is ‘legitimately’ being used to fund sex tourism.

You don’t have to be an expert to know about the problems associated with prostitution, the involvement of organised crime, how many of the prostitutes are trafficked, the high STD infection rates and drug and alcohol addiction rates, so why is he Her Majesty’s Government contributing to this vile industry?

Where was the Gordon Brown’s famous moral compass when this madcap scheme was dreamt up? And why were no restrictions placed on how this money could be used?

Alistair Thompson was Conservative candidate for West Bromwich East at the general election. He also runs Media Intelligence Partners with business partner Nick Wood, the former press secretary to Conservative leaders William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith.

Reading the papers last week, I came across an article in the Daily Mail that not only perfectly sums up the moral bankruptcy of the Blair/Brown Governments, but also the sheer ludicrousness of much of the State’s spending.

For those who missed the article, the story was about a young disabled man, whose identity was concealed, but who has received money from a Government fund to go to Amsterdam and... wait for it... visit a prostitute!

I could hardly believe my eyes as I read the story. At a time that our country is facing the worst economic climate since the 1930s the last Government set up fund, which we are told is ‘legitimately’ being used to fund sex tourism.

You don’t have to be an expert to know about the problems associated with prostitution, the involvement of organised crime, how many of the prostitutes are trafficked, the high STD infection rates and drug and alcohol addiction rates, so why is he Her Majesty’s Government contributing to this vile industry?

Where was the Gordon Brown’s famous moral compass when this madcap scheme was dreamt up? And why were no restrictions placed on how this money could be used?

Alistair Thompson: Next time the country faces a big freeze, battalions of unemployed people should be called upon to clear the streets of snow

Alistair Thompson is Conservative candidate for West Bromwich East. He also runs Media Intelligence Partners with business partner Nick Wood, the former press secretary to Conservative leaders William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith.

The Government, both national and local, failed us all during Britain’s ‘great freeze’. Yet disappointingly, and despite there being many angry people, almost no one is talking about how we prevent the UK grinding to a halt the next time we are hit by heavy snowfalls.

Admittedly there was endless news coverage about grit supplies, gas shortages, the effect on the economy and even bringing in the army to get food to isolated properties - but for all this there was no credible plan for getting the streets and pavements clear.

I suspect that the vacillation of the Government was deliberate as they knew that if they kept talking about this problem for long enough, blaming councils and denying any responsibility, then it would simply melt away.

And we must not be distracted by the false talk about grit supplies. We all know there are two major issues with pinning our future hopes on increasing the amount of grit available; firstly, supply.

There are, as I understand, just two mines that supply the UK with all our grit and these were already working at 100% capacity. The Government belatedly responded by suggesting that it would ship in grit from abroad - taking a week or two to reach our shores, and that's before you consider the logistical nightmare of getting it to the right local authority depot and spreading it on our roads.

Secondly, there was also the suggestion that local authorities should carry thirteen days' worth of grit instead of six. But I would argue against this unnecessary cost. It is not just the cost of purchasing the grit, but more importantly storing it in vast warehouses and employing an army of people to look after it. I shudder to think of the horrendous council tax bills that would appear on all our doorsteps should this occur, for one winter in twenty.

Admittedly some of the storage costs could be mitigated if local authorities had not removed the yellow grit bins, which have slowly been removed for no particular reason. I certainly do believe that many of the grit bins should be returned, but this is not the solution as the extra capacity needed is vast.

So here and now I want to float an idea, which I am confident would provide a cheap solution. Undoubtedly I will get a few negative comments; I am happy to take them on the chin and would respond simply by saying that if there is another option, let’s hear it.

Alistair Thompson is Conservative candidate for West Bromwich East. He also runs Media Intelligence Partners with business partner Nick Wood, the former press secretary to Conservative leaders William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith.

The Government, both national and local, failed us all during Britain’s ‘great freeze’. Yet disappointingly, and despite there being many angry people, almost no one is talking about how we prevent the UK grinding to a halt the next time we are hit by heavy snowfalls.

Admittedly there was endless news coverage about grit supplies, gas shortages, the effect on the economy and even bringing in the army to get food to isolated properties - but for all this there was no credible plan for getting the streets and pavements clear.

I suspect that the vacillation of the Government was deliberate as they knew that if they kept talking about this problem for long enough, blaming councils and denying any responsibility, then it would simply melt away.

And we must not be distracted by the false talk about grit supplies. We all know there are two major issues with pinning our future hopes on increasing the amount of grit available; firstly, supply.

There are, as I understand, just two mines that supply the UK with all our grit and these were already working at 100% capacity. The Government belatedly responded by suggesting that it would ship in grit from abroad - taking a week or two to reach our shores, and that's before you consider the logistical nightmare of getting it to the right local authority depot and spreading it on our roads.

Secondly, there was also the suggestion that local authorities should carry thirteen days' worth of grit instead of six. But I would argue against this unnecessary cost. It is not just the cost of purchasing the grit, but more importantly storing it in vast warehouses and employing an army of people to look after it. I shudder to think of the horrendous council tax bills that would appear on all our doorsteps should this occur, for one winter in twenty.

Admittedly some of the storage costs could be mitigated if local authorities had not removed the yellow grit bins, which have slowly been removed for no particular reason. I certainly do believe that many of the grit bins should be returned, but this is not the solution as the extra capacity needed is vast.

So here and now I want to float an idea, which I am confident would provide a cheap solution. Undoubtedly I will get a few negative comments; I am happy to take them on the chin and would respond simply by saying that if there is another option, let’s hear it.

Alistair Thompson is Conservative candidate for West Bromwich East. He also runs Media Intelligence Partners with business partner Nick Wood, the former press secretary to Conservative leaders William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith.

The Government, both national and local, failed us all during Britain’s ‘great freeze’. Yet disappointingly, and despite there being many angry people, almost no one is talking about how we prevent the UK grinding to a halt the next time we are hit by heavy snowfalls.

Admittedly there was endless news coverage about grit supplies, gas shortages, the effect on the economy and even bringing in the army to get food to isolated properties - but for all this there was no credible plan for getting the streets and pavements clear.

I suspect that the vacillation of the Government was deliberate as they knew that if they kept talking about this problem for long enough, blaming councils and denying any responsibility, then it would simply melt away.

And we must not be distracted by the false talk about grit supplies. We all know there are two major issues with pinning our future hopes on increasing the amount of grit available; firstly, supply.

There are, as I understand, just two mines that supply the UK with all our grit and these were already working at 100% capacity. The Government belatedly responded by suggesting that it would ship in grit from abroad - taking a week or two to reach our shores, and that's before you consider the logistical nightmare of getting it to the right local authority depot and spreading it on our roads.

Secondly, there was also the suggestion that local authorities should carry thirteen days' worth of grit instead of six. But I would argue against this unnecessary cost. It is not just the cost of purchasing the grit, but more importantly storing it in vast warehouses and employing an army of people to look after it. I shudder to think of the horrendous council tax bills that would appear on all our doorsteps should this occur, for one winter in twenty.

Admittedly some of the storage costs could be mitigated if local authorities had not removed the yellow grit bins, which have slowly been removed for no particular reason. I certainly do believe that many of the grit bins should be returned, but this is not the solution as the extra capacity needed is vast.

So here and now I want to float an idea, which I am confident would provide a cheap solution. Undoubtedly I will get a few negative comments; I am happy to take them on the chin and would respond simply by saying that if there is another option, let’s hear it.

Alistair Thompson: Not only is the rise in anti-social behaviour a result of Labour's irresponsible policies, but they have also prevented the police from getting to grips with the problem

Alistair Thompson is a councillor in Portsmouth and part of the City Seats Initiative in West Bromwich. He also runs Media Intelligence Partners with business partner Nick Wood, the former press secretary to Conservative leaders William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith.

Whilst listening to the Today programme yesterday morning I nearly choked on my toast, after hearing Nick Robinson announce that Gordon Brown was going to talk about getting tough on the thugs and hooligans who roam our streets. This new initiative we learnt has been driven by the tragic case of Fiona Pilkington and her daughter driven to suicide because of anti-social behaviour.

Why did I nearly choke? Simple, because over the last 12 years Labour have weakened our police, created a mismatch of different groups with a shared responsibility for tackling the scourge of bad behaviour. And the truth is that all of Labours tinkering, new laws, money wasted on police bureaucracy, human rights and time spent talking about these problems has achieved nothing, in fact the problems are getting worse.

Take a case that I have been involved in my work as a local councillor. In the past a phone call to the police would have been the trigger for action. Now I had to tell the residents that the Council would coordinate the inter-agency response, involving the Police, Housing Association and Council, but before this could happen my resident had to keep a diary of the problems.

This complicated process took months and in the end the resident started to accept these problems. I still have her diary as a reminder of just how broken the system has become. I firmly believe that this Labour tick box exercise is not designed to stop these pint-sized rambos from terrorising their locality but so the Home Office can point at all the activity that is taking place. Sir Humphrey eat your heart out!

Alistair Thompson is a councillor in Portsmouth and part of the City Seats Initiative in West Bromwich. He also runs Media Intelligence Partners with business partner Nick Wood, the former press secretary to Conservative leaders William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith.

Alistair Thompson: The next Conservative Government should issue shares in the nationalised banks to every UK taxpayer

Alistair Thompson is a councillor in Portsmouth and part of the City Seats Initiative in West Bromwich. He also runs Media Intelligence Partners with business partner Nick Wood, the former press secretary to Conservative leaders William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith.

No one should underestimate the scale of the economic crisis still facing the UK, because it is truly horrific.

Government borrowing looks increasingly set to top £100 billion this year as tax revenues collapse faster than any at any time since the great depression. National debt is ballooning and even the ONS believes that it will hit the eye watering figure of £1.5 trillion and that does not even take into account personal debt that adds another £1.5 trillion to this figure.

One MP told me recently that the economy is "f***ed" and that whoever wins the next election will be the most unpopular post-war Government after just 12 months as it is forced to make cuts and take the tough decisions that have been avoided by the current Government.

Gordon Brown’s irresponsible spending and economic stewardship has wrecked the economy and highlights how psychologically flawed he is, exposing his lack of ability to change tack when the situation demands it.

Alistair Thompson: Stop blaming capitalism for our woes

Alistair Thompson is a councillor in Portsmouth and part of the City Seats Initiative in West Bromwich. He also runs Media Intelligence Partners with business partner Nick Wood, the former press secretary to Conservative leaders William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith.

There has of late been near universal condemnation of 'capitalism' and the so-called capitalist system we operate in our country.

It has been blamed for the collapse of the banking system, a rise in crime, recession and now the morally repugnant spectacle of the banking chiefs - including those in charge of the fully and part-nationalised banks - benefiting from the sort of huge bonuses they received in the good years; the years when they, encouraged by this thoroughly bankrupt Government, encouraged you and I to engage in an orgy of spending fuelled by a growth in personal debt.

Now before you think that I am some sort of bearded, sandal wearing leftie, I am not and I agree with the myriad comments about why those bonuses are utterly tasteless and reprehensible.

No one, certainly not the bankers, has made the argument why they should receive even a brass farthing in bonuses, as my father would say (apparently it has something to do with pre-decimalisation), but many of us, commentators, journalists and politicians just seem to have bought into the idea that this is the fault of the economic system we operate. It is not, nor should it been seen as the fault of a capitalist system.