Cllr Meftah, shown here (right) being congratulated by County Council leader Nick Clarke, has lived in Trumpington for many years, and runs the Cantab Millenium computer business on Mill Road. He came to England from Iran in 1980. Several years ago his life story was recorded by a local art project.

The Conservatives success, combined with Labour gains, ends the Lib Dems’ 12-year majority on the City Council and reduces them to holding exactly half the seats.

Cllr Meftah was congratulated by Cambridge Conservatives Chairman Linda Yeatman. “It was a carefully planned and well run campaign. Shapour was out house to house calling on Saturdays and night after night, we had a steady stream of helpers from across the city coming out with us.“

“Shapour was tirelessly good-natured throughout, and shook many hands on doorsteps and left a smile on the faces of the people he talked to.“

Conservative campaigner and Foster Road resident Shapour Meftah has called for the council to reject any such plans.  “It is totally inappropriate for Trumpington and would have a devastating impact on the local environment.  Just imagine the grid lock on match day.  Any councillor supporting this would be scoring a terrible own goal.”

The DfT will fund the first two stages of a new A14 survey with the first phase, will see experts reviewing the problems and challenges surrounding the A14 corridor, due to be completed by Christmas. The second stage will look at what solutions, including rail freight and public transport as well as road measures, could meet these challenges.

A previous £1.4 billion A14 improvement scheme was abandoned last year following opposition from Cambridge Liberal Democrats including MP Julian Huppert, despite the unanimous backing of local Conservative councils and MPs for the scheme.

Cambridgeshire County Council Leader Nick Clarke, said: “Addressing the transport problems along the A14 corridor is a top priority for this council. From the point when the Government announced they did not have the funding for the original scheme we have been campaigning for action on these issues, and made sure Cambridgeshire and our partners have been able to have a say.”

The freeze in 2011-12 was promised in the Conservative 2010 election manifesto, and rewarded councils that froze council tax with the equivalent of a 2.5% council tax increase paid out of central funds. All English councils took up the offer.

The Chancellor today announced that £805 million had been found to continue the freeze offer into 2011-12. The total annual saving to an average (Band D) Cambridge household would be £72 if local authorities take up the offer.

“This is great news for Cambridge households struggling with the rising cost of living and Labour’s debt crisis,” said Cambridge Conservatives Deputy Chairman, Timothy Haire. “We call on the City Council to keep their rate rise to below 2.5% so that Cambridge residents can benefit.“

After a warm welcome from Linda Yeatman, Chair of the Conservative City Conservatives, Mrs Ford spoke about her role in the European Parliament, and particularly her work
on the Industry committee where she has been leading discussions on research and innovation funding in a bid to simplify the process and cut down on the bureaucracy associated with securing such funding for UK companies.  Mrs Ford then took questions from the audience on issues including food safety, nuclear weapons, the Eurozone and global financial crisis and funding for research and development facilities in the Eastern region.  Mrs Ford also led a lively discussion on localism and divesting power to local authorities.

Speaking after the event Mrs Ford said:

“Opportunities like this to meet with people across such a spectrum of different industries are invaluable.  The feedback I received on the key issues that really matter to people here in the East of England, such as the problems faced when securing research funding, and the issues associated with peer review, were incredibly useful and in fact I have already had the opportunity to raise the need to look at the impartiality of the peer review process, in the European Parliament on Monday.”

For further information, photographs or quotes please contact Sarah Stamp, Press and
Communications Officer to Vicky Ford, on 07584 028671 or at communications@vickyford.org

The Conservative-led council has proposed that it will borrow money to cover the £21 million cost of the scheme, if repayment is guaranteed by the next franchise for the Cambridge – King’s Cross line.

Mrs Villiers commented, “They’ve made a very good pitch for it and I can see that potentially there could be really significant benefits for the economy and jobs in an area which is already very important in terms of technology, innovation and economic growth.”

Addressing a special session of Parliament, the Prime Minister described the events as “criminality pure and simple” and stressed there was no excuse for such behaviour. He made clear, “We will not put up with this in our country. We will not allow a culture of fear to exist on our streets. And we will do whatever it takes to restore law and order and to rebuild our communities.”

He set out the three key priorities on which the Government’s response is focussed:

• Restoring order, with a series of measures to help ensure more robust and effective policing, such as allowing the police to remove face coverings where there is reasonable suspicion that they are related to criminal activity;
• Supporting the victims, with, for example, a new £20 million high street support scheme to help affected businesses get back up and running quickly, and making compensation available under the Riot Damages Act;
• Tackling the deeper problems, taking the action necessary to fix our broken society.

David Cameron concluded by saying:

“This is a time for our country to pull together. To the law abiding people who play by the rules, and who are the overwhelming majority in this country, I say the fightback has begun, we will protect you, if you’ve had your livelihood and property damaged, we will compensate you. We are on your side.”

“And to the lawless minority, the criminals who’ve taken what they can get, I say: we will track you down, we will find you, we will charge you, we will punish you. You will pay for what you have done.”

Read David Cameron’s full statement to the House.

Vicky Ford was elected a Member of the European Parliament in 2009. Until recently she was Conservative spokesman on Economic and Monetary Affairs, but this autumn she has taken up her new role as Conservative Party Spokesman for the European Parliament on Industry, Research and Energy.

Before becoming an MEP Vicky was a local councillor, and an active campaigner on a wide range of issues. Prior to becoming involved in Politics, Vicky was a managing director of a major international bank. Most of her 14-year career in banking was with JP Morgan. She has been involved in raising money for infrastructure, including roads, railways, telecommunications and electricity networks.

Vicky studied maths and economics at Trinity College, Cambridge, where she met her husband Hugo, who is a cancer consultant at Addenbroookes, West Suffolk and Papworth Hospitals.

Vicky is widely known and liked for her energetic and lively approach to everything she gets involved in.

Tickets for the event cost £15 to include a light lunch with wine. Tickets can be purchased in advance via the CCCA office, 153 St Neots Road, Hardwick, CB23 7QJ. Alternatively, to pay by credit card, click on the PayPal button here and complete the payment information.

You can use get in touch via the attached contact form for more information.
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This is a full tour by a trained guide and lasts 75 minutes. It covers the main areas; the Commons and Lords debating chambers, the Queens Robing room and Westminster Hall.

To reserve a place contact Gina Youens via the office, 153 St Neots Road, Hardwick, CB23 7QJ or use the contact forrm below.

Dear Sir / Madam,

If there was one thing that united the mainstream parties in Cambridge at last year’s General Election, it was an understanding that the city’s cosmopolitan population is one of its greatest assets.

It helps explain why Cambridge delivers perhaps more world-class education than any other city of the same size anywhere in the world. And it helps explain why there is such a vibrant civic life – if anyone wonders what the ‘Big Society’ looks like, Cambridge is the answer.

As your recent coverage shows, the only group who seem to be ignorant of this is the English Defence League. There is room for reasonable debate about migration, Islamic extremism and inter-faith relations, but the EDL are not the people to lead it. They are as unwelcome as their antecedents in the National Front and the BNP and they should stay out of Cambridge – and everywhere else.

Yours sincerely,

Nick Hillman
Conservative candidate in Cambridge in the 2010 General Election