Member of the County Council representing Lichfield Rural East, Deputy Leader - Lichfield District Council representing Shenstone & Wall

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The Armed Forces Memorial at Alrewas near Lichfield is not only a beautiful, motivational and inspirational place to visit, it is a telling memorial for British service people who have given their lives since 1948. There are 16,000 names already engraved and, sadly, there is space for another 15,000.

The Memorial has been shortlisted for a Heritage Lottery award and if it wins will recognise not only those fallen heroes but the enormous efforts by those who achieved this incredible piece of architecture.

Please give your support by going to the voting page here.

Alternatively call 0845 386 4459 to vote by phone.

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So, the Government are about to force an increase across the board in the price of alcohol such as beer and lager.

The details aren’t clear yet but it looks as if everyone is going to be charged more. Now, I’m the first in line to say we need to do something about this country’s appalling drinking to drop culture, but I remain unconvinced it is the price which is the problem.

A few pence on the price of a can of lager at 70p surely won’t make a difference. Some popular alcohol is certainly very cheap as it is but would those prone to drinking to excess change their habits if it was double the price. I’m really not convinced it is price related. Our household could spend ten times what we do on alcohol each month but we don’t simply buy ten times as much.

It’s in the culture to a great degree. But I also think it may well be an age thing. Twenty years ago I don’t recall drinking to excess… certainly not on anything remotely like a regular basis. That said I think I was probably a little more likely to drink more at one time in my late teens than now.

I do wonder whether raising the legal age to 21 would be a sensible thing to try. One thing is very clear to me, and that is Labour’s total relaxation of the licensing laws has seen a doubling of the number of people hospitalised for drink related reasons. Bearing in mind ministers said it would take away the temptation for throwing vast quantities of alcohol down at a pace, it seems that was a massive misjudgement.

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There’s a lot of bad press about youngsters whether it be anti social behaviour or knife crime or playing ‘chicken’ on railway lines.

And it’s very serious… in some parts of our society things are in social decline. But not everywhere. Many young people are busy doing things that will further their life experiences in a very positive way. Pupils between 11 and 18 at Rawlett Community Sports College are doing just that.

Rock Challenge is a worldwide charitable event which encourages young people to make the most of their lives, get the best education they can and generally be good citizens. In the UK Rock Challenge over 250 schools have entered the competition which uses the very best in dance, music and drama to highlight social issues affecting the world and particularly young people.

Rawlett Community Sports College have been heavily involved for the last few years and this year found themselves in the premier group for the great work they’ve been doing. It culminated in 90 young people from the school performing in the UK national final in the north of England. They did exceptionally well with four categories where they were judged as ‘Excelling’. In fact out of all 268 entrants they came 16th overall which is fabulous.

I think it’s hugely important to encourage this sort of thing. Everything from Scouting and Cubs or Brownies to community organisations and Duke of Edinburgh Awards. In fact any activity which encourages responsibility, self confidence, a sense of loyalty and good citizenship. In the early 1900s it was considered that the youth of the day were losing there way and that’s when Robert Baden Powell wrote Scouting for Boys, something which revolutionised the way youngsters were brought up for years.

So, I’m very pleased to help out with funding the Rock Challenge and am keen to help other initiatives which will accomplish some of the traits for young people I mentioned earlier.

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The ‘better’ weather each summer brings with it a monumental increase in the number of motorcyclists taking advantage of the lighter evenings.

The vast majority of them are competent riders who make the most of their bikes but do it in a sensible way. But, a few plainly have little concern for those around them or, quite frankly, the danger they can cause. It started late this year. Normally it’s early March when constituents start contacting me about motorcyclists riding at enormous speeds, weaving in and out of traffic or using illegal exhausts which are incredibly noisy.

This year the concerns started in late April. I visited a well known spot on the A5 to see what people were concerned about. Tuesday’s the night with a massive gathering of riders at Bassetts Pole. What I saw on the A5, and also part of the A38, was crackers. Most were riding faster than the speed limit but, to a great degree, safely bar the illegal speed. But then there were the loopy ones who tend to give bikers a bad name.

As well as the odd ones there were a couple of small groups of riders, one of which was made up of four bikes and another of five, who were overtaking cars on the dual carriageway, probably at 80 plus, on the inside and outside of the cars they were overtaking. Another pulled an attempted high speed ‘wheely’ but didn’t really get far off the ground and then there were a couple who were going at a speed I wouldn’t have any idea how to guess as it was that fast. And that was in the space of 20 minutes.

It’s worth remembering that it’s not just themselves the irresponsible motorcyclist’s are putting at risk. It’s other road users as well as causing real concern, upset and worry for locals who live close to the problem areas, or in the villages, some of which become a race track at particular times.

This was a couple of weeks ago and as a consequence of my request then for some work to be done to reassure local people on this issue, the County Road Safety Unit put together a programme for this area to enforce illegal practices and educate motorcyclists on riding more safely. I was invited to attend the gathering at Bassetts Pole tonight by the County Safety team and what I saw was seriously impressive.

There was the enforcement side with a couple of the camera vans out on roads on the way to Bassetts Pole as well as a Safety Partnership motorbike with the same enforcement equipment, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service were there in numbers, the police road crime unit and the Staffordshire Road Safety Partnership team too. All along with more than 800 motorcyclists.

And it was a really good atmosphere. The Safety Team guys had set up a large tent full of road safety information and the chance to sign up for advanced motorcycle training. Police and Highway safety officials were out and about with fire officers and others talking to the crowds of bikers and there was genuine interest and positive vibes going in both directions.

I was pleased at the response and exceptionally impressed at the extra effort which was put in. The approach of enforcement and education on safety seems to be a well received combination. In fact, credit where credit’s due, the County Highway’s motorbike safety campaign which is running across much of Staffordshire appears to be very successful. It’ll be interesting to see the results of the enforcement side from today.

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