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20 Most Recent Press Articles
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Written by Sandra Gidley MP on Thu 17th Apr 2008
There is a computer game called Sim City in which aspiring town planners and politicians create a city, whilst at the same time having to balance the books. A player quickly learns that if you go too mad at the beginning the money quickly runs out. One of the ways that a player can eke out the money is by reducing the standard budget on various items. One such budget is for road repairs. The trouble is that if the road repair budget is depleted for too long then little pot holes keep springing up in the roads - which eventually fall to bits.
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Written by Sandra Gidley MP on Fri 4th Apr 2008
The week started with a visit to Naomi House. This is a children's hospice and I have taken a fairly close interest in its progress since I was first elected. The hospice seems to have settled down well. Children's hospices do not serve quite the same purpose as adult hospices. Some children will spend their final days there but most of the children have life limiting conditions and spend up to 14 nights a year there. This enables their families to have a break but in some cases the parents will stay in one of the family rooms so that they can be nearby.
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Written by Sandra Gidley MP on Thu 3rd Apr 2008
There has been a blaze of publicity surrounding the launch, on April 1st of the Government's new travel scheme for pensioners. I must not be churlish so I will admit that many pensioners have enthusiastically welcomed the fact that they will be eligible for free nationwide travel.
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Written by Sandra Gidley MP on Fri 28th Mar 2008
The end of last week took a surprising turn. I had a question to the Solicitor General on data loss but whilst awaiting my turn I noticed a question about the use of bottled water in the House of Commons. This raised alarm bells as the water is supplied by the local firm, Hildon Water. The review has been prompted by an aggressive campaign by the Evening Standard and I felt uneasy that a knee jerk decision could be made and that it might affect jobs in the constituency. I was able to make a point and will be keeping an eye on this matter for the foreseeable future.
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Written by Sandra Gidley MP on Thu 27th Mar 2008
Some of you may have seen a television programme last Friday which featured the work of BASICS doctors. These doctors are members of The British Association for Immediate Care and, voluntarily, provide life saving support to our ambulance crews. I have the highest regard for our ambulance service but there are times when the medical skills required in an emergency situation are beyond the expertise of their most highly trained staff.
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Written by Sandra Gidley MP on Fri 21st Mar 2008
Last Friday was non-stop. The day started with a visit to Romsey Primary School and there were a number of meetings throughout the day. These were mostly health related but not exclusively so.
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Written by Sandra Gidley MP on Thu 20th Mar 2008
The focus at the moment seems to be on workers who are ill and therefore not able to work. There is a suggestion that doctors should be able to write "well notes", outlining what work a person is capable of, rather than the old fashioned sick note which merely signs someone off work for a defined period of time.
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Written by Sandra Gidley MP on Fri 14th Mar 2008
Last weekend was spent in Liverpool at the Liberal Democrat Spring Conference. It was a bit of a trek and I nearly stayed at home but our latest health paper was debated and I was also keen to hear the first speech by our new leader, Nick Clegg.
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Written by Sandra Gidley MP on Thu 13th Mar 2008
Last weekend the Liberal Democrats held their Spring Conference in Liverpool. At conference we usually have a couple of emergency debates and this year we debated energy prices and the vast profits made by the utility companies.
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Written by Sandra Gidley MP on Fri 7th Mar 2008
This has not been the happiest of weeks as for the first time in my life I defied a three line whip.
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Written by Sandra Gidley MP on Thu 6th Mar 2008
This week there has only been one subject on the agenda - Europe. We have been debating the Lisbon Treaty, which replaced the previous attempt at a constitution. I am writing this shortly before the vote on what has become the touchstone issue - namely, whether we should have a referendum on the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty.
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Written by Sandra Gidley MP on Fri 29th Feb 2008
This week seems to have been one of the most manic in recent history. Last Saturday morning I met with a group of people in West Tytherley to discuss a range of issues and this was followed by a very pleasant afternoon at the Reminiscences of Romsey event organised by the Rotary Club of Romsey Test and Inner Wheel. This event is rapidly becoming a local institution and long may it continue.
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Written by Sandra Gidley MP on Thu 28th Feb 2008
On Tuesday the Children's Society admitted to concern that children were exposed to worrying amounts of commercial pressure in an increasingly materialistic world. Anyone who has been a parent will be well acquainted with pester power and peer pressure which gets worse as offspring enter the teenage years.
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Written by Sandra Gidley MP on Fri 22nd Feb 2008
Last week was recess and the week ended in slightly bizarre mode as I donned a "fat suit" as an experiment. The suit basically replicated me putting on 4 stone in weight at a stroke. I was a little alarmed that the suit had been constructed with so much detail because, before the clothing was added, the whole thing was rather too reminiscent of "Bubbles de Vere" from Little Britain. It was an interesting experiment but I was totally unprepared for feeling stiff and uncomfortable the next day and realised that the experience had been a bit like an overlong session on the weights machines at the gym.
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Written by Sandra Gidley MP on Thu 21st Feb 2008
GPs have been much in the news lately. They are angry because the Government is trying to change the new contract which was agreed three years ago. The Government want doctors' surgeries to open for more hours and the GPs feel they should be paid for doing this. I make no comment on the way negotiations have been handled on either side but what interests me is that I have received a spate of letters from patients who are sympathetic to their GPs and are concerned that GP morale is not good.
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Written by Sandra Gidley MP on Fri 15th Feb 2008
As it is recess week I have been 100 per cent constituency focussed. In many ways the week started with an early return from Westminster last Thursday so that I could attend a meeting in Andover about the Tesco megashed application. Until attending the meeting I had not fully understood the vast scale of the application and now have a much greater understanding of why people living in villages in the north of the constituency are concerned that there will be more large lorries passing through their villages.
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Written by Sandra Gidley MP on Thu 14th Feb 2008
Over the past few weeks I have spent time with many of the people who provide our emergency services. Walking the beat with the police and accompanying an ambulance crew have enabled me to witness their work at very close quarters and has also given me an opportunity to have candid conversations with people who do the everyday work. The insight they provide is not always the same as the "official" line that is received when talking to more senior people within the organisation. I have also recently met with local retained fire fighters and watched them going through practice drills.
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Written by Sandra Gidley MP on Fri 8th Feb 2008
Last Friday I spent the afternoon at the Western Hospital discussing issues around the care of the elderly with mental health problems. It really is one of those Cinderella services which doesn't easily attract funding but you invariably find that the staff are really committed to what they do. There was a lighter moment when I asked a patient how she was. "Bloody awful" came the reply. I laughed without thinking but she laughed too and I reflected how rare such honesty is.
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Written by Sandra Gidley MP on Thu 7th Feb 2008
There are now a number of towns where a collective effort is being made to reduce the use of plastic bags by offering more sustainable alternatives. I recently met with a small group of women who are working on a "Better Bags for Romsey" campaign. The simple aim is to encourage all retailers to think about alternatives to the carrier bag and for all shoppers to start using and reusing bags.
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Written by Sandra Gidley MP on Wed 30th Jan 2008
At the end of last week I emerged from the Committee Stage of the Health and Social Care Bill and now that I have dramatically reduced the backlog of e mails I feel as if I have my life back.
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