Monday 17 December 2012

Thanks to Local Conservative MP for Supporting Marriage

I have just received the following from Coalition for Marriage.  Please note that, unlike the LibDem MP for Eastleigh, the Conservative Spokesperson for Eastleigh, Maria Hutchings, is, like the Conservative MP for Winchester, Steve Brine, a supporter of Marriage:








C4M logo

Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Donate button












Send your MP a
Christmas card
to say thanks













Dear marriage supporter,
You may be aware that your Member of Parliament Mr Steve Brine MP has publicly opposed the Government’s radical plan to alter the definition of marriage.
Taking such a stance is not an easy thing to do and we know the media is not always friendly. It is very important to encourage an MP when they have done the right thing. Why not send a Christmas card thanking them for the courageous stand they have taken in support of marriage?
If you don’t have time to send a card, simply email them instead steve.brine.mp@parliament.uk. Or you may see them at a local event in the run up to Christmas, in which case you can speak to them personally.
  • Thank Mr Steve Brine MP for supporting marriage
  • Say that they have your full support as they continue to stand for marriage in 2013
  • Say that protecting marriage as the union of a man and a woman is good for children
  • Say that redefining marriage would weaken marriage and harm our communities
  • Say that if marriage is redefined then schools would have to teach the new definition to children

Your MP’s Contact Details:

Mr Steve Brine MP, Member for Winchester.
Write to your MP at:
9 Stockbridge Road, Winchester, Hampshire, SO22 6RN
Or email: steve.brine.mp@parliament.uk
Yours sincerely,
Colin Hart
Colin Hart
Campaign Director
Coalition for Marriage






Coalition for Marriage
8 Marshalsea Road
London
SE1 1HL
You received this email because you chose to be 'kept informed' when you signed the Petition for Marriage at c4m.org.uk or on paper. If you no longer wish to receive information from Coalition for Marriage, click 'Unsubscribe' below, or for other enquiries, contact us here.
Tel 0207 403 7879


© 2012




Coalition for Marriage Ltd is a Not-for-Profit Company registered in England. Company No. 07880604.





Please let Steve Brine have your support.

He is on my Christmas card list.

Wednesday 12 December 2012





Local Conservatives Save Greenfield Sites

Picture: Maria Hutchings, Conservative Party Spokesperson for Eastleigh, with Graham Hunter, a local campaigner, at Woodhouse Lane, which was earmarked for development by Eastleigh Borough Council.

Maria Hutchings, Conservative Parliamentary Spokesperson for Eastleigh, and the local Conservative team recognise the need for more affordable and sustainable housing to serve the Eastleigh constituency. However, for several years Eastleigh Conservatives have also been fighting to ensure that as much new housing as possible is built on brownfield sites, rather than in locations which would destroy our greenfield areas, villages, allotments, leisure spaces and strategic gaps.

Given this strong record of local campaigning, Maria and her team are delighted to announce that they have been advised by Conservative-led Hampshire County Council, that Lib Dem-controlled Eastleigh Borough Council is likely to be revising its Local Plan for 2011 – 2029. Eastleigh Borough Council officers were advised of the full extent of Hampshire County Council landholdings that would be made available for development during the Local Plan period. The Conservative leader of Hampshire County Council has decided that County owned land, west of Woodhouse Lane (currently being farmed) and identified for development in Eastleigh Borough Council’s Local Plan, will not be included in the land to be made available for one-thousand new houses. Furthermore, development on the County Council’s landholding located south of Chestnut Avenue, Eastleigh, would be limited to the building of just three-hundred housing units.

The County Council has also announced that it is willing to release land at Winchester Street, Botley, for up to two-hundred houses, along with room for allotments as well as open spaces. These plans are in line with what Botley residents say the area can sustain in terms of development, supported by the findings of an independent residents’ survey, the results of which were accepted by Botley Parish Council.

Maria and local Conservatives continue to campaign alongside BPAG (Botley Parish Action Group), HEBAG (Hedge End and Bursledon Action Group) and Save Stoneham Park campaigners to fight for a more sustainable local housing policy. Responding to these developments, Maria commented:


“Most of us would agree that we need some housing locally. I have four children and hope that they will settle here. However I believe that Lib. Dem.-controlled Eastleigh Borough Council's Local Plan is ill-thought out and denied residents a full and proper consultation. Evidence of this is provided not least by the voices of local people but also by responses from The Highways Agency and other public bodies to recent premature planning applications at Boorley Green and Pylands Lane. Indeed, The NHS alone projects that the proposed development at Boorley Green (where we would see an 800% increase in houses), would require an extra initial NHS expenditure of £1.3 million.

Now that Conservative-led Hampshire County Council has refused the sale of prime agricultural land at Woodhouse Lane, and allocated only a minimum release of land at Chestnut Avenue, I have been advised that Eastleigh Borough Council will have to go back to the drawing board.

What concerns me most is that Eastleigh Borough Council knew that this land would not be made available for housing in January 2012, so why has the Council put local residents through such concern and desperation?

Not only have we saved these greenfield sites but we have also preserved our strategic gaps. Now I ask Eastleigh Borough Council not to cave in to premature applications for house building from developers and also to make full use of every brownfield site in the constituency. Most importantly, the Council should revisit the figures and ask: are some ten-thousand new houses really necessary for the Eastleigh Constituency?”

The fight goes on to save Stoneham Park.





Chris Huhne in favour of Gay Marriage


As I suggested in my last post:

Huhne: 'in favour' of gay marriages

By Channel 4 News
Updated on 21 April 2010
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Huhne tells Krishnan Guru-Murthy via the power ofTwitter that he favoured gay marriages, and thought Nick Clegg was a "brilliant" and "regular guy".
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Huhne interviews on Twitter by Krishnan Guru-Murthy
In the third of our "Twinterviews" following two previous sessions with Douglas Alexander andGrant Shapps, it was the turn of Chris Huhne to be grilled by Krishnan Guru-Murthy, all in 140 characters or less.
The interview began with Krishnan(@krishgm) asking Huhne(@chrishuhne), if he would have done any better in the leaders' debates had he been leader of the Liberal Democrats and not Nick Clegg?
Replying swiftly and with aplomb Chris Huhne said he doubted it as Nick Clegg had been "brilliant".
The questions / answer session slowed slightly after that but whether that was down to more Twitter users engaging in the debate by using the #twinterview hash tag or technical Twitter gremlins at either end is not clear.
Still, the next few questions had a clear theme - how the Liberal Democrats perceived their future relationship with the Tory or Labour party?
Chris Huhne offered three answers - first that people should "Vote Lib Dem, Get Lib Dem" and that other two parties had a tendency to say appalling things in public but then "chummy up in the tearoom afterwards."
As to whether Gordon Brown should stay on as prime minister if he doesn't win the election? Chris Huhne turned to the people and said we'll just have to respect the people's judgement.
One of the most re-tweeted of Huhne's answers was to the question on whether the Liberal Democrats would allow gay couples to marry and end the discrimination of only allowing civil partnerships?
Shying away from replying on the behalf of the entire party, the potential home secretary said he was "personally in favour of civil marriages for everyone, and faith weddings depend on the faith".
That raised a few Yays! in the retweets.
The interview ended with a response to a question that appeared to have gone hitherto unanswered:
"Why does Nick Clegg present himself as an ordinary bloke from Sheffield, when he went to Westminster and Cambridge?"
The reply was short and to the point:
"Nick is an MP for Sheffield for heaven’s sake! And he is a regular guy whatever his background"
Read the full Twinterview below:
krishgm:
@chrishuhne Hi Chris are you there and ready? #twinterview
ChrisHuhne: Yes I am. #twinterview
krishgm:
@ChrisHuhne Great - first question : do you think you’d have done as well as Nick Clegg in the debate had you been leader? #twinterview
ChrisHuhne:
@krishgm I doubt it. I think Nick did brilliantly. #twinterview
krishgm:
@ChrisHuhne He can’t possibly win this week and live up to expectations can he? #twinterview
ChrisHuhne:
I think he will do even better, because Nick is really good on international matters.
krishgm:
@ChrisHuhne Lots of people want to know :if you want to keep Labour out shouldn’t you vote Tory? #twinterview
ChrisHuhne:
In 40 per cent of the country, Lib Dems are in first or second place so that’s just the old Tory-Labour trick. Vote Lib Dem get Lib Dems!
ChrisHuhne:
@krishgm It would be an appalling indictment of our election system, and set up a revolution for change!#twinterview
ChrisHuhne:
@krishgm Tories and Labour always say appalling things, and then chummy up in the tearoom afterwards. Old politics.#twinterview
krishgm:
@ChrisHuhne so just to be clear - you rule out GB staying PM if he doesn’t get the most votes #twinterview
ChrisHuhne: @krishgm We’ll know who has the mandate after the election. We have to respect the people’s judgement.#twinterview
krishgm: @chrishuhne one from Toby Young now : will you ban faith schools selecting by faith? manifesto is vague on this #twinterview
ChrisHuhne: @krishgm new ones should not ban, old ones have to show they are inclusive by having some from other faiths and none.#twinterview
krishgm: @ChrisHuhne they already do that mostly - what percentage would have to be from other faiths or none? #twinterview
ChrisHuhne:
@krishgm bit daft to say that given system is a fruit machine. This is an election, and the result will count.
krishgm:
@ChrisHuhne why does Nick Clegg present himself as an ordinary bloke from sheffield, when he went to westminster and cambridge #twinterview
krishgm: @ChrisHuhne Would you allow gay couples to get married and end the discrimination of only allowing civil partnerships? #twinterview
ChrisHuhne:
@krishgm Personally, I am in favour of civil marriages for everyone, and faith weddings depend on the faith.#twinterview
krishgm: @ChrisHuhne many thanks - if u could just answer the q about clegg and sheffield then we are all done #twinterview
ChrisHuhne: @krishgm Nick is an MP for Sheffield for heaven’s sake! And he is a regular guy whatever his background.#twinterview
krishgm: @ChrisHuhne And on that note - Chris Huhne, many thanks! our time is up. speak again soon no doubt #twinterview
krishgm: thanks for all your questions - got thru as many as i could. will try to keep the conversations going over time #twinterview

So we know exactly where we stand.  Here in Eastleigh the Conservatives are totally opposed to same sex marriage and will do everything possible to make sure that they don't happen.

No to Same Sex Marriage!

As a lifelong Conservative, I should like to make it absolutely clear that I am totally opposed to same sex marriage and am extremely angry with David Cameron for going back on his word to protect marriage in churches.  He announced on Friday that he is now pushing for same-sex marriage in churches. The news of this u-turn has been reverberating around Britain ever since.


Like the majority of Christians, this is what I believe:
We solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.
ALL HUMAN BEINGS—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.

The Government had always promised that same-sex weddings would not be allowed in churches and other religious premises. This was said all over its consultation document. As you may know, the Member of Parliament for Winchester Mr Steve Brine MP has specifically relied on this promise to try to reassure voters in his constituency.


Now the Prime Minister has broken this vital promise.
Many people are shocked that even before the consultation results are released, the Prime Minister has so dramatically shifted the goal posts. If marriage is redefined, religious believers will be exposed to litigation and the European courts – just for marrying people as they have done for centuries.
Of course many people who believe in traditional marriage don’t go to church. But everyone is asking: who can trust David Cameron on his gay marriage plans?  And if they can't trust him on this, what else can they trust him on?
And everyone can now see that redefining marriage will be a massive cultural change.
Please email Mr Steve Brine MP (steve.brine.mp@parliament.uk) urgently and tell him that the Government must drop its deeply unpopular plans to redefine marriage.

I reproduce here the latest communication from Coalition for Marriage.


The Government is in growing trouble over its plans to redefine marriage.
Today MPs and the media exposed the sham consultation process for everyone to see. The Government claimed this was the ‘biggest listening exercise’ ever carried out – but ignored 500,000 signatories of the C4M national petition!
The House of Commons has heard that the Government plans to push on with its highly controversial plans, relying on a slight majority of consultation responses (if the C4M petition is completely excluded).
But the Government’s online consultation response form, upon which it depends, was wide open to abuse – it was anonymous and could be completed by anyone in the world, as many times as they liked!
We raised these concerns at the time with senior officials, but our warnings were ignored. It looks like the Government is ‘cooking the books’.
Other aspects of the plans are coming under fire. As you know, David Cameron revealed on Friday that he wants to introduce same-sex marriages in churches. This would be a huge social change and has provoked amazement and opposition across the PM’s Conservative Party.
Equalities Minister, Maria Miller, was under such pressure she had to bring forward the announcement about the consultation responses. Mrs Miller addressed the Commons at lunchtime today. She repeatedly promised a ‘quadruple lock’ to protect churches and other religious premises. But this ignores the millions of people whose civil liberties at work will be under threat if marriage is redefined. And most people realise that in time the European Court of Human Rights will back gay marriage, whatever Government Ministers may say today.
Please do email your MP about David Cameron’s big policy change to introduce same-sex marriage in churches.

What’s ahead?

According to media reports, the Government will introduce its Bill to redefine marriage in January.
We know that MPs who were previously undecided are moving our way. The C4M national petition continues to grow every day – it’s now over 620,000! The more people sign the petition, the bigger the network of marriage campaigners will become. C4M is focused on building that momentum, and ensuring the arguments against redefining marriage are heard far and wide.
Thank you to all those who have been financially supporting us so far. It is making a real difference. Together with you we are winning the argument.
Be assured that the Government faces an almighty battle ahead in Parliament.
Yours sincerely,
Colin Hart
Colin Hart
Campaign Director
Coalition for Marriage



I am a lifelong Conservative and join with many other members of the Party in condemning the Prime Minister for this u-turn and I ask for your support in helping us to prevent this bill from being presented to parliament.
The Government has no mandate for redefining marriage because it was not a manifesto pledgeand  the latest news on church weddings shows that the plans will change the meaning of marriage for everyone.No-one will believe David Cameron’s promises on his gay marriage plans because, as mentioned above, the ECHR will inevitably legislate in favour of homosexuals.The Government should be concentrating on reviving the economy, not meddling with marriage.Civil partnerships already give same-sex couples full legal equality, so there’s no need to redefine marriage.The latest polls show 62 per cent of the public want to keep marriage as it is.People shouldn't be treated as outcasts just because they believe in traditional marriage,
which would have a big impact on what children learn about marriage in schools.

This will decimate the party, paeticularly as UKIP are against same sex marriage!

In order to protect marriage please would you write to your MP and make the points above and also sign the petition on http://c4m.org.uk/ if you haven't already done so.
chris@chrishuhne.org.uk   As a LibDem he is probably very much in favour of same sex marriage but he needs to know his constituents' feelings.
steve.brine.mp@parliament.uk   Steve Brine is opposed to same sex marriage, particularly in churches, and is a good Conservative MP, so he would appreciate your support.

Proper Conservative Government Can and Will Work

I should like to make it clear that I am a traditional Tory and have no time for so-called modernisation.  The government inherited a terrible economic situation from the awful Labour government, which had done so much to wreck the country, and it should be concentrating on the economy, not wasting its time on the irrelevance of same sex marriage, for just 5% of the population, who already have civil partnerships.

David Cameron has the right stance on Europe and performed robustly in Prime Minister's Questions today, BUT HE MUST BE DEFEATED OVER THESE PROPOSALS.  I am speaking for virtually everyone I meet on the doorstep and for virtually all the party members I know.

As I say to waverers, don't judge the Conservative party by the Coalition.  Judge it by us, the grass-roots workers.  The LibDems want integration with Europe, the countryside scarred with windfarms - and of course the inevitable power cuts as the supply is inconsistent - and the legalisation of cannabis and prostitution.  We want small government and the reduction of the national debt without scaring wealth creators away from our country.

Today's publication of immigration figures shows just how disastrous Labour's immigration policy was and we are already reeling from their disastrous economic policies, so we can't afford  another Labour government, so let's return to a proper Conservative party.