The competition, which is being supported by the Banbury Guardian and the Bicester Advertiser, is calling for people to write a poem which best captures the spirit of Banbury or Bicester.

There will be two classes: one competition for those aged under 18 and another competition for those aged over 18.

The title of the poem would simply be “Banbury” or “Bicester”, and it can be in whatever format the entrant wishes – from an ode to a haiku, a limerick to a sonnet.

There will be two prizes of £500 each for the winning entries and all entries will be included in an anthology of poems entitled “Banbury – 2012” which it is hope will be sold at a later date with all profits going to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Fund.

Tony Baldry said: “2012 is a momentous year and I thought a poetry competition would be a great chance for people of all ages to get directly involved in celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. My inspiration for the competition came from Edward Thomas’s poem ‘Adlestrop’ which is one of the most popular, most quoted and most collected English poems and which captures a memorable but otherwise unremarkable moment on the edge of Oxfordshire countryside in 1914 just before the outbreak of the First World War. I think that this is a fantastic way in which the entire community can get involved – we are not just looking for school-age children but anyone of any age. We will be looking for something special – probably indefinable – which is memorable and captures the reader’s attention and I am already looking forward to reading all the poems we receive.”

All entries should be sent to: Tony Baldry MP, Alexandra House, Church Passage, Banbury, OX16 5JZ.

The closing date for entries is Friday 11 May 2012.

Entries will be judged by a panel of three independent judges who will draw up a shortlist and decide on two winning poems.

To download a copy of the Banbury poster about the competition, please click here: Poetry competition poster (Banbury).

To download a copy of the Bicester poster about the competition, please click here: Poetry competition poster (Bicester).

Tony Baldry said, “I think that the Canal & River Trust, which effectively is akin to a National Trust for water, will hopefully be much more responsive to the needs of waterway users.

“The Oxford Canal is an important amenity for many of my constituents, whether they be boaters, canoeists, walkers or cyclists. I hope that the new Trust will be able to better involve the energy and views of those who use the Oxford Canal which has seen a steady increase in recent years and with a proposal for a new marina to be built near to Banbury and as we see every year with the very successful Banbury Canal Day, its use its likely to continue to increase.”

Please click on the link provided here to read a letter to Tony from Tony Hales CBE, Chairman of Trustees at the Canal & River Trust: Canal & River Trust press release 310112

Please click here to read about Tony’s visit last June to the Banbury & District Canoe Club where he joined members for a paddle in the Oxford Canal.

“Cherwell District Council has granted planning permission for thousands of houses on a number of sites across the District,” said Tony Baldry.

“Because of the present economic climate on a number of these sites construction work has yet to start. However, in considering whether Cherwell has made adequate provision for housing for the next 5 years, the Planning Inspectorate appears to treat these planning permissions as if they have not been granted.

“This is a ludicrous situation.

“It is not Cherwell’s fault that house builders have not yet started building houses where planning permissions have been granted, but what it has led to is a number of developers putting forward opportunistic planning applications for not insignificant housing developments almost always in villages in the area, hoping that such planning applications will be granted on appeal irrespective of the wishes of local people because they believe the Planning Inspectorate will find that Cherwell has inadequate provision for a 5-year housing supply.

“It is not surprising that the Inspectorate comes to that conclusion if they simply ignore most of the planning permissions that Cherwell has granted.

“It is a completely ludicrous situation and leads to planning anarchy.

“However, I am hopeful following correspondence and exchanges in the House of Commons with Planning Ministers that the Inspectorate will be instructed to take into account all planning permissions granted by local councils when considering whether there has been adequate provision of housing.”

Notes to editors:

The full text of Tony’s question and the Minister’s answer is below:

T3. [92082] Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con): Will my right hon. Friend instruct the Planning Inspectorate that in considering whether a local authority has made adequate provision for housing over a five-year period it should take into account all the extant granted permissions for housing that a local authority has given, irrespective of whether construction work on such housing has started?

The Minister of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Greg Clark): My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. We want to strengthen the sovereignty of local plans and it seems to me that if councils have done their bit by granting planning permission, that ought to be taken into account by the Planning Inspectorate. I will certainly make sure that that point is reflected in the new framework on which we are consulting.

The letter clearly sets out the importance of the Government reforms on NHS commissioning and makes clear GP support for them.

The text of the letter is as follows:

SIR – The NHS faces a challenging few years. Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) are already showing their ability to innovate and improve the care of patients despite difficult circumstances.
Blanket opposition to the NHS reforms by the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Nurses is not representative of the views of GPs who, like us, already lead CCGs, and the large number of GPs and nurses who support us. In many parts of England, CCGs are already showing effective leadership in their local health systems. This brings frontline clinical experience and the views of local people into the heart of the NHS.

The risks of derailing the development of clinical commissioning must not be underestimated. Previous health service reforms have failed to commit to clinical leadership and have paid the price of disengaging the frontline staff most needed to modernise the NHS. We cannot allow that to happen this time. Without strong clinical leadership and the co ordinated efforts of local clinicians, the NHS itself may be in peril: local services can only be improved if we all pull together.

Tony Baldry said: “The letter from Dr Stephen Richards and many other GPs confirms what I have known for some time. These GPs are saying in public what they have said to me in private for some time now, that is, that they want to get on with the Government’s NHS reforms and that they welcome the prospect of them.

“They want to be in a position to be better able to design services for their patients and be better able to respond to the needs of patients in Oxfordshire. I think that the letter also confirms to many MPs that the BMA doesn’t necessarily always reflect the views of a very large number of GPs.”

Tony Baldry said:

“It is very good news that the Government has decided to take firm and clear action to tackle the problem of metal theft.

“In my capacity as Second Church Estates Commissioner, I know only too well about the problem of theft of lead from the roofs of on average some 10 churches per day. This is a tragedy for both our national heritage and the local communities within which these churches are situated.

“Not just churches, as a constituency MP I am well aware of the disruption caused to the rail network by the theft of copper signalling and only last weekend many villagers in Oxfordshire found themselves cut off from their telephones and home computers due to the theft of telephone cabling.

“It has been all too easy to steal metal overnight and simply sell it for cash the next day – no questions asked. So I am very pleased that the government is taking firm, clear and decisive action on metal theft.”

To read the full statement by the Home Secretary, please click here: Scrap Metal Dealers Written Statement 260112.

In his speech to the Fabien Society, Ed Balls said that he would make cuts to education, policing, defence and the NHS and importantly said that he would support the public sector pay freeze that the current Government is proposing.

It is, at last, some atonement from the Labour party; whose reckless spending during the boom period left Britain highly vulnerable to the subsequent banking crisis of 2007, a crisis which the Labour Government dealt with so poorly that even the former Chancellor of the Exchequer has admitted “[Labour] failed to win the 2010 election because the public did not think we had dealt with the resultant economic crisis as well as we should have done”.

Such admissions merely weaken the Labour Party’s claims that they have a credible alternative plan to that which the current Coalition Government is undertaking. It is clear that the opposition are confused over the direction to take given that, on the one hand, they accuse the Chancellor of making mistakes, but on the other support the Government’s policy in order to reduce the deficit.

The facts show that the Coalition’s economic strategy although tough, is starting to work. Since the General Election we have seen over half a million new private sector jobs, our cost of borrowing has fallen to record lows and businesses have invested £119 billion across the economy over the last year. Confidence from the markets proves that that Government’s economic plan is working. It is therefore not surprising that the opposition are left with no other alternative but to, begrudgingly, support the Coalition.

The result of Ed Balls’ speech demonstrates at least some element of responsibility, recognising the seriousness of the deficit crisis. Time will tell as to whether this is a genuine attempt by Balls and Miliband to be ‘responsible’ in opposition. Given the backlash from trade unions in the aftermath of the speech and further backtracking on Balls’ part, I am not filled with much hope.

The proposals, announced two years ago by Labour, would allow passengers to get between London and the Midlands at speeds of up to 250mph, and are supported in theory by all three parties.

Business leaders, trade unions and economists have all spoken out in favour of the new rail link.

But there has been widespread opposition to the plan, not least among Conservative MPs, many of whose Home Counties constituencies would see acres of green land carved up and turned into railway lines.

Opponents include Welsh secretary Cheryl Gillan, who rolled back from threats to resign from the Cabinet if the plan goes ahead but has said she won’t vote for the Bill.

While she is secretary of state for Wales, Gillan holds the Buckinghamshire seat of Chesham and Amersham.

Labour’s Maria Eagle, who expects extra measures to be announced by the government to protect the Chilterns in the final route, called the changes an “expensive fix”.

She accused the government of “spending hundreds of millions of pounds in tunnelling to save the PM from an embarassing Cabinet resignation.”

It’s not just MPs who are getting het-up over HS2. John Cartwright, Conservative leader of Aylesbury Vale district council in Buckinghamshire says the plans are costing Cameron core support.

“David Cameron is running the risk of losing that traditional support, and he may pay very heavily for it,” he told Huff Post UK.

“I don’t think he realises the actual political effect of going ahead. He will lose seats, he will lose Tory seats, no question about that if it goes ahead. Why would these people vote Conservative?

“Why on earth would they? It will have an effect on councils and on MPs. So much so that if you think about his precarious position at this moment in time with the coalition etc, etc, he couldn’t get a majority last time..

“If he takes 20 Conservative MPs outside and shoots them he won’t get a majority.”

Cartwright says his council is one of the 18 in the so-called ‘51m’ group, a collective of county and district councils, named after the figure they claim HS2 will cost every parliamentary constituency.

The group will meet as soon as the transport secretary announces whether HS2 is getting the go-ahead, to try to fight the decision in a judicial review. He believes the argument will not be won anywhere apart from a court of law.

“I went to a reception at 10 Downing Street at the invitation of the prime minister, who I met. We discussed the different parts of the world we represented and he noted we were fairly close together. I said ‘that’s right’ and he said ‘one thing we’re not going to talk about tonight is HS2’ and I said ‘Sir, you can hide but you can’t avoid the problem.’”

Tory MP Tony Baldry, whose North Oxfordshire constituency will be affected by the route, believes the whole thing might not happen at all, whatever Justine Greening announces.

“Let’s put it this way. When the M40 extension was agreed in the mid 1950s it took until the 1980s until it was actually built. Until they actually start laying track I don’t think there’s any certainty it will actually be built. I think that’s all the more reason, given the huge sums involved, one needs to be satisfied that one’s getting good value for the taxpayer. ”

The parliamentary arithmetic is crude. If the decision went to a vote now, the government are likely to win – even if they lack the support of one of their cabinet members. Baldry says there are “at most” 30 MPs from all parties against HS2 and willing to defy a whip.

“I think that the opponents of HS2 are going to have to think very carefully through their tactics about how they deal with this issue at Westminster.

“Organisations such as the Taxpayers’ Alliance who are very concerned about the cost of HS2 and its impact will start flagging up to MPs that this is going to have an impact on their constituencies.

“If it goes ahead the government will have less money than they have at present for infrastructure projects, building hospitals, new schools in their patch.”

As for the campaigners themselves? They’ve vowed not to give up. HS2 Action Alliance director Hilary Wharf pledged that “the opposition will continue to get stronger.”

“Politically it’s quite a strange decision for a Tory government to take. But to be fair it’s not actually that particular route, the particular point is that it’s a waste of money and the wrong priority. The business case itself is completely exaggerated. We don’t believe that HS2 can cure the north-south divide.

“We are confident that HS2 will never be built. Look at the third runway at Heathrow. The facts are actually on our side. We will just keep reminding people what the facts are.”

Philip Hammond, the former transport secretary, accused many who opposed the HS2 plans of NIMBYism. But HS2 Action Alliance director Hilary Wharf said: “We are not NIMBYs. I’m an economist. Yes, it does go near me. But there is an economic and environmental case. Ultra high-speed isn’t green.”

HS2: The facts

Who’s for it: It’s an unlikely union between big business, the unions and all three political parties. In fact, at first glance it seems everyone’s for it.

Who’s against it: The Countryside Alliance, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, and a handful of MPs.

The benefits: According to a letter by business leaders publish in the Daily Telegraph last week, it will make us rich.

“The absence of a high-speed rail line connecting the northern parts of Britain to London and the European Union is a continuous embarrassment to those promoting British business overseas,” they wrote.

The negatives: According to council leader John Cartwright: “It’s destroying my countryside, in a nutshell. It’s absolutely splitting the land that I represent, the area I represent, in half.”

The worst case scenario, according to Tony Baldry MP: “There being a commitment to build HS2 but the actual work not starting because when it comes to the actual time the Treasury turning round and saying ‘terribly sorry, we actually haven’t got the money this year.’”

In response to his question, Ministers in both the Department for Transport and Ministry of Defence confirmed that discussions were ongoing and that the MOD’s proposals for the exploitation of the existing MoD railway and freight infrastructure have real potential.

Tony Baldry said: “The answers given by Ministers are incredibly interesting. It is obviously very important for existing infrastructure to be brought back into use and I think the responses to my questions are very encouraging.”

The full text of the exchange is below:

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on the potential for greater use of Ministry of Defence rail infrastructure in and around Bicester consequent upon the re-opening of the east-west rail link from Oxford to Milton Keynes. [85764]

Mrs Villiers: Department for Transport officials have worked with Defence officials to ensure they are aware of the potential effect of East West Rail on the value and use of Defence land at Bicester. This includes possible re-use of the MoD railway and freight infrastructure for commercial purposes.

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions his Department has had with the Department for Transport on the potential for greater use of his Department’s rail infrastructure in and around Bicester following the re-opening of the east-west rail link between Oxford and Milton Keynes. [85763]

Mr Robathan: Ministry of Defence (MOD) officials are in discussions with the Department for Transport for the utilisation of the rail network at the MOD site in Bicester. The Department for Transport is supportive of the MOD’s proposals including retention and exploitation of rail connections.

Dear John,

I have just returned from spending some time in Thailand and Burma, doing some voluntary work with Burmese refugees in Thailand with VSO.

Whilst in Rangoon, I made sure that I made the time to visit the Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery in the centre of Rangoon.

(I had hoped also to visit the Taukkyan War Cemetery outside Rangoon which as you will probably know contains the graves of well over 6,000 Allied Soldiers who died in the Burma and Assam campaigns and has a memorial bearing the names of almost 27,000 soldiers who died with no known grave. Unfortunately, the logistics of such a visit were frustratingly too difficult).

The Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Rangoon is as you would imagine beautifully maintained.

It has a lovely garden appearance, and as it was the rainy season, there was no shortage of blossoms, flowers, and colour.

Judging from the visitors’ book, the cemetery has a small but regular flow of visitors, something like one or two a day – indeed, the day before my visit, the cemetery had been visited by Geoffrey Rowell, the Bishop of Europe.

The Head Gardener let me read a copy of a book which had been produced by the War Office which showed the location of every grave but also the full names and rank of the Servicemen concerned, their Unit, Regiment and the names of their next of kin and family, and where they had come from in the UK, which very much reinforced that each and every one of these graves represented a vibrant life tragically cut short.

That sense of loss is emphasised by the simple tributes that are on the headstones.

I can only assume that next of kin were allowed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to put forward a limited number of words by way of a remembrance. It must have been incredibly and painfully difficult to have had to try and summarise in a matter of a few words, the expectations, life, love and loss that such words involved.

Phrases such as “Our last gift to you is remembrance” and “Our greatest treasure, darling, is the memory of you”, and one which I thought particularly apt for every serviceman buried there, “No Saint or King has tomb so proud as he whose flag becomes his Shroud”.

I also took time to visit Holy Trinity Cathedral which is the Anglican Cathedral in Rangoon, which the Japanese, shamefully, during the time of their limited occupation of Rangoon, turned into a brewery, and which after the War, was rebuilt and restored by Allied Engineer Regiments, and the main side chapel is the Chapel of the Burma Star, displaying all the Regimental Crests of the regiments involved in the Burma campaign, including on the East Wall, by the Crucifix, the Regimental Badge of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry.

Although the Anglican community in Rangoon is not large, I understand the average Sunday service is about 50 people, the cathedral internally is kept in pristine condition and there is a very real sense of remembrance in the Burma Star Chapel.

(The Sexton, who showed me around, mentioned that the church is always grateful for contributions towards the maintenance of the Chapel).

I understand that I am the first Member of Parliament to have visited Burma for some very considerable time, especially since until very recently Aung San Suu Kyi had been advising people not to travel to Burma, but has changed that advice following last year’s elections.

It is very important that we never forget the war in the Far East and the enormous sacrifice made by thousands of men and women who died resisting the savage and often brutal and barbaric advance of Japanese Forces, hoping to invade India, and I was glad that as Oxfordshire Member of Parliament, I was personally able to stand in the War Graves Cemetery in Rangoon and to kneel in Holy Trinity Cathedral in silent remembrance of the those men and particularly of the men of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry who lost their lives in the campaign in Burma and Assam.

Yours sincerely,

Tony Baldry