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The shortage of midwives will damage a generation

The first two years of a baby's life determine his/her mental health and stability for the rest of their life.  Put simply, if as a baby, you do not 'bond' properly with a caring adult, you will suffer for it for the rest of your life.

Research shows that the brain of a baby who is not securely bonded or 'attached' to a caring adult will fail to develop properly....the social part of the brain, the bit that enables the baby to form sound relationships throughout his life, will fail to grow as it should.

The implications for society are profound.  Babies who are loved and well cared for by an attentive parent will grow up with a brain literally 'hardwired' to believe that the world is basically a good place.  Those babies will grow up able to form strong attachments to other adults, and of course, to their own children.

We learn our lifelong emotional responses at the hands of our carers before we can even walk.  The  baby who is not securely attached will struggle to form relationships, may have problems with self esteem and even depression.  It is this group who are most likely to be bullies or the victims of bullies at school, and to turn to drugs or alcohol later in life.

Shockingly, those who will be abusing children, committing crimes and turning to drugs in 15 years time are right now themselves being abused and ill treated by those who should protect them.

And what is the first line of defence for the innocent baby?  The Midwife of course. 

But Midwives are there for so much more than just spotting cases of potential abuse.  They are there to help all Mothers come to terms with the enormity of having a child, both physically and mentally. 

A Mother who experiences a frightening delivery, or who is so tired she can barely stand, needs support for herself as well as for her relationship with her baby.   A caring professional Midwife can provide advice on things like breastfeeding that, when successful, make a huge difference to the quality of attachment.

In 21st century Britain, there is far too little support for the very youngest - the breakdown of first the extended family, and now marriage adds pressure on Mothers to try and do everything on their own. 

We are making a big mistake if we also take away the professional care that has been so valuable for so many years.

Is red tape and high tax finally driving business away?

Scary news that two big British companies, Shire (phamaceutical) and United Business Media (UBM - publishing) are going to relocate their headquarters to Ireland for tax reasons.

For several years, the CBI and big business have been arguing that the Government's love of ever greater red tape and ever higher taxes would make the UK uncompetitive.  In a global economy, with profits coming from many different countries, there is little to keep you in your country of origin.  Nowadays it's an easy choice to move your headquarters, thereby paying mainstream tax in a more favourable jurisdiction with no change to your business activities.   

It seems that Alistair Darling's determination to pursue a new anti-avoidance regime that will pursue companies who divert overseas profits to low tax jurisdictions is going to have the result of losing not just the overseas tax revenue, but also the onshore tax revenue.  In other words, we have reached a 'tipping point'.

A survey carried out recently for the Institute of Directors found that more than half the Directors surveyed think the UK economy will become even less competitive over the next decade.  Not surprisingly, their key three areas of greatest concern are red tape, regulation and tax!

My fear is that the big accountancy firms and law firms will be looking closely at the first companies to move offshore, and will soon be offering packages to help others to do the same thing. 

One thing is for sure - our economy cannot afford to lose business tax revenues right now.  Tax revenues from the City are likely to be decimated this year, there is pressure to cut taxes from hard pressed motorists and families.......

Just who is going to service Labour's massive burden of debt? We now have one of the highest budget deficits in Europe from being in surplus in 1997.

Tax simplification and introducing a 'budget' for regulation will, I'm certain, be key strands of Conservative policy at the next election - it can't come soon enough. 

The Tragedy of Zimbabwe

It is unimaginable that average life expectancy in Zimbabwe is 34 years.  How can a country that was once a jewel in the crown of Africa be reduced to this by its own Government? 

Inflation at levels that make any form of economic management impossible, and an HIV/AIDS epidemic that is totally out of control.

With the experience of Iraq so painful, it's hard to think how the international community could intervene militarily for the sake of the people of Zimbabwe, but it is a horrendous blight on all of us that we are standing by and watching it happen.

I wonder how Thabo Mbeki sleeps at night, after claiming that there is no crisis in Zimbabwe?  Of all options, intervention by African leaders must be the most plausible and effective route to take to resolving the disputed election. 

And what will the rest of the world do if Mugabe, as seems highly likely, claims victory in the Presidential election? 

Of course there is no easy answer, but constant unremitting pressure from the international community, coupled with intervention by African leaders must be the only route to achieving peaceful progress.  We are tragically a long way from realising it.   

Labour are finally realising what a mess we are in....

I've been a miserable 'doom monger' about our economy for a few months now.  It's unusual for me to be so blatantly pessimistic - I'm normally someone whose 'cup is half full' rather than half empty.....

But since the Northern Rock debacle highlighted how Labour's dislocation of City regulators has left the world's largest financial centre so vulnerable.......it has felt almost inevitable that Northern Rock was just the foretaste of the crisis to come. 

The interbank lending market is the oil in the engine of the financial services markets.  The oil completely dried up last year - that doesn't mean a slow down or a temporary blip......when the oil in my car's engine dried up once, it meant my 'big end' blew off......and the financial equivalent of a big end blow out is what's happening to the financial markets right now. 

The good news is that belatedly, Labour have realised that this is a serious crisis of almost unprecedented proportions.  Today's action to provide government security to back interbank lending is vital to kick starting the interbank market again.  Without it, it is only a matter of time before a serious bank goes to the wall - and I don't think even this Government could contemplate further nationalisations......

Whatever else, jobs in the City are already being drastically cut.  I've heard rumours of job cuts in the region of 5,000 jobs in the last quarter alone.  That has inevitable consequences for London's economy and I fear will push the barometer of sentiment downwards, which is bad news for property prices, retailers, restaurateurs etc. 

Coupled with growing inflation, and massive levels of government borrowing, I feel a bit like that bloke in Dad's Army, running around saying "We are all doomed!"

Good news on the Boundary Review!

Last year my family moved into the heart of the new South Northants constituency - where I hope to become the MP.  But within a couple of months the Boundary Commission decided to consolidate all the parishes in Blakesley and Cote Ward (where I live) into the new Daventry seat!

Bad news for me, but also bad news for the 2,500 voters who live in South Northants, look to Towcester as their nearest town and have their local services provided by South Northants District Council. 

But as of last week, it seems common sense has prevailed, thanks to the hard work of campaigners determined to bring all of Blakesley and Cote Ward into the South Northants constituency.

A petition by residents of the 9 parishes affected, a unanimous vote by the Councillors of SNDC and various representations from individual residents and politicians led to a public enquiry being called just before Christmas.

We spent the entire morning in the Council Office with the Assistant Commissioner, providing evidence to support the case for keeping Blakesley and Cote in South Northants.  And I am SO glad to say that he listened and took heed of the strength of local opinion.  As a result, the new proposal from the Boundary Commission is to move all 9 parishes of Blakesley and Cote into South Northants.

So much is criticised (often deservedly) about our democracy.  But for once this is a perfect example of how local action can truly lead to the right result for local people.