Pledge Announcement

On Saturday, when we had 25 deliverers and canvassers out in the town, I made my pledge on King St. I pledged to be: A full time MP To fight for jobs To get a better deal for our hospital To fight for regeneration

Forthcoming Actions Days

South Shields Conservatives would like to invite you to join the campaign days in the constituency being held on Friday 26th and Saturday 27th April. Even if you have only 30 minutes to spare your help would be immensely appreciated. We are meeting both days at 10.30am in the Next Car Park which is on Waterloo Place, South Shields (two mins from South Shields Metro). Help us with our last big push over the next seven days.

Regeneration in Frederick St

Yesterday I was in Frederick St meeting local businesses and speaking with shoppers. If you've been down Frederick St recently you'll know half of the street is boarded up. It's a long way from the thriving high street I vividly remember visiting as a child so my parents could pop into Hammonds Upholsterers and the Curiosity Shop. Some of the businesses have moved further up the road but some have just shut down. As the street awaits news of the timeline for the proposed regeneration - which includes several new homes - fate hangs in the balance for many of the remaining shops, who through decreased footfall are really struggling to survive. Frederick St is in the heart of the town. It's community diverse and local businesses supportive to each other. I hope everything will be done to push through the regeneration as swiftly as possible - it is a community we shouldn't allow to fall into our history.

Vicitim Care

I was invited to the Littlehaven by David Hines who founded Victim Care in 2009 to attend a seminar and to meet members of the group. At the meeting this morning David spoke passionately about the organisation and the candidates who attended (all were invited) had a chance to speak and interact.

Sky Interview in Whitburn

A strong campaign team hit Whitburn yesterday, as covered by Sky News. The link won't publish in this blog , but the text if you want to search it is: tyneandwear.sky.com/news/article/64636/south-shields-by-election-former-miners-could-vote-conservative if you want to view the Sky site to watch it. Emma Pidding, Chairman of the Conservative Convention and Adam Afriyie, MP for Windsor joined me on the campaign trail. As support seems to be growing we are just anxious to try to meet and speak with as many people as possible ahead of 2 May.

Thank you to everyone at today's first Action Day

Great turnout at today's first Action Day. We had supporters travel from all over the country to provide support in South Shields but of course our trusted and ever staunch Association were the backbone of the day. We delivered several wards and spent time on King Street. It was a bit of a surprise to bump into Miliband, D who seemed to be paying the briefest visit to show his support before jumping back on the metro to Newcastle. Special thanks to all members of the South Shields Conservative Association, Charles Heslop, David Barnet, Callum Crozier and Wendy Morton. We still have lots of leaflets to get out, so if you have any time at all please let me know!

Date for Diary: Saturday 20th April - Action Day in South Shields

Next Saturday will be the first of two Actions Days held in South Shields. On Saturday 20th we would like to gather as many supporters as possible, so we can deliver our new leaflet in the constituency to as many wards as possible and also to maintain our presence on King Street. Please come to help even if you have only 30 minutes to spare. Anyone who is prepared to travel up to South Shields to spend the day campaigning that would be greatly appreciated and we can recommend accommodation etc. Please email me on: karenallen2@yahoo.co.uk

Campaign Kick Off in King Street

Thank you to all of those who helped this morning in King Street. I am pictured with Guy Oppermann, MP for Hexham who travelled down from Northumberland to reinforce our efforts on the high street. It was great to meet new voters but also to meet those of you I had spoken with during the last campaign. I think we showed this morning Conservatives mean business in South Shields and we are putting all of your efforts into the campaign.

Re-selection!!!

I am delighted to announce that last night I was re-selected as the Conservative Candidate for South Shields. I am honoured to have this opportunity to stand once again in my home town. We achieved great things in 2010 and now is the time to build upon the solid support we already have. I want to reach out to voters who thought they would never vote Conservative - to show I am the candidate who can make a difference to this town and I will be wholly committed to South Shields. There have been years of Labour Neglect. King Street was a focal point of my last campaign and nothing has improved there in three years. We need investment in this town. We need to boost enterprise and bring jobs to South Shields. The date for the By Election has not yet been announced. We will know the date next week. The campaign, however, starts today and leaflets are being printed as I type. We need as much support as possible over the next few weeks - I want to speak to as many people as possible. If you have any spare time at all - if you have half an hour to deliver some leaflets or you would be prepared to knock on doors or you're more comfortable making some phone calls to voters - please let me know. Thank you for all of your support. karenallen2@yahoo.co.uk

Defend Us

At the recent Conservative Conference in Birmingham I had the opportunity to ask Defense Secretary Liam Fox a question on how the cuts will affect our standing on world stage as well as at home:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX_qRotZ3Xw&feature=email

Full transcript of the question I asked as follows:

The past weeks have seen yet more headlines outlining deep cuts to our already severely depleted armed forces. We have also seen a loosening of our commitment to an independent
nuclear deterrent, the proposed reduction of the RAF to its smallest size ever and yet more reductions in the size and capability of the navy and the army. Since the Second World War each conflict our armed forces have been asked to fight in has been radically different to the previous one, each needing the very military capability our political leaders have told us is no longer required.
The primary duty of government is defence of the nation, yet for far too long successive governments have taken the professionalism of our armed forces for granted - and run them into the ground. It cannot be long before inadequate British forces suffer a military defeat; the negative effect on our national psyche and standing in the world would be incalculable. Secretary of State, can you reassure us you will fight for our defense budget?

PS If anyone can find the whole question on You Tube please can you let me know!