Wednesday, June 4, 2008

A Government that listens and learns


On the day that Kent was awarded the top four star rating as an 'Excellent' council by the Audit Commission, we were joined by David Cameron's Conservative Cabinet. The twenty four members arrived just before ten o'clock, and started their Cabinet meeting behind closed doors in the Darent Room at County Hall.

At 10.30am, I and nine of my colleagues - the KCC Cabinet - joined the Conservative front bench to discuss some of our innovation and excellence. Leader Paul Carter gave a short presentation on the demographics and challenges facing our county, then David Cameron and his colleagues quizzed us on the detail.

During coffee break, various Kent Cabinet members chatted to our Parliamentary counterparts about potential issues and solutions. I chatted with Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion and Social Action http://www.conservatives.com/tile.do?def=people.person.page&PersonID=123492 about the similarities between the community projects she was involved in around Edgbaston, and the community trust I had been involved in forming on the Sherwood Estate in Tunbridge Wells.
In all, an excellent exchange of information and views, and hopefully a real sign that when the Conservatives come to power, we might actually have a Government that listens and learns.

No comments: