GMTV has long championed the consumer so I was hardly surprised that yesterday morning their money saving wizard, Martin Lewis, was banging on about capping our utility prices.  He got rather passionate about it.  So much so it was like having a ranting psycho in my living room while I ate my cereal.  I saw his point - change energy suppliers, cap the prices and avoid another 20% or more price hike later in the year.  But I then forgot about it and went to work.

This morning he was on again.  So successful was his rant yesterday that some energy suppliers had already removed the capping option and others may follow in days.  I went straight upstairs and checked my EDF tariff (up 20% last week) on Energyhelpline.com - and discovered I could save over £100 a year on combined gas and electriticy prices and cap the tariff until October 2009 by switching.  That means avoiding further increases which may come later this year.

If you are feeling the harsh reality of rising fuel bills, don't delay - cap your tariff today.  It may be a very cold winter.

Taking advantage of the beautiful weather, I knocked on the doors of residents in Shooters Hill.  I was surprised to find so many at home, but of course quite a number were relieved to be given a break from mowing their lawns!

There was little surprise to me that the overriding concern is household income and expenditure.  The cash coming in just isn't keeping up with the massive increases in food, fuel and mortgage prices.  People generally understand there's a global issue but expect the government to have been prepared for the inevitable downturn. 

In the afternoon I was in New Eltham, attending a Sumemr Fete and hog roast.  I'll confess, I ate far too much.  I was told the organisers had started the roast at 4.30am (we arrived just before 1pm) but they seemed to cope remarkably well with the heat.  It was a treat to see families enjoying themselves and putting the challenges of the day to one side for a few hours.

Last night I spent a couple of hours with a group of local residents who have formed an action group called the Cliftons Roundabout Action Group (CRAG).  They oppose the proposed development of the site once occupied by the World of Leather store, currently home to Shapes Gym (a family run business which has been there for over 2 decades), and a number of other retail outlets.  The story has been reported in the Newsshopper.

The Big Yellow storage company would like to demolish the existing buildings and erect a huge yellow warehouse.  I believe such a development would be inappropriate for this site which is actually a long established residential area.  As well as being twice the height of the current parade (with the exception of Shapes gym, the buildings are only single storey) there would be the loss of valuable local retailers and services.  There would also be a massive loss of employment - 33 people have jobs on this site.  A typical Big Yellow of this size employs only 2 or 3 people.

And where would the 300+ members of Shapes Gym go?  Greenwich Council makes much of us being an Olympic borough and says we need to address obesity.  Let them put their words into action by refusing this application.  Hundreds of residents and customers are fighting this application.  They have my full support and if you would like to add your weight to the campaign please email your details to me at David@DavidGold4Eltham.com so I can pass on to the campaign committee.

Some time ago the Conservatives set out clear policies on how we would reform the welfare system.  Too many people are classified as 'incapable' of working when in reality many could do certain types of work but not all types of work.  In effect, the current system makes people welfare dependent.

There are many more who simply do not want to work and instead manipulate the system to ensure they never have to find employment.  Such people set a bad example to their children who grow up strangers to the notion of getting ready to go and earn the money which houses and clothes them.

It is a welcome sign that after a decade in power the Labour government has admitted it has failed to tackle the problem and has taken the Conservative proposals and made them policy.