There has been much talk of opinion polls and the potential of a hung parliament in recent days.  There has also, for the first time in years, been discussion about Labour, led by Gordon brown, leading the country beyond the Summer.

Regular readers of this blog will know I never really get very excited about opinion polls.  The people of Eltham will, eventually, have their say and that is the only opinion poll I will take notice of.  But what recent polls do help to do is remind people of the very real choice they face: more of the same tired, discredited, deceitful, incompetent, self-serving bunch led by Gordon Brown.  Or a fresh new government led by a team full of ambition for the people of this country, ready to get our economy moving again by cutting red tape and taxes; a government prepared to tackle immigration and reduce it to levels not seen since the 1990s; an administration ready to put police back on the streets, to fix our schools, to fix our broken society and to safeguard frontline services including the NHS.

Our country needs a change in direction.  We need that change urgently.  I believe people are fed up and angry with Labour and with politicians generally.  It's my hope that I can play a part in restoring our political system and our country.  It won't be easy, but it starts here in Eltham.  It's time for change.  Soon, it will be time to vote for change.  It can't come soon enough.

As a guest of the Holocaust Education Trust I had the privilege today of meeting two people who survived the Holocaust.  A brother and sister, they fled their home in Poland following the Nazi invasion of 1939 and managed to live under assumed identities for about three years before being rounded up and sent to a factory to provide slave labour.  Their mother, like many of their relatives, was murdered.  Later in the war, they were transferred to one of the death camps where they survived TB thanks to their liberation in 1945.

My great-grandparents originally came from Poland but settled in the UK long before the outbreak of the Second World War.  Listening to the people standing just feet away, I couldn't help wonder how different things might have been.  Then my thoughts turned to the rise in extremism in this country.  There has been a dramatic rise in anti-Semitism but also violence and intolerance towards other minorities.  The Holocaust Education Trust seeks to help greater understanding of all communities, not just Jews.  Clearly, their work is far from complete.

Just when I thought things couldn't get worse for Labour...remember how they banged on about "Education, Education, Education"?  You may have noticed that this week they have been boasting of all their 'achievements' during 12 years of power...yet in their party political broadcast, it seems someone missed a spelling class.  Take a look - and see whether you can spot the 'deliberate' spelling mistake!

It's been another very busy week - as it always is when Bank Holiday cuts in, as you seem to still have a week's worth of work but one less working day to fit it all into!

The highlight was a private visit to the British Library where I was honoured to be among a very small party given a tour of the Henry VIII : Man and Monarch exhibition.  It was my first visit to the British Library, and I cannotrecommend it highly enough.  Although that specific exhibition closes this Sunday, there are many other treasures you could see such as the Magna Carta or Beatles lyrics.  What's so good is that the building is modern and has been designed to make visitors feel very welcome and comfortable.

It's been a busy week too in the constituency, hearing concerns about everything from anti-social behaviour in Middle Park to the apparent absence of road sweepers.  At other times this week, my colleagues have been out in various parts of the constituency following up issues and this afternoon I have a stack of correspondence to catch up with.

If you are a resident in the Eltham constituency and would like me or a colleague to visit for a chat, please get in touch.  I am always pleased to hear from residents, no matter how trivial you might think the issue is.  I firmly believe that if we could tackle the little things in life, many of the bigger problems would not exist.

Middle Park Safer Neighbourhood Team can be contacted here or in an emergency please dial 999.  Cleansweep can be contacted using the details here.

A new poll confirms what i have long suspected.  That the majority of people do not think that Labour has lived up to its promises on education.  It is hardly surprising when under this government, so many kids leave school unable to read or write.  True, there has been lots of money poured into the education system, but much has been frittered on a range of top down initiatives that have little relevance to the individual circumstances of each school or the communities in which they are located.

There remain huge social problems that have been ducked over the last decade.  A lack of role models, especially for young boys in working class areas, is a major concern.  So too is the reliance on the benefits system - with 3 million plus households having not a single working person over the age of 16, many kids ask why bother going to school at all?  Here, in Greenwich, we have one of the highest rates of truancy anywhere in the country, and the worst in London.

As a school governor I despair at the paperwork, bureaucracy, regulations, dictats and boxes that need to be ticked - while we have so little time to be innovative or creative in tackling the specific issues our schools face.  Children are too valuable to be let down and betrayed in this way.  An incoming Conservative government will give teachers and schools far greater freedom.  And not before time.

I held the latest in my series of neighbourhood evenings last night in Shooters Hill. As always at these events, there was a good range of challenging topics from immigration to government plans to further restrict weapons used for war re-enactment events.  There were also serious concerns about the way Greenwich is pioneering new methods of budgeting for education, and deeply disturbing examples of people who are no longer in work being forbidden from claiming any sort of benefit.  However, the mood was positive and it was encouraging to see that even on a warm Summer evening, people are still willing to come and enjoy a glass of wine with their local Conservative Action Team.

I have just returned from the News of the World's Save Our

Streets campaign meeting at St Thomas More School.  I took the opportunity to ask the Justice Secretary to end the early release of prisoners scheme which has led to many of the most violent criminals in society to re-offend.  He did not take the opportunity.

I was struck by the dignity of so many parents who have lost children in violent murders on our streets.  And couldn't help but reflect on what a huge task awaits the next government if we are to truly make our streets safer.

See a short video of the evening at the NoW website (I can't upload links at the moment, but as soon as I can, will do so). 

Today I attended the funeral of Sally Castle, the Head Teacher of Ealdham Primary School at which I am the Acting Deputy Chair of Governors.  The church was packed with family and friends, colleagues, parents, former pupils, such a vast array of people that there was standing room only.

Funerals are never easy and I always find myself thinking of others no longer with us, not only the person who we are remembering on this occasion.  But I was struck by the courage of her niece who read the poem she had written in Sally's memory.  And by the extraordinary tribute delivered by her sister who despite the enormous grief clearly etched on her face, managed to raise laughter among the congregation.

I did not have long to get to know Sally, her illness took hold all too soon after I became a governor at the school.  But something she said to me sums up her attitude towards the children in her care.  She said "It's not enough for me to appoint good teachers here, I need to appoint exceptional teachers."  I think the way her team has carried on running the school during her illness and since her passing, shows she did just that.  The children at that school are very fortunate.  And they will be her legacy.