Each week a different PPC provides us with an insight into life as a candidate and gives us a flavour of their own campaign and interests. If you are a candidate and are keen to be featured, please email Jonathan Isaby.
This week’s diary is written by Chris Philp,
who was selected in December 2006
for Hampstead and Kilburn, a newly-drawn seat where he is challenging sitting Labour MP, Glenda Jackson. The Hampstead section of the seat comes from the existing Hampstead & Highgate constituency, with Kilburn being taken from the existing Brent East seat. Chris is a successful entrepreneur who has set up three businesses from scratch. He set up the first company at the age of 23, grew it to £100 million in turnover and floated it on the stock market within four years. He is a Camden councillor, a former chairman of the Bow Group and also has a First in Physics from Oxford.
The Kilburn Dragon’s Den is a scheme I have set up to nurture and encourage the next generation of entrepreneurs. I started by recruiting a small team of mentors from business backgrounds. Over a period of several weeks, we worked with 16-18 year olds from Kilburn and Harlesden, who come from some of London’s tougher backgrounds, to develop business ideas and business plans with their mentors. The business has to be capable of being started with no more than £1,000.
The teams then pitched their ideas at the final, held at the Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn. I also bought in some actors and actresses to help the teams hone their presentation skills. The panel of Dragons, which I chaired, selected the winning team (pictured). The winning team got £1,000 and they are now starting work to set up their small business, with guidance from me and from their mentor.
The Dragon’s Den programme is designed to encourage and inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs. It’s also designed to give them the self-confidence and the skills to build tomorrow’s businesses. I was really impressed by the ideas, energy and creativity that the teams showed. The Kilburn Dragon’s Den showed that with the right encouragement, the next generation is capable of achieving great things.
Below is a short YouTube video all about the scheme.
Tuesday: Visit by Chris Grayling MP Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling came to the constituency, and we toured one of Kilburn’s council estates with the local Safer Neighbourhoods Sergeant. We also met residents to talk about problems with low-level youth disorder and how they can be tackled. It’s very important to explain how a future Conservative Government would help estates like Rowley Way in Kilburn – getting more Police on the streets and creating more real opportunities for local youngsters (like the Kilburn Dragon’s Den).
On Tuesday evening, I wrote my monthly column for the Ham & High, one of the local papers. A copy of it can be downloaded here.
Wednesday: Delivering
Wednesday evening saw a burst of delivering leaflets with the team. Getting leaflets through as many doors as possible is vital in a marginal seat like this. Here's a copy of the leaflet we were delivering.
Thursday: Visit by Justine Greening MP
Thursday evening saw a visit to the constituency by Justin Greening, the MP for Putney. She came to speak at a fund raising function in Belsize Park to a group of enthusiastic volunteers.
Justine did a great job inspiring and motivating the team. I’m sure that she will be an important part of the next Government if we win the election
Friday: Tube flyering
Friday morning saw me and my agent, the experienced and outstanding David Douglas, flyering outside Finchley Road station, on the Jubilee line. We were there by 7.30am, but got a good response and the early start was worth it. We are currently working through all 15 underground and over-ground stations in the constituency. The office got a call later in the day from a Conservative MP who had picked up a copy of the leaflet that someone had left on the train – I guess because the Jubilee line goes through Westminster.
Later in the day, I went on patrol with the local Police on the Kilburn High Road. I witnessed the arrest of a shoplifter, caught red-handed coming out of Poundland – an odd place to shop lift from! This incident did underline the important of having Police on the streets, so that they can deter criminals and detect crime as it happens.
Saturday: Save our Stroke Unit I spent most of the day running a street stall in Hampstead collecting signatures in protest at the planned closure of the Royal Free Hospital’s emergency stroke unit. If this closure goes ahead, journey times for emergency stroke patients will increase for what is a time-critical condition. The move is especially crazy since the Royal Free’s emergency stroke unit is the second highest rated in the country (out of 216) and was given a score of 96% by the Royal College of Physicians.
We got a great response, and over a period of three months have now collected around 2,000 signatures. Our local campaign managed to prevent the closure of Hampstead Police station – I hope that we can now prevent or at least delay the threat to the emergency stroke unit.