http://www.dorries.org.uk/Blogs/2008/May/16#16

The above photograph is of Louise, the Duchess of Bedford, and I outside Louise’s home, Woburn Abbey.

In the pouring rain we were promoting the NSPCC Big Bike Ride event which is to take place at the Abbey on June the 29^th.

I firmly believe that families which play together stay together; and the NSPCC event is a perfect opportunity for everyone to have a really fun day out.

The two mile course is hardly arduous, and this is Bedfordshire, so it’s mainly flat; and then there is the opportunity when you stop to have a picnic in the grounds.

I will be there, on my bike and this blog, and others to follow, are to encourage anyone to come along and join us, and help raise both awareness, and money, for the amazing work that the NSPCC and Childline are involved in.

You know that most of you reading this won’t have experienced abuse as a child, but can you imagine the responsibility that Childline has to answer their phone quickly?

It takes a lot of courage for a child to phone for help, and by the third ring that courage can evaporate, and the phone goes down.

So, get on your bike and come and join us. The sun is bound to shine!

http://www.dorries.org.uk/Blogs/2008/May/15#15

Eric Pickles is never wrong. There are a number of council leaders floating around who have ignored his advice, to their peril.

Eric has always been the man behind the party scenes, who has now gone centre stage.

MC of our recent local elections victory, he zoomed straight up to Crewe and Nantwich and has been in charge of what is probably the best organised by-election campaign we have ever run.

He is one very busy man, who in the middle of it all, found the time yesterday to text me and ask me what time I needed him to be in Westminster for the 20 weeks vote.

I love Eric, and Mrs Pickles too, because behind every great man there is always a wonderful woman.

I am now off on a constituency engagement. Photos and post in a while and then off to Crewe and Nantwich.

http://www.dorries.org.uk/Blogs/2008/May/15#15

The Hounds of Hell are chasing me.

We received another unpleasant parcel in the post today. Nasty web sites set up, email account and post bag bombarded, people crawling all over my expenses, which they are entitled and I am very very happy for them to do...

Scary, threatening angry and downright nasty phone calls. A message smeared on my window.

This is all meant to destabilise or distract me.

I have a very clear message to those who are attempting to do this – back off. You will not stop me, you will not undermine me, you do not scare me. In fact, you make me much more determined than I ever was before. You give me strength.

I received a lovely email today from the photographer who took the picture of Samuels’s hand reaching through his mother’s womb during the operation when he was 21 weeks gestation.

The picture below is of Samuel giving evidence to the US congress five years later.

The email reads:

"Dear Ms Dorries,

I can’t tell you how honoured I was to hear that you had posted the picture of Samuel reaching from his mother’s womb on your blog in an attempt to lower the age abortions can be performed……

I have been on pins and needles trying to keep up with the vote there in the UK….I would love to know if the attempt is successful…"

Michael Clancy

I will Michael if I survive long enough!!!

http://www.dorries.org.uk/Blogs/2008/May/14#14

Click Here To Read - The Trent neonatal study - not a convincing case for retaining the 24 week limit.

http://www.dorries.org.uk/Blogs/2008/May/13#13

That’s how John Bercow, the Conservative Member for Buckingham described members, (inc me) who want to reform the abortion law. He also used words such as prejudiced.

http://www.dorries.org.uk/Blogs/2008/May/13#13

When I agreed to be interviewed by Marcus Brigstocke of ‘Have I Got News For You’ fame in Ampthill Library, I was nervous. The thought "now, why did you go and agree to that"? did cross my mind a few hundred times between agreeing and the actual day.

Meeting him did endorse a personal viewpoint – that to be a good comedian takes a certain amount of searing intellect - he has obviously thought about politics very deeply.

He will probably rip me to bits in the programme which comes out on 1st of June, and the 8th; however if he does, so be it.

I can be nothing other than who I am. If I had tried to be someone I wasn’t then I would have fallen flat on my face.

I actually enjoyed the interview, his questions were probing but honest. Our one moment of disagreement came when I announced, that on the issue of abortion, I had found Sky to be much fairer and balanced in its reporting than the BBC.

He blew a mini Murdoch fuse at that one!

I will await, with baited breath and noose in hand, for the final programme.

I opened Elstow Village May Festival at the Abbey on Saturday. England at its very best.

Unbeknown to me before I arrived, Jeremy the Vicar had written to the Bedfordshire On Sunday to support the 20 weeks campaign. 



Given that the official representatives from the Church of England had told me only a week ago in a meeting that the Church “had no view on the Embryo”, and when I quoted a Psalm to the contrary said “that’s just words, mere poetry”, I was relieved to find a clergyman with a view. Thanks for your support Jeremy, excellent letter.

Day by day I become more disappointed with the established Church, and even more disappointed with the Bishops who sit in the Lords. What purpose do they serve when they don’t have a view on something as important as abortion?

http://www.dorries.org.uk/Blogs/2008/May/12#12

Or, I smell a Ratty...

And there's more.....This is how sad I am  - my mind is working overtime and I know you will think that I am  dreaming up conspiracy theories, however, just bear with me a moment.

What Winston, Brown’s right hand man in a white lab coat has effectively done, via his interview with the Telegraph, is blow the two most contentious aspects of the Embryology Bill right out of the water.

He has stated that his position, as the government expert on this Bill, is completely at odds with the PM.

Winston, who argued till the cloned cows came home in the Lords, and then voted for saviour sibling and animal-human hybrids, has now suddenly, totally, changed his opinion.

This will cause mayhem and confusion next week amongst MPs and Peers.

Add what Winston has done today, bearing in mind this is one serious underpants on the outside of his trousers geek of a science boffin, to what Frank Field has written in this weeks Spectator and what do you get?

As (was it Ratty or Toad?) used to say in Wind in the Willows, and as I oft repeat, what is occurring?

Plots and scheming and dirty tricks that’s what.

Winston knew exactly what he was doing during that interview in today’s Telegraph; he was firing a sniper shot straight through the door of No10, as was Frank in the Spectator.

The question is, are they lone marksmen, or is this monkey warfare? Are these two men leading the attack to bring Brown down on two different fronts alone, or are they the first campaigns in what is about to become a bigger battle?

Phew, now I’ve got that of my chest I can get back to the ironing - now that really is sad!!

http://www.dorries.org.uk/Blogs/2008/May/10#10

In a recent letter to MPs, Gordon Brown wrote;

I wanted to write to you to set out my reasons for supporting all the measures in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, and to clarify how we propose to handle it in Parliament

Gordon Brown thinks animal human hybrids are 'vital to the progression of stem cell research'

By contrast Robert Winston, the Peer who took the Bill through committee stage in the Lords, is not so sure on animal human hybrids...

'But if the hybrid embryo thing doesn't go through, it in no way shakes the body of science... It's a nice adjunct; a useful extra. But if we don't have that resource, it won't fundamentally alter the science of stem cell biology.' (Robert Winston, Telegraph, 10 May 2008)

And is even less enthusiastic about saviour siblings...

"I'm very unhappy about 'saviour siblings'."

His concern is that children selected to provide treatment for a sick brother or sister may be put under undue pressure to give bone marrow or organs. So it wouldn't break his heart if the measure was voted down? "Absolutely not," he says. (Robert Winston, Telegraph, 10 May 2008)

So, if Lord Winston is the Peer and eminent scientist Gordon Brown thought was the right man to lead this Bill where it began its course, in the House of Lords, why does Gordon Brown think his un-learned opinion is more valid?

When faced with a conundrum like this I always like to do a Hansel and Gretel and follow the money.

You can bet your life it’s stacked up behind this Bill somewhere.

Who do we believe, Gordon or Winston, and why?

http://www.dorries.org.uk/Blogs/2008/May/10#10

http://www.the20weekscampaign.org/

After a slow start the 20 reasons for 20 weeks web site has suddenly begun to gather momentum.

I have watched the ticker clicking by and I reckon within the next few minutes we will have passed 2000!

Don’t anyone nag me for not doing the perma link thingy, you know what it’s like at weekends, just little old me !!

http://www.dorries.org.uk/Blogs/2008/May/10#10

I was woken up by requests for media when it was still dark.

I didn't get to sleep until 2 and so feel like a zombie.

I gave so many interviews yesterday that I just talked all day non stop, from morning until night.

The report presented on TV today by the Doctors' Union the BMA - which I believe, along with other Unions funds the pro-abortion activists 'voice for choice' - has given the 20 week campaign a great lift and will guarantee that the campaign stays in the media spotlight over the weekend.

For the BMA to argue that the survival rates of neo nates born 12 years ago should endorse the 24 week limit today, is, as I said yesterday, an act of desperation, but one that suits me and the media opportunities such a biased piece of 'research' provides.

The difference between being a back and front bencher, is that on the front bench you have a team around you and a press officer filtering and handling your media requests - during a profile/feature interview with the Guardian I had to keep interrupting to take other interviews which were deadline driven.

I felt very rude, but what could I do?!

Having agreed to give a speech in Radlett, I have to turn almost all media requests down today which is sad as it means I have lost the opportunity to put my case over for the 20 week campaign on some of the prime time news bulletins. However, I promised to be in Radlett and that's where I will be.

After Radlett I have a surgery in Ampthill, Mid Beds at which Marcus Brigstock will be joining me.

I will blog a photo of proof at about 5pm and let you know what he's doing at one of my surgeries!

In the meantime, if you haven't yet visited the 20 weeks web site click here!

And for more, I've done ITV and will do channel 4 news at 7.30.

http://www.dorries.org.uk/Blogs/2008/May/09#09

When the abortion vote is over the loudest sound will be the ‘phew’ emanating from my mobile phone, which is on overtime-plus at the moment.

The BMA union is getting fairly desperate.

The BMA, along with other unions, funds ‘Voice for Choice’ which is the pro-abortion lobbying organisation.

The BMJ is the union’s trade magazine and has produced a report showing that there has been no improvement in neo-natal survival rates for 12 years.

I think this report insults the intelligence of the public and MPs alike.

No improvement in neo-natal care in twelve years? Really? So where has all the money that has been pumped into neo-natal services gone then?

A baby born at 23 weeks today stands no better a chance of living than it did in 1996?

This report is the most desperate piece of tosh produced by the pro-choice lobby and it smells of one thing, desperation.

However, my thanks go to the BMA. Their news release has only been out a couple of hours and journalists have made comment like “I can’t believe they are serious” and “it’s impossible to believe”.

I think they may have just shot themselves in the foot with this one.

.

http://www.dorries.org.uk/Blogs/2008/May/08#08

On a Wednesday morning David Cameron strides along the corridor to PMQ’s.

His aides shuffle and trot alongside in a vain attempt to keep up with him, as he chats and and laughs whilst walking down to the House.

He waves and says hello to anyone he knows on the way and returns smiles to those he doesn’t.

As he walked into the chamber today he was the picture of disgustingly good health. Tanned, smiling confident. Totally at ease wit