18TH JULY 2006 PRESS RELEASE
MIKE WEATHERLEY IS
PPC FOR HOVE & PORTSLADE
Crawley Councillor and Parliamentary
Candidate for Brighton Pavilion in 2005 Mike Weatherley has been selected as
the Conservative Party Parliamentary Candidate for Hove and Portslade. After the announcement Mike said:
“I would like to say thank you to
all those Hove and Portslade Association members who have put their trust in
me. I first moved to Brighton and Hove
in 1975 and it is a great honour and privilege to have been selected as the
Parliamentary Candidate for this Association.”
Under the leadership of David
Cameron, the Conservative Party has been appealing to a wide range of people –
a new generation of dynamic campaigners with varied backgrounds. Mike is part of this new philosophy with
broad appeal. He is an avid live music
fan going as often as possible to the many live music venues around the city.
His hobbies include motorbikes, football (he is a qualified football referee)
and travel. Mike is 49, married to Brazilian born Adriana and has three teenage
children.
Mike is no stranger to the campaign
trail. He had a baptism of fire standing
in the London Borough of Barking in 2001 against Margaret Hodge. Achieving a 5.1% swing from Labour to
Conservatives. In 2005 Mike was the
Conservative candidate in Brighton Pavilion resulting in a 6% to the
Conservatives. Mike then went on to win
the marginal Furnace Green seat on Crawley Borough Council in 2006 beating Big
Brother housemate Eugene Sully by a huge margin. A result Labour are still coming to terms with Crawley turning
Conservative for the first time in 35 years.”
During the late 1990’s, Mike was the
co-owner and Finance Director of a successful manufacturing company, Cash
Bases, in Newhaven of which a large number of employees live in Brighton. Cash
Bases manufactures cash drawers and has offices in France, Germany, Spain,
South Africa, and USA. Company won Queen’s award for Enterprise 2000, Queen’s
Award for Exports 1997 and Sussex Company of the Year 1999, exporting to over
50 countries globally. From 2000 to
2005 Mike worked as Financial Controller for Pete Waterman Ltd. Group includes
music, trains, hotels, farms and miscellaneous other activities. He currently acts as advisor on a number of
new company start up projects.
Mike’s political beliefs are:
• ‘Freedom
of Choice’. A fundamental Conservative principle, reducing the dictates of
government. Free to choose your child’s school and which hospital you attend.
Increased market competition whenever practical.
• Environment.
This is an issue to be placed at the top of the political agenda and David
Cameron is right to do so.
• Crime.
Protect the victim, not the criminal. People often do not feel safe in their
homes and communities. He has regularly campaigned for additional Police
resources and for sentences that are a deterrent. Initiated Bring Back our Bobby campaign calling for reinstatement
of 24 hour police presence at the Clock Tower.
• Doesn’t
rule out a future convergence, but currently campaigns for ‘No’ to the Euro /
Federal European state due to the many issues that will need to be solved
before those steps could be contemplated eg The Common Agricultural Policy,
Bureaucratic waste, restrictive employment laws, foreign policy differences and
the French pension crisis that is a HUGE future problem we should not be
dragged into.
• Supporting
small businesses. This is the bedrock of our society, and every encouragement
and help should be given to this sector, including further help for the
manufacturing sector e.g. separate interest rate policy. Against Post office closures which have such
a large impact communities.
On the forthcoming campaign Mike
said:
“I’m really looking forward to the
challenge ahead. And it will be a
challenge and I know I will have to work hard for every vote. There is a 420 majority to overturn, and I am
in no way complacent about this task.
The people of Hove and Portslade have been badly let down by Celia
Barlow and the Labour Government. As
well as highlighting their appalling record I will be putting forward positive
solutions and ideas to make Hove and Portslade a better place to live and
work. I want to be the champion of all
the hard working families, give our children the best start in life, and help
struggling pensioners to have the dignity and security in retirement they so
deserve.
“I look forward to the day when Hove
and Portslade has the representation it needs.
A Conservative Member of Parliament.”
18 July 2006
Mike
Weatherley
Conservative
Party Candidate for Hove and Portslade
email mike@mikeweatherley.org.uk
Web site – www.mikeweatherley.org.uk