I am actually heartened by the UKIP problem. Especially when I look at it from a Tory perspective.

Ironically reading a recent post "Puzzled by the Ukip surge?" on "The Conservative Woman" has lightened my mood and given me hope that we can survive the issues we face moving on from the coalition and dealing with the rise of Ukip . I have included a link to it below and it is well worth a read, especially if you are, like many I have spoken to, one of those disenchanted LibDems wondering what the future might hold.

It is hard to see how the LibDems can recover if you just look at it from a LibDem point of view. Our ratings in the polls are well down and there is the very real prospect of us coming fourth, or worse, in 2015. Our party is being portrayed by the media as simply weak, at best, and Conservatives Mark II, at worst. Things simply don't look good at all for us.

So why should I be heartened by a Tory post on a Tory blog?

Because, simply, it shows very clearly what we need to do.

One look at the list of issues on that blog post, the issues that they think are to blame for Ukip taking votes directly off of them and turning a comfortable Tory majority into a landslide win for Ukip clearly shows us the way forward. What are the issues as they see them? Their support of gay marriage, their lack of action on immigration, the equality bill, green taxes, to name but a few, and the list goes on, but all of them point very clearly to one thing.

And that one thing? That we must purely and simply stand up and be proud of what we are...

We are Liberals with a capital L and we must stick to our Liberal principles. We must be the only party that will not pander to Ukip , the only party that stands up and opposes every thing that these guffawing right wing fossils stand for and the only party working to bring people together, not trying to pull them apart and go back to the dark ages.

Sensible immigration policies, equal rights, looking after the planet for our children's children, fair taxes for all, real political reform and equal opportunities for all people no matter what their background. Liberal policies, Liberal principles, things that we should be shouting from the rooftops.

What do we need to do to fight back?

We need to be LIBERALS!

http://conservativewoman.co.uk/nick-wood-puzzled-ukip-surge-heres-20-things-tories-got-wrong/

RBS branches go back to their roots.

I was recently invited to go along to my local RBS branch to meet with the staff and their area manager to discuss the future of RBS branches when they separate from the RBS group under the old name, that I remember from many years ago, of Williams and Glyn. They laid on some snacks and some wine, which unfortunately I could have as I was driving, and we spent a couple of hours discussing the future of the RBS branches as they broke away and went back to what some of us there remembered as the good old bank that we had joined many years ago. One person even had even brought along an old Williams and Glyn cheque book.

Back then, Williams and Glyn was a well respected, forward thinking bank that dared to be different and, if the discussions we had that evening were anything to go by, that is what it is returning to. They didn't just tell us what they had in mind going forward, they also asked us what we would like to see from the new Williams and Glyn bank. I was so impressed that I have also signed up to be a part of future discussions, whether that be face to face or via telephone surveys and online forums.

Now any one that knows me will tell you that I don't like surveys at the best of times, but this is different, it's not everyday that you get the opportunity to be a part of shaping the future of your own bank?