Christmas and New Year!
As we reach the end of a decade, the media is full of lists – the best films, the worst music, the most outrageous celebrity antics of the last ten years – as we try to define what we are leaving behind.
A straw poll of my office brought out as the memorable moments of the last ten years Liverpool winning the Champions League in 2005, September 11th, Obama's election, and the UK coming third in the Eurovision Song Contest!
Of course there have been changes, some for the better. As I walk the beautiful old streets of Rye I'm glad there haven't been too many alterations – some things are better left alone! – but there have been changes, a poll conducted by the Hastings Observer found 80% of those responding thought Hastings had changed for the better over the past ten years. And there have been improvements to the well being of residents through increases in Pension Credit, investment in the Police and local services and of course the development of the Fishing Quay which will make such a difference to the future of the area.
Perhaps the most defining development of the decade has been the growth of the internet, that now connects nearly all of us in ways that we would not have imagined in 1999. Not just emails and websites but Facebook and Twitter are changing the way we communicate with each other. Increasingly, information comes to us in short bursts, bombarding us with details at a pace that we barely have time to absorb.
Sometimes we need to slow down, step back and take a look at the wider view. To use our gift of intelligence not to simply process facts and information but to try to understand the deeper meaning behind events. Politicians often have to respond to events and the time to come up with creative ideas "what ifs" is lost. The massive challenges of climate change and global recession require us increasingly to work with each other, to find solutions as a human race rather than as individuals or nation states.
We need to think in new ways about what we want the next ten years or indeed the next century to be like; what it could be. It's the people who have dared to think "What if" who have made the difference to the way we live our lives, not those who have said "that can't be done."
So this Christmas I'm asking residents to let me know what their 2020 vision for Hastings and Rye would be. What are the changes you'd like to see? I'm giving a prize for the best overall idea and the best idea that costs nothing – the winner will receive a prize of "dinner for two" at the House of Commons (or the local curry house if you prefer!)
I hope all residents of Hastings and Rye have a great Christmas and a happy New Year. I'm looking forward to the challenges of the next decade and to hearing from you what you think "2020 Vision" could bring.
To keep up to date on what I'm doing stop by my website http://www.michaelfoster.org.uk/ .
You can also receive a monthly update on my activities by sending an email to mp@1066.net with 'MPFree' in the subject line.
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Weather for Hastings
Sunday 12 February 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 2 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 3 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: North west
