CANDIDATES lining up to replace Malcolm Moss as the Conservative choice for North-East Cambridgeshire were disappointed to hear this week that Brakespeare s hot tip, South Cambs councillor Vicky Ford, is still in the running. She was the only woman on the

CANDIDATES lining up to replace Malcolm Moss as the Conservative choice for North-East Cambridgeshire were disappointed to hear this week that Brakespeare's hot tip, South Cambs councillor Vicky Ford, is still in the running.

She was the only woman on the shortlist of four for the final round of voting last Friday for the vacancy in Grantham and Stamford created by the defection of Tory MP Quentin Davies to Labour.

However, Cllr Ford failed to impress, and the party choose the openly-gay Nick Boles, who came within 500 votes of winning Hove at the last election. Until diagnosed with cancer he was also a front runner to become the Tory hopeful in the London mayoral election.

An odd week for Cllr Ford - a few days before the election she'd been wrongly introduced to the Tory Conference as coming from Grantham, a Freudian slip of little importance no doubt.

NOT everyone is enjoying the new 'welcome to Fenland 'signs adorning our highways.

A correspondent signing herself 'Jane Fleming' sends me an e-mail demanding the removal of "these expensive and inappropriate signs".

She reckons they are in no way indicative of the agricultural life of Fenland but while agreeing, Jane, with your right to comment I do wonder about your language. Goodness if I was to publish your e-mail in full we'd both end up in court.

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