LIVERPOOL businessman and president of the city's Conservatives Tony Caldiera has hinted he would like to be the party's candidate in the mayoral election.

The man who made his cash through his cushion empire has confirmed the party will be fielding a candidate.

Some had believed the party could throw its weight behind a high profile independent, like celebrity stylish Herbert Howe.

THE government has agreed to allow Britain's first business careers service aimed at teenage girls to be set up in the Wirral. By the spring the region's leading female entrepreneurs will visit local secondary schools in a bid to inspire them to follow their lead.

The scheme is part of my broad strategy to show girls that nothing is out of their reach, and last week I pressed Business, Innovation and Skills Ministers Mark Prisk and John Hayes to approve the scheme, and both did so "whole heartedly."

Last week I won a promise from the prime minister that the government will take action over the Anna Klonowski report on abuse of the of vulnerable adults in care in Wirral.
During PM's Questions I told David Cameron that the "violence and intimidation" revealed was "shocking, and it is the blame of the Labour-controlled local council which is already facing a vote of no confidence next week.

Earlier this week I met key officials in Downing Street to stress that the second phase of the £32.7 billion fast-track rail project has to go beyond Birmingham and provide a "Y" connection to both Liverpool and Manchester.

I believe it's essential that we ALL come together and lobby for Liverpool, especially if we want our city to grow as a tourist centre, a port centre and a business centre. The first HS2 phase will slash journey times between the West Midlands and London.

Christmas and New Year is a time for families and loved ones. It is a time to reflect on the year gone by, as well as to look forward to the forthcoming year.

It is a time for children and laughter, for recharging the 'old batteries' and seeing friends. It's also a time for thinking of those who have given up their Christmas to care for others, as well as remembering those who are less fortunate and in need of our care and support. Most importantly it's a time to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas, and here on Wirral we have wonderful church services where we can gather together to celebrate the message of Christmas, hope & joy.

Congratluations to Wirral West Esther McVey for being named MP of the month.

Total Politics named Esther McVey MP Of The Month in its New Year edition.

The award highlighted her Commons performances and her book, If Chloe Can, which was turned into a stage play by the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain.

We've had a weekend to digest the UK's veto at the European Union summit in Brussels early on Friday morning and yet we appear no closer to determining what it means for the country and for the EU going forward.

David Cameron's decision was unprecedented. For years the UK has wielded the veto as a mere threat - Margaret Thatcher and her handbag: "No, no, no". Yet there was no great build-up to this only shock at the decision which was criticised on the left and lauded on the right. Nowhere was that more evident than in the weekend's newspapers.

To what extent was David Cameron influenced by the very right of his party, the eurosceptic-wing, in doing what he did? We may never truly know but it's a decent bet that the Prime Minister had the words of those Tory MPs in the Commons at PMQs last Wednesday ringing in his ears as he departed for Brussels.

Earlier this year I wrote to the Justice Secretary Ken Clarke QC MP asking for tougher action to be introduced to stop mobile phones being smuggled into, and used in prisons. prison.

It has now been revealed that the Justice Secretary is looking at ways of introducing phone jamming equipment into our prisons.

I am delighted that the Justice Secretary has listened to what has been said and is taking long-overdue action to stop prisoners utilising smuggled phones for whatever reason. 

It was and still remains clear for everyone to see that current procedures are not stopping prisoners accessing mobile phones and the use of the internet and it really is time for this much tougher action by the prison authorities.

Whilst prisoners are serving their sentences they are effectively removed from society and this should include exclusion from the online technological world we now live in. We should also not forget that mobile phone use can facilitate the continuation of criminal activity whilst in prison

Earlier this month, Channel 4 Education, in partnership with high street bank Barclays launched 'The Stake' - a competition that provides young people in the UK with the chance to decide how £100k of real money is spent. The Stake will inspire young people to use their business and enterprising skills to win a slice of £100,000 prize pot to support community or business ideas that will make a difference.

The regional growth fund was set up to create a fairer and more balanced economy, in which we are not so dependent on a narrow range of economic sectors and in which new business and economic opportunities are evenly shared across the regions and across industries.

The purpose of the regional growth fund was to stimulate growth, secure jobs and increase the number of jobs.

The first round allocated £2.7 billion, creating and safeguarding jobs. It created 27,000 jobs and a further 100,000 jobs in associated supply chains.