roberthullJunior Member  Sex: Unspecified Posts: 1 Joined: Status: Offline | Vote Labour for a fairer Reigate (16th Apr 10 at 12:20pm UTC)
Voting Labour can make a real difference to people in Reigate, Redhill and Banstead | Quote Reply | If I have the honour of being elected to serve the people of Reigate, Redhill and Banstead, I promise to work with you to make a real difference.
I believe passionately in Labour's values of fairness and opportunity for everyone and not just the few. All of us have been outraged by the antics of a small number of MP's who claimed expenses for homes that were supposed to be in the constituency that they serve but in reality were not, or who asked us - the taxpayers - to pay for furniture or new air-bricks to be installed in those homes, but I promise that I will subscribe to the highest standards of integrity, transparency, accountability and financial economy.
If I have to claim expenses for anything, I will publish full details of the claim on-line within 1 month of making the claim so that all the voters of this constituency can hold me to account. In a similar way, I have already published my declaration of interests on my personal web site and will continue to do so annually if I have the honour of serving the people of this constituency. I have already demonstrated these principles in my work as a Borough Councillor in Sussex and was recently singled out by the press for the fact that in 10 years I have never made an expenses claim, even when I travelled on behalf of the Council.
We are coming towards the end of the worst international financial crisis in over 60 years, yet - as a result of Labour's policies - there are only about half the number of unemployed people that there were when we came to office in 1997 despite fierce opposition by the Conservatives to every measure we have taken to protect the economy.
Under Labour, we have seen hospital waiting lists reduced from (in some cases) years to weeks, more new schools and new hospitals than at any other period in my lifetime, and new facilities such as Sure Start to give practical help to families, but provision of Sure Start in the Borough is still patchy and insufficient. I pledge to work with local government to establish better provision of Sure Start services for all families in Reigate, Redhill and Banstead.
Someone recently mentioned to me that his elderly mother was faced with the prospect of selling her home to provide for her care in later life, the Labour Government will build a National Care Service on the same principles that we used for the NHS so that people will not be faced with that daunting prospect ever again. This is in addition to the help that we have already introduced for pensioners and to restoring the link between pensions and earnings from 2012.
Together we can strengthen fairness in Reigate constituency for young people with guaranteed rights to education, training and jobs and we will not penalise middle-income families by paying for a tax break by reducing their family credits.
The choice is clear. Do we want a future fair for all, or a country that is increasingly marginalised in international affairs, risking the recovery by granting tax breaks to the richest and scrapping Government investment plans in the name of uncosted "efficiency savings"? | |
|
