Mike's Columns in the Portsmouth News
A Fresh Start with the Lib Dems
Can I start by wishing everyone a happy New Year. I know though that it will be a difficult time for those who lost loved ones during the year especially fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq and my and, I am sure, everyone's thoughts are particularly with them.
The end of a decade is perhaps an appropriate time to look back at its beginning. And doesn't 2000 now seem a completely different era politically?
A time before Blair went to war in Iraq supported by the Conservatives. A time when Brown promised "an end to boom and bust". And a time when Blair said in a specific report from his own office that the Government would invest in local Post Offices.
Today, thousands have been killed in Iraq. We are still suffering from one of biggest ever economic recessions. And your local Post Office if not closed by the Conservatives has most likely been shut by Labour.
I have had thousands of replies to a survey I sent out across south Portsmouth and the results are instructive for all politicians. People rate the service that they get from doctors, nurses, teachers and the police highly. But too often, say my constituents, these skilled professionals are bogged down filling in forms. And they want more invested in frontline services. 4 in 10 have had problems registering with an NHS dentist. And two-thirds want the expensive ID cards and database scrapped and more police on the streets.
In Portsmouth and across Hampshire, it has been shown that when people vote Lib Dem, they get Lib Dems. It will not surprise you that I think a Parliament with a significant number of Lib Dems will be a better place. But think what it would have meant in the last decade. Probably no Iraq war. Your Post Office down the road still open. A higher basic state pension. No university tuition fees. Even the ConservativeHome website says that more people are now supporting the Lib Dems compared to the start of the year! So, 2010 really can be a fresh start with the Liberal Democrats!
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