Originally published @ 9:00 am, Mon 3rd May 2010
There is a choice to be made in South Derbyshire, and essentially it is between Labour and the Conservatives.
The Lib Dems achieved around 1 in 8 of the votes last time; and I think it would be nice if Alternative Votes can be introduced in future so that people can have more choice in voting how they want to.
I think I have significant experience to bring to the role of MP, and have published it elsewhere - http://www.me4sd.com/experienced_and_reforming
My experience on the doorstep is that the election campaign has done enough to prompt a higher than expected turnout and that our local campaign has done enough to get across the key issue - that Labour will keep securing the economic recovery as Britain's top priority, and the Conservatives' drive to take £6,000 million out of the economy this year risks a double-dip recession.
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However, other issues have arisen both before and during the campaign which led me to challenge my Conservative opponent - “lacking the judgement needed to serve as an MP”.
Heather Wheeler’s campaign has been beset by concerns about donations, her views on Europe, her claims that there will be a new secondary school to serve the Melbourne and Ticknall communities and her support for the return of the death penalty.
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So a quick list of points that crystallise the choice in South Derbyshire.
And I mean "South Derbyshire".
Yep.
Number 1 in the list of reasons, Mrs. Wheeler can't even get the name of the constituency right.
I know they like to call it 'Derbyshire South' in London, but here, and on the nomination paper, we call it 'South Derbyshire'.
[And on the Boundary Commission web-site, who actually name constituencies.]
Number 2. I'm not sponsored by arch-monetarists.
Mrs. Wheeler has received multiple donations from a London businessman, James Tyler, who advocates the abolition of central banks and massive deflation which would lead to mass unemployment.
[James Tyler is so out there that he really only wants us to trade in gold. Going to make buying an ice-lolly from the corner shop a bit difficult.]
Number 3. I understand the role of standards in public life.
The Burton Mail has reported how Mrs. Wheeler’s Conservative Group of councillors on the District Council wanted to vote on a deal involving a major local donor to their own party, which would have paid him £100,000 and were only prevented by the intervention of the independent standards watchdog. Labour-prompted negotiations quickly saved taxpayers £30,000.
I say "People are looking for commitment to high standards in public life. I understand these standards and their importance."
Mrs. Wheeler did not answer the direct questions posed to her by me via the Burton Mail on this matter.
Which leads me to the matter of transparency.
Number 4. Mrs. Wheeler did not tell the voters what she wanted to do with council housing at the last District Council election.
But soon after getting elected, she declared an intention to sell them off.
And minutes from private meetings involving senior national Conservatives certainly point at the Conservatives taking away tenants' rights to say who manages their council housing.
I support the overwhelming majority of South Derbyshire tenants who want to stay with the Council.
Number 5. I'm prepared to say where I stand on membership of the European Union.
At a public hustings in Repton, Mrs. Wheeler expressed support merely for European free trade without grasping that Britain’s membership of the European Union is the only way to protect free access for local exporters to the world’s biggest market.
Mrs. Wheeler did not answer the direct questions posed to her by me either at the hustings, or via the Burton Mail, on this matter.
I say - "Jobs in South Derbyshire are just too vital to put at risk from right-ideology."
Number 6. I support Melbourne families who want to stay in the catchment area of Chellaston school.
At a meeting in Melbourne she proposed a new secondary school to serve the Melbourne and Ticknall area. Michael said "Children from Melbourne and Ticknall currently attend Chellaston school, and families want it to stay that way. I personally spoke to the head, Ray Ruszczynski, who has made it clear that the school can absorb all children from within its catchment area for the foreseeable future."
Number 7. I oppose the re-introduction of the death penalty.
At the same meeting in Melbourne she shocked the audience by supporting the return of the death penalty. Regardless of the ethics of the death penalty no other European country permits it and such a policy would force us to leave the European Union.
I could list more.
But I do want to remind readers of not only the Labour Party manifesto, but my own presentation in a 16 page web-presentation available at www.me4sd.com.
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