My top priority, if elected as Winchester’s MP, is to continue the work of our local Lib Dem MPs in working hard for local people and for the constituency. I’ve published pledges about how I want to serve the local community. Read more >>>
But Winchester isn’t an island and I want to see real change in our national policies as well. In my lifetime, Britain has never faced such a scale of crisis as we face today.
- We face an unprecedented environmental crisis.
- Our obsession with a debt and finance driven economy has led to gross inequality and the largest economic crisis since the 2nd world war.
- The failure by Labour and Conservative Governments to reform politics has led to near total collapse in public confidence in our political system.
In addition, the heavy cuts proposed – especially those proposed by the Conservative party – are likely to hit our local economy and local services particularly hard.
We have to tackle these problems – and at the same time make sure we continue to work to secure a strong future for our area and for the country as a whole.
Only the Liberal Democrats are putting forward the programme that the country needs:
- Fair taxes for all
- It’s a disgrace when a banker pays a lower marginal tax rate than someone on minimum wage. We want to see no income tax on the first £10,000 you earn. Find out more >>>
- Backing our local NHS
- The job isn’t done on the NHS. Locally, we are short of ambulances, dentists and health visitors. We need to keep improving cancer care and support for mental health. It’s vital that we protect our local A&E and maternity services. Find out more >>>
- A fair start for every child
- Our top priority is extra investment in the early years. Â But we need to keep improving education across the board. Â It’s no coincidence that the three fastest growing economies in the world put more people through tertiary education than we do. Find out more >>>
- A fair sustainable economy
- We can’t continue with the debt- and finance-driven economy of the past. We also need to ‘green’ our economy. This presents huge opportunities. We need to seize them. Find out more >>>
- Fair, transparent and local politics
- Some of the greatest frustrations – for example with our system of planning new developments – come from the hyper-centralised system of government left us by Gordon Brown. It’s also ridiculous that we have an election system that can’t even guarantee that the party with the most votes gets the most seats. Â We still have unelected people making our laws – and it’s no coincidence that MPs in ‘safe seats’ were more likely to fiddle their expenses. Find out more >>>