I was very pleased, a few weeks ago, to appear on the BBC’s Politics Show alongside Hazel Blears and Mathew Sephton. I believe it was clear from the interview that Hazel has nothing new to say and as for Mathew Sephton, a cardboard cut-out would have been more animated and a more convincing parliamentary candidate! Unfortunately, something that didn’t come across well in the interview was the Liberal Democrat position on tuition fees. Allow me to be quite clear; it remains Lib Dem policy to abolish tuition fees but it must be done in a financially responsible way. In a six year plan, we will phase out tuition fees for full and part-time students taking their first degrees. This is an important policy. We have a significant student population in Salford and many young people in our city that are being disenfranchised by Labour policies. Being able to get a degree should be a matter of ability, not bank balance and an individual child’s aspirations should not be limited by their parents’ social or financial situation, only by their own commitment and willingness to strive.
This coming May we have the opportunity to change the politics of this country for the better by getting rid of corruption and creating fairness and balance. At a local level we have the chance to put things right in the way our city is run so that the council functions for the benefit of the people that are really important: local residents. I would like to take this opportunity to thank people for their brilliant support during this last year and I make a promise that, with your continued support, the Lib Dems will be back with even more councillors after May 6th.
One change that needs to take place in the new municipal year is to clean up the streets of this city by enforcing existing litter laws with more vigour. When the Lib Dems have more of a say in running this city, we also aim to end the ongoing saga over road repairs and will seek better value from our Highways budget.
Labour has been in power in Salford since 1974 and is a party that is looking tired; it has run out of political legs. I was looking over old Lib Dem leaflets from our 2001 campaign and I’m sorry to say that the same complaints from 9 years ago are still yet to be resolved. Can we afford to give Labour another decade of power in the hopes they will eventually get around to sorting out our problems?
I have recently picked up casework within the new constituency of Salford & Eccles. The area concerned is around Manchester Road, Clifton, where a bus stop was to be moved to a position that residents did not want. After intervention by the Liberal Democrats, a successful result was achieved and the bus stop will remain at its current site. I’d like to thank the residents who attended the PACT meeting at Clifton Cricket Club for their warm welcome. It was a privilege to be able to help and I was delighted to be able to deliver that right result for them; something which I feel the ward councillors could and should have taken care of themselves!
TV appearances and media interviews aside, opposition to Hazel Blears is prominent across Salford & Eccles. I will be making every effort to defeat her. Voters will not be hoodwinked by carefully staged photo-calls with the Home Secretary and Business Secretary. Labour and Hazel Blears can stand on their track record – what have they done for you lately?
As a long-standing councillor, the empowerment of communities is close to my heart and is a key Lib-Dem policy. It is time to allow local people the chance to manage their own communities. That’s why Salford needs a fresh start from Labour and Hazel Blears. We urgently need fair and transparent local and national politics.