Standing up for what is rightBroxbourne Labour candidate Michael Watson has set out what motivated him to stand for parliament.
But I didn't, because when Labour was elected in 1997 I saw a party committed to change. I saw a party who put an end to people waiting three years in pain for a simple operation. I saw a party that delivered the national minimum wage, who created Sure Start centres to support young families, who helped bring peace to Northern Ireland. I watched as the Labour Party said it wanted to reward people for working, and created the tax credits system. I saw the benefits that the winter fuel payments, council tax relief, free bus travel and pensions credits gave to older people. I saw these things and knew that, as on so many occasions, the easiest option was not the right option. As a councillor in Broxbourne, I have led a successful campaign to force the Conservative party to give you the right to speak at planning meetings. I have opposed moves to introduce charging for green waste. I have argued against the closure of Hoddesdon Open Air Pool. Because I believe that it is wrong that the Conservative council has amassed over £100 million of your taxes and is refusing to spend them, I have called for increased investment to help our town centres through these difficult times. As a member of a small group facing a huge Conservative majority the easiest thing, but not the right thing, would have been to stay quiet. A few years ago, when our banking crisis was on the verge of collapse and our economy was crying out for assistance, the easiest thing, but not the right thing, would have been to listen to the Conservative Party and do nothing. People in Broxbourne face a clear but crucial choice at this general election. As a party, Labour is seeking to be honest with you – setting out the need for an increase in national insurance, the difficult decisions facing us on public spending, and the need to continue to stimulate our economy to avoid returning to recession. The Tories say that we don't need to stimulate our economy any further, even though most economists say we do. They promise to cut the deficit as quickly as possible, but propose to spend over a billion pounds on an inheritance tax cut for the richest three thousand families in the UK. They say they won't introduce our proposed increase in national insurance, but won't say what other taxes will have to rise to cover this move. I came into politics to do the right thing, not the easiest thing. We have tough times ahead of us, and I believe that Labour is the only party with a plan to secure our economic future.
An open letter to the Prime Minister |
It's never easy being a Labour politician in a constituency which has traditionally favoured the Conservative Party. The easiest thing in the world, as a young person with a growing interest in politics and a desire to change things, would have been to join them.
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