Rodney and I have been out on the doors in Spalding (see picture on next page) and it is clear from our conversations with people that the quality of life crisis is biting hard for many.
This is coupled with concerns about public services coming under pressure from an increasing local population and the ongoing government cuts reducing services and affecting council spending and priorities.
At the last budget Conservative Chancellor George Osborne told us: “The sun is starting to shine – and we are fixing the roof.”
Well, one of residents we spoke to would tell George she can barely afford to even fix the bathroom ceiling of her council house!
This Government’s austerity cuts are clearly hitting hard. Local councils are being massively underfunded and ours is no exception.
Your local Labour Party want voters to remember that you don’t have to stick with what you know. We know that John Hayes has helped many people – he is clearly a very good constituency MP. Yet he has been a member of a government that has done much damage to the well-being of people in this constituency and beyond. Maybe now is time for a change. For example, even whilst praising John’s responsiveness, one constituent expressed frustration that “he has voted for policies that have hit my pocket hard”.
We also spoke to voters who are concerned over the impact of immigration. UKIP has told people that Labour don’t have policies on immigration, but they are wrong.
For instance, if elected we will stop wages being under-cut by banning jobs being exclusively
advertised overseas, we will put a two-year ban on benefits for new migrants, ensure NHS workers speak English and put 1,000 extra border guards in place.
But people also tell us how hard-working the majority of immigrants are who settle here. It is clear that UKIP want to paint a picture of every migrant being a bad egg. This is nothing short of hate-mongering. Immigrants are people just like you and me.
UKIP are “more Tory than the Tories”. Nigel Farage and his gang believe in Margaret Thatcher’s approach and will deliver tax cuts for millionaires, scrap workers’ rights, scrap sick pay and maternity leave and privatise our NHS. Does anybody really want that?
We know of the pressure on local services due to the population of this area increasing and that many of the new arrivals are Eastern European migrants. However, let us not forget that many of these migrants are here to fill an increase in manufacturing jobs in the area. The jobs would still need to be filled, even if the workers were from the UK only, unless we closed all the factories! Which means a population increase is inevitable.
So at the heart of what has failed is local investment in services to support our growing population. We clearly therefore need to invest and grow our public services to ensure access for all residents. This is what a vote for Labour will achieve.
Your vote for Matthew Mahabadi of the Labour Party is a vote for a better South Holland and The Deepings and a better Britain that helps everyone, not just those at the top.
Matthew Mahabadi & Rodney Sadd
Labour Party