Cllr Iain Lindley – Prospective Conservative MP for Worsley & Eccles South
I’ve just got back from the verification of votes cast in today’s European election. They won’t actually be counted now until Sunday night, but I’d just like to take this opportunity to thank all the local residents who came out to vote Conservative today, and the Conservative members and volunteers who have campaigned over the last month or so.
The turnout was 27.54%, for those who may be interested.
Hazel Blears has jumped before she was pushed, and has resigned from her Cabinet post. She says she is “glad to be going home to the people that matter, the people of Salford” – but what has Hazel achieved as a Secretary of State for the people of Salford? What has Hazel supported as a Minister?
I am of course pleased that Hazel thinks that the people of Salford matter, so why when she had access to the levers of power did she endorse (or directly make herself!) so many decisions which disadvantaged the very people she claims to represent.
Hypocrite.
So, who is running the country at the moment? It certainly doesn’t look like the Government is doing so. We are still in the middle of a deep economic crisis, and confidence in the political process is at an all-time low, but rather than showing leadership the Labour Government is paralysed. Our Ministers are too busy resigning or briefing against each other to provide the leadership our country needs. This can’t go on.
Britain needs a fresh start. That means a General Election – now.
North-West Conservative MEP and Conservative Euro Election candidate Sajjad Karim has posted an interesting article on the Blue Blog about campaigning in the North-West over the last few weeks – click here to read it.
I spent an enjoyable morning today in Worsley ward talking to local residents on the doorstep. We had a very positive response, and picked up a number of local concerns which myself and the three Worsley ward Councillors will act upon.
David Cameron has rightly received a lot of praise for his proposals, announced this week, to return real power and information to local people. You can read the full speech on the Conservative Party website.
The next Conservative Government will:
He said, “The effects of this redistribution of power will be felt throughout our politics with people in control of the things that matter to them, a country where the political system is open and trustworthy, and where power is redistributed from the political elite to the man and woman in the street”
For many years, there has been a summer rail service from Walkden direct to Blackpool North, which has been popular with many local residents, especially families with young children and pensioners.
Unfortunately in the new summer timetable, the Blackpool service has vanished, meaning that residents will now have a more complicated journey, or will simply take the car instead.
If you’ve been affected by this service cut, I can only echo the advice of the Friends of Walkden Station and ask you to write to Northern Rail at customer.relations@northernrail.org and let them know what you think!
I’ve lived in Walkden since I was a small boy, and my family roots in the local area go back much further – my mother grew up on Birch Road in Walkden and my father on Vicars Hall Lane in Boothstown, and I have family across the local area, including in Little Hulton and Peel Green.
As someone who aspires to represent the local area in Parliament, I promise that if elected that the views of the local people who I would represent would be at the forefront of my mind every step of the way and with every decision that I would take. I will never forget that it is my family, my friends, my neighbours and my colleagues who will vote to decide whether or not I am successful at the next General Election.
Too many MPs – on all sides of the House – have clearly made it down to Westminster and forgotten about the people who elected them. Faced with a vote, or an expenses form, my reaction will be – “what would my constituents want me to do?”.
With that in mind, here are a few straightforward pledges I am making now to local residents. If elected as the next MP for Worsley and Eccles South, I will:
On Thursday 4th June, local residents across Salford will go to the polls for the European elections. If you’re voting by post, you may well have already received your postal ballot paper, or will do over the next day or two.
Local people have a real chance in these elections to show that they want change. We have a Labour Council, a Labour Government, and Labour MEPs who have all let our local area down.
By voting Conservative on 4th June you can:
We have a strong team of Conservative MEPs and candidates who have shown a strong interest in standing up for the interests of local people in Worsley, Eccles, Irlam & Cadishead and Salford. Indeed only last week Cllr Alex Williams joined our team in Walkden to knock on doors and listen to the concerns of local residents. Unlike Labour and the Liberal Democrats who vote against the British interest, and unlike UKIP whose Brussels grouping has descended into a disorganised rabble, our Conservative team will always stand up for the North West and for Salford.
It’s time for change - vote Conservative on Thursday 4th June.
I made a brief appearance on Allan Beswick’s Breakfast Show on BBC Radio Manchester this morning to discuss the issue of MP Expenses. You can catch it on BBC iPlayer if you wish to do so – I was on just after 8am.
Conservative Party News
Vote Conservative Today!
Today, Thursday 4th June, local residents across Salford go to the polls to elect their members of the European Parliament. They can do far more than that, though – they can send a clear message that local people from Little Hulton to Lower Broughton want to see real change in the way our country is run.
A vote for the Conservatives is a vote for change. We’re the only party still promising a referendum on the EU constitution. By making decisions over the heads of the voters, Labour and the Liberal Democrats show they’re stuck in the old politics. As Conservatives, we believe that the power should lie with the people.
These elections, though, are about much more than just Europe. The Conservative Party is aruging for massive change at home: to a more balanced, sustainable economy built on savings and not debt; and to a green, fairer, safer society where opportunity is more equal; and to a way of living in which people are given more control over their lives.
A vote for the Conservatives today is a vote for all of this. Please don’t waste your chance to have your say – vote Conservative to bring about the change our country needs.