Issue 238

March
2010

Home

 

Current Issue

 

 Archives

 

Contact Us

 

Links

 

 
 
 
 
 

 


This election will decide Copeland's future
by Jamie Reed, MP


The forthcoming general election will decide which direction Copeland moves in; forward with Labour, or backwards under the Conservatives. Locally, The choice has rarely been as stark for us.
By now, you will know what Labour will do in Copeland; invest in new jobs, build new hospitals, schools, nuclear developments, universities and more. You also know that these developments require public investment and that the Conservatives voted against these investments in budget after budget.
Now, with economic recovery underway, the leaders of the world's major economies have supported the policies of Gordon Brown in maintaining public spending to support the economy and to secure our economic recovery. As a community whose economy is very heavily dependent upon the public sector and the funding provided by the taxpayer, this is good news. Good news too for local businesses who rely upon the public sector to keep them in contracts and their customers in jobs.
Labour will halve the national debt within four years and we will protect frontline public services. In sharp contrast the Conservatives will not. The Tories have said that if they win the election, they will cut quickly and deeply - meaning that a Tory government would spell very bad news indeed for West Cumbria - for our police, our teachers, our healthcare workers and anyone whose job is with a publicly funded organisation. The Tories have made their choice - they want to represent the interests of the wealthy and the interests of the leafy home counties in the south of England over and above the interests of the people of Cleator Moor, Egremont, Whitehaven, Frizington and elsewhere. Nothing could be more clear.
At this next election, your cross on the ballot paper will not simply be about which party leader you like, which party you prefer, or who you dislike the least - it will be about the future of our towns and villages and the success of West Cumbria. The truth is, only Labour can and will provide us with the investment we need to fulfil our ambitions. The stakes have never been higher and the choice has never been clearer.
Meanwhile...If you would like to keep a closer eye on what I'm doing in Parliament, you can follow my new blog at
jamiereed.wordpress.com
I've been amazed by the number of people following it so far, so log on, sign in and tell me what you think.

Finally, why not get involved? We have a good and growing army of volunteers for the election ahead and you can play your part in making sure Copeland keeps moving forward. E-mail me at
jamiereed.2010@hotmail.co.uk to find out how.