Dear Editor,
A common refrain seems to be that nobody trusts politicians, but surely not everyone is tarred by the same brush.
We all remember Boris Johnson and Partygate, partying even on the eve of the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral.
Assuring the House of Commons that there never were any parties. And the latest betting scandal, with Tory members betting on inside information about the date of the election.
Slightly less serious but a falsehood nevertheless is the Conservative candidate for Chester South and Eddisbury on the ballot paper saying her home address is within Chester South and Eddisbury with her husband and children living, working and studying 200 miles south in South London.
These standards are what we have come to expect from the Tories but we should have hoped for better from the Lib Dems.
Sadly, they continue to flog the feeble line that they can win in Chester South and Eddisbury constituency when four tactical voting websites advocate Labour to stop the Tories.
The latest YouGov poll has Labour and the Conservatives neck and neck at 39%. Quite why the Lib Dems think they can win is a mystery, they finished third in 2019 and 2017, and fourth in 2015.
Fourth place looms for Lib Dems on July 4th. People have not forgotten 2010, when the Lib Dems promised to abolish tuition fees, and ended up tripling them.
Yours,
Phil Tate
Chester
Actually, I think they are. An £80K/yr salary and £170K/yr expenses still isn’t enough to stop them scamming more money and doesn’t even encourage them to turn up to work.
Our effective choice is Lab/Con and that’s no choice at all. Ultimately, whoever is in charge will make no real difference overall.
Our voting system also needs urgent reform. How can 6M UKIP votes produce one MP, but Scotland, with a voting population less than that of Manchester, gain 50 MPs plus their own dedicated Parliament?
Part of the problem is that politics is the only career where it’s possible to hold high office with neither qualifications nor experience, and voters so often vote for a rosette with little idea of either the people or the policies.
I don’t see any solution, and despair for the state of the country and its future.
Phil,
You may recall in 1997, Mr Blair promised not to introduce tuition fees and then introduced them. You may remember in 2001, he pledged not to levy top-up fees and then did. He told us about the Weapons of Mass Destruction. The Tories were worse, but Labour have never been shy of an untruth or two.
And there are some here. Chester South and Eddisbury is a new seat. There is no past data. But never mind, Labour have some up with a letter of falsehoods. Maybe you are 45 minutes away from grabbing the seat?
The LibDems have a local candidate. You brought yours in from a city an hour away on the train. And that’s why Labour will not win here.
He’s a labour activist!
Sure Labour will win a few votes around Chester but the Tories have more chance of winning Islington North than he has of celebrating victory in Eddisbury.
This is a Liberal/Tory fight and I’d rather not have a London cast off as my MP.
Written by a prominent Labour member, this reads like a party political broadcast.
And it’s utter tosh. He talks about not trusting politicians and this is why. This seat didn’t exist in 2019, 2017 or 2015. What did was Eddisbury that included Winsford, a Labour stronghold, and they still came second.
The idea that Labour will romp home in a seat where they didn’t choose their candidate until May, and directed all canvassers to other constituencies, is ridiculous.
People choose their MP and can spot a local candidate from a lackey parachuted in from London (Tories) or Manchester (Labour) a mile off.
Support your tribe, sure, but don’t spout lies.
Maybe this article should say vote the same, reality is libdem is a far better bet than the blue reds and red blues…. You cannot tactically vote as your not voting for the government but your MP