As we approach a general election in 2010, with constraints on public expenditure tightening by the day, it is becoming increasingly clear that voters in the North East and in my Parliamentary constituency of Hexham will face a real choice.
On one hand, a Labour government committed to getting us through the worst financial recession in a lifetime, bringing forward capital expenditure to keep the economy moving forward, and taking hard decisions such as a temporary increase in the top rate of income tax.
On the other hand, a Tory government which would cut public investment now before the recession is well and truly over- a historic mistake. A Tory government which will almost certainly abolish key programmes such as Sure Start, designed to help pre-school children living in the most deprived areas of the UK. A Tory government whose shadow Home Secretary has already warned will target the North East in particular for extra cuts in public expenditure.
The Lib Dems, of course, do not present a credible government – and they know it.
It is fashionable these days to decry politics and suggest all politicians, and impliedly all governments formed by politicians, are the same. They are not. The national minimum wage, significantly increased investment in education and the NHS, and the restoration of the link between pensions and earnings, to give just a few choice examples, happened only because a Labour government was elected.
If North East voters want to protect these achievements, there is only one sure way of doing so – by voting Labour at the next general election.
NB: The Journal published this as a letter in the 'Your Shout' section on Monday, 5th October 2009. Unfortunately I can't find a link.
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