Wera Hobhouse
Liberal Democrat Party
Heywood & Middleton Constituency
I have been representing people in our area for nearly six years. I have been a local councillor for Norden since 2004, as well as being the Cabinet Member for the Environment on Rochdale Council between 2006 and 2009 and being chair of the Council’s Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee since last May.
Fairness is the building block of all Liberal Democrat policies and the cornerstone to what we believe in.
We are living in an unfair society and our country has become even more unfair under Labour than it was under the Tories. This has become particularly obvious in areas like ours, which is still struggling to re-invent itself since the collapse of our traditional industries.
This country has an unfair tax system that blatantly advantages the super-rich. The Liberal Democrats are proposing a complete overhaul of the tax system that would free up enough money to make the first £10,000 pounds of earnings free of tax.
It would mean that thousands of low income families in Heywood and Middleton would have to pay no income tax at all, and it would put an average of £700 pounds per person back into the pockets of ordinary people in this constituency.
It would also ensure that staying at home and claiming benefits would not be a better option than going to work and earning a wage.
Liberal Democrats are also proposing to give a fairer start to children who have a less easy start in life than others. Every teacher would agree that smaller class sizes are the key to helping all children. They allow teachers to quickly identify underachieving young people, who can then be given one-to-one attention. The Liberal Democrats have a fully costed programme to put this in place. It would give thousands of young people in our constituency a better chance to learn and achieve.
Many constituents in our area are desperate for a change after decades of a Labour MP. We need a change from a clapped-out Labour Government and a Labour party that has taken this constituency for granted. However, in this constituency the Tories have already given up. They only selected a parliamentary candidate a few months ago, showing that they do not priorities Heywood, Middleton, Bamford, Norden and Castleton. In short, only the Liberal Democrats have the will and ability to beat Labour here!
It is also worth mentioning that I am the only female candidate standing for one of the three main parties in this constituency. Women are hugely under-represented in Westminster and I believe it is time to get a better balance between men and women in parliament.
So give it a go! Vote for something different!
