01/04/10….Come and Join us, says Thame MP

THAME’S MP, John Howell, has kicked off his party’s General Election campaigne locally by calling on Thame Liberal Democrats to support the Conservatives.

In a statement released on Monday, March 29, he said:

“It is clear on the streets that the vast majority of people do not want another five years of Gordon Brown. Why then would you want the outcome of your vote to be precisley that? Why too would you want to belong to a party whose leader has admitted that he is after Labour party votes which will shift the Liberal-Democrats further and further away from the centre? And why would you want to belong to a party which has so often danced to Gordon Brown?s tune when it comes to the economy and getting Britain back on its feet?

“You?ve only got to look at our policies on localism ? bringing real power over their lives back to local people, or at our belief that big government needs to be dismantled, to see how radical and progressive we Conservatives truly are.

“If you are worried about the nanny state, about the erosion of our civil liberties and the misuse of the terrorism laws the Conservative Party is your natural home.”

He continued: “You?ve only got to look at my proposals for the reform of the planning system to see how I am committed to bringing power home. There needs to be a big shift away from central and regional control to truly local decision-making. It always surprised me how Liberal-Democrats fell for the John Prescott line in supporting regional assembles and another tier of government.

“And if you are worried about the environment, so am I. One web-site already acknowledges that I have voted strongly for laws to stop climate change and I am an enthusiastic supporter of local energy projects such as proposed hydro projects along the Thames.

“As many local Liberal-Democrats in Thame already know I also share their concern for human rights around the world.”

Mr Howell claimed that the Conservative Party had seen a steady stream nationally of Liberal Democrats deciding to join the Conservative Party, including, he said, at least fifty councillors and at least nine former parliamentary candidates.

The MP concluded: “If you are fed up with the way Labour has debased Parliament; damaged an independent Civil Service; taken us to war on a false notion; eroded civil liberties in an over-reaction to terrorism; made a farce of the criminal justice system; and encouraged the press and media in the belief that celebrity is all there is to life, take that step and join the Conservative Party now. You won?t regret it and you will be made very welcome.”

PHOTO: Thame’s MP, John Howell pulls a pint a the recent opening of the new micro brewery at The Cross Keys in Thame.