Be Part of the Change - A New Year’s Message
Happy New Year, welcome to my first newsletter and thank you for your support and interest in the True & Fair Party (TFP).
As the recently appointed TFP parliamentary candidate for Derbyshire Dales, I am planning to meet with you all as soon as we can arrange a round-table meeting, and I’m really looking forward to that. In the meantime, there are a few things to let you know.
I am working with a campaign manager called David Edwards: David and I are planning activities that will take us through this year and up to the next General Election, which we anticipate being towards the end of 2024. However, this may change and we are making contingency plans for all eventualities. You may be contacted by David, and I wanted you to be introduced to him and his role.
I have been keeping up to speed on the news from the Derbyshire Dales’ sitting Conservative MP (Sarah Dines) and her view of the world. Messages I’ve received so far indicate that Sarah is fully behind the current government which she believes is doing an excellent job! This view should make my job a lot easier because she is one of the few people in Derbyshire who actually thinks this, but I am not complacent – there is much hard work for me, David and all of us to do to change people’s voting habits, particularly those who have always voted the same colour. Floating voters should be an easier audience to convince, and we are aware that there are significant numbers of these in Derbyshire Dales. Sarah is also very fond of ceremonial and soft-target news items, eg children’s Christmas card competitions. Whilst I realise these are important opportunities to meet people and show Derbyshire at its best, there are some really challenging, important issues to address as a country/county and these are what I will be focussing on.
Local issues of concern that I have identified reflect many that are nationally recognised and are listed below:
- Failure to sort out the health and social care industry – lack of staff due to poor pay (30 vacancies for care assistants in Matlock area – paid £10-12 per hour, cleaners get £15 an hour. I used to manage the Health and Social Care Department at Chesterfield College – this is highly skilled and difficult work, I couldn’t do it). What price are we putting on quality of care for our most vulnerable citizens? It is clear what our government think about the value of care for the elderly.
- Linked to the above – bed blocking and failure to deal with backlogs of elective surgery.
- Linked to the above 1 in 7 adults are waiting for elective surgery and this means many of them cannot work.
- Linked to the above – failure to recruit staff to key industries and public services (particularly schools and health and social care). Available workforce shrinking.
- The above shows the domino effect – sorting out health and social care will unblock massive issues in the country and economy. This government’s style is to leave it all to ‘find its own level’ however in the current situation, they need to be LEADING – getting their hands dirty and looking for creative solutions with key stakeholders. This is what voters want.
- Shortage of affordable housing – where is the integrated housing strategy nationally and locally – what parameters should developers be working to? Again free-market approaches do not lead to effective solutions – everyone is tinkering around the edges rather than making effective, creative, brave, strategic decisions.
- Linked to the above – second homes in places like Bakewell and Hathersage. Tax loopholes mean that business rates and some taxes can be avoided if you put your second home on AirBnB.
- Derbyshire Highways – DFT survey annual stats show Derbyshire has the 5th worst unclassified roads and the worst unclassified roads in England. Why is this – what is happening to all our road taxes?
- Ashbourne – air pollution to dangerous levels – damaging health. What is being done and where is the local MP fighting for a bypass to literally save the lives of Ashbourne residents – they are being poisoned through the air they are breathing. I am picking up this issue myself in the next day or so.
- Suicide rates amongst farmers – 88% of farmers under 40 state that poor mental health is a hidden problem for them. Brexit has not helped. They were promised sunlit uplands and the reality is they are apparently worse off than they were under the EU. George Eustace has admitted that the Australian Trade deal is rubbish and disadvantages our UK farmers, although he told us as a Minister that it was a great deal.
Where is the truth and honesty and fairness and common sense in any of the above, Sarah Dines?
If there are other local issues that you have identified and wish to speak to me about, please either email me or call on this mobile number 07429 365009. I will be happy to discuss these with you at any time.
A couple of links below to national stories/information that you may or not already be aware of (provided directly by Gina Miller, for which thanks).
- https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/02/new-labour-government-promise-electoral-reform?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other – PR / electoral reform is fundamental to fixing our broken politics and is a redline for True & Fair
- https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tories-pin-hopes-on-wooing-back-millions-of-undecided-voters-0tckccp5s - the most plausible outcome for the next GE is a hung Parliament due to the large numbers of undecided/disenfranchised voters looking for an alternative. This is a major target for us but we need people to join us and help us reach them.
- https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/02/brexit-poor-people-paying-eat-debate-human https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/908ebda2-82eb-11ed-933d-2ad94f4b2285?shareToken=fabcef49e1d0e3f314eb0b4eb5dd9bac – Brexit: the elephant in the room that True & Fair will be addressing in 2023, outlining practical policies for limiting the damage and realigning with the EU
Kind Regards,
Helen Wetherall
The True & Fair Candidate for the Derbyshire Dales