Mark Pritchard MP - The Blog

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I'd like to reproduce a post that our good friends at Wrekin Stop War posted to the Telford Live forum a while back, I meant to post it sooner but you know me.

Wrekin Stop War wrote:
In the run up to May's election, we tried to organise the anti-war vote in the Telford & Wrekin constituencies into one big anti-Bradley and Wright campaign. They both supported the war in Iraq, Bradley on grounds specifically stated as invalid by the Attorney's General's report. Although our origins as an anti-war group led to us focusing on the war in Iraq as a main issue of our election activities, our campaigns are diverse and of equal concern were issues like climate change, local trade and loss of green space.

We did receive a response to our campaign from both Lib Dem PPCs but they never came to any of the meetings they were invited to about this and we never actually saw them 'in the flesh'.

When we gained access to a union meeting at the Buck's Head in Wellington, which was supposed to be a chance for local union members to question PPC's from ALL parties represented in T&W, the only ones who turned up were Bradley, Wright, Pritchard and Bruce Lawson (UKIP Wrekin).

Pritchard made a lot of his humble beginnings as usual and actually faced down a union member in the audience who questioned this. It was almost handbags at twenty paces! The Labour duo were touching (or should that be sickening) with their support for one another and their hallowed leader. Wright jumped in to defend Bradley's integrity when questions about the war in Iraq came up whilst Bradley sung his colleague's praises. It was a bit like an intense Arthur Miller play about male pride with the UKIP's Lawson providing some pantomime-style light relief.

We are told that the Telford Conservative PPC, Stella Kyriazis, left Telford soon after she lost to David Wright, so much for her commitment to the area! She also proclaimed an anti-war stance in her campaign literature but when we questioned her about this seemed to be decidedly lacking in knowledge of any of the issues involved.

We believe that PPCs should have a broad knowledge of national and international issues in order that their constituents are able to approach them for an intelligent and constructive response on issues that are global but affect everyone, like the war in Iraq, climate change and nuclear weapons. However, they also need to have a good knowledge of the area they are to represent and the fact that you walk on The Wrekin (a mantra used by both Bradley and Pritchard) isn't enough to convince us that they are really on the ball when it comes to the issues facing areas of such social diversity as Telford & Wrekin.

One of our group's main aims is working for a more co-operative, peaceful and equal society and we would suggest that part of the problem lies with the system of central government itself. Perhaps a Salopian utopia is a long way off but by challenging the system that produces these pathetic so-called politicians and working together, we can work towards a time when decisions are made by the communities they effect rather than inflicted on them by a Government in Westminster whose vision is global rather than local.

We would like to end by asking if anyone knows how Mr Pritchard and Pebbles did in the House of Commons Dog Show? As the Miniature Schnauzer Club of Great Britain beamed with pride, the constituency of The Wrekin cringed with embarrassment. Especially, we hope, those of you who voted for him. Perhaps Pebbles could do a better job!

Of course, you can find out how Pebbles did just below this post.

posted by BigDaddyMerk @ 5:48 pm