MP McCarthy Admits Bristol East 'Ignored'
April 24, 2010 11:26 PM
During a hustings today Labour MP Kerry McCarthy admitted that her constituency, Bristol East had become 'ignored'.
Prospective Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament Mike Popham agreed. "In my most recent canvassing of just over 2,000 households in Bristol East I often found residents complaining of feeling either let down or ignored.
"I do feel though that the very recent launch of the Neighbourhood Partnerships initiative by our Lib Dem controlled Council will do much to arrest this sense of exclusion. I want to enhance the Partnerships with community action groups working to address their most pressing needs.
"There is little that will stop a well planned and resourced campaign group focusing on a critical problem such as anti-social behaviour, fly tipping, dogs and dog fouling, traffic congestion and speeding, noise, graffiti and beating crime".
"This should be a call to focus on the real core problems of worklessness, debt, welfare dependency, family breakdown and drug and alcohol abuse." he said
Crime figures for 2008/09 in Bristol suggested some reasons for feeling let down:
CITY OF BRISTOL ENGLISH AVERAGE
Population 416,000 -
Households 184,000 -
Violence against the person 26.4 15.0
Sexual offences 1.8 0.9
Robbery offences 3.7 1.0
Burglary dwelling offences 11.3 4.3
Theft of a motor vehicle offences 5.2 2.3
Theft from a vehicle offences 12.7 6.3
Crime statistics are per 1,000 of the population within the local authority area. Source: http://www.upmystreet.com/local/crime-in-bristol.html
"These crime figures are particularly alarming when the MP herself states to an audience of young people that 'crime is falling'. Kerry said at those hustings today that she would be focusing on these community issues 'next'. So why wait 5 years to start? This is Labour all over…say and never do. It is not the job of an MP to get elected, break Party records attending meetings in Parliament while ignoring the most pressing needs of those who presumably elected her." Mike said.
In Mike Popham's first year as Bristol East's MP he will tackle:
- the looming jobs crisis particularly for younger and older people by drawing new businesses to the area
- safety on our streets by asking retired police officers to carry out back office functions so that more uniformed officers can redeploy to the front line
- health, by challenging NHS chiefs to reduce unnecessary costs and spend the money saved more on direct care of those in most need.
What would you like to do next?
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