Robert Court's New Year message
It feels as if 2023 will be difficult, but I still want to wish you a very Happy New Year.
So many things are not working as they should. Strikes and government underinvestment are taking their toll, and we all have to do our best to work around the challenges. We had to post very early for Christmas. Train journeys require careful planning. We have our armed forces to thank for stepping in to drive ambulances and check passports.
The Conservative government has held public sector pay down for years. It is small wonder that workers feel that this cannot go on, especially now that inflation has reached double figures. As a school governor, I know how hard teachers worked during the pandemic. Yet year on year, their pay has decreased in real terms.
We clapped the NHS during lockdowns, but applause does not pay the bills. It is a scandal that nurses are needing to use food banks in order to survive. There is a vicious circle as more nurses leave the profession, so the job pressures become more demoralising, and then still more want to leave.
The government remain determined to avoid pay negotiations. It is a bit rich to cry "we can't pay", when their incompetence has caused such great damage to the economy, especially through the Truss-Kwarteng mini-budget. Now we are the ones who suffer, because they have hollowed out our public services. Unacceptable waiting times for ambulances and at A&E, roads dangerously potholed, local services on a shoestring…
You have two good reasons to vote Liberal Democrat in the District Council elections on 4 May:
• You will have councillors who care and will work hard for you.
• You can send a message to the Conservatives that "Enough is enough".
Robert Court
General Election Candidate