Last week the BBC interviewed me for a piece on the importance of local independent candidates in this election. Missed it? Watch at http://bit.ly/akFyHI It's looking more and more likely there will be a small majority in Parliament after this election. Your MP's individual vote could really make a difference. I'm local, independent and as your MP I'll vote for Luton every time.
Hi and I hope you're well.
"Luton is life. There are so many good things happening here."
Those were the words I heard from a lady yesterday as I visited a local community group. Every week I meet more and more local people who are passionate about our town and positive about the rich mix of people we have here. I believe together we have what it takes to take charge of our future and make the change we want to see in Luton.
Over the past few weeks I've been working with students at Ashcroft and Stopsley High Schools (I've written to other schools in every area of Luton South too) to find out what local issues concern our young people -- and make a practical difference. Better public transport, the environment and safer streets all come up often, more activities for young people too. Now I'm working with them to get the changes happening. I really believe each of us can make a difference to our local area. And we must invest more -- much more -- in education and positive activities for young people. We need motivated, ambitious, well educated young people who will be the long-term change in Luton.
We need jobs in Luton and I've been looking for more ways to create jobs locally. I was struck by a recent awards ceremony for apprentices -- the young people there were amongst the most positive of any I've met. We should be extending this kind of scheme, but a lot of it comes down to the nitty-gritty of how it's done -- talking to someone from the National Apprenticeships Scheme and a local small business owner, both said it wasn't as easy for businesses to get involved in apprenticeships and internships as it should be. I could really see the need for a local MP living in Luton, at a time when we need to get these initiatives really right and make sure government ideas really work on the ground in Luton. We need schemes and job centres -- but we have to think a lot wider and get really creative. I'm meeting with local Mums soon who are supporting each other to start and run their own small businesses, to see how they're doing it.
The big cuts that all the political parties are discussing could have a direct impact on us in Luton (including the Council's great apprenticeships scheme I was talking about above -- as a number of jobs are being cut or outsourced). I'm supporting the public services we need in Luton to support our community -- and to help drive demand for our businesses here too. I recently visited the L&D and I met with the chair of our local NHS Primary Care Trust to hear about their vision for bringing health care out into the community in the coming years. There's a lot more we can be doing to get the best value from our services. Too often the conversation politicians have is about money -- we have to think about people, local people, first and foremost. That's my focus.
What's next in the campaign?
Tomorrow night is the first debate involving all of the Luton South candidates, at 7.30pm at St Mary's Church in town. It's about climate change and what it means for Luton. Find out more at http://www.transitionluton.org/events/2010/02/25/ and do come along if you can make it.
More news coming soon. In the meantime, if you're interested in getting involved or have any questions for me on my policies, as ever please do drop me a line. Join me on Facebook or Twitter to keep up to date and see what's really happening with the campaign.
Kind regards,
Joe
