New Year Message from Ealing Southall MP

Unite and build a better society says Virendra Sharma

Firstly I would like to thank again everyone who voted for me and helped with my winning election campaign last May. It is truly a great honour to represent the people of Ealing Southall in Parliament and I am committed to working as hard as I can on their behalf. Locally and across London the results were good for Labour but nationally we have had to get used to the new Conservative LibDem coalition government.

It has been a shocking experience, especially for the younger generation who do not remember the tough times in the 80’s and who have felt particularly betrayed over student tuition fees by the LibDems.

In Parliament we have seen the sickening sight of Tory and LibDem MPs cheering and waving their order papers when the Chancellor announced £81bn cuts in public services and the loss of 500,000 public sector jobs and a further 500,000 private sector job losses.

This ideological gamble and choice by the coalition government, to pay off the deficit completely in four years is not what our fragile economy needs and will cause stagnant growth at best and a double-dip recession at worst. Labour’s plans to halve the deficit were far more prudent and likely to keep the economic recovery on track.

As we enter the New Year unemployment is up, fares are going up, petrol is going up, VAT is going up to an unprecedented 20%, mortgage completions and house building are at record lows and growth forecasts are being revised downwards. Government broken promises are strewn everywhere – David Cameron in the election said he had “no plans to increase VAT”; Nick Clegg gave a personal pledge not to increase tuition fees; promises to increase NHS spending lie in tatters as cuts kick in.

Those least able to bear the burden are being forced to carry the can for the bankers mistakes and we are rapidly becoming a more unequal and divided society.

Despite all this I urge everyone to unite together to build a better society and wish you all a happy New Year.

Virendra Sharma MP

31st December 2010