A Plea for Openness and Honesty

It has been interesting to hear varied views expressed by people who are unaware of my opinions and beliefs.

'No we are not in a recession.' That was the response from a retired project manager who was already enjoying a good pension and had no financial worries.

That view was certainly not shared by the unemployed bricklayer who saw no prospect of work in the near future. As a result of the pressures, his marriage had collapsed and he was living in rented accommodation, struggling to make ends meet.

'Gordon Brown's taken all my money' was the comment in the pub when we were considering the price of a pint.

It is these personal circumstances which will influence the way people vote in the coming general election. If people think the cause of all their ills can be laid at the feet of those currently in power, they are unlikely to vote them in again. Sadly, they are also likely to have little recall of the damage caused by the previous government in power. Over the last 50-60 years the result has been swings backwards and forwards in favour of the perceived main parties.

What we need now is openness and honesty. The vast coverage given to expenses has put politicians in a bad light. Last week the government put forward more poor legislation on parliamentary standards. This was unnecessary as there are already plenty of rules and laws in respect of those standards which could have been enforced.

We need to see clear policies being proposed. There is general concern about the state of the Economy yet last week the Labour Government announced that it would not carry out a comprehensive spending review until after the general election. The Conservative opposition also said they would only do so the day after a general election.

Liberal Democrats however are calling for a review now. Vince Cable and our shadow treasury team are asking that the government, rather than making promises on public spending that nobody believes, make the tough choices on whether it is going to cut spending or raise taxes to bring the economy out of the red.

Priorities need to be identified. I do not believe these need to include ID cards and Trident renewal, which Liberal Democrats have opposed from the outset and which the country simply can not afford.