LETTER: A no-brainer!

And those virtues shone through from the audience last Thursday. Now we need an MP who not only has these virtues herself – but is capable too of enthusing the waverers and the naysayers, is articulate, feisty, intelligent, ambitious and tough. Clear thinking and persuasive too.

We are privileged in Lewes to have evolved a very particular culture, and we deserve such an impossible paragon as our Westminster representative. So obvious though at those hustings that for two years this has been very far from the case – and it was not just me that thought so. But her rival saved the evening by pretty well ticking every virtuous box. Though the hall was packed, it was still a great pity that all of our voters weren’t there to cheer on like us Kelly-Marie’s passion and sound sense.

OK so we’re all fed up with the endless politics but just hang in there for another two weeks. Let’s be positive – if we get it right no more mealy mouthed excuses from our MP in front of her liberal and compassionate audience for voting against our share of desperate refugees, against those from overseas willing to staff our crisis-ridden NHS, against a stable free trade area on our doorstep which for forty years has brought us strong economic prosperity – and why on earth vote against an integrated cooperative security set-up with neighbours who face the same threats as us? Last week’s worldwide computer hack? No more votes from our MP, regardless of her constituents’ inclusive views, for policies that divide and embitter the land, that fly in the face of neighbours who want our cooperation, that drive us into the economic and cultural arms of an unstable ‘America First’ authoritarian. But elections are won on domestic issues – like the railway service. Our MP huffed and puffed like the Royal Scot but for all her activism it’s her governments that have created in the south-east an unprecedented social and economic public transport crisis, and then failed after more than a year to deal with its fallout.

I want the best for this country, all of it in one piece; I want a prosperous economy, and fairly spread; I want fulfilling secure employment for a motivated workforce; I want more of my fellow citizens, healthy and well educated nationwide, to share the open minded, tolerant and deeply felt convictions of Lewes folk the other night. Who could disagree? In our two horse race it’s a no-brainer – for personality and policy, it’s the Lib Dems and Kelly-Marie Blundell!

Michael Rider

Craigmyle, North Chailey