Response to Julian Sturdy - letter received 7th November 2019

Today I received a letter from Julian Sturdy - our conservative MP. Any intelligent person able to google a little can spot the inconsistencies and half truths within,.

About Brexit he says "We simply cannot afford any more dither and delay brought on by Labour and Lib Dems"

I am not sure when Brexit became a Labour or LibDem project. It was the Conservative party that had a Manifesto promise to hold a referendum and handled ALL the negotiations with the EU. The naivety and failures of Cameron, May and Johnson over 3 and a half years simply cannot be blamed on the opposition. It was the Conservative ERG group and the DUP that prevented the government getting the Brexit bill through forcing May to resign.

He promises 20,000 extra police officers. 

BBC Reality Check verdict: Under the Conservative and coalition governments, the number of police officers has fallen by somewhere between 19,000 and 22,000.

One could argue that this is due to austerity measures - but an extract from the Guardian article (2016) shows that there was plenty of money for tax handouts to the richest in society.

“By the end of the decade, if the Conservatives deliver on their manifesto promises, households in the top fifth of the income distribution will be receiving an average of £9,400 a year in tax allowances and welfare payments; while the poorest fifth of households, for whom benefits may be their only source of income, receive an average of £10,200,”.

He promises £33.9 billion to the NHS each year by 2023-24. However a Guardian article (Nov 2019) states that:

"Trump has made clear that countries must pay more for drugs made by American firms as a pre-condition of agreeing a trade deal with the US".

Wonder how much of that increase to the NHS will go straight out to US pharmaceutical companies.

Its going to be an ugly election - but I guess that was always on the cards with Johnson and Cummings in charge.