Andrea's 'Politically Speaking'Column in the Wakefield Express
As the countdown to the General Election continues, many more people are taking an active interest in politics and considering who to vote for. Some people base their decision on national issues and party leaders, some on local issues and candidates - for most voters it is a mixture of both. As the Conservative candidate for Morley & Outwood, most work I've done has been on local issues. It will continue if I am elected as MP.
In the last two years, I have been tackling a variety of issues for a huge number of people from the blight of potholes, planning problems, helping residents with my successful Jobs and Skills Fair and offering support and assistance to a raft of charities, schools and organisations right across Morley & Outwood.
I have been working with Out4Success, a social enterprise set up by two former prisoners to help ex-offenders find their feet and a future on release from prison, and I have continued to work hard to improve the NHS.
National issues are important too, especially considering the effect they have on local people. This Conservative-led Government has led the way with many policies which have had a positive effect on people locally. For instance, the Long-Term Economic Plan has seen the economy recovering from the mess left behind by the last Labour Government. There are 114,000 more jobs and 21.600 more businesses across Yorkshire and the Humber since 2010. Both of these are providing people with the safety and security of work.
In Morley & Outwood, the number of claimants for Jobseekers Allowance has dropped by 50 per cent since 2010 as a result of the decisions taken by the David Cameron and the Conservative-led Government. We have also cut tax for more than 39,000 people in Morley & Outwood and taken 5.025 people out of tax altogether.
But the work is not done and as we approach one of the most important elections for a generation, I'm doing all I can to make sure the good work continues, through the Conservative plans the competence, not chaos, we bring. I hope to speak to as many readers of the Wakefield Express as possible during the next couple of months and convince you why I should be MP for Morley & Outwood and help us continue on the road to recovery.