(Above) Francis Maude MP at a recent Wolverhampton school visit
Wolverhampton is important. Wolverhampton is important to me, to David Cameron and to the Conservative Party. At the beating heart of Britain, your city has a rich heritage, and from my regular visits I can see it’s clearly a vibrant and diverse place to live, work and play.
In 2000 you became the first Millennium City and today proudly boast a thriving culture of arts and entertainment, a good university, an all-weather race-course and one of the oldest football teams in the League Championship. Though I must admit to being a Spurs fan, I’m glad to see that Mick McCarthy has taken over at Molineux and with such support. With a bit of luck Wolves should soon be banging on the Premiership’s door!
Yet despite these great assets, I sense a genuine feeling of weariness with a Government which has ignored and taken for granted your home town. The results of this neglect can be seen in some very obvious ways.
West Midlands Police was recently named the best metropolitan force in the country, for which they should be commended, but they cannot be expected to solve all of the region’s problems on their own. They need strong support from local and national Government. Sadly, I fear they are being let down.
Tony Blair’s commitment to be “tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime” has become another empty promise and failed Labour policies mean that yob culture and gang violence continue to hurt people’s quality of life. A recent rise in violent crime is worrying and the West Midlands has had to issue the third highest number of ASBOs in the country.
Labour policies have also resulted in a critical report from the Healthcare Commission which showed that more than half of the Bodies that run health facilities in the Midlands are wasting money and failing patients. Despite the great work of the staff at New Cross Hospital, 300 people have lost their jobs as a result of Gordon Brown’s NHS cuts.
That’s why the Conservative Party’s NHYes campaign is supporting NHS staff while highlighting Labour’s damaging financial mismanagement of our healthcare system. That’s why we also strongly supported the Trade Union Congress’ NHS Together rally held on 1st November.
We are taking a different approach to issues such as crime and healthcare. We realise that simplistic and heavy handed government intervention is not the answer to all the world’s problems. Conservatives believe there is certainly such a thing as society, but this is not the same thing as the state.
What is needed instead is a renewed spirit of social responsibility. This means understanding that we are all in this together and that government can’t succeed unless it listens to ordinary people and encourages them to contribute to society. So on issues like tackling crime, improving the environment and making life better for families, we don’t just ask what government can do. We ask what people can do, what society can do.
A great example of this is David Cameron’s recently launched charity, the Young Adult Trust. It provides residential courses for young adults, from all social backgrounds and ethnic groups, to interact and learn the importance of civic duty and gain a sense of purpose and belonging.
The Mayor of Wolverhampton is Conservative Councillor John Davis and every day Shadow Leader Paddy Bradley and the other Conservative Councillors are striving to make Wolverhampton a better place. Recently, they have campaigned to keep Compton Park swimming pool open and fought the Labour Council’s decision to close the few remaining Council-owned residential care homes for the elderly. They are battling to save Danesmore Primary School and are leading the campaign to clean up the Broad Street / Stafford Street city gateway area.
But we need to do more. I want my Party to be your Party. I want my Party to reflect the communities we represent and the country we aspire to govern. West Midlands Conservatives, with David Cameron’s leadership, are moving forward to win back the trust, confidence and respect of the people of the region.
Wolverhampton and Britain in the 21st Century should be a place of prosperity, equality and opportunity. A place where individuals and communities work together with their Government to ensure a safe and just society. This is the Conservative Party’s vision for Britain and it is my aim that Wolverhampton will be part of that vision. I close by repeating my opening remarks: Wolverhampton is important, let us all work together to achieve its potential.
Please feel free to email me at chairman@conservatives.com if you have any ideas or want to get involved locally.
Francis Maude MP
Francis is Shadow Minister for Wolverhampton and Chairman of the Conservative Party.
