Dan's Political Priorities

Local Priorities

Warwickshire Fire & Rescue Service

Under plans put forward by the Chief Fire Officer, Warwickshire could see a number of fire stations close including Bedworth Fire Station.

I am deeply concerned at the possibility that Bedworth Fire Station could be moved and merged with Nuneaton, and that numbers of local retained firefighters might be reduced. Having been responsible for emergency response planning when I was a soldier, I am only too aware of the need for robust emergency response cover.

Local Unemployment

North Warwickshire is bearing the brunt of this recession, with unemployment over doubling in just a year. There are now five jobseekers locally for every vacancy.

Over 1,300 people who have had their livelihood taken away and their families’ lives turned upside down. These aren’t just numbers on a page – these are real people who have been devastated by unemployment.

Labour always leaves office with unemployment higher than when they come in.

The George Eliot Hospital

The George Eliot Hospital is of vital importance to local people. In recent years, Labour’s mismanagement led to a funding crisis at the George Eliot, and local Conservative uncovered plans to close one in five beds as a result.

The current hospital management have done a good job in turning things round, but there are still concerns about the future of the Special Care Baby Unit and maternity services.

Many residents of North Warwickshire and Bedworth rely on these vital services, and don't want to have to travel to Coventry or Leicester. Our local Labour MPs have refused a public debate on the future of healthcare in Warwickshire, but we will continue to shine a spotlight on Labour's mismanagement.

Post Office Cuts

When Labour revealed their plans to close 2,500 post offices across the country, I spearheaded the campaign locally against these cuts. Our local Labour MP accused me of scaremongering, and refused to support our campaign.

I joined forces with sub-postmasters across the constituency to run a petition which gathered thousands of signatures, and I led a delegation of local business people to 10 Downing Street.

Labour’s Housing Bombshell – the Regional Spatial Strategy

Under Labour’s top down plans to impose unwanted housing on local neighbourhoods, North Warwickshire, Nuneaton & Bedworth will see some 15,000 extra houses built – including on our greenbelt land.

I believe strongly in local decision making, and I believe that these extra houses will have a huge impact on the shape and character of our communities. They haven’t been debated locally. They haven’t been voted on locally. They don’t have the support of local people.

I have been to Westminster to discuss this issue with the Shadow Housing Minister Grant Shapps, who has assured me that his first act if we win the general election will be to tear up these plans and to give decision making over housing back to locally elected and accountable councils.

National Priorities

Our Armed Forces

The Economy

Gordon Brown has presided over the biggest debt filled boom in history, and we are now suffering through the longest recession since records began. Unemployment has risen at the fastest rate since records began and the pound has collapsed. Labour’s debt crisis has become Labour’s job crises. One in five young people are unemployed.

We are in very real danger of the international community losing confidence in the Government’s ability to pay its debts. We need a return to sound money and prudent Government finances. As a nation, we need to once again live within our means.

Europe

I am deeply euro sceptic. We were promised a vote on the Lisbon Treaty, and it is a scandal that we’ve been denied one. I want British laws to be voted for in Parliament, by British MPs. I want the EU to concentrate on free trade. I want powers brought back to the member states and I want to reduce the £ billions we pay to Europe, much of which is wasted and poorly accounted for.

I will never vote for Britain to join the Euro. I am opposed in principle and on practical grounds.

The National Health Service

I serve on the board of an NHS Trust and my wife is an NHS doctor. I see first hand the bureaucracy and the target culture which suffocates our health professionals every day.

Meddling by ministers diverts funding from the front line into wasteful bureaucracy, and in recent years we have seen NHS Trusts removing light bulbs to save money and have faced the unprecedented sight of junior doctors marching against the Government in protest at their high handed treatment.

I am delighted that David Cameron has pledged to ring fence the NHS from any public spending cuts.

Crime and Anti Social Behaviour
Crime isn't a right wing issue or a left wing issue. It is a daily threat that all people - rich, poor, black, white, urban and rural - face in their daily lives. And the sad fact is that Labour's approach is failing.
While crime rates soar, police resignations have tripled under this Government. Labour are releasing a prisoner early every twenty minutes because they haven't built enough prisons. Meanwhile Ministers try to tell us that crime is falling, but no one outside the New Labour champagne bubble really believes that. The police are doing a magnificent job, but they have one hand tied behind their backs thanks to the madness of Labour's red tape and form filling culture.
I want to see more police on the streets catching criminals, not behind their desks.

Prison Policy
Our prisons are overcrowded and violent prisoners are being released early every week. This is madness. We need enough prison places to keep convicted criminals inside until their sentences are complete. We need honest sentencing, so people aren’t released after less than a third of their official sentence. And we need effective rehabilitation within prisons so that we stop two thirds of prisoners from reoffending within two years, as they currently do.

Immigration Policy

I want to see a proper and effective immigration policy. Labour have lost control of our borders. We need a uniformed Border Police Force, we need annual immigration quotas, and we need a robust Australian style points based immigration system.

Benefits System

I believe the British people are naturally fair minded. We believe in looking after the poorer and disadvantaged in our society. But we don’t like being taken for a ride – and a benefits system that punishes pensioners who have worked hard and built up savings is wrong. A benefits system which penalises the low paid for trying to work a few extra hours a week is wrong. And a benefits system which pays benefits to families earning over £50,000 a year is just crazy.

Political Correctness

The ‘political correctness’ and ‘health and safety’ culture is quietly suffocating our country. I will vote at all times for common sense and I will have the courage to stand up for traditional British values.

Red Tape and Quangos

I want to see our police, doctors and nurses free to get on with their jobs without micro-management and top down targets. I will vote to reduce bureaucracy and to cut unnecessary quangos.

England’s Relationship With Scotland

I am unhappy with Scottish MPs still having a vote on English matters, but not the other way around. I want English votes for English laws.

I want to see a fairer funding settlement for Scotland than the current Barnett Formula.

Personal freedom and Our Ancient Liberties

I believe in the individual’s right to live free from unnecessary interference from the state.

I will fight to defence our ancient liberties. Traditionally the British people only give up freedoms reluctantly and temporarily. This government does not understand that.

Whether it's trial by jury, compulsory ID cards, children under ten on the National DNA Database, or locking up British citizens for weeks without trial, Labour is treating our hard won freedoms with contempt.