http://www.mwaah.co.uk/features/community/make-your-vote-count#sigProGalleria9282dfd367
Also, there will be a Green Investment Bank which will fund new technologies to create jobs in offshore wind-farms, biomass energy plants, etc. Harlow is a regional centre of technical excellence, at the forefront of the distribution/logistics trade, making it well placed to attract this new investment as we exit the recession.
Robert Halfon, Member of Parliament for Harlow – “working hard for Harlow, Hastingwood, Nazeing, Roydon and Sheering.” He lives in Harlow. www.roberthalfon.com
To the question ‘how does what happens in Westminster affect what’s happening in my street?’ there is one simple answer. Everything is controlled by laws made in Parliament. Some apply directly: you must not steal from your neighbour, nor bump him off. Others tell your local council
that, for example, they must collect your refuse, but leave it to them as to how and when. Even acts of God such as earthquakes or storms, which cannot be prevented, will require action by Parliament to deal with the aftermath. All in all it’s worth taking an interest in what goes on at Westminster.
Yet it is surprising how few people bother. A percentage of the public votes in elections, regarding that as their democratic duty done. People are not without opinions, so it is a pity that they do not make more of an effort to engage with the M.P.s and councillors they elect or allow others to.
M.P.s base their approach to law-making on what they believe people want and need. Most citizens would probably agree that they want clean, safe streets with decent housing, good schools nearby, recreational facilities, good social and health care, and high quality residential accommodation for the elderly.
How can all this be achieved? Priorities may have to be established. Is your opinion expressed? Don’t leave everything to others; laws may be imposed top-down, but the inspiration for them comes from you lobbying your members of Parliament.
Rt. Hon. Sir Alan Haslehurst has been a Member of Parliament for Saffron Walden since 1977. www.siralanhaselhurst.net
Politics is how democratic countries shape and mould their society. Taking an active part in politics allows you to change a country’s laws, its public services and protect the freedoms and duties of its citizens. So elections matter. The suffragettes fought for women to get the vote so they could change the role of women in society today.
The debates at Westminster and the laws passed affect the quality of the education in your area; they affect the type of social and health care services that we can access and define what our transport networks will look like that get us to and from work each day. The decisions taken define how our community and society function. Whether the policy being discussed is on a national issue or local one it all affects our freedoms which allow us live as we choose.
The coalition government has inherited a huge public spending deficit. Indeed the interest payments on the debt already exceed the budget for defence. So re-balancing the books in the public sector is the first priority. Equally we are reshaping how government works, not least to give powers back to local people and local communities. This will help local services respond to local priorities; enable communities to decide the levels and location of new developments in their town or city; and will give families, local groups, organisations and neighbourhoods a much greater say.
Mark Prisk, Member of Parliament for Hertford and Bishop’s Stortford. Lives in Much Hadham. www.markprisk.com
