These are extra-ordinary times. From one day to the next Gordon Brown’s government seems about to implode as leading Labour Party figures press for a change of leadership.
In both the local and the European elections the public has given a sound thrashing to Labour in response to the recession, MPs expenses and a deep mistrust of Gordon Brown.
In Richmond and Kingston, Labour came 5th in the European elections. As Liberal Democrats we are delighted that despite the Eurosceptic mood of the country we increased our strength to come second by just a hair.
And all of London resisted the false call of the BNP.
But whatever the turmoil of the next days, one thing is clear: this must be a time of reform and local people must have their say in the issues.
I have started with a public meeting taking place on 11th June at 7:30pm at Duke Street Baptist Church but it is only the first of our “TAKE BACK POWER” programme in which I am seeking to provide a platform for people to debate what kind of government they want.
Are you saying things like: “I WANT TRANSPARENT EXPENSES FOR MPS” or “I WANT THE RIGHT TO FIND OUT WHAT GOVERNMENT IS DOING” or “I WANT MY VOTE TO COUNT”.
If you are, then join our debate on www.susankramer.org.uk/surveys/2/ We will be reporting back to you on what people tell us as well as setting up further opportunities for debate. I will make sure that your views are fed into the discussions in Parliament and elsewhere.
We must clean up politics if we are to trust Government again."
