It's been a busy week since my last e-news, with preparation for yesterday's Queen's Speech, promotion to the full Shadow Cabinet and an office move to deal with (not to mention the goings-on in the leadership election - I'm supporting Ed Miliband if you were wondering ).
This week has so far seen two significant events in Westminster - a press conference where the Chancellor and the Chief Secretary of the Treasury outlined the £6.2 billion of cuts they intend to make to public services this year, and the Queen's Speech and State Opening of Parliament, where the government set out their plans for the year ahead.
It's decision time. In 24 hours, either I'll have been re-elected, or Tooting will have a right-wing Tory MP.
If you've been reading my blog and news updates for a while, you'll appreciate the impact that an MP can have on the local area.
From the £8 million re-build of Earlsfield Station (the planning application is with the council) to supporting residents in their
campaign to prevent the Springfield Hospital mega-development, I'm
proud of what I've been able to achieve.
And I'm proud of the
progress made since 1997: waiting times slashed at St George's, school
results massively improved, crime down by a third, local unemployment
40% lower, dramatic falls in pensioner poverty, huge increases in
overseas aid... the list goes on.
This hasn't happened by chance. Politics has a bad reputation - often deserved -- but it really matters.
I don't pretend things are perfect. They never can be, and I'm standing for re-election because there is more to be done.
The
choice before you is whether we continue the fight - and it is always a
fight - to make things better. Or whether to give up and go back to
the old attitudes that the government shouldn't help those (here or
abroad) in need.
That's the attitude that saw mass
unemployment and poverty in Tooting. It saw local kids, like me,
educated in Portakabins with holes in the roof. And it saw waiting more
than 18 months for an operation at St George's be the norm.
The Guardian today called my Tory opponent "fiercely anti-state". I
think that's an accurate description. And those of you who've lived in
our area for a while know what that means.
Be clear: a Tory MP
here means a majority Tory government, cutting schools funding, cutting
police officers, cutting tax credits that local people rely on. Their
priority, as ever, is tax breaks for the very richest.
Other
constituencies may be different, but in Tooting only by voting for me
can you stop this happening. It is a two-horse race here.
The
election will be close. You need to approach it as if you are casting
the decisive vote: do you want me or the Tory candidate to be elected?
It has been the greatest privilege to represent my patch, where I was
born, brought up and am now bringing up my girls. What happens in this
community matters so much to me and my family and I promise to continue
the fight to make it a better place.
Thank you for your support over the last five years, and thank you in advance for your support at the ballot box on Thursday.
And don't forget the council elections
They don't have the same profile as the general election, but on
Thursday you will also be electing the three councillors for your local
area.
Wandsworth Council is Tory-run, and to be honest I don't
expect that to change at this election. What is needed is an effective
opposition, to keep the Tories honest. I give two examples of why this
matters.
First, Tooting town centre. A former Tory councillor
publicly admitted that Tooting Tories were being ignored by the
council’s Conservative leaders. It was only when Labour’s campaigning
made it a political issue that the council began to take action.
There’s much that needs to be done, and in other shopping areas. Labour councillors will keep up the pressure.
Second, road maintenance. The Tories cut road maintenance by 40%.
Labour councillors opposed this and proposed cuts in bonuses for Town
Hall managers earning over £100,000 that would fund fixing our streets.
The Tories refused to support this. Only residents’ outrage at the
state of our roads made them take some, limited action ahead of the
election.
We can expect them to return to their programme of cuts after polling day unless they are held to account.
With the Tories currently having 51 of the 60 council seats, there is an urgent need for a larger, unified opposition group.
There have never been any Lib Dem councillors in Wandsworth. And to be
frank, any vote for them divides the opposition to the Tories and risks
turning Wandsworth into a one-party state.
Labour councillors
will work hard, keep in touch and serve the whole community. I’m proud
of all our council candidates in Tooting constituency and I strongly
encourage you to trust them with your vote.
If you'd like to help my campaign on the day, please come to our office
at 220-222 Upper Tooting Road, SW17 7EW, or call 020 8767 9660 now.
Election Information
Polls will be open from 7am to 10pm on Thursday.
You don't need your poll card to vote (but it makes voting a little bit quicker).
If you're not sure where your polling station is, or you need a lift to get there, call my campaign office on 020 8767 9660.
If
you have still to return your postal vote, you can take it (in the
envelopes supplied) to any polling station in Wandsworth borough.
Secretary of State for Transport Lord Andrew Adonis visited Earlsfield Station this week to celebrate an important milestone in Sadiq Khan’s campaign for improvements to Earlsfield Station.
With planning permission now submitted to Wandsworth Council, work to revamp the station and install new lifts will hopefully begin should planning permission be granted by Wandsworth Council’s Planning Application committee.
The £8 million refurbishment scheme will include:
• A new booking hall
• A wider/enhanced entrance and new frontage
• A new staircase, roof, lift and walkway to Platform 3
Government funded school
re-building schemes at Graveney School, Chestnut Grove School and Ernest Bevin
College could be scrapped by a Tory government, the Conservative Shadow Schools
Minister Nick Gibbs has admitted.
Labour's Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, joined Sadiq at a meeting with residents in Tooting today. Alan issued a challenge to Tory candidates in Battersea, Putney and Tooting to explain whether they support Boris Johnson's refusal to guarantee the future of local police teams or Labour's safer neighbourhood police team guarantee.
Read more about Sadiq's work to make Tooting safer here
Many people have received a letter sent from a former post-mistress and Tory Councillor candidate regarding the closure of local post offices.
What a lot of people don’t realise is this highly misleading letter was sent and paid for by the local Conservative Party.
The truth is:
I worked very hard to save our area’s Post Offices.
At no point did I vote to close any of our local Post Offices.
There was not a vote in the House of Commons on whether or not Post Offices should be closed.
The Tories said at the time “we fully expect the [Post Office] network to shrink in size. We have never given a guarantee that no post offices will close.”
I believe Post Office Ltd’s decision to close our local Post Offices was a mistake.
I do of course have great sympathy with all those postmasters and mistresses effected by the closures, and I was disappointed and angry that her Post Office was marked for closure. However, the accusation that I “betrayed our community” is just not true and I am saddened that local Tories see fit to mislead the public in this way.
The letter both misrepresents the vote in the House of Commons and the interaction between local and national policy. I worked very hard to save our local Post Offices and would like to explain my position below:
Promoted by Tooting Labour Party on behalf Sadiq Khan and Tooting Labour Party, all of 58 Trinity Road, Tooting, SW17 7RH. Hosted by 34SP.com, 349 Bury Old Road, Manchester, M25 1PY.
