Letter to Gazette - 22nd Sept 2009

The Editor
East Kent Gazette/Sheppey Gazette

Dear Madam

Recently the Gazette published a letter from Roger Truelove in which he castigated the Conservative Party for wanting to introduce cuts in public spending to deal with the soaring levels of debt racked up by Gordon Brown during the past twelve years.

Mr Truelove then repeated the deceit that a Conservative Government would introduce cuts of ten per cent, whilst Labour would somehow be able to lead us into the Promised Land without having to make any cuts at all!

This is of course absolute nonsense, as any first year economics student could tell him. No country can live beyond its means without eventually having to pay the price for that profligacy. And thanks to Labour Britain is living well beyond its means.

The Government is predicted to borrow £175 billion this year, over 12 per cent of GDP, which is the worst since the Second World War. It is predicted also that unless action is taken by 2013 the national debt as a proportion of GDP will reach a staggering 76 per cent.

The interest payment on Government debt will reach £43 billion next year. To put this astonishing figure into perspective; Labour will be paying more in interest than the combined 2010-2011 spending for transport, police, prisons and housing!

This week we learned that at long last the Government has recognised this level of debt is not sustainable. Leaked Treasury documents show that all the time Gordon Brown was criticising Tory policy he was in fact secretly planning his own ten per cent cuts in public spending.

Leadership is about telling the truth. David Cameron levelled with the public months ago when he warned that there would have to be cuts to deal with the soaring national debt. Gordon Brown chose to pretend that no action was needed. Now, at last, he has conceded that the Conservative Party was right all along and has agreed that cuts are necessary.

It will be interesting to see whether local Labour Party members are happy with a sudden change in tack that has seen wannabe Prime Minister, Ed Balls, lead the way by proposing to cut £2 billion from the education budget!

Yours sincerely

Gordon

GORDON HENDERSON
Conservative Parliamentary Candidate
Sittingbourne & Sheppey