Karen Jennings

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ken Livingstone at the Labour Street Stall in Crouch End

Despite the rain, the Hornsey and Wood Green Labour team have been out delivering my latest direct mail letter.¬† This time it is a letter from Ken Livingstone asking voters to think very carefully before voting on Thursday and urges them to vote labour.¬† It is a powerful message.¬†¬† Take a look…..

I’ve been out campaigning in Hornsey and Wood Green for Karen Jennings, your Labour parliamentary candidate over the last couple of weeks. I chose to come here for two reasons.

Firstly, because I think Karen is a great candidate after my own heart – a strong, independent minded, Labour voice, with a background in the trade unions and the NHS; someone who I’ve campaigned with and marched alongside – real Labour.

Secondly, because I know this constituency, especially this ward, has a big progressive anti-Tory majority. Voters here turned out overwhelmingly to defeat the Tories in 1997. And in the 2008 Mayoral elections here in Hornsey and Wood Green you gave me one of my strongest first preference votes – 17,157 as against only 4,932 for the Lib Dems – and I thank you for that.

Voters in this part of London have been shown to be right, with bus fares up, police numbers being cut and tube ticket office opening hours under threat from a Conservative mayor. This is what we can expect from a Cameron-Osborne government – the economic recovery put at risk with frontline services cut.

Now I want to ask you to think really hard about your vote this time, and its effect.

Many progressive minded people agree that Labour has made a big difference –

• NHS spending massively up, hospitals built , waiting lists dramatically down;
• Education spending up, schools rebuilt, free nursery places for 3 year olds, Sure Start children centres opened, results dramatically improved;
• Working family tax credit, minimum wage, maternity and paternity rights;
• Constitutional reform ‚Äì Scottish and Welsh parliament, devolution for London, scrapped section 28 and introduced Civil Partnerships.

And most recently, Labour was right to take action to save the economy, which has prevented recession turning into depression, and stopped mass unemployment. The Tories opposed it then and want big cuts now when the recovery is fragile – while the Lib Dems proposed “Savage Cuts”.

I know many of you, like Karen and I, were angry about the war, have not always agreed with everything a Labour government does, or feel frustrated by lack of progress on other matters, but I believe we cannot put at risk all the gains that have been made. Many people locally voted for me two years ago – perhaps in part because you were rightly horrified at the thought of a Tory Mayor, in part because you valued my independence, and also maybe Labour’s London vision was more closely aligned with your values.

Now your choice in this election is crucial. Your vote really counts just as it did in the Mayoral election.

As recent press coverage shows the Liberal Democrats may well put the Tories into power. A hung parliament is looking a possibility. Clegg has made it clear that the Lib Dems will look for a coalition with the biggest Party, and he has almost ruled out a coalition with Gordon Brown. And we know that the Libdems in local government have formed coalitions with the Tories all over the country including in nearby Camden – usually followed by big cuts to public services.

If, like me, you want to avoid the election of a Tory government, or a Tory led coalition you need to vote Labour in this constituency. Even if you are tempted by a Lib Dem/ Labour coalition, your vote can best achieve it by voting Labour.

Please think hard. Waking up to David Cameron on May 7^th is a nightmare that can be avoided – the best option for voters in Hornsey and Wood Green to keep the Tories out  is to vote for Karen Jennings, Labour, and stand up for the values so important to people in this community.

Yours sincerely,

Ken Livingstone

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