Dakers & Khalsa pledge real alternative to the old parties to bring back Hounslow's disillusioned voters

1.01.49pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 2nd May 2005

Satnam Kaur Khalsa (Felthan & Heston) & Andrew Dakers (Brentford & Isleworth) at Hounslow High Street Stall on Saturday 30 April 2005

Dakers & Khalsa, the Liberal Democrat candidates for Hounslow Borough today made a pledge to disillusioned voters. Describing Hounslow's non-voters as a "sleeping giant" Dakers & Khalsa asked for their backing in return for a pledge to reconnect the people of Hounslow with their Parliament.

RECONNECTING VOTERS - ONE FINAL PLEDGE

With less than 5 days to go, Dakers (Brentford & Isleworth) & Khalsa (Feltham & Heston), today made one final promise: to reconnect the people of Hounslow with their Parliament in return for their backing on 5th May.

Dakers said:

"In the last general election 47% of people in Brentford and Isleworth chose not to vote. Non-voters are a sleeping giant that could decide the result. The incumbent Labour MP Ann Keen and her Conservative counterpart Alexander Northcote will get a big shock if the people they are hoping will stay at home again turn out at the polls to vote for a Real Alternative instead.

Khalsa added:

"We are asking people who did not vote in last election, or who are thinking of not voting in this election, to turn out for me on May 5th so that together we can end the complacency of the old parties and restore the trust between politicians and the public.

"With distinctive policies from the old parties on the important issues and a programme of democratic renewal to reconnect British people with their Parliament, the Lib Dems are the only party offering disillusioned voters in Feltham & Heston a good reason to vote."

THE REAL ALTERNATIVE

In the 2001 General Election the Liberal Democrats were the only party to grow their vote share in Brentford and Isleworth. Four years on, Dakers believes he has the supporter base in the constituency to accelerate this swing to the Liberal Democrats significantly.

In a recent letter to local press, Dakers said:

"I have been overwhelmed with the positive response I have received outside schools, train stations, on our high streets and on the doorstep. What is clear is that whether you have in the past supported the Conservatives, Labour, the Community Group or Greens, my firm commitment to be an accessible, local, hard-working MP has broad appeal, as do the Liberal Democrats' policy proposals. You simply want someone that will get on and do the job of being your MP diligently. Those of you that like me stood against the war in Iraq also want an MP you can trust."

DEMONSTRATING COMMITMENT

Dakers and Khalsa made 5 key promises to voters in the Hounslow area when selected to stand as Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidates.

Acknowledged by other parties as innovative, these proposals include: having an office open 7 days a week; organising frequent surgeries and regular, open Community Forums where they can be held to account; campaigning to improve health services, increase police numbers, save Post Offices and clean up our local environment. Last, but not least, Dakers and Khalsa pledged to continue to live in Hounslow, but not to claim an MP's housing allowance.

Khalsa explained:

"Honesty and transparency are vital to the way we have campaigned and hope to govern. If returned to parliament as Liberal Democrat MP for Feltham and Heston, I will do my utmost to live up to the hopes and expectations of all my new constituents. I want to build a fairer and a better Britain, in which voters really can hold the government to account."

REASONS TO VOTE LIBERAL DEMOCRAT

In government, Liberal Democrats would continue to address with real solutions the problems people face every day: putting patients first; offering the elderly free personal care; scrapping student fees, and increasing by 10,000 the police presence on our streets. They propose: cleaner transport and energy; the reduction of class sizes; an extra £100 a month for the over 75s; and local income tax. They fundamentally oppose Bush and Blair on Iraq.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

· The Liberal Democrats are the only one of the main parties with set of policies to address the loss of confidence in the electoral process.

· The top 5 Lib Dem initiatives for reconnecting people with their Parliament and Government are:

1. A more democratic Britain

We would restore confidence in Britain's democracy by making the Prime Minister and Government more accountable to Parliament; and by making Parliament more accountable to the British people. We will provide a written constitution to enshrine the rights of the British people and the responsibilities of Government, Parliament, Ministers, Judges, the Head of State. As part of this constitutional settlement, the Liberal Democrats would replace the House of Lords with a mostly elected Upper House and abolish the Royal Prerogative that allows the Prime Minister to exercise many of the traditional powers of a Monarch, such as taking the country to war, without consulting Parliament.

2. A more powerful vote

Liberal Democrats would make sure that everybody's vote counts by introducing fair votes for all local and national elections. Fairer votes will reduce the stranglehold of the two old parties on the House of Commons, so that there will be a greater diversity of voices holding the Government to account instead of singing its praises. The changes would not be made without first secure the consent of the British people in a referendum.

3. A free and fair society

We oppose the introduction of ID cards and are not persuaded that they be any help in preventing terrorist attacks. We will use the money saved by not introducing ID cards to put 10,000 extra police on our streets. We are against any further attempts to replace the civil liberties we enjoy in going about our normal day-to-day existence and will free British people from the encroachment of the Government's invasive "big brother" policies. We are opposed to measures introduced by the Government that restrict people's right to a fair trial and will introduce a binding Bill of Rights and Equality Act to protect British people from the actions of an irrational Government.

4. An honest tax system

After years of the old party's stealth taxes, the poorest 20% now pay more of their income in tax than the richest 20%. It's time for politicians to start telling it straight on tax so we can end this unfairness. We will make the tax system fairer and simpler. We will axe the unfair Council Tax and replace it with a local income tax based on people's ability to pay. We will also ask the richest 1% of the population, the people who can most afford it, to pay 50% tax on that part of their income over £100,000 per year. This will allow us to deliver in England policies that people in Scotland already benefit from thanks to the Liberal Democrats being in Government there. This would mean no top-up and tuition fees and that elderly and disabled people would not have to pay for their care.

5. An independent and accountable media

It is time to stop the Government manipulating the BBC. The Lib Dems will introduce an independent system for ensuring that the BBC fulfils its public service obligations. We will scrap the current Government-appointed Board of Governors, and introduce a new, independent and external regulator, appointed by Parliament, to ensure all public service broadcasters live up to their obligations. We are committed to ensuring public confidence in broadcasters is not compromised by any further relaxation of media ownership rules that would allow large unaccountable multi-national companies to monopolise control of British TV, radio and newspapers. We will ensure that the powers of the Press Complaints Commission are strong enough to protect innocent individuals and the public interest.

· For more information on the alternative to the old parties that the Liberal Democrats are offering to disillusioned voters, please visit www.libdem-reconnect.org.uk