“Britain is broken” so it’s not just Mid Bedfordshire that needs a Reform UK MP, the party leader has said.
Richard Tice, who was in Pulloxhill on Saturday (2 September) to support Mid Beds candidate, Dave Holland, said the simple question he asks people is “what works?” and “are you feeling better off after 13 years of Tory Rule?”
“Is it easier to see a GP, no. Do you feel safer on the streets, no. Is our immigration system under control, no,” he added.
“Nothing works in the UK and it needs change, it needs fundamental reform at so many levels.
“We’re a great nation that is being held back, that’s not working as it should, that economically is flat lining and it’s only Reform that’s got the big bold ideas,” he claimed.
Dave Holland, said: “The biggest local issue we’ve got is a lack of services. They haven’t kept pace with the house building in the area, that’s the biggest issue on the doorsteps. The lack of GPs, a lack of hospital beds, a lack of dentists, a lack of road infrastructure.
“We’ve been left behind, [local authorities] seem happy to build houses and take the council tax, but no one seems to ever get any of that money back in terms of services or increased provision.
“You talk to people who’ve lived in Flitwick for 35 years and their biggest gripe is that their GP surgery is the same size as it was when they moved in. But the population has trebled, it doesn’t make any sense to me.”
Tice added: “And that’s a complete failure of local leadership.
“Because when you grant planning consent you’ve got infrastructure levies, you’ve got the CIL [ Community Infrastructure Levy] and those are supposed to help contribute towards public services.
“So they’ve either not charged the right amount of levy from the house builder or they’ve charged it and then spent it in the wrong place, this is completely unacceptable.
“[Vote Reform] to get a great local MP who can make sure that the respective councils actually use that infrastructure levy money from the house building to provide the public services people want.”
Holland said that voters would notice the difference immediately if he was elected.
“I have pledged several things to the electorate in Mid Bedfordshire,” he said.
“Firstly, if I’m elected as the MP I will hold a minimum of one surgery a month for the duration of my tenure. These will be in different locations across the constituency; pubs, cafes, coffee shops, so that I’m accessible to everybody.
“Second, I will respond to every phone call and email within two working days, so that people can be heard and they know that I’m actually doing something. My mobile number will be accessible to every constituent in Mid Bedfordshire and as long as I’m awake I’ll answer it,” he said.
Being local and/or living in Mid Beds has been made an election issue by the three main parties, so will Holland be voting for himself?
“Yes, there’ll be one vote for me,” he said.
by John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
