LETTER: Deliberately vague PM

I was not surprised by the departure of Andrew Tyrie, Chichester's independently-minded, '˜One Nation', pro-European MP following an unnecessary general election called by a Eurosceptic, Brexit-obsessed administration which places ideological party dogma above the wider domestic needs of the country.

No doubt some loyal, pro-Brexit, right-wing candidate with no local connections will be parachuted into our constituency without any public hustings.

Despite continual robotic sound bites insisting upon ‘strong and stable leadership’ PM May has shown a scathing contempt for parliamentary democracy, scrutiny and opposition.

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She might appear strong on rhetoric but remains deliberately vague on precise policy substance, detail and action.

When Home Secretary she was responsible for the ‘go home’ vans and wants the UK to leave the Convention of Human Rights – thus revealing her true authoritarian leadership intentions – none of which ultimately strengthens our forthcoming difficult EU negotiations.

Since her first PM address she has failed to tackle the ‘burning injustices’ she promised to address affecting ordinary working families, instead cut welfare and tax credits to those on low incomes.

Based purely upon her own experiences, PM May wants to expand selective grammar schools, despite her current and previous Educational Ministers’ lack of support in the face of vast empirical research proving this be to both harmful and divisive in terms of social mobility – at the same time of continued under-funding of West Sussex state schools.

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Conservative electioneering (to date) remains stage-managed, surrounded solely by faithful activists with no members of the public or probing questions from journalists allowed. Perhaps this is why she will not be taking any part in any televised debates.

With ever increasing inter-generational debt and inequality, pay stagnation, slow economic growth, rising inflation, reduced living standards, an uncertain labour market, shameful adult social care and an NHS underfunding crisis, no affordable housing, the expansion of academies at the expense of state-school funding, the A27 consultation fiasco, can anyone really trust ‘unleashed’ Tories locally (or nationally) as a ‘safe and secure pair of hands’?

With Chris Nuttall as UKIP leader let us hope we now see their demise, having succeeded in their xenophobic short-sighted aim for blaming Europe for all our domestic woes, wanting to drag Britain back to a ‘nostalgic’ past that never really existed.

So, whatever your political persuasions please register to vote by 22/05/17 via the link www.gov.uk/register-to-vote so you can participate in the forthcoming general election on June 8, 2017, because if you care about your future – vote for it!

David J. Gaylard

Peacock Close

Chichester