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Priti Patel admits her focus has not been on Witham's needs

November 17, 2017 9:47 AM

Tantamount to admitting that her priority has been on her career, in a recent article in the Braintree and Witham Times, Priti Patel offered to turn her focus to her constituency. After her embarrassing departure from the Government, her statement has been met by skepticism and mistrust from many of its readers online.

Comments from some constituents queried whether this meant she had not been doing her job all along, whilst others suggested that her acceptance that her actions 'fell below the standards of transparency and openness' expected, means that she should no longer be trusted as a Member of Parliament at all, and called for her to resign as the local MP.

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson Jo Hayes commented:

"Ms Patel lied and concealed from the Prime Minister herself, as well as the country, the full extent of her freelance meetings with foreign government ministers, which were not just while apparently on holiday but on two later occasions as well. She also claimed that the Foreign Secretary had been aware of her meetings, and then retracted. Which was true?
"In August I called for Priti Patel's resignation as an MP as unfit for public office because she associated herself with the lying Vote Leave referendum campaign written on the side of that notorious bus. I asked then: once you start lying to voters, where do you stop? And how can voters believe anything you say?
This is all the more pertinent now. Ms Patel should go."

Other local residents have pointed out that a renewed focus on Witham from the arch-right wing Tory may not be in their interests. Under Priti Patel's watch, in Witham:

  • the local police station closed due to cuts
  • there has been a failure to recruit any new doctors or build new health facilities
  • school funding has been reduced
  • massive new housing estates have been approved without corresponding investment in instrastructure

The Liberal Democrats in Witham are committed to addressing these issues, largely brought about by the Conservative's ideological commitment to austerity, cuts and privitisation of public services - as well as their cosy relationship with developers.

It is time for a change in Witham who have been saddled with a Tory MP as well as Conservative-run County and District Councils. The Lib Dems can provide an alternative vision for a better serviced Witham in which local families and businesses can thrive.