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Action on Crime

By: Paul Campbell David Mowat the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Warrington South, has recently written about crime in Warrington and I think he is quite close to my views on this. David writes: Walk down any street in Warrington and somebody will have a story to tell you about crime or anti-social behaviour. What is surprising is that for many people it is the car theft, the vandalism and the graffiti which worries them most. Whilst these crimes might be described as “petty” in reality they can blight people’s lives. The Conservative Party has been arguing for years that our policeman are spending too much time filling in Government forms and not enough time out on the street. If we win the election we will fix this, but we need to go further. A Conservative Government would Make it clear that anyone caught carrying a knife in a public place can expect to be prosecuted and sent to prison. Give citizens greater protection if they have to defend themselves against intruders in their homes, where the balance is weighted in favour of the criminal, or if they stop a crime being committed in the street. Create fifteen new rape crisis centres across the country, and give all existing rape crisis centres stable, long-term funding. Grant the Council new powers to fight booze-fuelled antisocial behaviour in Warrington and stop supermarkets selling alcohol at below cost-price which not only destroys law-abiding local pubs, but fuels low-level crime. Replace the invisible and unaccountable Regional Police Authorities and make the police properly accountable to a directly elected person who can set priorities for local policing. Publish crime statistics online every month, not just authority-by-authority, but detailed street-by-street figures, in an open and standardised format, so people know the real level of crime in their neighbourhood. As many will be aware I served in the police for many years and know that there is still much to do to improve our policing and criminal justice system. Conservatives really DO have fresh new ideas such as those above that will make a real difference to the crime that directly or indirectly affects all our lives.

Show Us the Money

“SHOW US THE MONEY” – THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD OPENS ITS BOOKS

Local residents have a right to know the true level of public spending in Warrington.

By: Paul Campbell

This week I called for Gordon Brown to stop dragging his feet over a new law which requires the Government to tell us how much taxpayers’ money is spent in Warrington and in every other part of the country. The Sustainable Communities Act 2007, was introduced by a Conservative MP. It could help fix Britain’s broken politics – by giving local people the power to decide how their cash is spent in their area.

More and more taxpayers’ money is being spent by unelected quangos. A new report published on 26 October by the Taxpayers’ Alliance has revealed that quangos now spend an astonishing £90 billion a year – equivalent to £3,640 a year for every household across Warrington.

But Labour Ministers have been trying to water down the new law. They initially only wanted to publish spending by councils and NHS Primary Care Trusts – facts already in the public domain. Further information will only be “developed over time”. Warrington North's Labour MP Helen Jones voted against any such openness in the Commons. Conservatives are calling for greater openness and accountability, and are pledging to:

Require Warrington council to publish online figures for all expenditure on goods and services over £500, as is already being piloted by Windsor and Maidenhead Council.

It’s time for the Government to show us the money – and tell Warrington's residents how much of their money is actually spent in our area. Gordon Brown wants to stop local people finding out that they get a raw deal from his Government, and conceal that his unelected quangocrats spend almost £4,000 a year per household in Warrington with little or no say for local people. Local communities deserve a far greater say on how their money is spent. It’s time for change, and only Conservatives will open up the books and give power back to local people.

Cowboy Clampers Legislation

Cowboy Clampers Legislation

By: Paul Campbell

I welcome the news that the Government are to clamp down on the cowboy clampers. This is long overdue and something I have been campaigning for in the last year. Ministers have announced the creation of an Independent Tribunal that drivers can appeal to if they are clamped on private land. Now clampers can be ordered to refund in full any unfair fines or towing charges or pay out large compensation. The company's used by private landowners to carry out clamping on their land will now have to be licensed by a central authority.

Unregulated firms have been bringing in up to £1billion a year, in what has been described as 'legalised mugging'. Now they can face up to five years in jail and they will also have to cap the amounts they can charge which in some cases in the past could be as much as £500 this will now be more than halved.

In recent times we have found in Culcheth that a private landowner has been using just such a firm to target unsuspecting motorists using a car park at Lodge Drive in the village while shopping. In my campaign against this practise I have received many complaints from drivers and residents all like me totally opposed to its use. I have written to the land owner and met with them asking that they consider other methods for controlling access to the parking areas without success. Maybe the fact that now the Government is at last clamping down on this type of parking control and also that private landowners using such cowboys can be fined up to £3000 if they are not a properly regulated company will stimulate their imagination into using a more sensible and acceptable means of allowing access to their land. I would be interested in your comments.