Better politics: more trustworthy, local, accountable

News:  I am first Luton South candidate to publish their campaign expenses and contributions

You deserve to expect a lot from your MP.

You should not have to worry about the integrity and conduct of your MP. It is simply unacceptable. We need to clean up politics so we can get on with the job of building Luton’s future. But at the moment you do worry, you don't trust MPs -- and understandably so.

In my job at Save the Children the past five years I’ve been doing something honourable, motivated by good and not personal gain or celebrity. I want to do the same in my election campaign and as MP for Luton South. I want to re-engage the people of Luton South with politics and earn their trust.

This is my 5-star Better Politics Pledge.

I pledge to be trustworthy, honest and hardworking for my constituents. I challenge the other candidates in Luton to sign up to this pledge too.

* Always be as accessible as possible to constituents. For too long, Luton South has had an MP who cannot be reached or contacted by local people. I will be a champion for local people in Westminster. I will hold weekly surgeries to meet constituents by appointment, drop-in sessions to deal with problems that arise at short notice, and an online surgery on my website. I will always reply to correspondence within 1 week.

* Always be honest, open and transparent. I will publish an updated list of my expenses and campaign donations on my website each month, ensure that my expenses are independently audited each year, and provide details of all of the above to the local press for thorough examination.

* Never take a second job. I won’t have time for a second job. I’ll be working flat-out for Luton. After Margaret Moran, and in this time of recession and likely cuts in public services, Luton South needs a full-time MP whose number one priority is representing the needs of local people.

* Never claim for food, furniture, household items or a second home.
My only home will be in Luton. Plenty of ordinary working Lutonians commute to London to work every day. And ordinary people are not reimbursed for routine expenses or tax bills. I will be no different. On the occasions when parliamentary work requires me to stay at Westminster too late to return to my home in Luton, I would stay in an inexpensive hotel – like Luton North MP Kelvin Hopkins does.

* Reform the other benefits MPs receive. We need to reform MPs’ benefits overall, including redundancy and sick pay, to bring them in line with other similar jobs. I look forward to the publication of the Kelly report on MPs’ expenses this autumn and will support the reforms – or call for more if they are not far-reaching enough. I also want to hear the views of the people of Luton South.
We must make politics more local and more joined up

I also believe we need more local, more joined up, commonsense government that people can relate to and understand. I will work hard to speak to as many local as possible people as possible, who often have the answers Luton needs already, and work closely together with them.

I will build bridges with the other Luton MP, the Council and other important parts of government including the East of England Development Agency and the EU. In Parliament I will push to join the East of England Parliamentary Committee to help rebuild the local economy. All the different parts of government need to work together better than ever before for the good of the people of Luton – especially as we are coming out of a recession and public funds will be tight. In my work in Save the Children I was responsible for coordinating between offices in 50 countries around the world – I know how to do it well and I know how much more you can achieve by working together.

I will speak up for Luton in Westminster and will vote for what’s best for Luton – not what’s in the interest of a political party. As an independent, I am better placed than any other candidate to work across party lines for the people of Luton to find the solutions to build our town together.

I will call for greater local decision-making power and accountability for Luton. Decisions that affect Luton need to be more local – made closer to the people who are affected by them. Combined with this there must also be greater accountability to local people. It means there must be better coordination and collaboration between the different parts of government and with businesses and community organisations. The main parties are talking about this – like they have in the past, but have never done much to put it into action. And if they do, we need an MP who is focussed on this and calling for what’s right for Luton.