Press Coverage: Camden New Journal highlights musical launch

As a response to the coverage & the comment about the election result being predictable, Charlie wrote a letter to the Camden New Journal, unfortunately not published on this occasion, but shared in full below. 

Following the announcement in Peeps about me (literally) blowing my own trumpet at my campaign launch, I wanted to share why I’m running for the Lib Dems in Holborn & St Pancras. Especially given that, as was pointed out in Peeps, the result might be considered predictable.

When door knocking in Camden I’m hearing the same messages as I read in your letters: the Labour council aren’t listening to residents, and Keir Starmer is an inaccessible MP.  Politics is not working for the people of Camden.   

Just this month, your Lib Dem Councillors proposed a budget amendment raising new money from under-used council property, to be invested in tackling homelessness, poor quality housing & clean streets (among other proposals): all significant challenges in Camden.  The Labour run council voted it down.

Meanwhile Keir Starmer is defending his record as a local MP in the CNJ. His team may deal with 1,100 requests a month, but that doesn’t say anything about the quality of the work. Residents of the faulty development at 53 Agar Grove tried for months to get any support from his office, and theirs is a serious injustice. The support eventually provided has been, in their words: “lacking in substance”.  Michael Gove, as secretary of state responsible for housing has visited their building. Keir Starmer has not.

This is all possible because Labour believe that their seats are “safe” in Camden.  Our first-past-the-post voting system reduces accountability and is a barrier to truly representative democracy.  Residents of Camden might be interested to know that only one other country in Europe has the same voting system as us: Belarus.  They might also be interested to hear that the Labour party has voted in favour of changing it, but Keir Starmer will still not commit to reform. 

Winning this seat at the general election may be a tall order, but if you want to send a message to Keir Starmer & the Labour party that politics should be made to work for the people - then I urge you to vote Liberal Democrat at every opportunity this year.  Use your vote to tell them it is time for change: that you want a genuinely representative democracy. 

If we can fix politics, then we can get on with actually fixing Britain – including the NHS, Housing and Education as a priority. 

Charlie Clinton

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Holborn and St Pancras