I CAN sympathise with Liberal Democrat Councillor David Nation over his concern at how the policies of the Conservative/Lib Dem coalition are causing real hardship to vulnerable members of our society. It is most depressing to see much of what we hold dear being destroyed.
Important anti-poverty initiatives of the Labour Government such as Sure Start and the Working Family Tax Credit, amongst others, are being undermined in the rush to reduce the size of the state.
Mel Stride MP told me after the Lapford Hustings meeting in April that he wanted the state to reduce by a quarter, this in itself punishes society and many of our values.
Yes, a large deficit resulted from the world financial crisis and this affected every economy in the developed world.
After paying back much of the deficit from the 1992 ERM crisis, a major public capital spending programme on schools, hospitals and other important public infrastructure issues, was put in place by Labour in 2001 to try and repair years of under-investment in schools, NHS, transport and other public services.
In addition, important measures taken to soften the worst effects of the world financial crisis on business failures and home repossessions, which up to May 2010 were considerably lower than those after the 1992 recession.
This debt must be paid down, but over a period that is less damaging to our fragile economic recovery.
For many years of the Lib Dems have strutted around telling us that any vote other than to them, was a wasted vote if you wanted to oppose the Tories.
We now see what a nonsense tactical voting is; those people who voted Lib Dem tactically have landed us with a Tory Government.
People who wish to see a progressive outcome need to support the "Yes to the Alternate Vote", in order to vote with conviction and make every vote count, rather than seeing our vote turned against us and used to destroy those values we hold to be important.
Justin Beament
Vice Chair
Mid Devon Labour Party
By email