Peter Carroll's version of reality?

Dear Stuart....

Violent crime is on the rise. Post offices are being closed. Older people have seen the value of their pensions sink.

Older people deserve a fair pension.

Peter Carroll
Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate for Maidstone


I received the above words in a mail shot letter from the LibDem PPC this morning. It is letters like this that make me ashamed to be involved with politics:

Violent Crime

Violent crime in Maidstone fell from 2006/07 to 2007/08, and I could find only one district in Kent where is rose during that period. From 2002 to 2006 an upward trend was seen, however this coincided with the introduction of recording standards by the police - so as the police had been counting differently the data is far less reliable. Police records have been considered poor sources of crime information (cue a barrage of comments?)

"violent crime has fallen by 41% since its peak in 1995" says the British Crime Survey, the report that is considered to give the definitive view on crime.

So what do I make of Carroll's statement that "violent crime is on the rise"? Clearly he wrong and it seems like a deliberate attempt to mislead the public. Furthermore it looks like an attempt to scare the public into believing that we are living in a more violent society than we actually are. This is akin to the worst tabloid jounalism.

Post Offices

Well either he slept through the first part of the year or he knows something that I don't. Post office closures in Maidstone closed last winter. Claiming they are being closed is simply untrue, locally. I have no idea why he would make such a statement, other than to try to worry people that more may be closing.

Pensions

The value of pension funds that are based on shares are falling. I agree that they are. Mr Carroll seems to think that in the face of a global recession, he can make things better! Of course we should increase the level of the state pension, that is a given, but that will not affect those pension funds as the stock market collapses.

Kent on Sunday

Two pieces in the Kent on Sunday today. Firstly a news item on an emergency motion passed by the Green Party conference last week for an investigation into the policing at Kingsnorth. Hazel Dawe gets the credit for organising the motion. Secondly a letter from me on the Maidstone Goes Green:

Dear Editor,

Putting the blame and guilt on individuals for using their cars is what I expect from the Tories and LibDems mentioned in your article on Maidstone Goes Green Week (KOS 7th Sept).

Encouraging people to travel to work without using their car is a worthy goal but KCC have repeated failed to invest in alternatives to car based travel. The implementation of the traffic management system in Maidstone has coincided with a doubling of road fatalities, the bus services in Maidstone are infrequent enough to be non-existent and the tiny number of cycle lanes simply don't work.

How can people be expected to do 'do the right thing' during Maidstone Goes Green week, when Kent County Council refuses to invest in the changes needed to support people?

Individual changes are vitally important to tackling climate change and the rising cost of living but local and national government must ensure policies and infrastructure are in place to make these changes possible.

Stuart Jeffery
Green Party Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Maidstone and the Weald