Reasons to Vote Labour, One, Two Three!

Aside from that the phrase can be slotted neatly over Ian Dury's 'Reasons to be Cheerful', there are a number of very good reasons to vote Labour, or at least to vote against the Conservative Party.

Here are some lovely things that Labour governments brought us: the National Health Service (created by Nye Bevan, left), universal suffrage, winter fuel allowance, 2012 Olympics, free state education up to 18 years of age, fox hunting ban, Sure Start children's centres, state pensions, civil partnerships, national minimum wage, child benefits, trade unions, council housing ...

And here are some less lovely things that the Conservatives dreamed up: non-income assessed Council Tax, top-up fees for nurseries, housing associations, sponsored 'academy' schools, privatisation of state services, selling off of core industries resulting in mass unemployment, the right for B&Bs to turns away gay couples, tax breaks for owners of estates worth over £2million, isolation from Europe that will weaken Britain's economic stability ...

And now two personal reasons for voting against David Cameron's Conservatives.

1. I grew up on a council estate (lovingly called 'The Site' by locals) in an ex-mining town called Aberdare in the South Wales valleys. My feelings towards Aberdare are complicated; I hate what it is, the husk that it became after Thatcher was through with it, but I am so proud of what it once was and how hard it fought. The best story to illustrate is that of Tower Colliery, the oldest and last deep mine in the country, located just outside the village of Hirwaun in Aberdare. During the Miner's Strike of 1984/5, Tower was one of those scheduled for closure by the Conservatives who chose to import cheaper coal from apartheid South Africa instead. After demonstrations and protests from the miners, which included raising the red flag over the colliery and a pit sit-in organised by our Labour MP Ann Clwyd, the closure went ahead on April 22nd 1994. However, the miners weren't to be so easily defeated. They pledged thousands of pounds of their own money and bought back the mine, returning to work in January 1995 and keeping the mine running until 2008.

Everybody in Aberdare was connected to Tower. It gave jobs to the men, warmth to the houses and was a symbol to the community. And the Conservatives were happy to destroy it. They left our town with high unemployment and crime, low pass rates at GCSE and A-Level, and a deep-set feeling of apathy and depression. It is only since Labour that things have steadily improved, and I will not see our progress hindered or reversed by the Conservatives. For the sake of Aberdare alone, they must not be allowed to govern again.

2. My sister has severe autism. Even the Tory party can't be blamed for that. But I have this strange notion that those given power by the people, chosen by the people, answerable to the people, should work in the best interests of the people. Now my Mum has given up her entire life for Sarah. She can't work, or pursue any hobby because of the demands from Sarah. Of the 168 hours in a week, day and night, Mum is responsible for her for 134 of them. For this, she is granted a Carer's Allowance of £53.10 a week, breaking down to 39p an hour. I find this slightly unfair, considering a nurse offers a patient round the clock care and earns an, albeit small, but living wage. According to the Conservatives, Mum's claim for Carer's Allowance makes her a scrounger. They want to 'devolve' and downsize social services and the budgets available to carers ie. they want the carers to look after themselves. According to Cameron's 'Big Society' ideal, people will volunteer to come and help Mum look after Sarah, out of a sense of community spirit and moral obligation. Refer then, to point one. There is no sense of community in our town; the Conservatives saw to that.

Labour would like to present to you ... the National Care Service. It's like the National Health Service, but for the elderly, the sick, the vulnerable and the disabled. End of. Labour win.