Charlotte Leslie:
Will local politicians stand up to say Ken is wrong?

I was amazed and angered to read in The Evening Post that Ken Livingstone does not think that the people of Bristol are fit to make decisions about the way the city is run. "The whole role of the political class is that they are privy to knowledge and they can think long-term in a way the general public doesn't", Ken claimed, in speaking out against our campaign to hold a referendum on whether Bristol should have a congestion charge.

Ken Livingstone is absolutely wrong. Politicians are elected to serve their public and to listen to their views, not to seize office and ride rough-shod over the electorates' opinion. Once a political elite begins to think it alone is worthy of power, it begins to steal power away from the people and the end of democracy is born. Ken Livingstone seems to think that only he and his elite party of political cronies are capable of making decisions for the long-term - but if this Government will be remembered for anything, it will be for sleepwalking into a social and financial crisis under a pitter-patter of short-term thinking, celebrity-obsession and headline-gimmickry.

But worryingly, Ken Livingstone is not the only Labour politician who seems to believe that the public should be seen but not heard. Another Government big-wig, Ben Bradshaw who is supposed to represent the South West to Parliament recently said that politicians should take no notice of pressure groups, who inconveniently speak out against their plans. He was referring to the admirable work of groups like "Save Our Green Spaces", who fight for the public's voice to be heard in the often impenetrable corridors of power.

Will our local politicians be brave enough to stand up for democracy and say that Ken Livingstone and Ben Bradshaw are wrong? If they are, I urge them to act against Ken Livingstone by joining my campaign to entrust the people of Bristol with making the decision on road tolls and sign my petition for a referendum on the congestion charge at www.nosaynopay.com.

Yours sincerely,

Charlotte Leslie
The No Say No Pay Campaign
Conservative Prospective MP, Bristol North West

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