10 Good reasons to vote for David

A considered view from Diana Smith

Reputation in Stafford

After 30 years of knocking doors in Stafford David knows every inch of this constituency. He understands the different needs of the different people who live here.

In his 13 years as a particularly active constituency MP he has helped many thousands of individuals from all parties, and he has won a great deal of respect and affection from constituents.

Reputation in Westminster

David is recognised as one of the hardest working MPs  Westminster has ever had. His attendance rate has been in the top 10 year after year.

His debating style is clear, articulate, thought provoking and never aggressive.

His skills and views are widely respected by MPs on all sides of the house.

He has been influential as a chairman of a number of cross party committees, and currently as a minister for the department of energy and climate change.

Westminster after May 6th will have hundreds of new faces and inexperienced MPs.  The job is far more difficult than any of them yet imagine.  The best result for Stafford will be to have a respected MP who understands Westminster and how to work within it!

A skilled advocate

The Role of an MP is always in part to fight for the good of their constituency. To do this effectively you have to know what is needed, what is available, who to approach.

You also need the right approach to make your requests for assistance credible and convincing.

David has a unique combination of dogged persistence, fairness, generosity and charm.

The thousands of contacts he has made within Westminster, Whitehall, Stafford, agencies and influential people over the last 13 years makes him a particularly effective advocate for Stafford.

Integrity

Over the last year people’s trust in politicians has been seriously damaged by the scandals over expenses. The scandals over lobbying and the funding of parties and individual MPs  has still not been fully exposed, but will become increasingly apparent over the next years.

In the midst of all this David is a symbol of the selfless integrity that so many people really want to find in their MP.

Where we have really decent men like this in politics we need to recognise this!

Understanding the challenges of the future

Stafford, This country and the World face huge challenges over the next 50 years. The whole focus of this election campaign should have been on this. These issues have not really been heard.

David is one of the few MPs who really understands the big challenges of

·         The ageing population

·         Climate Change

·         Energy security and Fuel poverty

·         Food security.

He understands them and is actively working towards workable solutions on all of them.

We need his vision!

A Listening MP

One of David’s special skills is his ability to listen to you, to hear not just what you are able to say, but what you mean.

The times when you need an MP are when you have problems or when you see something that is deeply unfair.

Most people who have seen David on a one to one basis when they have needed this special support come away knowing that they have been understood and they will get whatever help he is able to offer.

A voice for the vulnerable

Our community is made up of many different people. Some of us are well able to look after ourselves with minimal help, and proud of our self reliance. Some are vulnerable for all kinds of reasons.

If the vulnerable are not cared for well then our community as a whole suffers.

David is someone who understands the needs of people who do not have a strong voice. We need him to be their advocate.

He represents the best in us

When we choose to vote for David, we are making a choice about something decent in our own hearts and minds. We are acknowledging that there are things that are more important than our own self interest.  When we meet people who value David, we know they are people we can work with.

Active commitment to involve you

One of the big themes of the discontent with our political system is that it does not do enough to involve us. David is in the forefront of developing new ways to help people engage.

David has always brought people together for conferences and seminars to explore big issues, his website means that thousands of issues have been made clearer to constituents, he has explored Open Policy forums, Twitter and is at the forefront of using new technologies like Audioboo, to make his work a little more immediate to you.

Developing better ways to give you an effective voice is one of David’s key themes if he is re-elected.

A peacemaker in Turbulent times

The last three years have been divisive, The last year has been turbulent.

In some parts of the country this election has been fought with a fierce rancour that will leave bitterness for many years.

David has kept the worst of this away from Stafford. He is by nature a peacemaker.

With 300 brand new MPs entering Westminster fired up and ready to go off in different  directions, the potential for chaos and conflict is considerable.

We will need quiet wise men, peacemakers, to give us a chance of good government.

In David this is what we have