Students into Politics - Superb!

Max congratulations to the innovative and determined students at South Dartmoor Community College.
As some-one with a schools-based background I experienced the under-investment of the Tories, when they were in power - falling far short of ensuring a decent education for every pupil, every student, in every school and college.
I'm so proud that the results of years of massive Labour Government investment in education were so wonderfully

Eradicating fly-tipping mentality

Spring has brought lambs to the 3-acre field in which I have a quarter-share.
It also brought a heap of fly-tipped rubbish - dumped at our gate and including a large mirror which smashed up leaving glass scattered where dogs

Wholehearted support for Hospiscare

Whether it is the joy of very lively music in a packed church in Cheriton Fitzpaine, or the great fun of joining with a good Labour colleague and hundreds of other women on a midnight walk, the pleasure to be had in raising funds for Hospiscare is doubled by knowing what superb work Hospices do.

So when Exeter, Mid and East Devon Hospiscare wrote asking me to sign up to their manifesto I did so without hesitation. Hospiscare supports family friends and carers before and after a person's death. The support is invaluable.

Credibility Bypass, not Traffic Bypass for Crediton

How patient do the people of Crediton have to be?

We know the patience of the current Conservative administration at County Hall has run out, because they've voted to abandon the best and only logical way of resolving Crediton's intense traffic problems - which is to get on and build the long-promised bypass.

We also know that no-one at County Hall has asked the Devon PCT/NHS Trust about morbidity and mortality data to see any effects of Crediton's citizen's enforced breathing of chronicly high amounts of polluted air.

How many people in Crediton die early because of too long

What About Women?

I've been a Member of the Fawcett Society for several years and admire the scale and quality of their campaigning and lobbying. Last October I went to their AGM and met Fawcett's new Chief Executive, Ceri Goddard.

And I'm fully backing their election campaign designed to ensure women's voices are heard during the General Election.

Fawcett is the lead organisation of a powerful coalition of over 40 organisations, including Gingerbread , Carers UK , End Violence Against Women , the Hansard Society , the Equality Trust ,  and many more, saying we women want political parties to take us more seriously on the major election issues such as the economy, crime, and renewing political trust.

See here the questions they are asking the political parties - What We're Asking
You can add your voice to the campaign in the pledge column on the right hand side of their web-page.