In which Jasneet Samrai of the Liberal Democrats offers her view of Labour’s Medway manifesto launch and makes the case for her party ahead of the European elections..
Jeremy Corbyn launched his manifesto here. But Medway should ‘Demand Better.’
On Thursday, Corbyn launched the Labour manifesto for the Euro Elections on the University of Kent campus. But Medway deserves better than this. We should therefore demand it.
Upon reading the Labour manifesto, one thing that’s been realised is that much of the document is hard to implement. It’s full of juxtapositions and opposing statements. We should demand better than this, promises made by political parties need to be clear. We need there to be a plan.
Brexit itself has been a mess, the country is in turmoil. We’ve gone through plan after plan, vote after vote and even the breakdown of the Cabinet. Whilst the Government have clearly been failing, the Opposition too have been failing to deal with the crisis. Corbyn has, on multiple occasions, failed to attend cross-party talks regarding Brexit, and on top of this his party’s stance on the issue has changed constantly.
The two main parties are failing us. And it’s clear that the public understand that. What we need now is a clear plan, the public deserve the right to determine whatever happens next. We need a second referendum and only the Liberal Democrats can deliver this. We need to put a stop to this madness.
And why can we deliver this? Because we were the first to make this pledge. The Tory leadership fail to even consider it as an option, Labour would use it as a last resort if their own Brexit deal wouldn’t go through. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have been ahead of other parties on this issue – we were the only party that was fighting for another vote in the immediate aftermath of the referendum. Voting for us would provide a solution to the crisis that we are currently facing. It would empower the public.
But even putting this issue aside for a moment, you should still vote for us in these EU elections. We are the only major party that truly stands up for individual freedoms within the EU Parliament. We seek to use our position in Europe to help protect our planet, ensuring that it remains healthy, and to empower through education. We want to tackle tax avoidance and the misuse of personal data.
We want to reform the EU using technology, taking the organisation itself into the digital age. We shouldn’t leave, but instead we should reform it.
Brexit isn’t the answer; Medway needs to demand better. Instead, we need to vote for a positive future and a party that protects both citizens and the planet.
The way that we can achieve that is by voting for the Liberal Democrats on the 23rd of May.
Jasneet Samrai lives in Medway and is a member of the Lib Dem South East executive.