Why you should vote Conservative tomorrow

Tomorrow, hundreds of thousands of Croydonians will get the chance to have their say on who should run Croydon Council for the next four years.

If I was a floating voter I would look at the record of each political party when they were in power as it provides a good indication of how they will run Croydon Council for the next four years. 

From 1994 to 2006 Labour ran Croydon and during this time they:

• Increased council tax by 108% (real term increase)
• Had almost the worst recycling record in the country
• Croydon was nick-named the 'pothole capital' of the South-East
• Over 60% of GCSE pupils did not gain 5 good GCES's, including English & Maths
• Sold all the multi-storey car parks to NCP

Since gaining the Council in 2006, the Conservatives have:

• Cut council tax bills and recently gave a £25 rebate to every household
• Invested heavily in leisure facilities including Waddon leisure centre
• Trebled recycling targets across the borough
• Resurfaced whole stretches of roads
• Maintained  free parking areas in district centres
• Have improved Croydon's schools and increased standards
• Gained and extra 117 police officers by successful lobbying
• Reversed Croydon's decline by bringing Westfield & Hammerson to the town

These facts can only mean one thing VOTE CONSERVATIVE tomorrow so that Labour don't ruin our town again.

Africa: The New Battleground Against Extremism

Today, The Commentator published my article on why I believe Africa is the new battleground against Islamic extremism. 

Terror attacks have increased significantly over the past few years and the situation is so severe that Britain must act urgently, not simply to provide support and guidance, but also dedicated and extensive education to these counties, to help route out terrorist ideologies and develop counterterrorism strategies to fight this evil.

The issue is not simply one of increasing security, as advised after the first round of bombings in Nairobi. We in Britain know all too well that security alone cannot defeat extremism. These problems are much more deep-rooted and need to be tackled through better education and community outreach programmes. By identifying potential extremists and their preachers from the outset, this will help to eradicate Islamic extremism. 

Over the coming month, the Parliament Street committee will be looking to engage with key African leaders and help to raise awareness of this growing problem through a series of debates on how to tackle these serious issues.

We know from previous examples, such as Al-Qaeda’s rise in Afghanistan, that it is in environments of uncertainty and poverty that extremism thrives. Unfortunately the terrorists are equally aware of this.

The greatest tragedy of all is that, despite high levels of poverty and unemployment, African countries are still full of hope for the future, and Britain has a moral duty to ensure that this hope is not high-jacked and poisoned by extremists.

Britain has knowledge, skill and experience in regards to how to best tackle this growing threat. We should stand shoulder to shoulder with our African friends to stamp out Islamic extremism before it gains a further foothold.

I hope to see you at one of our events soon.