I have been
appalled by the nature of the campaign being fought by
Susan Kramer and the Lib Dems here in Richmond and North Kingston. Her team has even been caught trying to infiltrate my office. But it's worse than that.
Like so
many of our politicians, Kramer has forgotten that being elected is a means to an end,
not an end in itself. The effect is that her pursuit of votes has come to trump
all other considerations, and her literature campaign reflects a near total
disregard for the truth. Here below is a rebuttal of the worst of her smears.
In the run up to the
election, it is vitally important that people are given a clear choice. If
politics is simply about kneecapping rivals and winning by default or through
trickery, how can that be good for the country?
Please pass a link to this page to your friends and colleagues.
Susan Kramer has tried to persuade voters that Conservatives
have changed their mind on Richmond Car Parking Charges. This is absolutely
wrong on every level.
We have been clear
in our opposition to these charges; visiting Richmond Park should never become
a budget decision. If we win the
election, we will scrap the charges.
We collected thousands of signatures and organised a mass
rally in Richmond Park that attracted more than 1,000 people. We even invited
the Lib Dems in order to send a message of cross-party cooperation. Justine
Greening MP and I successfully persuaded the Conservative Party nationally to
scrap the plans if we form the next Government.
Zac presenting his car parking charges petition to
Number 10
It was
Conservatives who launched the campaign against the proposals, even while the
Lib Dems wrote to the Royal parks Agency offering to help introduce the
charges. It was only when the public backlash became apparent that the Lib Dems
got on board.
But having lost the initiative, Susan Kramer set out to
politicise, and in my view, scupper the campaign with a kindergarten trick in
the House of Lords. She and her colleagues put forward a so-called ‘Fatal
Amendment’ to stop the charges. Even if it had succeeded, the Government could
have submitted the very same package the next day. But it was never going to
succeed.
There have been just three successful ‘fatal amendments’. It
is an extreme measure where the unelected house vetoes a decision of the
elected house. There would have been outcry if it had passed. The Lords were never
going to risk it for the sake of Richmond Park.
Susan Kramer’s plan wasn’t supposed to succeed. It was a
divisive gesture – designed to generate anti-Conservative headlines. But if you
want to get things done in Parliament on behalf of your constituents, you have
to make it possible, not impossible, for others to support you.
Thankfully the Conservative Lords introduced a different
amendment calling on the Government to withdraw the proposals. It was supported
by a huge margin – almost 2-1.
If it hadn’t been for the Conservatives, the Government
would have won outright. Instead, the RPA has had to take on board the result,
and despite the Government’s determination to proceed, it has told me that it
will hold off until October. As a result, Conservatives can scrap the plans,
and as I have said – we will.
Susan Kramer: 'Saving Kingston Hospital'
(This youtube clip shows Susan kramer being grilled by Andrew Gilligan about her Save Kingston Hospital Campaign).
Susan Kramer has told residents that there is an immediate
and direct threat to the future of Kingston Hospital. She says that the
Conservatives are engaging in a ‘conspiracy of silence’ over the issue and that
we do not understand the importance of the services it provides.
First, if Kingston Hospital is threatened, local
Conservatives will campaign with every ounce of our energy to protect it, and
we will be backed up by the Party nationally. A Conservative government will
stop Labour’s planned A+E and Maternity Unit closures and freeze the hospital
reviews that are taking place across London. We are committed to real increases
in health spending. Under our proposals, money will follow patients and,
instead of facing cuts, a busy hospital like Kingston will benefit.
Zac Goldsmith visiting
Kingston Hospital with the Shadow
Health Minister, Mike Penning.
David Cameron visited Kingston Hospital with me this month.
Asked by one nurse if he could guarantee a safe future for the hospital and its
key services, he answered categorically that under a Conservative Government,
Kingston Hospital would be safe.
After weeks of misinformation by the Liberal Democrats about
Conservative NHS policies, staff were visibly relieved to hear the truth
directly from the boss.
I have criticised Susan Kramer for making irresponsible
claims over the future of the Hospital. I believe she has fabricated a threat for
electoral reasons, a view shared by all the health experts I have spoken to as
well as both the Minister of Health and his Conservative Shadow.
The Minister turned on the Lib Dems in a Parliamentary
exchange, saying; “It is all about elections.” During a recent visit to the
hospital, the Shadow Health Minister said: ‘I simply don’t see a real threat to
the hospital closing.”
The Chief Executive of the hospital has also stated
categorically that there are no secret plans to cut services at Kingston. NHS
Richmond and NHS South West London have angrily dismissed the claims, saying:
“We strongly refute any claims that there are secret plans to close A&E or
maternity units at Kingston Hospital or any hospital.” All local political
Parties have also stated their anger about the Lib Dem campaign.
Our MPs are right to ask tough questions about the hospital.
We are in a recession and all services need to be guarded. But their campaign
has put the fear of God into the community and the facts simply don’t justify
it. The consequences of this are serious. I have been contacted by very worried
patients, some of them profoundly dependent on the hospital. The hospital
itself is receiving calls from women asking if they will still be able to give
birth there in 6 months time.
NHS 'for sale' with Conservatives?
The NHS is one of the biggest issues for this election.
That’s why people need to be told the truth, so that they can make an informed
decision on the 6th May.
What is not acceptable is for politicians to misrepresent their rivals’ views
in order to scare people into voting one way or another.
It is absolutely wrong that Susan Kramer has devoted page after page of her
literature warning people that the NHS is ‘for sale’ with Conservatives. She
backs up this monumental claim on the loose words of a marginal conservative
MEP (not even an MP), a man described as ‘eccentric’ by David Cameron, and who
is nowhere near the Health brief.
Like so much of the Lib Dem literature, this is obvious
nonsense, designed to fool less engaged voters.
Conservatives: Waivering on Heathrow?
Heathrow expansion has long represented an election
opportunity for the Lib Dems. They are therefore uneasy about the Conservative
Pledge to stop the 3rd runway, and have bent over backwards to sow
seeds of doubt in people’s minds.
The Conservative Party has flat ruled out any Third
Runway after the next election. David Cameron has said; “No ifs: no
buts. Under a Conservative Government there will be no 3rd runway at Heathrow”.
The Conservative Party has also
promised to protect runway alternation. Voters have a simple choice. A vote for Conservatives means
an end to the 3rd runway. A vote the Lib Dems makes
that very unlikely.
But Susan Kramer has repeatedly sought to undermine the
Conservative position. When she accused me of wavering on the issue, her own
colleagues rounded on her. John Stewart of HACAN publicly described her claims
as ‘ridiculous’. He added; “Zac Goldsmith’s strong position on Heathrow
is helping to change the political debate across the country.”
Zac's Tax Status
The Lib Dems have made false claims about my Tax
status, which made national news. In the media stampede, there is no doubt the
Lib Dems won the PR war. But it was based on nonsense.
There were 4 claims: that I was non-resident, non-tax
resident, that I owed millions to the taxman, and that I had only changed my
status following pressure from others.
In fact I have always been resident in the UK, and have
always chosen to be tax resident in the UK. I therefore haven’t merely paid tax
on UK income – but on income generally – at the full rate. Non-dom status can
mean many things. Through my choices, it offered me little benefit, a fact that
has been confirmed in writing by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The Lib Dem assertion that trust-ownership of my home
leaves the taxman short makes no sense and is wrong. When a person’s primary
home is sold, there is no Capital Gains Tax to pay. Not so the trust-owned home
I occupy if it is sold for a gain. The taxman will therefore gain from these
arrangements.
I no longer have non-dom status, a decision that I took
before being approached by any newspapers, and which will apply as of a full
year before the launch of this election.
Where will Zac Goldsmith go next?
Susan Kramer tells residents "Zac Goldsmith has confirmed that he will
move back to Devon if he fails to beat Susan Kramer".
An entire page is devoted to informing people that Zac Goldsmith is
"committed to Devon", not Richmond. "Local people," she says,
"are asking if he really cares about them and this area." To
reinforce the point, she even includes a map showing the 200 miles
distance between Devon and Richmond. Her 'news' story is based on an
interview Zac did with The Times, where readers can see for
themselves that Kramer's allegations are utter nonsense.
Zac grew up in Richmond and went to school in Richmond. He has lived
in Richmond most of his life. He even turned down the
ultra safe Conservative seat of East Hampshire in favour of Richmond
Park, and has made it clear that Richmond is the only place
he will ever seek to represent in Parliament. When he was selected
for Richmond Park, the late Malcolm Richards, former
editor of the Richmond and Twickenham Times, praised Richmond's
Conservatives for its "wise choice in selecting a local boy".
He added: "Zac will unquestionably give the Lib Dem incumbent Susan
Kramer a run for her money'.
Zac 'Buying the seat'
Susan Kramer has devoted whole leaflets telling people I am trying to buy the seat. It is a bizarre claim because it has emerged that she has put considerably more cash into her campaign than I have into mine. Known donations alone amount to £70,000. In this light, her David vs Goliath narrative doesn’t hold together very well, and is another example of a straightforward deception.
Regarding my
own donations, I have merely registered the notional use of my office
and some staff time over three years, as well donations to charities
with a local interest. A very small proportion of this donation
constituted actual financial support.
Susan's untrue boasts
Susan tells us in all her literature that she is a
“hard working” MP. That may be true, but she is not shy about taking credit for
the hard work of others too.
Securing a new school for North Kingston
When North Kingston parents and I campaigned hard for a new secondary
school, Susan Kramer described the campaign as “deeply irresponsible” and wrote
to local parents warning them that their local schools would be harmed. But
extraordinarily, when the pressure for a new school mounted, Kramer launched a
poster declaring that she had always
believed in a new school, adding; "I
have been campaigning on this issue since 2004."
Supporting the Sainsbury's referendum in Barnes?
Susan Kramer's
Council angrily refused to support Zac’s referendum on Sainsbury's in Barnes.
Kramer herself even complained about Zac Goldsmith's initiative to the
Electoral Reform Services. ¨But when the community backed the campaign in huge
numbers, the Lib Dem message swiftly changed. Kramer sent out a leaflet seeking
credit for the initiative.
Saving our Playing Fields?
When the playing
fields at Barn Elms were under threat from developers, local people reacted
with alarm. The Lib Dem Council at first refused to yield, insisting that the
sale had to go ahead. But local pressure built up, and a group was formed –
Barnes Vision – to fight the plans. Working with me and Local Conservatives,
they succeeded. Shortly after, the very same Lib Dems put out a leaflet taking
credit for the victory – carefully avoiding the fact that it was a victory against their policies. Commenting on
Susan Kramer's newsletter one member of the Barnes Vision said: "This is
totally outrageous. We saved Barn Elms against Lib Dem opposition, not because
of them. They were totally obstructive. How can Kramer take credit for this,
when it was local people supported by her rival Zac Goldsmith, who pressured
the Council and worked so hard to secure the funding?"
Susan Kramer: a 'Saint'?
Susan Kramer refers
to herself as a ‘saint’ (quoting a newspaper) for not claiming for a second
home. Given that Richmond is so close to Westminster, if she had claimed, she
would have been among Parliament’s worst expenses offenders. Only an MP could
regard herself as a ‘saint’ for NOT committing a fraud!
Standing up for the Community
Richmond constituents are the only people under the flight path whose MP apparently failed to answer the government’s Heathrow consultation on their
behalf. Despite saying: “people must make sure they give their real views,
rather than just tick the boxes,” Kramer has admitted failing to respond as
Richmond’s MP to the most important consultation Richmond has ever been sent.
She does say that she answered as an individual… and that she asked for her
name not to be included. Given that she is our paid representative, and not
publicity-shy – it’s hard to understand why.
Susan asks: 'Who can we trust to stand up for us'?
This is a valid question. Constituency or Party? Susan
Kramer is one of Britain’s least independent MPs, voting exactly the way her
Party has told her to vote 99.2% of the time, despite serving under FOUR
different leaders.
Note
Fighting dirty is not accidental to the Lib Dems -
they are specifically coached and encouraged in how to do it, by their own
party. This depressing Guardian article explains how.
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