John Morris, Peace Party National Organiser wrote to the Editor of his local paper, The Surrey Advertiser, on 2nd October, 2019. The letter was published a couple of days later and it read,
“A mere glance at a surprisingly large number of the stories in your journal of 27th September, 2019 (Guildford Edition) shows what a sorry state our country has got into. And we are talking here of supposedly affluent Surrey. May I show you what I mean by listing the stories I have identified?
- A major political party suggests that it would abolish private (‘public’) schools – but nowhere does it suggest bringing state schools up to, or even exceeding, the standard of those private ones;
- Inadequate funding to run a proper fire service in Surrey;
- Refuse workers in three Surrey councils desperate for fair pay for the absolutely essentail work they do;
- Coldingley Prison inmates having to ‘slop out’ their cells – in 2019 – just as prisoners had to do centuries ago;
- No spare places in a women’s refuge – danger for those who cannot find the safety they need;
- Shortage of care staff in Surrey;
- Rise in the cost of Surrey parking permits at a time when there should be adequate public transport;
- Parts of the M25 with inadequately-maintained road surface;
- Inadequate NHS funding for the Princess Alice Hospice;
- Social care “de-prioritised”;
- Need for far more nurses in our hospitals to ensure the care and safety of patients and staff.
We must be asking, “What has happened to the humanity of successive governments that these stories fill the paper?”
Have the poiliticians left their kindness and compassion somewhere else when they have been gathering to conduct their business on our behalf?
May I urge your readers to think deeply on these questions before voting in future elections.”
John Morris (Prospective Peace Party Parliamentary Candidate for Guildford)