Norman Baker MP Member of Parliament for Lewes constituency
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Norman Baker,
23 East Street,
Lewes,
East Sussex,
BN7 2LJ.
Tel: (01273) 480281.
Fax: (01273) 480287.
Email: info
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Hypocrisy reigns as Michael Howard admits Tories will not upgrade the A27
Tory leader Michael Howard has said that the Tories will not find money to fund road schemes such as an upgrading of the A27 between Lewes and Polegate if they are returned to power.
The confirmation came in a statement at the national Conservative press conference on April 21st, when Michael Howard was presented with a long list of "promises" made by Conservative candidates up and down the country for new roads, such as the one from Lewes Tory candidate Rory Love to "upgrade the A27".
Challenged about this long list, Michael Howard told assembled journalists: "They are not spending commitments...We have made our spending plans absolutely clear." Those spending plans, outlined by Shadow Chancellor Oliver Letwin, entail a real CUT to the transport budget and therfore doubts arise as to whether even Labour's existing roads programme will be delivered.
Leading Lib Dem county councillor David Rogers says: "Michael Howard has laid bare the hypocrisy of the Tories for all to see. Locally their candidate has been telling voters that he will deliver a dual carriageway A27 from Lewes to Polegate, but now we learn that this is, in Michael Howard's words, 'not a spending commitment'. In other words, nothing will happen on the A27 if the Tories win power, just as nothing happened on the road for the 18 years they were in power from 1979 to 1997. In fact, given that Oliver Letwin has said he will cut the transport budget if the Tories win power, it seems he may even abandon the scheme to separate the road from the railway at Beddingham, something Norman Baker and I both support and have worked hard to achieve.
"Locally, Rory Love is certainly putting the con into Conservative."