David Leighton and John Stevenson were council candidates in London at this year's council elections. Here they emphasise the importance of exposing Labour's empty rhetoric on spending and public services.
The population is now increasingly aware of the public waste in the UK. Shockingly, about half the working population has first-hand experience. The state largesse during the New Labour years knew no bounds and consumed many through state and quasi-state employment.
While dreaming up fanciful projects with no regard for the electorate – either in terms of whether, shock horror, the public requested or needed a project, or whether that was an appropriate and responsible use of the public’s money – the budget deficit and debt grew and grew.
Many a left-wing friend incessantly blames the bankers and says why didn’t you come forward earlier? To answer that charge, we need turn no further than to the Party’s 2005 manifesto, which states:
"Today, government is spending too much, wasting too much and taxing too much. Britain cannot continue indefinitely to spend more than she is earning without higher taxes or higher interest rates – either of which will harm our economic prospects. If we are to secure our future prosperity, government must once again start to live within its means."
So the daily digest of stories of waste since May 7 is no surprise, whether it’s French designer sofas, contemplation rooms, medium-size engineering projects for bored local authority officials, Blackpool jazz jamborees or must-attend conferences in Cape Town.
During the election campaign we found ourselves more angry than ever about Labour's record of waste and economic failure. But, worryingly, we found that this anger was not shared by too many voters.