Time to vote for independent candidates in Parliamentary and local elections
With a few days to go before the elections, residents of Ealing central and Acton have the last chance to make a firm decision to vote for me, an independent candidate, lest their votes will be wasted. Here are some of the reasons:I have lived in Ealing and Acton for the past 22 years, spending half of that time working as a Parliamentary Officer. That job gave me a priceless opportunity to learn everything there was to be learnt about parliamentary procedures and legislatives processes. I was in effect an Apprentice MP, and I will be ready to start work as an MP on day one, if elected.I left my job in March to contest this election as an independent candidate because several people in Ealing and Acton had told me that they were thoroughly fed up with party politics, characterised by spin, confrontation and narrow tribal political warfare. And that was before the expense scandals in which 390 MPs including Gordon Brown, David Cameron had admitted receiving tens of thousands of pounds in what Sir Thomas Legg’s report described as “deeply flawed” and “vague” self-made rules”.As you and I struggled to pay for our food, transport, rent or mortgages, council tax, bath plugs – Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg were claiming these personal expenses from the tax payer. The former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith had the audacity to claim for pornographic films, allegedly borrowed by her husband! All the MPs who made these scandalous claims have pleaded that they did nothing wrong. Three of them have since gone to court, on legal aid, claiming parliamentary immunity! More recently a Channel Four programmes, Dispatches, caught several MPs and Peers on camera, boasting that they were available for hire like taxis, for £5,000 a day! How much lower can party politics sink?Moreover, many people were and are still very unhappy about the Three-Line Whip system, which forces MPs to vote the way the parties want, and not the way you want. The voters are also seriously concerned about the funding by powerful corporate organisations and non-domicile millionaires of the main parties. This has effectively turned party candidates into rented agents of vested interest groups. The real danger for Ealing and Acton is that there is no such a thing like free lunch in politics. But it is the case that he/she who pays the piper calls the tune. In other words, if you vote for Labour, Conservative or Libdem, you will be wasting your vote because that MP will be working for his or her party and funders, not you.By contrast, with no Party Whip to blackmail me with threats of dismissal from the party, or bribe with promises of ministerial appointments, I will be free to speak and vote for better public services and others issues that concern you and other residents of Ealing and Acton.My vote will become even more critical in the event of a hum parliament. It will become the “magic” vote that carry through or sink and proposed legislation, depending on how if affects our local communities.Given that the main parties are ((1) tough on the poor and weak on the causes of poverty and (2) tough on asylum and weak on the causes of asylum - I am standing on a manifesto to tackle the root causes of both poverty and asylum as a long-term solution to these problems. Why?I did not spend all my time working around the Ivory Towers in West Minister. I worked for the local communities as well. For example, in 1999, launched 'Black Graduates and Professionals Network' (BGPN) that did and still helps the unemployed youths to join the job market. In 2008, I launched 'Independent Rainbow Alliance Against Poverty' (IRAAP) that worked, and still work to raise awareness of the fact that poverty is colour-blind, and it is not just about the lack of money in our pocket or bank accounts. Real poverty is about our inability to access quality housing, health-care, education, transport etc. In 2007, I launched 'Acton Main Line Communities for More Trains' which called for all trains stopping at Ealing Broadway to also stop at Acton Main Line Station during peak hours and on Sundays.Last but not least, I was bonded to the United Kingdom, by blood, long before I was born in Uganda. From 1940-1947, my father fought alongside the British army during the Second World War as part of the King’s African Rifles (KAR) and became a Sergeant Major, thanks to fair-mindedness of his British colleagues and commanders, even at that time.I am standing in this election as an independent to maintain that family tradition of selfless service to this great country. Like my father, I am also counting on your fair-mindedness and support. Please vote for me for real change.I cannot do it alone. Please vote for independent Council candidates as well.A Vote for the Libdems is a vote for Labour or the Conservatives as Nick Clegg is standing by to prop up whichever leader survives public anger. And a vote for Labour or the Conservatives is a vote for more of the same politics of spins and corruption.
Sam Akaki ● 5999d0 Comments