The diaries by our three parliamentary candidates wrap up today with their summaries of why you should vote for their parties. Lastly, Ed Vaizey, Conservative candidate for Wantage, sets out his case.
The Conservative alternative is not only a breath of fresh air. It is essential to the future of our country. For the couple I spoke to in Wantage last night, who are spending their savings on an operation, ending the artificial divide between the public and private sectors will see waiting lists cut and greater choice. To the teachers I have met who are exasperated by the breakdown in school discipline, the Conservative alternative will make a real difference. To pensioners clobbered by Brown's stealth taxes, or young couples worried about the Lib Dem local income tax, Conservative tax cuts will bring much-needed relief.
Ed Vaizey writes:
"When Tony Blair called the election, I waited anxiously for my first media call. I didn't have to wait long. Within hours, I had been contacted by ITV. It was the producer of It'll Be Alright on the Night asking if they could screen one of my TV gaffes. 'Denis loves it,' she purred.
"The gaffe won't influence the election result here. It'll be screened nine days after polling day. And the night I want to be alright is polling day this Thursday.
"The campaign here has gone very well. The third-place Lib Dems have abandoned Wantage to shore up Newbury and try to win Oxford East from Andrew Smith. Their unpopular local policies of scrapping pensioners' travel tokens and closing tourist information centres means their support is waning anyway.
"This campaign for me is the culmination of two-and-a-half years of hard work. Over that time I have been involved in numerous local campaigns and won support across the constituency and across the political divide. I have been buoyed up by the number of supportive e-mails, sent by everyone from lifelong Labour voters to first-timers.
"But I am wise enough to know that most of my vote will not be personal. Many people will vote because of their national concerns. This Labour government will go down in history as one that has squandered great opportunities. With a consensus reached on the economic management of the country, the opportunity was there for far-reaching reform: of schools, hospitals, pensions, law and order, immigration, tax. None of it has been done. Instead, Labour have treated us as if we were born yesterday. They have told straightforward lies about tax and tuition fees. They have announced, re-announced and re-re-announced. They have pretended everything in the garden is rosy, when it isn't.
"The Conservative alternative is not only a breath of fresh air. It is essential to the future of our country. For the couple I spoke to in Wantage last night, who are spending their savings on an operation, ending the artificial divide between the public and private sectors will see waiting lists cut and greater choice. To the teachers I have met who are exasperated by the breakdown in school discipline, the Conservative alternative will make a real difference. To pensioners clobbered by Brown's stealth taxes, or young couples worried about the Lib Dem local income tax, Conservative tax cuts will bring much-needed relief.
"Above all, as I have said before, we need a change of culture. The country will find Michael Howard a refreshing change. He will be a straight talker, not afraid to tackle the problems that the country faces.
"There will be fewer parties and celebrity appearances, to be sure, but that will just mean more time getting down to the job. In effect, we need a government that will shore up the foundations of a country that is slowly subsiding under the weight of centralisation, taxes and spending. If the mood in Wantage is anything to go by, that will be a Conservative government."
