Mr Todd said:

“The decision by the Tory-Lib Dem government to increase the standard rate of VAT to 20 percent betrays commitments made by both my Conservative and Liberal Democrat opponents at the General Election. The fact that Liberal Democrats campaigned against such an increase has been well-documented. It is also important to remember that the Conservative candidate in Westmorland and Lonsdale gave a “firm commitment” to the South Lakes Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) that VAT would not go up.

“Many of these small businesses will directly or indirectly benefit from the recent opening of K-Village in Kendal, which I championed during the campaign. But these businesses would be in a much stronger position if this decision on VAT had not been made.

“This increase is the last thing our economy needs in its present fragile state. It puts our economic recovery in danger.”

Mr Todd said:

“The Liberal Democrats have gone to great lengths in Westmorland and Lonsdale to try to convince voters to not vote Labour, as they claim that to do so would only make it more likely that we’d get a Tory MP. They even colluded with my predecessor from 2005, John Reardon; a man so politically promiscuous that he is now a member of the Green Party.

“They printed and distributed a letter from Reardon, which encouraged voters to not vote Labour for tactical reasons. This letter certainly confused people, as many subsequently enquired whether Labour still intended to field a candidate. It reflects badly on the Liberal Democrats that they should soil the democratic process in this way, but it also shows their absolute determination to make people believe that voting Liberal Democrat is the only way to stop the Tories.

“After all the lengths that they have gone to, to try to convince people that they are the only party that can stop the Tories, it must be a kick in the teeth to these same people that the Liberal Democrats have now entered into a coalition government with the Conservatives.

“It seems that the “Tories for Tim” – the campaign spawned by another Liberal Democrat sponsored letter from Conservative supporter George Crossman, which urged voters to support Tim Farron – had it right all along: voting for Farron has helped the Tories and enabled David Cameron to form a government.

“Now that the dust has settled on all of the cant of tactical voting and the horse trading that has placed Liberal Democrat bottoms on the smooth leather of Ministerial cars, at the expense of propping up Cameron in Number 10, I hope that voters resolve to never again vote tactically and to vote, instead, for what they really believe in. Voting for what you believe in is never a wasted vote.”

 Mr. Todd said:

 “At the risk of using a horrible pun, I’d genuinely say it was a very eye opening visit. Ms. Irving and Mr. Everett are impressive people, who exude a real public service ethos. They raised a range of issues with me and made a very convincing case for the wider public health roles that optometrists can fulfil, particularly in relation to diabetes and glaucoma.

“Some changes to public policy will be needed to enable optometrists to better fulfil these roles and I will work with them to achieve these changes. These changes are particularly important in Westmorland and Lonsdale, as many health issues are best addressed within rural communities by a visit to the optometrists down the street at an early stage. The unhappy alternative is letting things fester or go undetected, making a longer journey to a hospital necessary.”     

The Labour government will have a delivered national roll-out of broadband at 2 mb/s speed by 2012, with many people having access to faster speeds at this time. Connect, now merged with Prospect, has consistently campaigned for the government to go further and faster but welcomes the commitment to deliver universal broadband.

 Faster broadband services are sometimes known as Next Generation Access (NGA) services and the telecommunications market is presently delivering them to the parts of the country where it is profitable to do so. It is expected that NGA services will reach 90 percent of UK homes by 2017. However, there is concern that rural areas, like Westmorland and Lonsdale, will suffer a ‘digital divide’, as NGA services are delivered by the telecommunications market more quickly to urban areas.

 Mr Todd is delighted to be working to play a part in closing this ‘digital divide’. He said:

“Infrastructure has always powered economic advancement: our canals during the industrial revolution and railways and motorways more recently. High speed broadband is the equivalent for the 21st century. It wouldn’t be acceptable for the M6 to stop at Preston; so, how can it be acceptable for the fastest broadband speeds not to come to Westmorland and Lonsdale?

“I’m delighted to be joining forces with Prospect to work to ensure that this doesn’t happen. To close the ‘digital divide’ would not only be a massive economic boon to Westmorland and Lonsdale, given how much business is done online, it would also strengthen our communities, as an increasing number of community groups organise themselves via emails and websites.”

Leslie Manasseh, deputy general secretary of Prospect said:

“We have been impressed by the vigour of Jonathan’s campaign in Westmorland and Lonsdale and also by the fact that he has picked up on the importance of high speed broadband to his constituency. We are constantly looking at and taking forward new ways to address the ‘digital divide’. It is great to have Jonathan on board with these efforts.”

These commitments are based on a campaign being run by CAMRA, which is asking all Prospective Parliamentary Candidates whether they are willing to speak up for beer drinkers and pub goers. CAMRA’s new Beer Drinkers and Pub Goers Charter sets out a series of options for supporting well-run community pubs, local brewers and consumer rights.

Mr Todd said:

“CAMRA is a fantastic organisation, with a strong campaigning platform that would bring positive change not only to pubs and their drinkers and communities, but also to public health. CAMRA’s proposals will make it more likely that people drink in the safe, regulated environments of pubs, rather than buying alcohol at rock bottom prices in supermarkets. Buying alcohol from supermarkets in this way tends to fuel unhealthy binge drinking and anti-social behaviour. This is something that I will work to change.”

Mike Benner, CAMRA’s Chief Executive welcomed Jonathan Todd’s support for the Charter, saying:

“We are delighted that Jonathan Todd has promised to work to promote the interests of beer drinkers and pub goers. Well-run pubs make a huge contribution to community life, each of which injects £80,000 into their local economy every year.  Amid growing concern over the loss of more than 5 pubs a day, it is now more important than ever to support well-run community pubs, to promote local brewers and to protect the interests of consumers.”