My predecessor Paul Goodman has written for The Guardian, explaining the reality of life as a new Tory MP:
Without exception they will have opposed Labour cuts during the last parliament: A&E amalgamations, post office closures, downsizing rural police stations. In my 10 years as an MP, my main constituency battle was against cuts at Wycombe hospital. Former colleagues can tell a similar story, and most will remember a party campaign poster portraying an agitated Gordon Brown brandishing a gigantic pair of scissors.
You can find the article here: Who else will do a Boris? | Paul Goodman | Comment is free | The Guardian.
Like Paul, my top campaigning priority is healthcare in Wycombe. It is a constant source of aggravation amongst Wycombe constituents. That is why I have called for fair funding, local control and freedom for clinical professionals.
Happily, the Coalition’s health reforms move in that direction. Let us hope they go far enough to ensure that health reaches the standards of that other great necessity of life, food. For I remember a television programme in which a Russian man, shortly after the end of the Cold War, was taken to a British supermarket: he wept at the quality and variety of products on offer.
It will be a long hard road littered with the detritus of reactionary battles, but I hope one day we too will weep with joy to see a transformed health service for all.
