Karen Bradley, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Staffordshire Moorlands, today wrote an open letter to her Labour Party opponent, Charlotte Atkins, demanding that she withdraw the misleading and dishonest leaflets currently being distributed to the people of Staffordshire Moorlands.
David Cameron's recent Leaders' Debate request to Gordon Brown to withdraw the scare-mongering leaflets has been ignored, so now Karen has been forced to ask the local Labour candidate directly to stop producing this material.
Karen said:
"Labour are so desperate to cling to power that they have resorted to scare mongering about what a Conservative Government would do. While Conservatives are setting out positive plans to change our country for the better, Labour are playing on people's fears in a shameful way. Ms Atkins clearly has no policies and no idea so she's stooped to attacking me.
"Labour's smears are disgraceful, untrue and the lowest form of gutter politics, which will just undermine trust in politics yet further. I'm not surprised Ms Atkins is desperate, but voters should know that she has blatantly lied about Conservative policies in the Moorlands. On top of that she has simply made up quotes from me. Did she think I wouldn't notice? I ask her now to withdraw these leaflets and apologise publicly for the insult to all the voters in Staffordshire Moorlands unfortunate enough to receive them."
The full text of the letter is here:
Dear Ms Atkins,
As I am sure you will be aware, there has been much concern of late about misleading leaflets being produced and distributed by the Labour Party. Indeed, this issue was discussed in the Leaders’ Debate held on Thursday 22 April when David Cameron challenged your party’s leader, Gordon Brown, to withdraw these leaflets and to stop frightening people unnecessarily.
David Cameron asked Gordon Brown if he would: ‘Withdraw the leaflets. Will you withdraw the leaflets that are going out round the country saying that the Conservatives would take away things like the free bus pass?’ Gordon Brown simply ducked responsibility, saying: ‘David, I have not authorised any leaflets like that.’
In contrast to David Cameron’s message of hope, aspiration and social opportunity, your party’s campaign appears to be relying on fear and intimidation. Your leaflets paint false scenarios about what would happen with a Conservative Government. Among other spurious comments you claim that Conservatives will cut Sure Start centres, ensure massive public sector job losses and prevent people seeing a cancer specialist within a fortnight. None of the claims about Conservative policies that you put in the leaflet you sent to my house and others are true.
The truth, as you should know since we have discussed these matters together at hustings, is that I and the Conservatives have been absolutely clear that we have no plans to close any Sure Start centres but will actually provide 4,200 new health visitors for them. We have no plans to cut the NHS, teacher numbers or the police and will, in fact, stop Labour’s jobs tax which will hit thousands of public sector workers. We will certainly not stop anyone seeing a cancer specialist within two weeks.
It was wrong of Gordon Brown to duck responsibility and it is wrong of you to put deliberately false statements in your literature. I have given this unequivocal and categorical assurance on my part and on behalf of my party, will you now commit to withdrawing these dishonest and misleading leaflets?
I am placing this letter in the public domain.
Karen Bradley
Conservative Parliamentary Candidate