Time to Stand Up and be counted

I am proud to stand alongside them and back the Council’s recently launched, ‘Stand Up For Peterborough’ campaign, which is lobbying Government for a fairer deal for all of us.

It’s not often that something can unify all of the political differences in this city but from what I have seen so far, egos and ethos have been put to one side for the greater good.

But who wouldn’t want to ‘Stand Up’ for the place they call home?

Who wouldn’t want to ‘Stand Up’ for the elderly and potentially devastating cuts to adult social care budgets? Surely none of us can idly stand by and watch cash being ripped away from those that desperately need help in later life, those that have paid most in, those that deserve much better.

Who wouldn’t want to ‘Stand Up’ for those that are going to be sleeping in shop doorways in a freezing cold Bridge Street this Christmas, whilst we enjoy our goose and gluttony?

As the city grows apace, demand for help is going through the roof but funding from government does not match that growth, far from it.

The council can barely cope now, so further cuts to their budget are only going to bring more pain and more misery for people like you and me.

Because let’s face it, all of us are just one or two pieces of misfortune away from swapping our comfy beds and centrally heated castles, for a shop doorway and a sleeping bag.

More cuts, means more job losses, you or I could soon be one of those people that needs help; who are you going to turn to in your hour of need?

Why should we put up with unemptied bins, potholed roads and filthy communities just because the Government thinks we don’t deserve as much money as Luton, London or Scotland?

They can miraculously find a billion pounds to sweeten the deal for the folks of Northern Ireland but when it comes to your Nan, your kids, your streets, your jobs, they don’t seem to be listening.

So, it is time we found our collective voice and made them hear our message, loud and clear.

Together we have endured austerity but I for one am not prepared to accept poverty, cruelty and callousness, as a necessary future for you or me. Particularly when cutting deeper and further, will inevitably hit hardest, those, whose lives have already been rendered almost invisible by previous Government ‘efficiencies’ – The homeless, the disabled and the elderly.

Peterborough is a great city that has much to celebrate, but it’s very future is being jeopardised here by the short-sighted nature of others.

We must take a stand now, draw a line in the sand and say NO! A city or a town is only as strong as the people who live in it and I believe there is no strength greater than that of people coming together for a common good – ‘All for one and one for all.’

So, rise up and help save your city – It is the duty of every man, woman and child in Peterborough to shout, scream, complain and show your support for the ‘Stand 
Up For Peterborough’ campaign.

‘Power to the people!’