In a desperate attempt to try and show the electorate of Basingstoke that she is "on our side" I have to laugh at Maria Miller's fruitless attempts at connecting with us through her "series" of community meetings.

Since 2010, when the Conservatives began their programme of austerity within the coalition government, she has consistently voted with her Party on the very issues that she is trying to demonstrate she cares about.

The person who most in this town elected to represent us is failing us in every way, from the NHS, education, and housing. With nearly 50,000 patients on waiting lists, Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is now among the worst 30 percent of 169 trusts in England as a result of measures and budget cuts made by the party she represents.

Since 2016, the national benchmark of 92 percent of patients being seen within 18 weeks of a referral has not been met. However, they continue to "hide their head in the sand", insisting that nothing is their responsibility.

On housing, the national Conservatives set the agenda, the targets, the policies, and the methods of calculation for housing figures, but in her most recent conversation with locals about this topic, she had the nerve to demand that a council run by the Conservatives better control house building.

READ MORE: Letter: A huge thank you to all who work at Basingstoke hospital

I don't think I ever remember her voting against policies when they were made in Parliament.

When the same issue surfaced in 2012, we didn't see her leave the government's payroll. Rather, she stayed where she was and allowed us to end up in this position.

Similar to Boris Johnson, Maria pretends to be "listening" to the community, but it is very evident that she is merely going through the motions. Recent victories in by-elections for opposition parties demonstrate that the public has had enough. National polling puts her only slightly ahead of a Labour candidate here in Basingstoke.

Will she have the courage to speak out and take action to improve our lives, to get rid of the current shambles at the head of Government or will she lose everything at the next election?

Perhaps it's time for a change in our MP and the ruling party so that this town can finally have someone who has Basingstoke’s best interests at heart.

Cllr Alex Lee,

Labour, Winklebury & Manydown.

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