My Pledge to The Wrekin

      My Pledge to The Wrekin

In a country weighed down by chaos, confusion and disorder, people need to be listened to. Not lectured. Not managed. Not handed another glossy leaflet full of promises that quietly expire the morning after polling day.

Listened to properly, and by someone who actually intends to do something about what they hear.

That is the promise I make to you. It isn’t a slogan, it’s the way I’ve tried to live my life, and the way I intend to serve The Wrekin. My ethos was built on empathy, honesty and meaningful connection.

 I learned those things the hard way: through a difficult start in life, through more than eighteen years in the British Army, and through writing about people whose voices were ignored for far too long by the institutions meant to protect them. 

I know what it costs when those in power stop listening, and I know what it takes to stand your ground when it matters.

So here is what I will fight for on your behalf.

1.  Justice for the survivors, and accountability for those who looked away.

Towns like ours in The Wrekin were betrayed. Children have been groomed and raped here for decades, while the authorities paid to protect them turn their backs, and survivors are left to carry the cost for life. 

I will not let it be buried in time. I will fight to bring the rape gangs to justice, for a full reckoning with the institutions that have failed, and for survivors to be heard, supported and believed. 

The law must protect those who obey it and severely punish those who break it, no exceptions, no cover-ups, one rule for all. This must be fought and stopped. 

2.  Protect our countryside and stop the solar farms swallowing our farmland.

The fields around Wellington, Sutton on Tern and across The Wrekin are being eyed up for industrial-scale solar, hollowing out our countryside to hit targets set in Whitehall. Solar belongs on rooftops and brownfield sites not on productive farmland.

 I will fight to protect our green fields, and back our farmers so that they can earn a profitable living, in the knowledge that they can pass their farms to their next generation.  

3.  Ease the squeeze on working small businesses and give more to those who do more.

The hard working business owner's and of this constituency are taxed into the ground while billions are wasted on vanity projects and a bloated state that delivers less and less. I will fight for lower taxes to business owners, and ensure those working hard have their effort is rewarded in a higher tax threshold.

Take back control of our borders 

Illegal immigration is out of control because politicians chose not to fight against it. I will fight to secure our borders, to deter, detain, and deport those who arrive illegally. I will ensure those who have overstayed their visas run out of time in The Wrekin. No loopholes, no endless appeals. 

Between 2021 and 2024 the Conservatives let some 3.8 million people into the country on long-term visas, AKA the Boriswave, and now hundreds of thousands are in line for Indefinite Leave to Remain at vast cost to you, the taxpayer. 

I will back Reform UK's plan to scrap ILR, replace it with a strict, time-limited visa system that puts British citizens first, and end the use of local hotels and HMOs to house illegal arrivals. Britain must be a country with borders, laws and consequences.

Andy Radford CGC

Your voice for The Wrekin