OPINION: Let's focus on real issues affecting families

Over the past six months since being elected as a District Councillor in Mansfield I have watched with interest, the quality of politics on a national and local level.

Most of what I have experienced has been positive. People pulling together, being honest, hardworking and forthright, for the benefit of the people we represent.

Being new to formal politics, my eyes have been opened to internal procedures, policy and politics. The great mix of experience of elected members of all parties helps, as everyone has different experiences and different view-points.

I am happy to learn from all.

When selected as a candidate and then elected as the councillor for Lindhurst Ward I promised to do my best. That entails learning from everyone I can and grafting for residents.

My Mum, a mum of three boys by age 21, always said ‘just do your best, that is all we ask’. She taught me well. I am sticking to my promise and will learn from everyone and anyone, but I will challenge when required.

I am impressed by the work and professionalism of council officers, from the waste disposal teams working out of Hermitage Road, to Community Safety Officers, lawyers, planners and administrative staff at the Civic Centre.

Officers within the council work very hard to ensure that in these difficult times, we all do our best for the residents of Mansfield. They are always there to give advice and assistance on policy, law and procedure.

Some ‘politics’ has been less ‘straight’ and not in the interests of the people that we represent. A very recent poll [1] suggests that 62% of the public believe that politicians ‘invent or exaggerate’ ‘culture war’ issues to distract voters from the reality of life in their local area.

Instead of showing love and compassion it is easy for some politicians to encourage hate, anger and division.

Most of this can be ignored, but some must be picked up on. As a teacher, one learns how to deal with students trying to distract from ‘wrong doing’, they shout, ‘She did it too Sir’ or ‘Well, Billy, said this about you’.

All a distraction that should be ignored, with the behaviour dealt with appropriately, but we cannot deal with everything. Sometimes best to ignore.

Recently the Home Secretary shouted that the police should give the same attention to a child stealing sweets in a shop, as a violent robbery or burglary.

As a former police officer, I just sighed and ignored. Most would do likewise. Next she’ll be sowing seeds of hate against the police, trying to divide and distract.

She also shouted about banning the homeless from using tents. Maybe she could sow seeds of love and compassion. She could instead work to end homelessness.

There is evidence of similar behaviour locally.

When politicians invent ‘culture war’ issues; the lifestyles of residents, stigmatising families, asylum seekers coming up on the beaches of Ashfield and Mansfield, or ‘trans’ sports people competing in the United States, they do us a disservice. This divisive tactic gets people’s attention, but should we let it?

Do any of those distractions improve the lives of hard-working families here in Nottinghamshire and do we deserve better politics?

My Mum would say, in no uncertain terms, ‘No, it does not and yes, we do!’.

Just like the parents I meet, most residents care about real life issues that affect hard working families every day, those of 12 per cent food inflation, rising rents and mortgages, a lack of affordable housing and being able to put on the heating in winter.

We all know that public services have been decimated; 7.5 million patients waiting for NHS treatment, social care on its knees and paying low wages, the economy stalling, crime rising, Sure Start gone, schools crumbling and education outcomes for children in deprived areas declining due to cuts in education funding.

These are the real issues our politics should focus on. I will always fight for hard working families. I will ignore divisive hate.

After the last set of school examination results, we see that the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their more well off peers elsewhere, is still widening[2].

Put plainly, children in deprived areas like some in Mansfield and Ashfield, do less well every year than children in wealthy areas elsewhere. I see this every day.

Ashfield and Mansfield are in the bottom 20 per cent of towns for social mobility[3]. This is the result of a failure to focus on ending poverty in the area.

Why do they not shout about this? Why do they focus on sowing seeds of hate and anger?

Having worked in, or visited most schools in the area over the past 18 years, it is clear to me that cuts in per pupil funding have lead to lower results, opportunities and aspirations for children and families in our area.

A current Year 13 student has lost £5000 in education funding since Reception[4] These feeds into a teacher and TA numbers.

Child poverty rates locally are close to 40 per cent in some wards. 70 per cent of children in Govt defined poverty, live in working households.

Many parents work hard in several jobs, but still do not earn enough to put on the heating or feed and clothe their children.

That was terrible when my Mum worked days and evenings to feed her family and it is terrible now.

Bills rising, lack of help, and affordable child care, families having to work more hours in poorly paid part-time jobs, all add to the real-life stresses.

These are the issues that our politics should fight against.

Locally, close to 50 per cent of children receive free school meals, meaning their household income is less than £7400. How many families earning over that limit are also struggling to pay the bills and feed their kids?

Too many, is my thought process.

Distracting culture wars bear little resemblance to real life for most, perhaps politicians should be focussed on working to alleviate real problems affecting families, not inventing hateful ‘culture wars’.

The only ‘war’ needed is a war on poverty, cuts and division. Let’s show love and compassion, not encourage division, hate and anger.