NEED BEFORE GREED - Give Tony Blair a slap!

The task of government is to serve our needs. It is not to satisfy the greed of big business or the whims of a foreign power as is the case with Tony Blair and the USA. Our needs are simple: adequate housing, free and good education, free health care, decent jobs and a reliable transport system, not to mention safe streets. On all these counts Blair has failed us.

Earlier this year, Tony Blair, in defiance of public opinion at home and without a UN mandate, took Britain to a war that caused the death of thousands of Iraqis and scores of British soldiers, not to mention the billions that were wasted. To make a case for war, Blair had misled the House of Commons, manipulated intelligence reports and cheated on the people. The level of culpability is only just beginning to surface with the Hutton enquiry on the tragic death of Dr. Kelly.

Under Blair's government, private financial institutions are given a significant foothold in our public services in what is euphemistically called Private Finance Initiative, PFI. This risk-free investment will have to be paid back ten, twenty or thirty fold by the next two or three generations. Blair has put big business greed before our need.

Education, a 'priority' of the Blair government is convulsing in a myriad of targets, funding formulae, bureaucracy, red tape and a mountain of paper work. Top-up fees together with the prospect of huge debts at the end of a university degree make higher education courses frighteningly unaffordable. As for the millions who wish to gain a skilled qualification through training, the absence of grants makes it more economically viable to sign on the dole than attend a course at the local college. And industry cries out for people with skills.

The shortage of affordable accommodation makes it impossible for a young couple to buy or rent. The latest spin is to talk about making 20, 30 or 40% of new houses affordable. If the rest are unaffordable, why build them? Why is our national wealth being absorbed in houses that the majority of people who actually need them cannot afford to rent or buy them? Once again, Tony Blair's government caters not for our needs, but for big business greed.

In transport, it is the same story. We spend money to build roads that are too congested for people to use. Congestion charges which are only a stop-gap solution to a major problem of inadequate public transport are quickly being seized upon as the solution. Soon we will not only have to pay to use motorways, we'll have to book in advance to get on them. Meanwhile public transport becomes more expensive and less reliable. Public transport is a service and should be free.

The last time I went to a hospital appointment and complained about the state of the hospital, the consultant casually remarked that the standard of the NHS is that of a third world country. I'll never forget the recent occasion when I had to take my son to the casualty department at Central Middlesex Hospital. It was 1.30 pm on a Sunday and the waiting room was crowded with patients, some of whom had been waiting for six hours or more. I spoke with two elderly women who had endured a nine hours wait before they were seen. If these conditions applied to animals, the RSPCA would ensure it would make the headlines the next morning. But in our hospitals, this is normal. Blair's solution is to introduce a two-tier system with foundation hospitals.

As fat cats continue to receive phone number salaries and fat cat pensions, the state pension on which millions of our older citizens depend continues to be at a level that even the government accepts is not adequate. Once again, greed before need.

The tragedy is that there is no reason why our hospitals, schools, colleges, housing, transport and other public services should be so starved of resources. We are a wealthy country; we have the fourth largest economy in the world. Witness how the Chancellor was able to find billions, not millions, but billions, practically overnight, for a war that people did not want. The wealth, the nation's wealth, the wealth we create, is being squandered. It is being used to satisfy corporate greed instead of people's needs.

What will I do for Brent East?

I have a track record of effective representation on behalf of groups and individuals. My experience as a local and national trade union officer makes me ideal for championing the needs of Brent and its residents. I don't belong to any political party or organisation. Party candidates, be they Labour, Lib Dem, or Tory, have hidden agendas. To them, it is a cynical political game; witness the fiasco in the local council on the closure of post offices in Brent. But politics does not have to be like that. Unlike party candidates who have to follow the party whip, I would be able to truly represent and fight for your interests and your needs. I carry no baggage, only deep anxiety and distrust of the manner in which Tony Blair is leading our country.

As one of the most deprived areas in London, Brent East has suffered more under Blair than most. The very fabric of the community has been damaged. Cracked pavements, dirty roads, pollution and congestion are one thing. Compared with other boroughs in West London, Brent harbours the highest crime rates and the highest unemployment rates. Unless social deprivation is tackled with large scale investment in jobs, training and prospects, solutions such as putting more police on the streets and harsher penalties are just so much superficial posturing.

We live in unusual times. Blair's government is imploding in front of our eyes. This is not good for Britain and its people. We must restore dignity, integrity and probity to government. It is time to give Tony Blair a smack and put an end to Blairite arrogance, smugness and spin.