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Zahid IqbalCampaigning for changeEXCLUSIVE: David Cameron on jobs, tackling Labour’s debts and trust in politicians

NHS:Puttingpatients in thedriving seat

Peopletalk! 2

• Crimestoppers0800 555111

• Council Helplines:Traffic and Road Safety01274 437409Customer Contact Number01274 431000

• NHS Direct0845 4647

• Bradford Royal Infirmary01274 542200

• National Rail Enquiries08457 484950

write: Zahid Iqbal, CumberlandHouse, Greenside Lane, BradfordBD8 9TFtel: 01274 363015email: Zahid@zahidiqbal.co.ukwebsite: www.zahidiqbal.co.uk

What’s inside your Peopletalk

ABOUT ZAHID

Would-be Conservative MPfor Bradford West ZahidIqbal explains to us why

he is passionate about improvingroad safety in Bradford West. ‘If you have driven on the roads

in Bradford West you will realisewhy improving road safety is animportant issue to local residents,’he says.‘Too many accidents are caused

by careless and dangerous drivingand some drivers don’t seem totake into consideration the speedlimits, particularly in residentialareas. ‘I have been a victim of a hit

and run accident in Bradford and Iknow only too well the dangers thatexist on our roads.’So what have local people been

saying to Zahid?‘The message is simple – we

want drivers to slow down,particularly in residential areas and

near primary schools. Parents andteachers are worried that driverspay no attention to the fact that,near schools, there are youngchildren crossing the road. Ifnothing is done an accident iswaiting to happen.’

Tougher penaltiesAnd what could Zahid do as the

MP for Bradford West?‘I would fight hard to bring about

tougher penalties for drivers whocause accidents throughdangerous driving,’ he says. ‘I willalso continue to campaign for lowerspeed limits on roads wherespeeding drivers need to slowdown. ‘I will be there to listen and

speak up for all residents inBradford West to ensure that theirvoice is heard on whatever issuethey raise.’

Zahid Iqbal: campaigning for you

2 About Zahid Standing up for local issues

3 My local connectionsAn insight into the localConservative candidate

4 HEALTH: making theNHS better for allConservative plans to improve ourhealth service

6 Exclusive interview with David CameronThe Tory leader on the economy,getting Britain working, and MPs’ expenses

8 Working for youA record of action in our local community

Four ways to contact Zahid Iqbal

Useful Numbers

Peopletalk! 3

OUT AND ABOUT WITH ZAHID IQBAL About Zahid IqbalZahid is married with threechildren – one studying forGCSEs, one studying for A Levelsand the eldest at university – so he takes a keen interest in education.‘Education is the key for young

people to achieve their aspirationsand potential,’ he says. ‘I want tosee all children have the best startin life with the best standard ofeducation we can provide them.’Zahid starts his day by taking

his son to school before going onto visit one of the sites to checkon how work is progressing. Zahidand his wife have run a propertydevelopment business for overtwenty years, which has givenZahid experience of regenerationthrough his passion for restoringold buildings.‘Regeneration and creating the

right environment for people to liveand work in is vitally important,’ heexplains. ‘I know only too well thatthere are parts of Bradford Westthat need urgent attention andregeneration. We must lookforward to see how we candevelop Bradford West to make ita safer and more enjoyable placeto live and work.’Zahid is also a passionate

supporter of the NHS and backsDavid Cameron’s commitment toour Health Service. Zahid hasbeen given a particular insight intothe NHS because one of hischildren has a heart condition andhe is aware that many familiesdepend so much on the NHS.‘The NHS is an institution that

we should be proud of andsupport as much as we can,’ saysZahid. ‘The doctors and nursesthat I have met have beeninspirational in their commitmentto their job.’

Zahid visiting the Nationa lMedia Museum with ShadowCulture Secretary Jeremy Huntwho was extremely impressed withthe museum and Bradford.

Z ahid spends a great deal of time visitingthe sma ller villages arou nd Bradford West,including Thornton village.

Breakfast with his son

Z ahid visiting a sitechecking on plans. Restoringold buildings is a passion ofZ ahid’s and he is alwayslooking for the next challenge.

Many small businesseshave found it tough goingin the past yea r so talkingto local shopkeepers isimportant in these diff iculteconomic times.

Peopletalk! 4

IMPROVING OURNHS FOR EVERYONEA Conservative Government would increase spending on the NHS – andmake sure the money reaches the front line where it’s needed most.

Our National Health Service isa fantastic institution – therefor all of us when we need it,

regardless of our background or ourability to pay. That’s why theConservative Party has made the NHSits number one priority and promisedto improve it for everyone.

But there are huge challenges facingthe NHS in the years ahead, say theTories. Britain’s population is growingand getting older, and new advances intreatment often prove expensive.

That’s why, even as the countrystruggles to pay down Gordon Brown’sdebts, the Conservatives have promisedto protect the NHS with real termsincreases in spending – a promise

Labour have refused to match.

Too much wasteBut it’s not just a question of throwingmore money at the Health Service – thelast 12 years have shown that’s notenough. Reform is needed too. Sincethey came to power in 1997, Labourhave almost tripled spending on theNHS. Yet much of the additional

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funding has been eatenup in waste andbureaucracy andpatient care has notimproved as it shouldhave done.

‘Much of the wastehas occurred becauseLabour have beenobsessed withmicromanaging our healthservice,’ says the ConservativeShadow Health Secretary, AndrewLansley. ‘Instead of trusting doctorsand nurses to do what they do best,Labour have made it more difficult forthem to do their job as a result of theirbox-ticking and paperwork.

‘This has meant the NHS has notbeen able to focus on what reallymatters – providing world-class

healthcare to every patient in thiscountry.’

To achieve that goal and close thegap between the UK and othercountries on things like cancer survivalrates, says Lansley, taxpayers’ moneyhas to get where it’s needed most: to ourdoctors and nurses on the front line.

And patients should have more sayover the treatment they receive – aConservative Government would letthem choose their GP, their hospital andeven the consultant responsible for theirhealthcare.

‘Only the Conservatives have thereform programme that the NHSneeds,’ he says. ‘By trustingprofessionals and putting patient choiceat the heart of the NHS, we will deliverthe change we need.’

Find out more online atwww.conservatives.com

Helping people in care keep theirfamily home

The Conservative commitment to the NHSDavid Cameron’s party has promised to:3 make sure the NHS focuses on the results of yourtreatment, not box-ticking and targets.

3 put patients in the driving seat – you will have the right tochoose your GP, your hospital and even the consultant responsible for your care.

3 stop the spread of hospital infections and end the scandalof mixed-sex wards – by building 45,000 more single rooms in the NHS.

3 give you the option of paying a flat fee on retirement so all your costs will be covered if you have to go into a care home in the future.

3 reform the way the NHS pays pharmaceuticalcompanies for drugs so that all effective newdrugs and treatments are available on the NHS.

3 restore access to an NHS dentist to amillion people and reintroduce dentalchecks for school children.

• Each year, around45,000 elderly peopleare forced to sell theirhome to pay forresidential care fees.

• Conservatives wouldgive people the option ofpaying a one-off fee onretirement, in return forwhich all their fees wouldbe waived – for life.

• People already over 65would also be able totake advantage of thescheme.

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6 EXCLUSIVE

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Unemployment is almost two and ahalf million, and still rising – what willthe Conservatives do to sort it out?

Getting Britain working will be a toppriority for the Conservatives if we win thenext election. We have set out a big, boldplan to end Labour’s jobs crisis, which hasleft one in five young people unable to findwork.

We would simplify Labour’s numerousand piecemeal programmes into one, singleback-to-work programme for everyone whois unemployed – including the 2.6 millionpeople claiming Incapacity Benefitscurrently excluded by Labour’s plans.

To provide extra opportunities to peoplelooking for work, we have also announced100,000 more apprenticeships, 50,000 extracollege places, and 50,000 work pairingplaces each year for the next two years. Andwe’d set up work clubs – places wherepeople can receive mentoring, training andhelp to find local jobs.

We also need businesses to create newjobs – so we have a bold plan to abolish taxon the jobs created by new businesses in thefirst two years of a ConservativeGovernment. This will create around60,000 new jobs.

And, of course, we’ve got to protect goodfirms from going under in the first place.That’s why we’ve been pushing for aNational Loan Guarantee Scheme to helpget credit flowing again and save jobs. Wewould also help small companies with theircash flow, allowing them to delay payingtheir VAT bills for six months, and give taxbreaks to companies which create new jobs.

With faith in MPs so low, how canpoliticians regain the public’s trust?

If politicians want to regain people’s trust,the first thing they must do is be straightwith people.

We’ve seen a complete contrast ofapproach on this in the current debateabout public spending. Gordon Brownrepeatedly denied he was planning to cutpublic spending – but leaked documentsshow he was drawing up detailed plans todo precisely that. That shows a completelack of respect for the British people. Theydeserve the truth – however hard that isto hear.

The truth is that Britain faces a debt crisis– and real spending plans will have to be cutwhoever is elected. We have already set outsome specific cuts that a ConservativeGovernment would make – scrapping theID card scheme, reducing the number ofquangos and cutting the cost of politics.And we have set out whole areas we willradically reform to get better value formoney – like education and welfare.

I believe that being honest with peopleabout the tough spending decisions thatneed to be taken is the way to win backtrust.

One of the tough choices you’ve saidyou’ll make is freezing the pay ofpeople in the public sector – is thatright?

Again, we’ve been really honest withpeople about this. It’s clear from the nation’sfinances that whoever wins the next electionis going to have to ask each part of the

public sector to accept a one-year pay freeze.So we’re being upfront and saying that now– before the election.

I know it’s difficult to ask hard-workingpeople to accept a pay freeze. But doing itfor one year will help us to save 100,000public sector jobs. That’s the sort of toughchoice we face.

We’ve also said that the pay freezeshouldn’t include people in our publicservices who earn less than £18,000 –because we don’t believe in balancing thebudget on the backs of the poorest.

We’re all in this together. That’s whywe’ve said the new 50 per cent tax rate forthe highest earners should be kept in placefor at least as long as the public sector payfreeze, to make sure that the richest in oursociety pay their fair share too. And we’llmake sure that politicians show a lead. Wewill cut the pay of Ministers by 5 per centnext year and then freeze it for the rest ofthe Parliament, and we’ll cut the number ofMPs by 10 per cent. Everyone must sharethe burden of Labour’s failure.

What about some of Labour’s claimsthat you would cut things like winterfuel payments and free TV licences forthe elderly?

Again, this demonstrates Labour’sinability to be straight with people – notjust about their own plans but about ourstoo. What they’ve said about winter fuelpayments and free TV licences is just plainwrong – they are valued by millions, and wewill preserve them.

With unemployment and national debt rising, and trust in MPs at rockbottom, DAVID CAMERON says it’s all the more important that ourpoliticians talk honestly about the challenges ahead.

EXCLUSIVE 7

Straight talk on thetough choices we face

Peopletalk! 7

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A NEIGHBOURHOOD I FEEL SAFE INCUT PAPERWORK ANDGET MORE POLICE OUTON THE STREETSFIGHTING CRIME

WORKING FOR YOU –HERE’S HOW

Z ahid joined volu nteers recently in Thorntonto help with planting bulbs for Spring. Keepa look out for the new daffodils!

The Alhambra in Bradford is another cultura lgem. Zahid is a regular visitor to the manyfa ntastic shows and plays that are put on.

Zahid is a proudsupporter of theDa isy House Farmbecause of theincredible work theydo for people withcancer a nd theirfamilies.

Z ahid supports the work ofthe National Blood Servicebecause of the incredible workthey do in helping to save lives.You too could do somethingamazing – give blood!

Promoted by Andrew Mallinson on behalf of Zahid Iqbal, both of Cumberland House, Greenside Lane, Bradford BD8 9TFand printed by TPF Group, Midleton Road, Guildford, Surrey GU2 8XP

Once aga in Z ahid joined new students at Bradford Universityat the Freshers Fair. Z ahid was there to listen to the issu es a ndconcerns of students.