Now that the phoney war is over and the General Election has been announced for Thursday June 7th, Michael Fabricant says: “The different Party Headquarters in London will be fighting the election campaign on national and international issues such as the Government's failure to maintain public services compared with their increases in taxation which have been equivalent to a 9.8p rise in the level of income tax. Labour has been strong on gimmicks, but so very weak on delivery. There will also be a major debate over the future of our country and whether we should allow Britain to become absorbed into the European Union, lose the Pound as well as the power of our Parliament. I, however, will be fighting this campaign mainly on local issues.

“I aim to represent our constituency and my individual constituents with the same energy and vigour as I have done over the last few years. I stand by my record.” See below. “But as for the next 4 or 5 years, I am making a series of election pledges to my constituents:

• I shall continue to fight to save hospital services in Lichfield and Burntwood including our Maternity Unit
• A Conservative Government would restore the 200 and more police officers cut by Tony Blair from the Staffordshire Police
• I will continue to fight for fair funding for Staffordshire schools: the 'free schools' policy of a Conservative Government would provide fair central funding of all schools direct from London
• I will oppose Railtrack on their plans to damage the environment through the widening of the West Coast Mainline at Armitage, Handsacre, Whittington, and Fisherwick
• I oppose the massive house building scheme of 5,000 homes for the area north and east of Lichfield proposed by John Prescott which would destroy those green fields for ever
• And nationally, I will fight for a better deal for our pensioners – the 75p increase was an insult – and to keep Britain's independence from an ever powerful, though economically weak, European Union.

Michael's record: In the last four years, Michael Fabricant has replied to over 17,000 letters from constituents taking up their problems with Government Ministers, local government, big business, and housing associations.

In Parliament, he has taken part in debates and asked more questions of Tony Blair and Government Ministers than any other MP in the midlands. Apart from William Hague, Michael has tackled Tony Blair at Prime Minister's Question Time more than any other official opposition MP. (Source: House of Commons Library). Among other issues, he has asked him about low school funding in Staffordshire and the fate of the Victoria Hospital in Lichfield and the Hammerwich Hospital in Burntwood.