This in from the IW Constituency Labour Party, in their own words. Ed
Mick Lyons has been nominated and is standing as the Labour Party candidate for the Binstead & Fishbourne by-election on Thursday 23 June 2011.
In urging electors in Binstead & Fishbourne ward to reject the defeatist mantra that ‘there is no alternative’, Mick believes that we can create a fair society, build the economy, and secure the future of the next generation.
Conservative council condemned
In contrast, the Isle of Wight’s Conservative council has attacked local libraries, cutting Ryde library’s funding and running down smaller libraries. The Tory administration has also withdrawn support for bus services and wasted money on a Private Finance Initiative road scheme while abandoning the Ryde Interchange. It has also threatened the future of youth centres, including Ryde Youth Centre, and care homes like the Adelaide Centre and plans to charge the elderly more for care in their own homes.
Mick condemns the Conservative council, which is supported by Liberal Democrat and some Independents, for failing Isle of Wight residents with its mismanaged schemes and its ruthless spending cuts. Mick states that, ‘I am campaigning in this election because I know that many residents feel let down by the Conservative controlled Isle of Wight Council and the scale of cuts they have imposed.’
Our way of life is being attacked
Mick opposes this Tory council’s plans to attack our way of life, an attack that promises even more cuts next year and in 2013. This could mean closing Sure Start centres, selling council property such as open spaces like Pell Lane and buildings like Greenmount School, forcing parks and gardens maintenance onto strapped parish councils, and increasing charges for the disabled and the elderly.
Along with other local residents, Mick is angry that in Ryde alone the Conservatives have stopped supporting and tried to close the Waterside swimming pool, have already closed Ryde’s tourist information office; have closed public toilets, including those at Binstead cemetery; and passed allotments and the skatepark to Ryde Town Council. This has meant a 52% increase in Ryde Town Council precept this year alone.
Retired teacher born on the Island
Mick Lyons was born and brought up in Ryde, and has lived and worked on the Isle of Wight for many years. He has worked for the Post Office and as a teacher of mathematics and science, and has been a trade union representative and a school governor.
Although now retired from full time teaching, Mick still works as an Associate Lecturer in mathematics for the Open University. He is married with four grown up children.
Mick says that, ‘If elected I will work to represent all the residents of Binstead and Fishbourne and challenge the Isle of Wight council’s current policies of cuts, decline, and pessimism.’
