the RESPECT party

I think I am able to understand the real needs and requirements of the people of Bradford.

For too long, we, the people of Bradford have put our trust in career politicians hoping that they will truly represent us, and for too long these career politicians have let us down. As soon as they get elected, they change their spots and follow their own careers, neglecting the needs of the electorate. For far too long we have witnessed our politicians bowing down before big business and tribal affiliations.

I think I can safely say that I have helped to put RESPECT on the map in Bradford. I stood in the council elections in May 2007 in Manningham, setting the scene for a bigger battle at the General Election.

I have been a tireless campaigner for nearly 20 years on all social issues that affect working class people like myself. I offer as an example the most recent campaign to save my local school from privatisation, which I led together with RESPECT members, teachers, pupils and the wider community.

With George Galloway MP, I helped set up the Bradford branch of Viva Palestina (registered charity no 1129092). I oganised, put together and led two medical aid convoys from Bradford to Gaza with dozens of other volunteers from our region breaking the seige and delivering hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of medical aid.

I am a card holding, placard carrying, paid up member of Stop the War Coalition and demonstrate against the misery and needless blood loss caused by this government’s illegal, immoral and oil thirsty war against a sovereign Islamic country based on a great big pack of lies. And I want an end to this bloodshed now. Not next week. Not next year. I want it stopped and the troops brought home NOW.

More than one million innocent human beings have lost their lives. Two million have been made refugees in strange lands having lost everything but their lives. Who speaks for them? We, RESPECT will speak for them. I will speak for them.

I will demand NHS dental services in Bradford. How is it that we pay more and more taxes but get less and less in return? We are witnessing a whole generation of children now who are not getting the proper dental treatments because of the privatisation of dental services. Just try finding an NHS dentist in Bradford. I will demand NHS dentists in Bradford so that those who cannot afford to pay the private fees can get the best possible treatment when they want it.

I will fight against the Council Tax. It is a tax on the poor and the elderly, who pay a higher proportion of their income than those who are well off. How can that be fair? I want to abolish the council tax and fight to replace it with a fairer system.

I will fight for more affordable housing so that first time buyers can get a foot onto the property ladder and set up homes in a safe environment to start families.

I will fight for more council housing in Bradford. Let’s make overcrowded, rundown housing a thing of the past. Everyone should have access to good quality, affordable housing with security of tenure.

I will fight against unfair university tuition fees. When I left school, I was lucky enough to get a grant, without which my family could never have afforded to send me to university. Now under this government, a LABOUR government our children have to take out loans to study – many have to find £10,000 or more. How can working class people like us afford to do that? I will fight for the abolition of all tuition fees for university so that all children who leave school have an equal opportunity to get the best education possible. 

Our children are our future and the future of our country. We must invest in them and give them the best start in life, not burden them with debts for years to come.

I feel passionately about these issues. I want the opportunity to fight for these issues on behalf of the people of Bradford in Parliament.

I need your support to be able to do that. I hope that with your support and confidence in me I will to win this seat at the next General Election and bring much needed change to the lives of the people of Bradford.

Arshad Ali

RESPECT Parliamentary Candidate, Bradford West