Whoever is the lucky candidate to serve Wokingham as their MP after May 6th, I want to send out a request and a challenge to the parties. I keep looking at the debt figures and the forecast for the annual deficit over the next five years and it is unquestionably grim. It is in my nature to be positive about all things and when threats appear in my life I am not the type of person to run for cover. I always want to know the facts. Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England has said that the winning government could be out of power for a generation. This is because the debt is so severe that cleaning it up will make the next government so unpopular, it will take years to recover. This did not happen to Margaret Thatcher and the reason for this is that she was able to focus the nation on the gravity of the task ahead. If the new government does not get the nation on its side, then I am afraid Mervyn King’s prediction will come true. I therefore send out a challenge to Wokingham’s leaders and its people. To the fellow candidates of the major parties in Wokingham, I ask us to pull together and agree the facts behind the debt crisis. We can then spend time explaining the task ahead. This is not about how to manage the crisis as that is political territory, I want to convey only the facts – the numbers and the targets. Once this has been agreed, we talk to the local business, community and government leaders to put the message out about the implications for Wokingham. If we explain the targets and the choices and keep the community informed, we have a much better chance of working as a team.