Published: 01/02/2008 00:00 -
Updated: 05/02/2010 13:02
CONSERVATIVES in North Warwickshire have drawn up their major battle plan in the build up to the next General Election.
They will focus on the problems of crime and anti-social behaviour and have made Bedworth their main target area.
Their candidate Dan Byles and his team are delivering more than 15,000 leaflets and surveys on crime to every household in Bedworth, with a freepost reply envelope for the replies.
They have already conducted a survey among shoppers in the town centre, as well as in Bedworth Market and at the giant Tesco store.
Dan Byles said: "The aim is to assess just how bad the perception of crime is among the people of Bedworth and the response from the shoppers was overwhelming, with hundreds of people wanting to have their say.
"One lady told me how she finishes work at 6pm every day and the bus drops her off just up from the Tesco store.
"But she feels so unsafe walking through the town at that time, that she takes a detour through the side roads and I think that is unacceptable.
"A shopkeeper in All Saints Square, who wanted to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, also said that things had got noticeably worse. The town centre empties at about 3pm and he is sure it is because people feel intimidated."
The Tory Parliamentary candidate said: "Crime and anti-social behaviour are the two top issues people want to talk about when I speak with them on the streets and the doorsteps of Bedworth and this will be our ongoing campaign throughout 2008
A former Army officer, who served in trouble spots like Bosnia and Kosovo, he insisted: "It's time for us to take back control of our town centres. It's time to free the police from red tape and bureaucracy and get them back out on the streets - it's time for change."
He said that statistics on crime and anti-social behaviour in the Home Office report 'Crime in England and Wales' for 2006/7 paint a bleak picture.
"In Bedworth we are seeing first hand the results of Labour's failure to tackle crime," said Mr Byles. "Last year in Nuneaton and Bedworth alone, violent crime rose by 16 per cent and burglary by 40 per cent. It's blighting people's lives and enough is enough.
"Crime isn't a right wing or a left wing issue. It is a daily threat that all people - rich, poor, black, white, urban or rural - face in their daily lives.''
He claimed that, while crime rates soar, police resignations have tripled and Labour are releasing a prisoner nearly every 20 minutes, because they haven't built enough prisons.
"Ministers tell us that crime is falling," he said. "But no-one outside the New Labour champagne bubble really believes that.
"The police are doing a magnificent job, but they have one hand tied behind their backs, thanks to the madness of Labour's red tape and form-filling culture."
They will focus on the problems of crime and anti-social behaviour and have made Bedworth their main target area.
Their candidate Dan Byles and his team are delivering more than 15,000 leaflets and surveys on crime to every household in Bedworth, with a freepost reply envelope for the replies.
They have already conducted a survey among shoppers in the town centre, as well as in Bedworth Market and at the giant Tesco store.
Dan Byles said: "The aim is to assess just how bad the perception of crime is among the people of Bedworth and the response from the shoppers was overwhelming, with hundreds of people wanting to have their say.
"One lady told me how she finishes work at 6pm every day and the bus drops her off just up from the Tesco store.
"But she feels so unsafe walking through the town at that time, that she takes a detour through the side roads and I think that is unacceptable.
"A shopkeeper in All Saints Square, who wanted to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, also said that things had got noticeably worse. The town centre empties at about 3pm and he is sure it is because people feel intimidated."
The Tory Parliamentary candidate said: "Crime and anti-social behaviour are the two top issues people want to talk about when I speak with them on the streets and the doorsteps of Bedworth and this will be our ongoing campaign throughout 2008
A former Army officer, who served in trouble spots like Bosnia and Kosovo, he insisted: "It's time for us to take back control of our town centres. It's time to free the police from red tape and bureaucracy and get them back out on the streets - it's time for change."
He said that statistics on crime and anti-social behaviour in the Home Office report 'Crime in England and Wales' for 2006/7 paint a bleak picture.
"In Bedworth we are seeing first hand the results of Labour's failure to tackle crime," said Mr Byles. "Last year in Nuneaton and Bedworth alone, violent crime rose by 16 per cent and burglary by 40 per cent. It's blighting people's lives and enough is enough.
"Crime isn't a right wing or a left wing issue. It is a daily threat that all people - rich, poor, black, white, urban or rural - face in their daily lives.''
He claimed that, while crime rates soar, police resignations have tripled and Labour are releasing a prisoner nearly every 20 minutes, because they haven't built enough prisons.
"Ministers tell us that crime is falling," he said. "But no-one outside the New Labour champagne bubble really believes that.
"The police are doing a magnificent job, but they have one hand tied behind their backs, thanks to the madness of Labour's red tape and form-filling culture."
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