Questions to Pat Merrick (Labour)

Today, Audlem Online continues its series of interviews with the candidates for the Eddisbury constituency in the General Election.

Yesterday, we featured Stephen O'Brien, the Conservative candidate. Today, it's the turn of the Labour candidate, Pat Merrick, to whom we pose a similar set of questions as yesterday.

Audlem Online question: If elected as MP for Eddisbury, what would you do for Audlem?

Audlem seems a beacon of citizen empowerment and I would paraphrase JFK by asking not what I could do for you but what you could do with me to help yourselves and other villages across Eddisbury develop along similar lines.

Audlem Online question: Rural areas appear to have been somewhat neglected in recent years. If the Labour Government was re-elected, how might that change?

By having more MPs that live in rural areas like I do. Ordinary folk whose children attend the village school, who use local shops, drink in local pubs and try to use public transport, which is non-existent after 7pm for most of us!

Audlem Online question: We are already getting reports of big cuts in PCT budgets. What is your view of these cuts?

I was a non-executive director on the local PCT when, against all expectations, the decision was made to have two PCTs for Cheshire rather than the one we had all anticipated.

I suspect that this may be proving too costly in administrative terms so perhaps east and west will merge after all. I would accept the sense in that as long as frontline services do not suffer.

Audlem Online question: Hankelow has now been added to the Eddisbury constituency. Are there any issues there that need addressing, and how?

I live in Hapsford which has also now been added to the Eddisbury constituency. I would need to get to know Hankelow and talk to the people there to find out what the issues might be.

Eddisbury is vast and diverse and even if you were lucky enough to be the MP here for a decade or so , I doubt that you could claim to know every acre of it.

Audlem Online question: If there was one key message you want to get across in Audlem, what would it be?

The key message for Audlem and the rest of Eddisbury is that if you elect me you will find out that not all politicians are the same.

Thanks for allowing me a chance to communicate with the people of Audlem.

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