ELECTION 2005: WEST WORCESTERSHIRE

Two issues have dominated the General Election here in West Worcestershire. These are taxation and immigration.

On these matters the parties are saying very different things. On taxation, several simple facts emerge: the Conservatives want lower taxes especially council taxes for pensioners.

The Liberal Democrats want higher ones and all commentators agree that Labour would have to put up taxes (probably National Insurance), if they were re-elected to office, simply to cover their expenditure plans.

On immigration there is also a great divide between the parties.

Labour would keep matters more or less where they are today; most people agree that this would be highly unsatisfactory, not least for those who have recently arrived in this country.

The Conservatives argue that the whole process of immigration must now be better managed. We cannot as a country absorb new immigrants at the present rate at which they are arriving here. In the interest of social harmony we must find a better way.

The Conservative Party proposes strict entry quotas with priority being given to those likely to contribute most to the nation's well being; other countries, such as Australia, have achieved this; so can we.

TOM WELLS, LIBERAL DEMOCRAT

The second week of the campaign trail has taken me to Pershore, Eckington, Hallow, Rushwick, Kempsey, Broadheath, Powick and various parts of Malvern.

More often than not, it's pensioners that I find at home. And the message is loud and clear: we are not treating our older people with the dignity and respect they deserve.

Many pensioners have been hit by dramatic rises in council tax.

That's why the Liberal Democrats would axe council tax and replace it with a fairer system.

It would mean six million pensioners would not pay anything at all.

I met others who have been forced to sell their homes to pay for the care they need. That's a scandal and the Liberal Democrats propose free personal care for the elderly.

Some pensioners are not able to drive anymore and rely on public transport to get around.

The Liberal Democrats would offer free off-peak travel on local trains and buses.

And after working hard all their lives, our pensioners deserve a decent pension. The Liberal Democrats would increase state pensions by £25 a week, starting with the over-75s.

Look out for me this week in Upton, Hanley Swan, Pershore, Martley, Hallow and many parts of Malvern.

QAMAR BHATTI, LABOUR

I was in Pershore at the start of the week meeting and greeting residents.

Many were not happy about the trucks travelling through along with the pollution, disturbance and issues of safety that arise because of them.

On Thursday I was on BBC's Morning Show with the rest of the candidates where people going to work phone in with their questions.

The invitation to present my manifesto on a minute was a real challenge but I think I did it much better than Charles Kennedy did his.

The highlight of the week was a "meet the candidates" event at Christ Church in Malvern on Sunday.

As usual I had just turned up to hear questions and answer them as they came to mind. Over 200 people attended. They were a great crowd and managed to put together some really interesting questions.

People were keen to listen to the answers to the questions and even smore enthusiastic to meet me after the session was over.

I have been visiting Malvern and Worcester for the past 20 years now and one of the greatest assets to the area are its people. Since becoming the Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the Labour Party I have received warmth and affection from everyone that I've met and I look forward to it continuing in the same way.

CAROLINE BOVEY, UK INDEPENDENCE PARTY

I have discovered a great canvassing spin-off.

I can get into those trousers that had shrunk in the wash again.

UKIP has been out in Malvern, and southerly regions, visiting some of our prettiest villages.

People are taking a keen interest in this election and I have had some quite lively roadside debates which have been both challenging and fun.

I'd like to thank BBC Hereford & Worcester radio for their excellent outside broadcast.

Superbly organised, good-natured, and above all, fair.

I suppose you could say it was the week's main democratic, political platform especially as it came from platform one of Great Malvern Station.

People are telling me that Europe is the issue. Many don't realise that the three other main parties want Britain to remain in the EU and are actively supporting the yes vote for the EU constitution.

Only UKIP says we can and should come out of the EU now.

Somebody said to me: "The election is a lottery." Good quote.

"Heads": you win - a few pounds on your pension? A promised tax cut?

"Tails": you lose - your democracy, your country. Your choice.

MALCOLM VICTORY, GREEN PARTY

I believe that Worcestershire suffers from being at the bottom of the league of Government funding to the regions.

The highest spending areas receive about £150 more per head than we do in Worcestershire, yet successive councils have failed to get the subsidy that the surrounding counties get.

Nationally, we will take immediate action on climate change, cutting the amount of energy we waste, creating jobs in renewable energy and reducing dependence on oil.

We will revitalise the NHS by changing the way we think about health. Greens want healthy local produce, not processed foods. Cheap food is ruining our farmers, fishermen and shopkeepers.

Education is not a competitive sport. Greens will abolish league tables and reinstate student grants.

We will introduce a basic allowance for everyone in the country, and raise pensions by a third.

Greens will make public transport easy, so we leave our cars at home.

Greens would give us the public transport network we deserve.

Greens believe in a Europe that celebrates diversity, not a monolithic superstate.

Greens oppose ID cards and laws that infringe our liberty, and Greens support proportional representation.

Lib Dems pledge 10,000 more officers on the beat

The Liberal Democrats pledged today to scrap Labour plans for compulsory ID cards and instead use the money for high visibility policing - including 10,000 more officers on the beat.

As the second full week of campaigning got under way, party leader Charles Kennedy promised a "tough and smart" approach to law and order.

And he promised an extra 20,000 community support officers (CSOs) to deter crime and combat anti-social behaviour.

Liberal Democrats say the £1bn policy would result in about 50 extra police and CSOs in every constituency.

The party claims that scrapping plans for ID cards would provide £520m, with the rest met by the £5bn it would save by switching cash from "low priority" programmes such as baby bonds.

Mr Kennedy will also pledge to free police from excessive paperwork by investing £150m in hi-tech equipment.

Hand-held computers would be provided for every officer needing one with a rolling programme to introduce the latest speech recognition technology.

Lib Dems want to return an estimated 12,000 officers tied up with administration to frontline duties by 2008.

Plans for children's hospitals launched

The Tories were today due to unveil plans for five new children's hospitals if the Conservatives win the General Election.

NHS trusts in Leeds, Nottingham, Derby, Cambridge and Southampton would be invited to bid for funds to develop dedicated children's hospitals alongside their established acute hospitals.

Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley said that the programme would form part of a £30m review of paediatric services in the NHS.

It is intended to build on the findings of Sir Ian Kennedy's report four years ago into the failings of cardiac surgery at the Royal Bristol Infirmary which, Mr Lansley said, the Government had failed to implement.

"After the election, we will initiate a review on the future configuration of children's health services," he said.

"Particular emphasis will be on how paediatric hospital services can maximise the contribution they make to the development of children's health services which are integrated and responsive to children's needs.

"Of particular importance will be to assess how children's hospitals can take responsibility for the whole patient pathway for children, with services reaching out into the community to support primary care with their specialist expertise."

Mr Lansley said that it follows a recent warning by the Royal College of Surgeons that the NHS was facing a major shortage of paediatric surgeons.

Defection boosts Keys' bid

An anti-Iraq war protester's bid to unseat Tony Blair has been boosted by the defection of a senior local Labour figure and a rival candidate.

Dave Cattell, a member of Labour's executive committee in Mr Blair's Sedgefield constituency, quit the party today to support independent candidate Reg Keys.

He said the war raised questions about the "honesty and integrity" of the Prime Minister's leadership.

His decision follows an announcement by former MI5 officer David Shayler to pull out of the race to give Mr Keys a clear run at Mr Blair.

Mr Shayler appealed to other parties to withdraw their candidates in a bid to depose Mr Blair in the way anti-sleaze candidate Martin Bell did Tory Neil Hamilton in Tatton in 1997.

Mr Keys, aged 52, whose soldier son died in the war, has accused Mr Blair of misleading Parliament over the reasons for the military action against Saddam Hussein.