WE have opposed the downgrading from the outset and continue to campaign for accident and emergency services at Kidderminster.

A Conservative Government would immediately implement a full-scale, independent review of health provision across Wyre Forest and Worcestershire. The review would specifically not involve the health civil servants responsible for the downgrading.

In addition, we have produced a joint statement of support signed by 12 Conservative candidates contesting seats across Worcestershire, South Staffordshire, Herefordshire and the Black Country - potentially a powerful, regional voice in Parliament which a lone, isolated candidate could not match.

The risk for people in Wyre Forest is that Health Concern may not win the seat, but split the opposition vote - and let in by the back door the very Labour MP many people feel has betrayed them. Only the Conservatives can remove Labour from Wyre Forest and deliver a clear alternative

I AM absolutely opposed to the Stourport Road incinerator. The location is entirely inappropriate - on one of the busiest roads in the county; in a residential area; next to primary schools and a site of special scientific interest.

The Conservatives worked shoulder-to-shoulder with SKI and Friends of the Earth to oppose the scheme. We organised public rallies and raised a petition of 15,000 names against the planning application. We submitted a detailed letter of opposition to the planning application. The only county councillors who voted in favour of the incinerator were Liberal Democrats - the Party which, in Wyre Forest, now supports Health Concern. David Lock has opposed this particular scheme, but his Government's policy is a massive increase in incinerator plants - from 12 at present to at least 72 and perhaps 160. Our policy is a complete ban on the building of all new incinerators.

WORCESTERSHIRE schools have suffered under "hard Labour" and our county is the third worst funded authority in the country - a grossly unfair situation. Locally, schools have been let down by Labour MPs who have failed to lobby their Government with sufficient vigour. The recent £1.3m award Worcestershire head teachers recently secured is a one-off payment which won't solve the problem. I support the Conservative policy of a national funding arrangement which would remove the distortion and unfairness of the current system.

We would also fund schools directly, adding on average an extra £540 per pupil for the school to spend on its own priorities and services. That would provide added security for rural schools and they could "cluster" in certain areas to buy in their services jointly.

DRUGS are a serious worry for many people and I know there are problems in parts of Wyre Forest. Drugs are even blighting our rural communities. A key part of the problem is that the police do an excellent job in difficult circumstances, as central funding has been cut and there are 137 fewer West Mercia police officers than in 1997 when Labour took office. So we would restore police numbers.

In addition, of the 35,000 convicts released early by Labour, some 5,000 were drug dealers. That is wrong and the Conservatives would abolish Labour's early release scheme. We also want tougher sentencing and would give the police new powers to crack down on drug offenders. In particular, the evil dealers who lure children into drugs will be punished more severely with compulsory prison sentences.

I WOULD campaign for measures to improve road safety - there are several notorious road junctions in Wyre Forest. I would liaise with the authorities as a matter of urgency, to identify how these blackspots can be tackled. The Conservatives would also set out long-term investment plans for roads and we would establish a new Roads Standards Unit. Its aim would be to take through traffic out of towns and villages and set sensible speed limits for each stretch of road to make our roads safer.