Labour’s Liz Terry says “bigger issues” were the focus for voters on the doorstep.
Following weeks on the campaign trail, Labour Cllr Liz Terry said at the count this evening: “I felt lots of people were undecided for a long time, and people who had voted Conservative definitely were open in saying that they were going a different way.
“That, for me was the biggest issue, and it was around a week ago that people started to move away from that.”
“I think we’ve always felt that Matt would be safe here in Reading Central but knocking on every door counts, so we’ve held on to never being complacent.
“People do have their concerns; I don’t think everybody seems to be a fan of our VAT on private schools
“But across the country that’s quite a small number of people, which, in the grand scheme of things, and after 14 years of Tory chaos, we need to focus on the bigger points.”
She continued: “We’re seeing our NHS waiting list going down, the need for more police, more teachers, all of those things which are aimed at growing the economy.
“But also in doing that, hopefully seeing some more money comes to local government.
“I’m looking forward to working with a Labour government that understands that public services are really important, both at a national level and at local level.
“Generally, people have a sense that everything is broken; and of course, that’s not entirely true, but people just want us to make things better.
“Many politicians have been tarred by their brush and that’s something we need to do: act out of public service, not entitlement, and that will make the difference.”
