Karl McCartney

By Karl McCartney Karlmccartney

It is with a great sense of pride that I have had the privileged role of representing our beautiful and historic City of Lincoln in the mother of all Parliaments for what is now (nearly) five years.

We inherited from the previous Labour government the largest budget deficit in the G20, increased unemployment, a welfare system that did not reward work and an economy in which all the main indicators were heading in the wrong direction. Our country four years ago was, quite frankly, on the verge of bankruptcy.

We have worked hard to turn this around. By working to our long-term economic plan over these past five years we have seen: the deficit cut by a half; Income Tax cut for over 25 million people; benefits capped to reward work; 1.7 million more people in work; state pensions increased by £800; more children in good and outstanding schools; immigration from outside Europe down to the level of the late 1990s; and over 70,000 families with a home thanks to Help to Buy.

At home in Lincoln we are sharing in these successes and more under our Conservative-led government.

Take transport, for instance – an issue of pivotal importance to all residents and those who work and visit our City and surrounding areas. Earlier this month improvement works began on the Canwick Road/Hill and South Park junction areas – works that will provide additional traffic lanes that will ease congestion in the south of Lincoln.

Lincoln MP Karl McCartney marked the start of the High Street footbridge work with Network Rail Managing Director Phil Verster. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

We have secured agreement for footbridges over our city’s two busiest level crossings; a renovated ticket office building at Lincoln Central Station; improvements to train services for passengers travelling between Lincoln, Newark and Nottingham.

Further, as a result of Virgin East Coast winning the East Coast Franchise, I helped secure an additional daily six trains from, and five trains to, London with upgraded train interiors introduced between 2015 and 2017.

I have also successfully campaigned to secure the futures of both Lincoln Prison and, more recently, the Doctors’ Surgery in Burton Road. In February I held a successful jobs fair in which a total of 1587 jobseekers came along to visit the 50+ organisations and businesses that were offering over 350 vacancies in the City of Lincoln and over 2000 across the East Midlands’ region.

In September I organised a charity walk – Beating The Bounds – around the boundary of my Lincoln Constituency that was supported by many businesses, individuals, five main charities and a team made up of local Councillors and activists. Together we raised over £10,000.

That record is a good start, but we know the job is far from finished – there is much more we still have to do, both for our country and our city.

Leader of Lincolnshire County Council Martin Hill, Lincoln MP Karl McCartney, Councillor Richard Davies and Mayor of Lincoln Councillor Brent Charlesworth. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

There is also, of course, much for us in Lincoln to look forward to. Not least our celebrations to mark the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, the influence and impact of this magnificent document and Lincoln’s place in its story, as well as the United Kingdom’s place in the democratic world.

Lincoln remains the only place in the world where you can find an original copy of Magna Carta together with the Charter of the Forest, issued in 1217 to amplify Magna Carta.

And, of course, we have a General Election in 2015. The people of Lincoln will have a straight choice between a Conservative Member of Parliament with a track record of delivery who puts Lincoln first; and Ed Miliband’s Labour candidate from London who offers more spending, more borrowing and more debt – the very policies that put our country in so much trouble in the first place. Unfortunately the Labour Party have learnt no lessons – they really would just do the same again.

Whatever, it will be an exciting year ahead and of course I and my family and supporters wish all readers of The Lincolnite a Happy New Year.

Karl McCartney was the Conservative Lincoln MP between 2010 and 2017. He is now the Conservative candidate for the city for the next general elections.

By Karl McCartney Karlmccartney

As we approach the end of 2013, I would like to reflect on our achievements, as a city and as a government, over the last year and, indeed, over the last few years.

Ever since I was elected to the House of Commons in May 2010, I have worked tirelessly to address the many issues that both concern my constituents and impact on my constituency of Lincoln, Bracebridge Heath, Skellingthorpe and Waddington East.

I am continually focussed on ‘building a better Lincoln’ by ensuring that I ‘Put Lincoln First’ in everything I do. With just over two-thirds of this Parliament completed, I am delighted to report that many of the issues that I have devoted my time to in Westminster are now bearing fruit for the hard working people of my Lincoln constituency.

I have lobbied government colleagues, the Department for Transport and others to secure the development of the Eastern Bypass with many millions of £s of vital funding. The transport infrastructure in and around Lincoln will see significant improvement with pedestrian bridges planned over the two level crossings in our city centre, improving pedestrian access to shops on the High Street.

Tied in with this much needed improvement to access and safety on the High Street will be the East West Link Road, one way traffic and semi pedestrianisation from St Mark’s up to Wigford Way.

In addition, I have helped secure £1.7 million from the Department for Transport to ensure the much needed Canwick Road improvement scheme to ease traffic congestion and ensure smoother flowing traffic to the south of the city will soon be underway with the promise of £1.6 million of additional funding from the Conservative-led Lincolnshire County Council. This work is in addition to the improvements made in and around the Rookery Lane and Brant Road interchange on Newark Road recently.

Record numbers of businesses have been created in Lincoln since the General Election in May 2010. The national economic recovery package this Conservative-led Government put in place has resulted in record numbers of business start-ups in almost every quarter since late 2010. These new companies will create employment opportunities and ensure Lincoln grows and prospers as the UK economy recovers further.

As a government, we have helped to deliver much needed tax relief for 39,386 hardworking people in Lincoln. This has lifted an estimated 3,824 people in Lincoln out of income tax altogether. All this at a time when the nation’s economy has been recovering from 13 years of mismanagement under a Labour Government.

And I have helped to secure almost £7 million of regional growth fund monies from central government to support research and development and hence business growth for companies like Dynex Semiconductor and Bifrangi in Lincoln. This money will ensure future prosperity by backing SMEs (Small and Medium sized Enterprises) which are the lifeblood of Lincoln’s economy.

The domestic political year culminated in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement which provided further good news for people in Lincoln – the jobs tax on all young people under 21 abolished, real help for the High Street including business rates help for 3,000 Lincoln businesses, energy bills down, fuel duty frozen, and rail fare increases frozen.

This is all welcome support, but as the Chancellor said in his speech in the House of Commons, the job is not yet done. We are only able to help hardworking people because we have taken difficult decisions to control spending. We are building a responsible recovery and our plan is working, but we need to keep going.

In the week before Christmas, I hosted my third annual Trustees of Lincoln Charities’ Christmas Event at the Lincoln Cathedral Centre, which, for the third year running, has very kindly been sponsored by The Lindum Group.

This informal event provided another opportunity for me and various other invited elected and non-elected representatives of our local authorities, as well as other local public service and business leaders, to say ‘thank you’ in a small way to the charity trustees of our city and county, so many of whom selflessly volunteer their services, for the excellent work they do helping the vulnerable, needy and disadvantaged.

Follow all the columns from the Reflections 2013 series

Karl McCartney was the Conservative Lincoln MP between 2010 and 2017. He is now the Conservative candidate for the city for the next general elections.