All too often, those of us in politics play the very silly game of claiming credit when we had little (or nothing) to do with the thing that we're talking about, or blaming the other side when things go wrong which are entirely out of their control.
In a way, it's quite a natural thing to do, but some of the more egregious examples are particularly annoying. I found one last night and it led to me sending the below letter to the Editor of the Evening Mail:
Dear Sir
I was fascinated by the narrative put forward by our current MP in last night’s Evening Mail.
Mr Woodcock talked about the ‘programme of work’ which he claims to have led to bring economic prosperity to Furness.
Here I must put my hands up. I confess that I was unaware of his role in turning around the record deficit which his old boss, Gordon Brown, lumbered us all with. Similarly, I must have had my head in the sand as I didn’t know the key part he has had in creating an economic environment which has brought such Olympic-level investment to Furness.
When the Prime Minister visited GSK to announce plans to double the size of its site due to the Chancellor’s Patent Box policy, the media neglected to mention how Mr Woodcock single-handedly devised and implemented the scheme.
I also missed his role in researching, writing and announcing the new franchise plans for our railway which the government published recently and which will provide new rolling stock and more direct services to Manchester Airport.
And last week, when the Defence Secretary handed over a cheque for £275million to take the design stage of the Successor programme to the finish line, I can only assume that it was Mr Woodcock’s signature on the cheque?
Now that my eyes are open to our current MP’s role in delivering Barrow & Furness’ prosperity, I won’t be surprised to see him announcing the Budget this afternoon from the floor of the House of Commons. After all, it would seem that there’s nothing he can’t do!
But joking aside, the investment being made in our area all flows from one thing only: the Conservative government’s stewardship of the economy and the stability they have provided. The UK is now the fastest growing economy in Europe and second only in the developed world to the USA. Over 1,000 jobs have been created every day since Prime Minister David Cameron has been in Number 10, and living standards are on the up thanks to falling inflation and rising wages.
Mr Woodcock has an understandable desire to airbrush himself into the good economic news, but to suggest that he is responsible for the incredible future which Furness faces is disingenuous.
Yours sincerely
Conservative Candidate for Barrow & Furness