In the wake of the Tory by-election victory in Norwich North their treasury spokesperson Phillip Hammond has called for a massive Tory majority after the next election in order that the Tories are not held up in Parliament from making the necessary public spending cuts.

Hopefully there are still plenty of people out there who remember the early 1980′s. A new Conservative Government had come to power and they set about making deep cuts to public spending. Cuts that decimated local councils, cuts that hit front line services, cuts that hit the vulnerable and the weak.

The Thatcher Government politicised me and (I suspect, many more). I joined the Liberal Party in 1983 as a result – the need to fight such damaging policies, to fight for the vulnerable and the weak, the disadvantaged and the poor.

The last thing this country needs is a massive Conservative majority after the next election. Its generally agreed by all main parties that we need to make spending cuts, but they need to be justified to Parliament and to the people and they have to be managed.

A large majority for any party right at the start of a new Parliament would lead to a Government that could push cuts through without taking notice of opposition or the people. That would mean bad policies, bad cuts and bad news for the weakest in our society.

No Mr Hammond a massive Tory majority is not what’s needed, a caring supportive, unifying Government that can take the tough decisions and make cuts sensitively is what’s needed and the Conservatives aren’t it!