Time to vote for change.

As you will know from my previous blogs I feel an immense amount of anger at the recent MP's expenses scandal and so was even more infuriated when I read a recent article in the Western Morning News on Conservative MP Anthony Steen. Click here to read the article.

Anthony Steen was one of the MP's caught up in the expenses scandal and he has now been asked to stand down; in the act of standing down he is guaranteed a pension of well in excess of £1 million pounds and a payout of nearly £33,000 to help him 'adjust to life' outside Whitehall. Bear in mind this MP already lives in a mansion that he compares to the Queen's Balmoral residence and is the same MP who stated that the public were merely jealous of MP's expense, he has since apologised for that statement but it seems to little to late.

When you consider that many disgraced and retiring MP's are going to receive a total of over £153 million pounds in payouts and pensions (Click here for the Times article on the payouts.) you really can't help but wonder if any of the three main political parties actually care about the country at all.

When I spoke to some of the local conservatives today, who were canvassing along Mutley Plain, I laughed at their pledge to tackle MP's expenses and threw the Anthony Steen case back at them for response. Not one person could give me any genuine reassurances. I was proud to explain why I would not be voting Conservative in either the parliamentary elections or the local elections as well as proud to announce the fact that I am standing as an independent candidate.