Steve Barnard

Dear sir

I have a few things in common with Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg. We are both candidates in the Sheffield Hallam constituency in the general election. We are both 43 and we were both at university during the 1980s – the height of Margaret Thatcher’s time as Prime Minister (The Star 16 March 2010). But, unlike him, I do not admire the way she attacked the democratic rights of the Unions.

The policies of Thatcher and Nigel Lawson divided this country and the gap between the rich and the poor got wider. Sheffield lost permanent jobs as the Conservatives attacked the mining and steel industries. There was long term economic chaos, social strife, unemployment and poverty.

Yes, we need to control the power of the bankers but a return to Thatcherite policies will only strengthen the position of the financiers and rich in general. These economic policies will not bring about a fairer society or tackle the many difficult problems and issues facing us today.

The Green Party is the only party with policies that will rebuild our society. Greens want to make a fairer country where the gap between rich and poor gets smaller. We also would stop the NHS being privatised and save it for the British public. Our policies would create a million new jobs that will go a long way to solve the problems created over the last 30 years.

Steve Barnard

Green Party candidate Sheffield Hallam