Dear fellow candidates
Congratulations on being selected as a Parliamentary candidate. One of us will have the honour of representing the Staffordshire Moorlands in Parliament. For me, that has been the greatest honour for the last nine and a half years.
Now that we know the date of the election, I am writing to ask you to join me in pledging to have a clean, dignified, civilised campaign.
This election is happening because politics is broken. Politicians have too often put tribal, party politics over the national interest. And the level of debate is often far too aggressive and personal. I have no doubt that we are all standing for Parliament because we want to do the best for the Staffordshire Moorlands and whilst we may disagree on how to achieve that goal, I in no way question anyone’s motives for standing.
So, I pledge to you that I will refrain from personal attacks and uncivilised language. And I commit that anybody who campaigns for me will do the same, including on social media. The Conservative Party demands the highest standards from its members and activists, so if you see anybody who claims to be campaigning for me acting inappropriately, including on social media, please contact me immediately so that action can be taken.
It is important that we engage in debate and that our plans and policies are scrutinised. That will be done by voters in a variety of ways, including in organised hustings. I will take part in official hustings organised by our local Churches Together groups across the Moorlands. These are the only hustings that I will take part in. I look forward to seeing you there.
I hope you will also pledge in a similar way to keep this election clean and civilised. The people of the Moorlands deserve nothing less.
I have copied this letter to the Leek Post and Times, the Biddulph Chronicle and the Sentinel newspapers and BBC Radio Stoke and Moorlands Radio.
Yours
Karen Bradley
Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Staffordshire Moorlands