 |
 |
RSS Feed | View by: Most Recent | Most Popular | Most Discussed |
Gordon Brown dodges fluoride question
29th Apr 2010
Prime Minister Gordon Brown dodged the issue of fluoridation of Southampton's tap water when he visited the city on his campaign trail this week.
He refused to comment on the issue which, locally, is dividing voters and nationally could impact on the public nationwide.
Mr Brown was greeted by Labour candidates for Southampton Test and Itchen, Alan Whitehead and John Denham, and Portsmouth North candidate Sarah McCarthy-Fry at Solent University.
In a questions-and-answers session with voters, Mr Brown refused to be drawn on the issue of a referendum on the controversial decision by health chiefs to add fluoride to parts of the city's water.
The news website, www.dailyecho.co.uk, reports him as saying: ‘That's a decision for the local health authority.
'Of course we want people to be able to make local decisions and national decisions and that's why I've proposed a referendum on the constitution, but it's not for me to dictate how people in Southampton make their local decisions.'
He was also criticised about the lack of support for armed forces families. A woman, who said she was herself a forces dependent, told him the housing was 'appalling'.
‘We have lost dental care, we have lost medical care. We have to move every two years or so and we don't get any support in schooling for our children,' she said.
The Prime Minister said that members of the armed forces had ‘a right to expect their families and they themselves will get access to the services that they need in the British public sector'.
Rate this story
Comments
