On behalf of Martyn Todd, Westminster Candidate for the Alliance Party – South Down.
“My name is Martyn Todd and I am asking for your vote on Thursday 7 May.
“Politics is simply deciding the everyday life for the future. I believe we all have an opportunity to influence our future and I would like to work with you to ensure that our future together is both prosperous and inclusive. I believe I have a unique advantage as a candidate.
“I can genuinely accept aspirations for a united Ireland or a United Kingdom, as long as you accept that the people of Northern Ireland will democratically decide which it is to be. My aims and objectives are not conditional on your faith, age, gender, culture, national or sexual identity. No other candidate can say this.
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South Down Alliance Candidate Martyn Todd from Saintfield.[/caption]
“My primary objective is a genuinely shared future for South Down, where the costs of division are gradually eliminated, allowing all stakeholders to cooperate on building a prosperous 21st century economy. With our unique heritage and landscape we have the raw material to do this. All we need is to add cooperation, coordination and compromise for the greater good, to bring this about.
“I have a track record of bringing stakeholders together, whether in community development, council good relations or The Strangford Stone. As your MP I would put my experience, skills and personal contacts to good use to help build a tourist economy, based on excellent small businesses and high quality local products. I would establish a working group of elected representatives, statutory agencies, business and community forums to work collectively to explore all potential for growth and prosperity.
“For example, we really could be the global centre for Saint Patrick’s celebrations. With a prosperous economy we can then afford to fund the hospitals we need, the infrastructure we need, such as the Narrow Water Bridge and Ballynahinch bypass, and the public services we need. I would continue to support the integrated education sector, as I believe that if our young people learn together, we, as a society, can grow together.
“How are we ever to progress or understand each other if we continue to separate our children during their formative years at school? For some, the wounds of the past can never be healed and I have sympathy for all the dead, the wounded, the families and the communities of all who carry those scars. We can and must prevent more suffering by investing in our children’s future.
“This time, vote for a shared future that can bring prosperity – vote for me,  your  Alliance Party candidate, vote for Martyn Todd.”
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