Alec Sandiford, Liberal Democrat Candidate for the Stone Constituency, has sent through his candidate profile and questionnaire responses.
All four Stone constituency parliamentary candidates have been asked to prepare a candidate profile and to provide responses to a number of questions that we sent to them all.
All responses are unedited and therefore are the candidate’s own words
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Alec Sandiford – Liberal Democrat
I am Alec Sandiford, Liberal Democrat candidate for the Stone constituency. I was born and educated in Staffordshire, live in the constituency in Blythe Bridge and am married with 3 young children all of whom are educated at local schools in the area. I am a professional chef, carer and an active member of the local community and sit on the Fulford Parish Council. I also volunteer for local charities helping adults with mental health issues and schools where I help to teach children to read and write. I believe my experience of life as an ordinary person gives me the relevant experience to help my constituents with similar problems.
I am passionate about our constituency and committed to improving it. I will be here for the foreseeable future working to build a relationship with the constituents. I have met many of you already on my door to door canvassing and hope to meet all of you in the future. I chose to stand in the constituency because it is my home and I believe that anyone who is given the honour by the constituents to represent them should live among them. I don’t want to live miles away just visiting on occasion.
How long have you been affiliated with the party that you’re standing for?
I have been affiliated with the party for just over three years actively but have felt that the Liberal Democrat policies for freedom, equality and fairness are my natural home.
The geographical area of the Stone Constituency is quite extensive, how do you ensure that you can keep in touch with the issues affecting all of the individual towns and villages that are contained within the boundary?
The geographical area of the constituency is vast and the largest land mass constituency in the country. As I stated above I am not here just for the election I am here for the future and to this end have already purchased a mobile office and should I be elected I will be holding monthly surgeries in places such as Baldwins Gate, Eccleshall, Gnosall, Cheadle as well as weekly surgeries in Stone.
The town of Stone has seen rapid growth in recent years with a number of new housing estates. What would you do to ensure that the town’s infrastructure and services are also expanded to absorb the additional headcount?
When planning new developments of housing the infrastructure should be in place before any building of houses is done. To try to add to the already stretched resources is just not acceptable. If elected I will fight to increase our already stretched services and ensure that in future, planning accommodates the needs of the people. People need to be able to access services like a GP.
Stone High Street, like many across the UK, is finding trading difficult. What are the key areas that you think need tackling to stimulate the High Street considering the needs of consumers, business owners and attracting new investment?
The High Street of Stone is of great concern to me as empty shops can lead to a downward spiral of more decay. To prevent further decay there must be a combined effort to ease business rates for small businesses, improve public transport and until this is done reduce parking charges to attract more consumers instead of driving them away to retail parks.
When you talk about the town of Stone to people what type of statements (positive or critical) do you make?
When talking about Stone I praise the individual shops that differentiate it from most high streets, it has immense historic values and is compact, allowing people to get around it easily. One major criticism for me would be the one way system as it goes down past Morrisons. Traffic used to flow so much better when both lanes at the bottom allowed for traffic to go straight on. One lane just for traffic turning left creates bottlenecks at most times of the day.
HS2 will run close to Stone, with a railhead being built in Yarnfield. What’s your position on the HS2 project and will it benefit Stone?
All political parties support HS2 despite the fact that many of the public are against it. We have an urgent need to cut carbon emissions and HS2 is essential to achieving net zero emissions and tackling the climate emergency. Already over 7000 jobs are supported by HS2 and all would be lost if the project were not to go ahead. Our existing North-South infrastructure is already at capacity and unable to accommodate more or longer trains.
What’s your personal opinion on Brexit and is it aligned with your party?
I feel that Brexit will be disastrous for Stone and that the constituency has pressing issues that urgently need addressing. Our schools, NHS, social care and infrastructure to name a few, have been neglected by the two main parties that have served us for nearly a century. Trust in politicians is at a record low, many voters feel Conservatives and Labour do not represent their values and both are gripped with infighting and becoming increasingly more extreme.
If the UK is unable to conclude a trade deal with the EU by the end of any transition period do you support us leaving the EU with No Deal?
I could not support the UK leaving the EU with no-deal under any circumstances. It would be disastrous for both the country and the constituency.
Do you support a second referendum now that the electorate have the details of an agreed deal vs the status quo?
The Lib Dems have been campaigning for a 2nd referendum for over 3 years now and it will always remain our default position should we not achieve a majority government. It is unfortunate that other parties blocked a 2nd referendum in April as such a vote would have taken place in October and we wouldn’t be in this position now.
Brexit has been divisive and without a time machine how would you unite the country going forward?
The deep divide in our country that Brexit has caused is of great concern to me and the rise of hate crime due to it will take some time to tackle I’m afraid. I fear the country will be divided for some considerable time and that the public have to be assured that their concerns have been addressed.
If you were elected what would be the top five areas that you’d be trying to change?
My top 5 issues are both local and national:
- Climate Change is something that is affecting us all now and if immediate and effective change does not happen the next generation will suffer terribly. We have to create a better environment for ourselves, children and grandchildren. Roads in several parts of our constituency have been flooded in recent weeks with drivers having to make detours when it is dark and dangerous.
- Education is an area that needs to change. Having gone through tribunals myself to get my children the education they deserve I want to help other parents experiencing the same problems. The cuts to school budgets must be reversed so that all children have the opportunity for an equal education. Our schools need the EU. There was a 25% drop in teachers from EU countries applying for the right to work in English schools in a single year, according to official data. Our children deserve better and should not be left behind in the global economy. I am appalled that the Stone constituency is in the top 20 constituencies of the largest increase in classroom sizes and that Staffordshire schools are some of the hardest hit by cuts. Two of my children attend schools that close early one day a week because of the cuts.
- More funding for SEND. Too many parents are suffering in silence. I believe that everyone deserves an equal opportunity and an education that is inclusive, regardless of ability, one that is not two tier and opens doors rather than shuts them. Disabled children and their families are being failed across the country. I have personal experience of this heartbreaking struggle parents go through and I want to work to ease their lives.
- The NHS. I am so angry that both Labour and Conservative use the NHS as a battering ram. We have a wonderful NHS and are so lucky in many respects but successive governments are letting it down. The NHS needs the EU. 1 in 10 of our doctors are EU citizens. The number of nurses from the EU registering dropped from 6400 to just 800 in just one year. The botched handling of Brexit by the Conservatives has driven away thousands of healthcare workers in our NHS leaving the service in crisis and increasing pressure on local services. We need these workers to feel welcome in modern Britain.
- I want the opportunity to talk to the constituents about the EU, about how enriched our lives are by being members. Being a member of the EU costs each of us 17 pence a day, less than the cost of an apple, yet we reap so many rewards.
Any closing statement about why people should vote for you?
I believe that we all deserve politicians who act in their constituent’s and country’s best interests, who will act with honesty and decency, with no motivation for personal financial gain. I will do my upmost to meet such requirements and hope to use the positive message of the Liberal Democrats to inspire voters of all ages to make a real difference locally and nationally.
A vote for me and the Liberal Democrats is a vote for somebody who is local, someone who cares, who believes in equality and fairness and a vote for change. I ask for your vote.
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