We’ve asked the candidates for the Stone constituency for the General Election on 7th May to send us their election pitches, and to answer some specific local questions relating to the town. First up is the Liberal Democrat candidate, MARTIN LEWIS. Click HERE to see all of the candidates’ pitches.
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[dropcap]I[/dropcap] am asked to set out why I am standing for Parliament – what I seek to achieve – my “pitch”. So here is my stab at a policy-free “political vision”. There are two main points: political co-operation and what politics should achieve.
Being in coalition has forced Lib Dems and Tories to think harder about what they agree on, rather than what they disagree on. For example, we were quickly able to abolish Labour’s plans for national identity cards because for both of us it was a “no-brainer”. The state has no business treating us as subjects, we are citizens.
On the other hand Lib Dems and Tories come from very different positions on Europe. But we looked for and found agreement that there would be an “In-Out” referendum if further powers went to Brussels. Instead of sniping at one another, in government we looked for what we could agree on.
There have been effective coalitions in Wales and Scotland too where parties have had to work together. Indeed the SNP ran a successful minority government in Scotland recently because they had to seek agreement with their political opponents. The SNP would not have been able to run the Scottish government if they had maintained a simplistic attitude of hostility to their opponents.
Two more examples:
- Prime Ministers questions is little more than political circus. It is rarely fruitful or constructive. It is a raucous celebration of political difference
- The Public Accounts Committee has done really sterling work to expose tax avoidance and evasion and other loss and waste of public money. That is because politicians from all sides work together and leave their politics at the door.
The Lib Dem campaign headline at this election promotes “a fairer society and a stronger economy to provide more opportunity for everyone”. These headline words remind me of another sentence:
- [We] exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no-one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity.
This sentence is a political gem. It reflects what I stand for and what I expect of politicians. Lib Dems wrote it in 1988 when we were formed and we put it at the beginning of our constitution.
As we saw from the TV debate, we now live in a multi party democracy and many of us come to politics with very different views. But most of us share many common values. The outcome of the 2015 election looks like no party will have an overall majority. Thus we might all need to think a bit harder about what we agree on rather than what we disagree on. And that won’t be a bad thing.
QUESTION TIME
1) Stone is a growing town, with thousands of new homes to be built over the next few years. What needs to be done to make sure the local infrastructure can cope?
- I’m a firm believer in devolving power to the right level of local government, be that the county, borough or town council, depending on the scale and complexity of proposed development.
- I’m confident that the various planning authorities involved are well placed to identify infrastructure needs, like roads, schools, leisure and community facilities.
2) What needs to be done to improve the town centre economy to attract new businesses and support existing traders?
- See reply to question 5.) about inward investment
3) What’s the best way to improve leisure facilities in the town?
- I think this question and question 4.) (about tourism) belong together and relate closely to the planning and infrastructure investment issues covered in questions 2.) and 5.) A marketing person might say: – find out what people want, plan to provide it at good value, market it and then be sure people like it. The three councils (County, Borough and Town) have an important role to play and I’m confident they have the collective knowledge and expertise to play their full part.
4) How can visitors be attracted to the town and our tourism offer extended?
- See reply to question 3.) about leisure facilities
5) How would you seek to boost inward investment?
- The top priorities for investors are having a well trained and flexible workforce and connectivity, meaning logistic accessibility.
- As regards the workforce over 2m apprenticeships have been created nationally since 2010 and more people are now in work than ever before. Getting the new skills that modern business needs is the key to us getting on. Lib Dems would seek to double the number of companies offering apprenticeships.
- On connectivity, we are well placed with the M6 and A50 close by and with good rail links both North and South.
- And there is now new money for infrastructure investment, for example, the Meaford Improvements. The County Council says “The investment will support the transformation of the largest undeveloped brownfield site in the county into a business park and create around 2,500 new jobs.”
- I trust this reply also covers question 2.) about the town centre economy
6) What do you see as the main issues facing Stone in 2015 and what do you see as the best way to address them?
- I expect different people in the constituency will have different priorities. Stone has quite a few middle aged and elderly people. Current and future pensioners can be reassured by the pension “triple lock” which ensures their state pension will keep up with wages, inflation or 2.5% whichever is greatest.
- Two further issues affecting the largest number of people in Stone constituency are probably the general state of the economy and the NHS. We are now beginning to recover from the economic down-turn and growth is just starting again but we have only cut half the deficit. Lib Dems will ensure there is a fair balance between the further cuts and tax rises that are both needed. We will put into the NHS what it says it needs, meaning £8bn more per annum in real terms by 2010.
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