t20 presentation 2 a

HAYLING ISLAND GROUP - GENERAL ELECTION TOP 20 QUESTIONS

Day 2 – Answers to the next four questions:5. If public service provision is always better, why is that true of the NHS, but not other parts of the economy, where nationalised industries (e.g. British Rail, British Leyland) have been manifestly inefficient and often provided poor customer service?

6. It is a matter of public record that the UK now employs more people than at any time in its history. It is also a matter of public record that a greater proportion of those employees work in the private sector, as opposed to the government financed public sector, than has been recorded since records began around 15 years ago (Ref ONS). Given the crisis in the public finances, do you see this as a positive trend that should be continued or do they feel that more people should be employed by the government? If you would like to see more public sector workers, how do you think they should be paid for and by whom?

7. Following the Scottish referendum, the transfer of more powers of government to Holyrood and the likelihood of a large contingent of SNP MPs in Westminster after the election, how do you believe the UK constitution should be amended, if at all?

8. How do you plan to approach first time voters to ensure they appreciate and vote on the big important issues rather than short term, personal areas of dissatisfaction?

Alan MakConservative Party

5. If public service provision is always better, why is that true of the NHS, but not other parts of the economy, where nationalised industries (e.g. British Rail, British Leyland) have been manifestly inefficient and often provided poor customer service?

Public provision is not always better, but it is in the case of the NHS because we have a cross-party consensus, strongly shared by the public, that the NHS should be in public hands and have a public service ethos (i.e. the NHS should be free at the point of use, and care should be provided on the basis of need not ability to pay).

No such cross-party consensus – or public consensus – exists in relation to nationalised industries. The Conservatives are clear that governments are not good at making cars or running trains in the long-run. The profit motive in these situations helps to drive up quality and customer service. In contrast, the NHS is different because most of the people working it are not motivated by profit, but by a desire to help people.

6. It is a matter of public record that the UK now employs more people than at any time in its history. It is also a matter of public record that a greater proportion of those employees work in the private sector, as opposed to the government financed public sector, than has been recorded since records began around 15 years ago (Ref ONS). Given the crisis in the public finances, do you see this as a positive trend that should be continued or do they feel that more people should be employed by the government? If you would like to see more public sector workers, how do you think they should be paid for and by whom? No, the state should be small but smart. For example in the NHS, we have hired 9000 more doctors since 2010, whilst reducing managers by 6000.

7. Following the Scottish referendum, the transfer of more powers of government to Holyrood and the likelihood of a large contingent of SNP MPs in Westminster after the election, how do you believe the UK constitution should be amended, if at all?Our priority should be English Votes for English Laws. We will maintain the Westminster Parliament as the UK and England’s law-making body. But we want Parliament to work in a way that ensures decisions affecting England can only be taken with the consent of the majority of MPs representing constituencies in England (like Havant), or in England and Wales. We will end the unfairness whereby Scotland is able to decide its own laws in devolved areas, only for Scottish MPs also to be able to have the potentially decisive say on similar matters that affect only England.

8. How do you plan to approach first time voters to ensure they appreciate and vote on the big important issues rather than short term, personal areas of dissatisfaction?I have visited every secondary school in the constituency (plus South Downs and Havant Sixth Form College) to talk to students about the importance of elections and voting. Engaging with young people and first time voters directly is the best way. I have also set up the Havant Next Generation Network (NGN) for young people, which whilst focusing on business and careers, also has a remit to encourage young people to get involved in civic and community life, including by voting. I also have a growing number of first and second time voters working as volunteers on my campaign and I engage with them directly about the big issues the country faces.

Tim DawesGreen Party

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Who ever said it was? Of course there is a role for private enterprise competing to provide new equipment, drugs etc. top the NHS. In this area the only alternative is stagnating Stalinism and competition (between suppliers) is a healthy thing that drives efficiency and innovation. The profit motive and private business has it's place in our society. The thing about more general privatisation in the NHS is that it doesn't just mean that a proportion of the tax we pay to fund the service goes in profit and other costs such as contract management and tendering, it also means the only “capitalists” involved will be the large corporates. The very people who have been cheating us by not even paying tax on the profits made from trading here. Smaller, leaner (and often more innovative) businesses don't get a look in and find themselves squeezed out. Consider the Southern Health (provides mental health services across IOW, Hants, Berks and Bucks) cleaning contract which was let to a single big company only last week. This contract replaces a sensible patch-work of provision that included directly employed staff, where appropriate, and lots of small companies – all of whom are now shut out. Public service organisations can be well managed, effective and good for the country. Investment starved British Rail services from Havant to Waterloo actually ran the route in 10 minutes shorter time than the fastest now from the private operator. The CEGB was a great success in building an energy infrastructure and strategy. And – let's say it – the NHS does a pretty good job, scoring well in general on international comparisons and coming in at around half the cost of health provision in the private USA.

6. It is a matter of public record that the UK now employs more people than at any time in its history. It is also a matter of public record that a greater proportion of those employees work in the private sector, as opposed to the government financed public sector, than has been recorded since records began around 15 years ago (Ref ONS). Given the crisis in the public finances, do you see this as a positive trend that should be continued or do they feel that more people should be employed by the government? If you would like to see more public sector workers, how do you think they should be paid for and by whom? This is a non-question. Whatever the employee of the person driving the train s/he is still paid for by a combination of taxation subsidies and passenger fares. I would like to see fewer people employed by large tax-dodging corporations and more by those that have a real stake in what they do and their communities. That might be government or local government, but it also might be employee-owner partnerships (like Waitrose) or mutuals owned by their customers (like Nationwide). I would also like to see more people working for themselves (another significant trend, is that many more are) and for smaller, locally-based businesses. 7. Following the Scottish referendum, the transfer of more powers of government to Holyrood and the likelihood of a large contingent of SNP MPs in Westminster after the election, how do you believe the UK constitution should be amended, if at all?I would like to live in a much more federal and community-empowered country. I don't think that Westminster MPs from places other than England should vote on purely English legislation – though I recognise that some apparently “English” matters may have implications for those in other parts of the UK – so defining “purely English” is not straight-forward. The really big issue is what happens if there is a referendum on EU membership. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will almost certainly vote heavily to stay in. If England votes to leave (and wins a UK majority or not) the constitutional tensions will be much more immediate and serious. 8. How do you plan to approach first time voters to ensure they appreciate and vote on the big important issues rather than short term, personal areas of dissatisfaction?I don't think first time voters are any less politically aware. They certainly tend to be significantly less tribal and that's a good thing. I have visited all the local colleges and six forms and have tried to engage with younger voters as much as possible through social media (they tend not to come to hustings or be the person answering the door as I knock on them). In my experience, young people are better at looking at long-term issues and policies than more older population – though of course that is a massive generalisation and individuals are all different. One think I advise people to do is use the independent policy comparison sites – especially “blind-tasting” ones such as https://voteforpolicies.org.uk/

Dr Graham GilesLabour Party


The Tories are relentless in pursuing a policy of increased privatisation, irrespective of the impact this could have on the quality, cost or efficiency of public services. It’s an ideological mantra of the right that “private is always better” - don’t forget they even wanted to privatise our forests until opposition MPs and public outrage forced a U-turn! In the last century our nationalised industries were sold to investors in the name of progress, but privatisation has not proved to be a universal panacea. An article in last August’s Daily Telegraph (a newspaper that champions Conservative privatisation ideology) concluded that “Britain’s railways are renowned for being the most expensive in Europe, possibly the world.” The question needs to be asked - why are our railways so expensive? Privatisation has not led to cheaper season-tickets, wage equality, better working conditions for staff, nor an end to debt, delays and over-crowding. One of George Osborne’s excuses for a failing economy was “leaves and the wrong kind of snow on the tracks!” The future of our public services has political, economic and social consequences that need to be examined honestly. It’s wrong to assume that fragmenting public services is always the most efficient and effective option. Health, Education, Justice, Defence and Forests are all targets of big-business. British core services should be not be sold-off to profiteering multi-nationals as they were in USA under the George W. Bush and his former corporate CEO-led administration

6. It is a matter of public record that the UK now employs more people than at any time in its history. It is also a matter of public record that a greater proportion of those employees work in the private sector, as opposed to the government financed public sector, than has been recorded since records began around 15 years ago (Ref ONS). Given the crisis in the public finances, do you see this as a positive trend that should be continued or do they feel that more people should be employed by the government? If you would like to see more public sector workers, how do you think they should be paid for and by whom? I am less concerned about the relative split between the number of private/public sector workers than the conditions of employment that employees experience. Punitive zero hours contracts in the private sector are scandalous, they have multiplied in the past 5 years and should stop now. Thousands of short-term immigrant labourers in Southern England are also known to be victims of exploitation. Moreover, I believe that only appropriate public services should be privatised. Certain care services that we rely on that should never be owned for commercial gain as we need them to be evidence-based, driven by long-term public interest not for profit or political vested interests. Private companies of necessity are driven by share-holder dividends over and above national demographic needs or the living wage. Front line public servants like town-planning, or the police, probation and prisons services should never depend on private sector staff or managers. I would also fiercely defend an impartial independent BBC from the competitive interests of corporate news organisations like the Murdoch Corporation. It’s reasonable and responsible that public services we all depend on should be funded, governed and staffed from general taxation.

7. Following the Scottish referendum, the transfer of more powers of government to Holyrood and the likelihood of a large contingent of SNP MPs in Westminster after the election, how do you believe the UK constitution should be amended, if at all?Powers that were once vested in central government have been devolved not only to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but also to the Mayor of London and a few elected mayors or unitary authorities. The coalition government is mandating Greater Manchester (without a referendum) to become the first English region to get full control of its health budget, as part of an extension of devolved powers. If committed to maintaining a United Kingdom, we need to have a serious debate about devolved powers throughout our nation. “English votes for English laws” is a good sound-bite but far too simplistic. I would advocate a more visionary approach to the future of 21st Century democratic governance in the UK. Starting with the House of Lords I would lobby for a fully elected second chamber of Parliament to be responsible for constitutional matters and scrutiny. My preference would be for a Senate providing equal representation to each of the four British principalities, elected by compulsory voting of all British citizens (this would also make PR a valid reform). Falling voter turn-out undermines the quality of debate and representation in Britain – compulsory voting as a primary citizenship responsibility would break the dependence forever of traditional king-makers, power-brokers and minority swing voters. An authentic new Parliamentary legitimacy would drive long-overdue reforms to our democratic representative bodies nationally, regionally and locally.


I consider that first time voters want someone to believe in, something to be hopeful about. That’s why we’ve branded our Labour message and vision as Hope4Havant. People are not asking for the world, they’re asking for a decent standard of living, a good education, a properly funded NHS, an affordable home of their own, a fairer more equal society. People I meet are not looking for a hand-out they’re hoping for a hand up. Britain can afford this, we’re one of the wealthiest nations. We cannot afford to force the cost of the global financial banking crisis onto our weakest citizens through bed-room tax and zero-hours contracts, or saddle our apprentices and graduates with student debt into middle age. Austerity is not working we urgently need to tip the economic and social balance in the direction of Hope.The top of our hope4havant.com home page has been encouraging all constituents to register to vote – up to a million citizens especially first-time-voters in Britain may be denied a choice on May 7th if they have not registered before the election.

Steve SollittLiberal Democrats


Different areas require a different approach. In the case of the NHS I believe that remaining in the public sector is the correct option as does the Liberal Democrats. Personally I feel that British Rail has functioned better since it passed into the private sector although it’s still important that government maintains some controls. They do this over ticket pricing controls and the regular tendering process although this may now be in need of review

6. It is a matter of public record that the UK now employs more people than at any time in its history. It is also a matter of public record that a greater proportion of those employees work in the private sector, as opposed to the government financed public sector, than has been recorded since records began around 15 years ago (Ref ONS). Given the crisis in the public finances, do you see this as a positive trend that should be continued or do they feel that more people should be employed by the government? If you would like to see more public sector workers, how do you think they should be paid for and by whom? There is a clear link between government debt and the number employed in the public sector. There has been a movement to private sector employment and this is partly due to the policies of the past around the transfer of services from the public to private sector When there is a fall in the deficit and there is more public money available there may well be a rise in public sector staffing but I firmly believe that this should be affordable and sustainable It is unacceptable to put staff in either the private or public sector in a situation leading to uncertainty 7. Following the Scottish referendum, the transfer of more powers of government to Holyrood and the likelihood of a large contingent of SNP MPs in Westminster after the election, how do you believe the UK constitution should be amended, if at all?Yes. There should be a change there will only allow English constituency MPs to vote on English related issues. There would clearly lead to issues if a coalition after the election involved the SNP but with delegated responsibility for areas like the NHS already made to Scotland and Wales this would seem a sensible approach8. How do you plan to approach first time voters to ensure they appreciate and vote on the big important issues rather than short term, personal areas of dissatisfaction?I will be using the record of the Liberal Democrats in Government delivering 75% of our manifesto as part of the Coalition. Some first time voters will feel that a specific policy or area is more important to them and by talking about the impact of that area and how it impacts of the larger picture I would seek to show and explain what can be achieved. It’s as much about listening to their concerns and then telling them about the wider issues too

John PerryUnited Kingdom

Independence Party


The issue here is poor management; if management are not up to the role, they should be removed; the last two governments have been engaged in wholesale reorganisation of the NHS and these party political changes need to stop as the effect is reduced morale and performance.

6. It is a matter of public record that the UK now employs more people than at any time in its history. It is also a matter of public record that a greater proportion of those employees work in the private sector, as opposed to the government financed public sector, than has been recorded since records began around 15 years ago (Ref ONS). Given the crisis in the public finances, do you see this as a positive trend that should be continued or do they feel that more people should be employed by the government? If you would like to see more public sector workers, how do you think they should be paid for and by whom?

There are 1.8 million people “employed” on zero hour contracts. Also, because of mass immigration (over 620,000 gross per year) an oversupply of unskilled workers is enforcing wage compression making the minimum wage very often the maximum wage. I would like the public sector reduced and I welcome the growth in the private sector, but it must be with real jobs and opportunities and not with workfare and zero-hours contracts whose numbers are used to increase the numbers in employment.

7. Following the Scottish referendum, the transfer of more powers of government to Holyrood and the likelihood of a large contingent of SNP MPs in Westminster after the election, how do you believe the UK constitution should be amended, if at all?

English MPs should vote on English only laws just as Scottish MPs only vote on Scottish laws. Personally, I was never in favour of devolution, but accepting we have it, we need the Barnett Formula scrapped and funding to Wales and Scotland based on need.


I ask first time voters to look at the record of the previous governments. Labour doubled the National Debt to £800 billion, and the Conservatives have doubled the debt again over 5 years to £1.5 trillion (the Conservative debt increase being equivalent to £12,000 for every man, woman and child). The Conservatives pledged to cut immigration to 1/10, but increased it. The biggest issue is belief in Britain - UKIP believes in a Britain that can write its own laws, control its borders and govern itself. Labour, LibDems and Conservatives believe that many of those activities should be determined in the EU and not Britain.

That’s it for Day 2The next four questions will

be answered tomorrow

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