Candidates make their sales pitch (From Stroud News and Journal)

Candidates make their sales pitch

CONSERVATIVE candidate Neil Carmichael is hoping this time round might be third time lucky for him.

He fought unsuccessfully against David Drew in Stroud in 2001, having previously lost to Denis Healey in Leeds East in 1992.

Neil is confident that his tenacity will pay off. Election promises include more bobbies on the beat, keeping post offices open and the overhaul of what he believes is a "centralised" planning system.

In addition, he hopes to secure more funding from Whitehall for Gloucestershire.

"We are badly represented in the House of Commons," he said.

"There are more people here under the government's definition of poverty than in Bristol and that is because the Labour government does not care about rural areas.

"We need to make sure we defend our local services, many of which have disappeared over the last couple of years - services such as post offices."

He cites crime as a priority for the Conservatives, and wants to reduce paperwork in the police force in order to increase police presence on the streets.

"We think there is far too much initial form-filling for policemen," he said, "so we would aim to reduce that. 360 police officers out on the streets deterring people from committing crime is far better than bureaucracy."

He believes that £12.6 million can be saved by streamlining the civil service, and is particularly concerned with decentralising the planning process.

"We don't need a regional structure for planning. That is a waste of money and we would abolish it," he said.

"I think that it is high time we had more affordable housing. I have pointed out that since Labour took office there is half the amount of affordable housing that there was under us. We have schemes where we have shared ownership between authorities and individuals."

He said if the Conservatives are elected, they plan to introduce tax cuts including £468 a year for pensioners.

Neil spent many years in as a sheep and cattle farming, and is against the ban on fox hunting, which he calls "a question of liberty."

"You should vote for me because what we want to do is make sure that people in Stroud can make decisions about the future of Stroud," he said, "and make sure that money is properly spent on issues such as crime and health, and also make sure that pensioners are getting a good deal in terms of tax."

Born in Hexham in Northumberland and educated and St Peter's School in York, he is a former County Councillor and a member of the Foreign Affairs Forum and the Royal Institute of International Affairs.

He is a public affairs consultant with Strategic Impact and has several other business interests including promoting contemporary art, and small business incubation and development.

He has also been a visiting lecturer at several universities, teaching British politics, rural economic development and politics of the European Union.

He has contributed to a number of political and academic conferences, in Britain and abroad, on subjects including politics and the media, social policy and the future of the European Union.

He is a governor of Stroud College and of Randwick Primary School, a member of the audit committee of the Learning and Skills Council in Gloucestershire, a member of the Severn Vale Rotary Club and chief executive of Northumbria Daybreak, a charity caring for people with learning disabilities.

His hobbies include travel, golf, motor racing and the environment, especially woodland.

Neil is married to Laurence, a local government senior researcher. They have lived in Paganhill for five years with their son James, twin daughters Alicia and Rebecca and their cat Missey.

"We are really pleased to be here," he said. "It is a fantastic area. We want to make sure it is preserved."

Labour's David Drew has enjoyed a second term in office, and is confident about making it a hat trick.

His passion for the area gives him such verbal momentum that it is difficult to get a word in edgeways. He has a habit of interrupting himself mid-sentence and goint off on a new tangent.

Born in Gloucester and married with four children, he was elected MP for Stroud in 1997 when he beat the long-standing Conservative MP Roger Knapman, now an MEP and leader of UKIP.

Even David's political rivals acknowledge that he is extremely hard-working. During the ten years he served the people of Stroud as a town, district and county councillor, he has carried out over 12,000 pieces of casework for individuals and groups.

"I have been involved in politics since I was about 15. I joined the Labour party when I was 17. I wanted to change the world and I am still trying," he said with a smile.

"This job is ten times more frustrating than when I was a councillor because of the bureaucracy you endure but when you do have your success and people say thank you and you see an improvement in the community it's worthwhile.

"But nothing happens quickly. People have their own opinions on how things should be done and also there's the problem of resources but I have always been of the opinion that if people want something we should help them."

His main election issues are the regeneration of market towns, investment in the public transport system, the eradication of poverty and the restoration of the canal.

"The restoration of the canal is the single most important feature for Stroud as much as it will provide a real reason to come to Stroud," he says.

"If we can get at least part of the canal open then it will make Stroud a real boom town for tourism."

"We have to look back to our past and recognise that what could go on as a result of the restoration really does give Stroud a lot of options."

He believes that one of the most important benefits of the canal restoration is that it would generate jobs in Stroud.

"Too many people still travel out to London to work, which is not sustainable environmentally or economically."

He says he got into politics because he wanted to eradicate poverty, and has introduced a bill into parliament under the ten minute rule calling for a national anti-poverty strategy.

A committed Christian, he has a close relationship with Church Action on Poverty, a registered charity dedicated to improving the standard on living for Britain's poorest people.

David demonstrated a long-standing commitment to working for and with the community. Prior to becoming a councillor, he was involved in the unsuccessful 15-year fight to save Standish hospital, and the successful campaign to oppose the closure of Stroud Maternity Hospital.

More recently he has been working with The Door, a youth project.

After the last general election, during which just 39 per cent of 18-24 year olds exercised their right to vote, he sees young peoples disaffection with politics as an issue to be tackled head on.

"The interesting thing with young people is that they are concerned about as the same issues the older people," he adds, "but with a more immediate focus."

David is vice-chair of the Commons Environment and the Food and Rural Affairs select committee.

He is also an officer for all party-groups on Charities and the Voluntary Sector, Poverty, Housing and Future Planning, Asthma, Nuclear and Health and a long-standing member of the Co-operative party, which he has represented at Westminster.

In his spare time he likes to walk, cycle and watch Forest Green Rovers.

But he says: "I don't have much spare time."

PETER Hirst is a man who believes his political party can really make a difference to the people of Stroud.

As candidate for the Liberal Democrats, he is determined to prove that his insight, knowledge and experience - coupled with his fiercely loyal championing of the party's beliefs and values - will make him the best man to represent the people in the region.

Having qualified in medicine in 1973 at Leeds university, he has been a locum doctor for the past 15 years.

For the 54-year old father of two, politics had always played a part in his life.

But the idea of doing something pro-active about his political urges and making a difference by getting involved became more and more apparent as time marched on.

"Politics interested me more and more as time progressed," he said.

"I have a very wide experience in working in different parts of the country, which has given me an insight and knowledge into what makes people tick."

Peter believes that his party has been somewhat under-represented in the past, and that the time has now come for the Liberal Democrats to move out of the shadows and be given the chance to prove they can keep their pledges on the political battlefield.

"The country had a bad time the last time the Conservatives were in. I believe that the Liberal Democrats have a good leader in Charles Kennedy and stand a really good chance.

"The people need to believe that the Lib Dems CAN make a difference and I know I could do that as an MP for Stroud."

He has come up against some criticism for not living in the area for which he is hoping to get elected.

But he believes that people should be more open-minded and look at the bigger picture in terms of what both the party and the individual working together can achieve for its constituents.

"I understand people's concerns in part of the community about the fact I don't live locally, but what you have to consider is how someone can make a difference on the national stage," he said.

"I have done what I can to familiarise myself with the area, and I have a good idea of the beautiful countryside around Stroud - it really is a lovely part of the country."

In terms of the party's policies, Peter believes that more could be done to help out small businesses fighting for a voice against their larger competitors.

"There are a lot of small businesses in Stroud which is disproportionate with the larger companies and very often they find they can't cope," he said.

We need to make rebates for business rates as a rebate to small busineses."

Education issues, too, would get a fresh lick of political paint.

"I have looked at the schools in the area with sixth forms and the secondary schools. The Liberal Democrats believe equal payments should be made to all schools.

"We would also propose to abolish tuition fees.

We want to reduce class sizes to 20 up to 7 years and 25 up to the age of 11. We believe the best thing we can do is to give individual attention, particularly in the early years.

"Parents would benefit as would the children, especially in terms play and social activities."

Law enforcement, tackling crime, and giving police better resources to do the job properly are also on the Liberal Democrat agenda.

Peter said: "We would reduce the bureaucracy that police have to deal with, which presently takes up more than half their time, which would make them more effective.

"We are also fully in support of ABSOs and the introduction of the new ABSO Plus, which has been pioneered in Islington, London. We do need to address how we can help people to help themselves.

"We currently have a heavy-handed approach to these problems and it isn't a good thing. We need to adopt a more low-key way of doing it."

When not fighting for the causes of his party, he is also actively involved in Friends of the Earth and the World Wildlife Fund, as well as playing an active role in student teaching and pensions and investments.

He has also taken part in the Five Valleys Walk for the Meningitis Trust.

THIS year will be Edward Noble's first time in the political arena.

"I was totally non political until recently," he admits. "It is only the last couple of years that I have become more and more affected by the red tape and bureaucracy."

His route into politics was unconventional. For the last 35 years, he has worked as a management accountant for a wine importing company based in Plymouth.

In the course of his business transactions with Europe, he has come to the conclusion that the red tape outweighs the advantages of a single currency.

"We want to be totally independent from the bureaucracy. We don't want to be totally separate from Europe. We do a lot of business with Europe.

"Depending on what you read, 50 percent of our business is in Europe. But we need to have control of our destiny."

Despite his lack of experience, he remains optimistic about becoming Stroud's first UKIP MP.

"I think my chances are fairly good," he says. "There is a lot of dissatisfaction with the present parties."

Although his rhetoric extends little beyond Europe, Edward insists that UKIP is more than just a political pressure group.

"Until the last election you could have said we were very much a pressure group but over the last 12 to 18 months we have really started to work as a political party. It is the first time we have had sufficient MPs in parliament to think about forming a government.

"We are a political party. We have a full range of policies and a manifesto being launched which will cover the complete role of government.

"We are very keen to support education as it is at the moment but we want to decentralise. We want to encourage everyone to participate and have local accountability."

Nevertheless, he would concentrate his efforts on gaining independence from Europe if elected. "I would be very much in parliament arguing and joining all the debates about Europe and undertaking all the activities necessary to get us out of Europe.

My main concern is the legislation that is coming out of Brussels. I don't feel it is receiving enough scrutiny. Therefore I would join all the scrutiny committees."

He does not deny that voters may see the party as xenophobic.

"I am a xenophobe if you mean that I am really proud of my country. I really want my country to take a part on the world stage.

"We are very much an anti-racist party, anti-discrimination in every respect."

He believes that patriotism has negative connotations in England, which are not an issue in other countries.

"In Scotland or Wales they are very strong on national identity but no-one describes them as racist. I am English and I am proud of being English."

He dismisses the idea that European legislation has sometimes been in the UK's favour, such as the European court ruling which forced British Beef to be accepted when other countries were reluctant to buy it after the BSE crisis.

"If we had opted out we wouldn't have been in that position in the first place. We would have been able to run our own affairs.

"It is almost like being mugged and the mugger coming along and them giving us our bus fare home and saying, 'How kind we are. If it wasn't for us you wouldn't have been able to get the bus home."

Mr Noble says he is passionate about Britain.

"I have a strong active Christian faith which gives me a interest and a compassion for everyone regardless of their colour or creed.

"But at the same time I am very proud of my background and culture and ask the same rights and respect that I want to give other people.

"I know a lot of small businesses are really affected by the amount of red tape they are having to comply with. Now is the time for people to stand up and be counted and say we have had enough."

Edward has lived in Stroud for the last six years. He has three grown up children.

He is actively involved in the Salvation Army and in his spare time he enjoys sailing.

AS the Green Party Parliamentary Candidate, Martin Whiteside believes he has a lot of persuading to do to a lot of people on a lot of different issues.

But he thinks his dedication, determination, hard work and passion will help him convince people that he is the right man for the job.

As a student, Martin studied agriculture and forest sciences, gaining experience of acute poverty, environmental degredation and war.

This gave him a wide understanding of the complexities of politicial influence and change in less fortunate countries, and this ultiimately led him to the Green Party.

"I've been the parliamentary candidate since last year and a member of the Green Party for seven years," he said.

"I'm involved in a lot of local issues and have to think a lot about the future in terms of tackling the root causes.

"It is all about looking at a progressive future to improve the quality of our lives."

He has been actively involved in the struggle against apartheid as well as working as an inner-city community worker and a volunteer youth worker with community organisations.

He has an impressive track record as environment and rural development consultant, acting as a pivotal link with organisations such as Oxfam, Christian Aid, World Wildlife Federation (WWF) and the British Government on various sustainable rural development programmes.

He is also involved in issues such as canal regeneration and reducing traffic.

He has recently been to Afghanistan to further strengthen relations with poorer countries and in May will be travelling to Angola to look at how best to integrate within and work for a society infected with HIV AIDS.

"As an MP, what I would like for Stroud is to be a very loud voice for change," he said.

"Stroud has a strong radical tradition and a real way of finding solutions to world problems.

"We have to share in our world wealth and the only way to tackle problems in poor countries is to look for radical solutions for greater equality and sustainability.

"These things are possible, and that's why I'm involved in politics."

Issues that Martin will tackle head-on include war and peace, justice and law, increasing inequality and global destruction.

He said: "The current government has led us into a disastrous war and quagmire in Afghanistan and Iraq. It needs to be stopped.

"With global warming, over-fishing and cutting down the forests, we are not living sustainably.

"Many people, particularly the young, are fed up with politics and politicians. We need to make politics exciting and relevant and give people a real say in the decisions that affect them.

"We're creating a Fortress Europe to keep our own patch safe. I'd like to use my international skills to create change at a UK government level. We need to look at how we can become sustainable and be a good example to the rest of the world."

"I would like to admit that sometimes I might get things right and sometimes I might get things wrong, and I might not always have the answers - but if I don't know, I would say I don't know," he said.

When he isn't working, Martin who lives in Thrupp with his wife and three children enjoys spending his free time walking, mountaineering and gardening.

He strongly believes that, by involving people more in local democracy and giving them the power, choice and responsibility to deal with global issues on a local level, the future will be better.

"We are in danger of throwing away this opportunity to get a good, sustainable development plan because we don't have the spine to stand up for what we want.

"My fear is that we'll get something that does a lot of damage when we should get something that is sensible and pleases everybody.

"That is the challange."