Election 2005: Issues behind the electoral race (From Stroud News and Journal)

Election 2005: Issues behind the electoral race

David Drew - Labour and Co-operative Parliamentary Candidate for Stroud

THIS is the fourth time I have put myself forward for election to Parliament as the representative for the Stroud constituency.

In 1997 I was first elected and have held the position for the last eight years.

I would identify 5 key areas around which this General Election will be fought. They are;

* the economy * public services * the eradication of poverty * the environment and animal welfare * international development and human rights.

In terms of the economy the government has a good record to defend with a stable economy, low inflation, low interest rates and record levels of employment.

Introducing the minimum wage has had a key influence on lower income workers especially women.

In Stroud we have now begun to see major site regeneration in Stroud, Nailsworth, Dursley and Berkeley as well as continuing growth in Stonehouse.

This has allowed greater investment in public services, the second issue that will feature greatly.

Again the government has much to feel proud of. Record levels of expenditure in health and education has begun to shape those services for the better.

Virtually every educational establishment in Stroud is now being re-built.

Law and order spending has resulted in many more police and support staff and we are now looking to provide more resources for affordable housing.

I remain personally committed to the eradication of poverty. Once more the government can highlight its record with 1.9m pensioners and 2m children taken out of absolute poverty.

The environment must now be addressed as global warming becomes our biggest threat.

This necessitates drastic action at both national and international levels but we must also play our part locally by new approaches. Likewise animal welfare cannot be seen as a sideshow.

Lastly international development now really matters thanks to the churches, non-government organisations and the public.

Of course we have to recognise the mistake of Iraq, but never lose our belief in the sanctity of life through prioritising human rights.

Neil Carmichael - Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Stroud.

STROUD Valleys and Severn Vale need effective Parliamentary representation to stop closures of local services, protect our green fields, increase the number of police constables, achieve a fairer share of public money for Gloucestershire, enable our rural communities to thrive, protect our environment, and ensure that individuals can fulfil their lives.

Under Labour, Standish Hospital and many post offices have closed. I am committed to defending local services by ensuring that public money goes directly to them, especially our excellent Stroud Hospital.

Pensioners deserve a better deal. A Conservative Government will link pensions to income, provide up to £500 Council Tax relief, reduce means-testing, finance long-term care after the first three years, and introduce Lifetime Savings Accounts.

Labour's housing targets must be ended to stop threats of housing developments (Brimscombe, Grange Fields, Ruscombe). Local people should decide on planning without the fear of being overruled by Whitehall.

Anti-social behaviour is an increasing problem. Stroud, Nailsworth, Stonehouse and some villages all experience levels of unacceptable disturbance. The answer is 360 additional police officers. More drug rehabilitation units will be established.

Gloucestershire is in the bottom fifth in terms of financial support from central government. This has a devastating effect on social services. I know as a school governor (Randwick) that our schools, too, suffer through this funding disparity. I will fight for a fairer allocation.

Agriculture and rural communities need protection. Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy is necessary and so is the need for publicly procured food to be of British Standard.

Climate change demands an action plan, including introducing lower Vehicle Excise Duties for small cars, to deliver serious emissions reductions.

We need a government which has the self-confidence to be straight with us and fully accountable for the delivery of its commitments. Trust in government must be restored.

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NEIL CARMICHAEL PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATE FOR STROUD CONSERVATIVE

STROUD Valleys and Severn Vale need effective Parliamentary representation to stop closures of local services, protect our green fields, increase the number of police constables, achieve a fairer share of public money for Gloucestershire, enable our rural communities to thrive, protect our environment, and ensure that individuals can fulfil their lives. Under Labour, Standish Hospital and many post offices have closed. I am committed to defending local services by ensuring that public money goes directly to them, especially our excellent Stroud Hospital. Pensioners deserve a better deal. A Conservative Government will link pensions to income, provide up to £500 Council Tax relief, reduce means-testing, finance long-term care after the first three years, and introduce Lifetime Savings Accounts. Labour's housing targets must be ended to stop threats of housing developments (Brimscombe, Grange Fields, Ruscombe). Local people should decide on planning without the fear of being overruled by Whitehall. Anti-social behaviour is an increasing problem. Stroud, Nailsworth, Stonehouse and some villages all experience levels of unacceptable disturbance. The answer is 360 additional police officers. More drug rehabilitation units will be established. Gloucestershire is in the bottom fifth in terms of financial support from central government. This has a devastating effect on social services. I know as a school governor (Randwick) that our schools, too, suffer through this funding disparity. I will fight for a fairer allocation. Agriculture and rural communities need protection. Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy is necessary and so is the need for publicly procured food to be of British Standard. Climate change demands an action plan, including introducing lower Vehicle Excise Duties for small cars, to deliver serious emissions reductions. We need a government which has the self-confidence to be straight with us and fully accountable for the delivery of its commitments. Trust in government must be restored.

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Dr Peter Hirst - Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate for Stroud

I INVITE you to vote for me in the General Election on May 5. It is coming up to a century since the Liberal Party was in power and it is time they were given another chance.

I have watched the other two parties alternate in power over my lifetime. Initially the distinction was clear and both were needed to counteract the other.

Over the last eight years they have become almost indistinguishable as they compete for the populist vote in those few marginal constituencies that determine which of them will form the next government.

On a range of issues from Council Tax, Tuition Fees, I.D. Cards, Iraq and Free Personal Care for the Elderly the other two parties hold identical views which are contrary to mine and to the detriment of a Fair, Free and Honest society.

The Liberal Democrats have a wide range of policies carefully selected to help Britain regain its self-confidence, pride and influence.

I am proud to be part of the team in Stroud that will take these policies to you. Whether it is your health service, your children's education, the environment, your sense of safety or the many problems facing the disadvantaged in this country and further afield I promise you I will do everything in my power to allow you to reflect with pleasure on your decision to send me to Westminster.

There is more to being a MP than having the right policies, vital though that is. We also need people who help to regain the sense of trust between the people and those who govern them, something that has been severely damaged by recent events.

My career as a practising hospital doctor makes me acutely aware of the responsibility of holding public office and I will at all times remember to whom I owe that privilege.

You will make the decision. That is your right in a democratic country. Please decide on the basis of whether we are moving in the right direction.

Is Britain a place you can be proud of? Do you think your children will thank you for the decision you make next month? Do you trust the other candidates to deliver?

Most of the people I meet just want to be allowed to get on with their lives. They know they cannot have everything.

What they want, I believe, is a sense that the person they have elected to Parliament is trustworthy, has a vision of what he wants to achieve and the means to achieve it. I believe I have those qualities.

Edward Noble - UKIP Parliamentary candidate for Stroud

A GLOBAL Britain or a little European. Only UKIP sees Britain as a global player, able to make it's own way in the world without having to hide behind nanny's skirt or hold her hand.

The pro Europeans would have you believe it is a big wide world out there and it's too frightening to be out there unless we are holding Nanny Europe's hand.

The Labour Party tells us we have no option but to stay in Europe and be good little Europeans, as we would not survive in the big bad world without her.

The Conservatives tell us we have no alternative, we have to stay close to nanny but we can change the rules. Can you image the other countries letting us? Spain allowing us to take back the right to decide who fishes in our own territorial waters for instance.

As for the Liberals, they want us to be good Europeans and stop upsetting nanny. If we are good, we can then have a United States of Europe.

As UKIP Members of Parliament we will:-

Stop paying £30 million a day as our contribution to the EU. From this we can immediately increase all old age pensions by £25 a week.

Increase spending on the National Health and the Education Services.

Free up small businesses from the red tape of EU legislation.

Take control of our own borders and stop illegal immigration.

Encourage legal immigration of those who would benefit this country.

Put in place effective checks on all visitors and ensure that they leave the country when visas expire.

Cut out waste and bureaucracy by doing away with targets in the Health Service and making all hospitals and other primary health providers accountable to the local people for their own budgets.

As your local UKIP MP I would actively fight in Parliament to achieve our aim of complete withdrawal from the EU.

I would work hard to ensure that Stroud benefits in improved Health services, police and education services with a more dynamic small business enterprise in the area freed from EU red tape and bureaucracy.

Martin Whiteside - Green Party Parliamentary candidate for Stroud.

IT is not too late to bring about a green future but we have to act now.

A strong Green Vote across the country, whether or not we get MPs elected, will give a very clear message that we cannot go-on with 'politics-as-usual'. Change has to start somewhere.

The Greens' headline policies are:

- Oppose unjust war and respect international law. Stop Britain's involvement in the arms trade. Oppose nuclear weapons.

- Two million solar roof panels over five years. 200,000 jobs created in Green energy sector. No nuclear power. Billions saved on climate related damage.

- Sanctions against the US for failure to ratify climate treaty: by failing they are effectively giving their exporters a state subsidy which is unlawful under WTO rules.

- Introduce basic allowance, a "citizen's income", for all. Pensions up by a third. Increased tax rate for those earning over £100,000.

- End tax havens for super-rich which cost between £25bn and £85bn a year ie 74 per cent of all the income tax the exchequer receives.

- Increase in overseas aid, cancel the UKs debt for the 52 poorest countries, reform of WTO to support trade justice, to support stronger local economies.

- Oppose ID cards, saving estimated £5.5bn to plough back into community policing

- Make the supermarkets' code of practice legally biding and monitored by an independent watchdog

- Shift £30 billion from road-building to public transport. Take railways back into public ownership. Re-regulate buses.

- Big business out of government decisions. Halt Labour's privatisation by stealth, of our schools and hospitals. Invest money in public services, not shareholders.

- More power returned to local communities.

- Scrap SATS testing in schools.

- End cruel animal experiments, oppose factory farming and long distance animal transport, ban GM crops.

- Stop unsustainable house building on green fields.

- A zero waste policy; nothing landfilled or incinerated, everything reused and recycled, packaging taxed.

If you don't vote for what you really want, you're never going to get it.