In our recent survey, we asked what is important to you and what you would ask the candidate if you coul dmeet them face-to-face. We will publisht eh most popular here and on our socialas once we've collated them all.
In the meantime, we put four specific questions to all three progressive candidates directly via email. We got this reply from Brian Mathew, the Lib Dem candidate the day after sending them.
Thank you Brian.
We’ll forward the other candidate replies and post on our socials when we have them from Catherine Read (Green) and Kerry Postlewhite (Labour).
1. I don't want to be forced to vote tactically, so will you support electoral reform leading to PR (or something closer to PR than we have at the moment).
Proportional Representation has long been a Liberal DemocratPolicy, it remains so. In the meantime voting tactically is the only way tovote the Tories out, and that in Melksham and Devizes means voting for theLiberal Democrats.
2. Do you agree that people should be free to follow the beliefs they choose, but that no particular religious beliefs should be privileged or imposed, and that no religion or its leaders should have a privileged role in the legislature - and therefore the House of Lords should be reformed to remove the 26 seatsreserved for bishops of the Church of England?
The House of Lords itself should be reformed. Our Party position is it should become an elected chamber. I guess bishops could stand for election, but would they be elected?
Personally I rather like the idea put forward by Tony Benn some years ago that it should become a ‘House of Experts’, with every trade and sector of society represented by a certain number of elected representatives from their sector for a period of say ten years.
This way there would be no argument over which house had primacy, it would always be the House of Commons. The House of Experts would have the role of scrutiny only… in this case I guess there could be a place for religious representatives, who could offer useful moral reflection?
3. What will you do about the shady money and dark links with think tanks?
To my mind democracy thrives on light, openness and transparency, not shady ‘back room deals’.
4. What are your plans to help local businesses and retailers, e.g. will you work on Wiltshire Council to allow free parking for some days/hours in towns such as Devizes / will you support ‘easy in’ –‘easy out’ schemes and reduced rates for a period for new businesses wishing to rent town centre premises?
It sounds like a great idea, and something that theTown Council and Wiltshire Council should discuss, if I am elected I would bevery happy to be involved in such a discussion.
