Well I missed this evenings leaders debate as I was involved in a counseling situation, but I've now got the comment stream running, and may watch the repeat on iPlayer. Sounds like Cleggy continues to shine but Dave was pulling slightly ahead.
So how do you decide who to vote for?
One thing you might like to try is the survey on the vote for policies not personalities website. This takes sections from the manifestoes of six of the parties (Labour, Conservative, LibDem, Green, UKIP, BNP) and asks you to choose which policy you prefer on a number of key issues (crime, education, health/NHS, welfare, immigration, environment, economy, Europe, democracy). You might be surprised by the results!
Of course, if you have actually bothered to read the manifestoes this survey will not be much good because you will be able to spot which party is proposing which policy. I sent out my assistant to get me copies of the manifestoes of the the three main parties, but - bizarrely - she could only find the Tory one, so I have yet to get my hands on those of Labour and the LibDems.
Living in a constituency that has a large Tory majority means that there isn't much campaigning going on in my neighborhood, but if you are in a more marginal constituency you are probably getting bombarded. So what questions should we ask of candidates that approach us? Or if we go to a hustings what questions should we ask? As Christians, I think its good to ask a range of questions, that impact upon both personal morality and social responsibility. Questions like these...
• How would you like to strengthen marriage and the family?
• How do you think we should handle the drugs problem in our society?
• What do you think are our responsibilities towards developing nations?
• What do you think about life issues such as abortion, euthanasia and genetic engineering?
• What would you like to do to tackle the problem of prostitution?
• What are your plans for care of the elderly?
• What would you like to do to reduce the problem of debt in our society?
• Would you support policies that enabled churches to receive Government funding for social action projects without compromising their religious character?
• Do you support more stringent controls on pornography?
• What are your views on climate change?
• Can there be such a thing as an ethical foreign policy?
Happy asking - remember, they work for you!
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4 comments:
Good article Matt.
We certainly had an exciting Churches Together hustings for North West Norfolk.
The BNP and the Greens joined the Tories and Lib Dems on the platform. The labour guy wouldn't come on the platform with the BNP (Travelling from Leicester may also have been a factor ;-).
The BNP guy brought some heavies for protection (to a Methodist church!) and sadly tried to justify their racism from the Tower of Babel. Having the BNP meant a protest outside, unconnected to Churches Together, and thus local TV, radio and print media coverage.
The questions we asked the candidates were pre chosen. I wish we had had some of your ideas!...
1 Why are you standing for the party you are representing tonight?
2 It is widely accepted that as our reserves of oil and natural gas will start to dwindle over the next 50 years or so, we need to increase the use of renewable energy. However there has been spirited local opposition to several recent proposals to generate natural energy from wind turbines to power our towns and villages. How would you balance the requirements to provide more renewable energy with the threat from wind farms to the beauty and tranquillity of the Norfolk Countryside?
3 There is a widespread perception among the public that the amount of sex and violence accessible on TV and the internet is on the increase. What would you do, if elected, to improve media standards, protect children from unsuitable content on websites and strengthen the law on pornography?
4 With such a degree of poverty in the world, how would you justify the spending on replacing Trident?
5 Christians hold dear to the cross of Christ breaking down the dividing wall of hostility between races. What will the candidates do to prevent racism which is so offensive to the Christian faith?
6 In the current financial climate, what assurances can the candidates give that adults and children with special needs will continue to receive the care and support that they need?
7 What, in your view, is the role of marriage in our society?
8 What will the candidates do to ensure people in Britain will have the same freedom to express their faith, that they had in the past?
Here are the big 3 party manifestos:
http://www.conservatives.com/Policy/Manifesto.aspx
http://www2.labour.org.uk/manifesto-splash
http://www.libdems.org.uk/our_manifesto.aspx
Thanks Matthew for encouraging us to engage. We have found that Party manifestos aren't as specific as we would want them to be. You can get a rough idea on their moral compass but when it comes to personal things that affect you, it is definately worth contacting your local M(s)P. We contacted the main three (and SNP for Scotland) and asked them about what would change under a new goverment? We asked specifics on family tax credits, marriage, mortgages and pre-school education for children. Others might ask different things but in case this is helpful, here are the responses from Cons and Lib dems. Not yet heard from Labour:
Conservatives:
a) Family Tax credits - if your joint income is 50k or above, you will lose it - as we feel the country cannot afford it. Below 50k? You'll keep it.
b) The marriage tax proposal will not be retrospective. But will only happen with a clear majority for the Conservatives.
c) Will mortgages go up under the Conservatives? If we get the economy back on it's feet interest rates will no doubt increase again - but that will be a Bank of England decision.
d) Pre school - will there be a guaranteed place for children? Yes.
Lib. Dems:
a) Family tax credits: We will introduce six-monthly awards based on the previous six months’ income that will remain the same so families can be free from the fear they will be repaid. If families experience a major life event such as losing your job or having a baby their awards will be increased.
b)No incentives for marriage.
c)Interest rates are set independently of the UK Government by the Bank of England. We have long supporting this situation, in order to remove party politics from the setting of interest rates and would not propose changing this.
d)No answer.
IS VERY GOOD..............................
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