Politics debate special
Cllr Judith Blake speaks to LS
Leeds Student‘s Joey Severn talks to Judith Blake Labour Cllr
While the student vote is obviously important for you in this constituency, how will you represent students, who make up over 25% of your electorate, if and when you sit in the House of Commons?
It is vital that we have links with the students, but also with the university itself and Leeds met university. There is a very high turn over of students, so we need to therefore have an ongoing relationship. Sometimes they move in and out of the constituency during their years here. It is basically a constant refreshing, you have keep going back out and re visiting and finding the mechanism that works to reach as many people as well. I think that as a future MP, there is a role in assisting that liaison and dialogue and making sure that the two, sometimes disparate lifestyles, maintain a dialogue. The other thing that I have done, and will continue to do, is to make sure that I tell students why decisions have been made and give them the background.
Did you attend university?
I did. There were very few women that went.
What would you like to see happen to University fees?
The problem we have got, let’s be honest, is that we need to educate as many people as we can, but we need to be realistic about how much that is going to cost. We’re getting a long way towards it, but we need to look at different routes. At the moment I think that we should keep an open mind about how we achieve it. Part time students have to pay their fees upfront and I think that that is appalling. I think that certain things can be improved, if we can get the right message across about how the system works and that students don’t have to re pay their loans until they own a certain amount. It has to be fair. We have a very interesting situation where Leeds Met kept their fees at the lowest and now they have to go up. I am very concerned about them going up. It is a very difficult debate and it is even more difficult with a general election coming along. I don’t think that there will be a clear statement. That is an issue that I would really hope to keep engaging with students over the next couple of months. I think we also have to be very mindful of the huge number of young people who don’t feel that university is for whatever reason is right for them.
The NUS have set out their ideas for higher education funding in ‘the Blueprint’. Do you think that it would potentially damaging for a government to take on ideas from the NUS students?
I can’t see why it would be damaging. Let’s all work this through. Wes Streeting (NUS president) is doing a very good job, in a high profile position. He is really promoting that there is a very strong voice and a lot of experience.
Do you see the rise of the BNP as due to a failure by Labour on immigration policy and Labour voters not turning out at the last EU election?
I’m sorry but you are completely wrong there. If you analyse the results you will see that they are taking massive amounts of votes from the Tories. Working in Leeds, Wetherby and Harrogate there is a very strong BNP vote. It is an issue across the main stream parties. It looks like it would be from labour votes, but it is a much more complex situation. If I am honest I think that it is because the Labour government has not got the message over to those communities. I think that there are issues about people’s voices not being heard. We have to go out and find out why people are voting BNP. A lot of people tell me that they are voting BNP, but they are not racist or doing it for those policies, but because of other issue. Don’t be taken in and think that it is just a labour failing, we all have to work to address these issues.
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Politics debate special
Cllr David Blackburn talks to LS
Leeds Student‘s Charles Cooper talks to Green party Cllr David Blackburn
While the student vote is obviously important for you in this constituency, how will you represent students, who make up over 25% of your electorate, if and when you sit in the House of Commons?
Firstly, 25% of my electorate are not students. In Leeds West where I am standing there is a fairly significant student population in Kirkstall, but considerably less in Armley, Bramley & Stanningley and Farnley & Wortley. I think in a Leeds West context its how will I represent those people who are in full time education and how will I represent the 20-year old on the Bawn Estate in Farnley who can’t find a job because their qualifications are negligible. It is I believe about trying to make sure everyone fulfils their full potential in life, whether you are 20-years old or 80-years old, whether you are a University student or a young unemployed person.
What wold you like to see happen to university top-up fees?
It is my view that there should be no tuition fees at all. More than ever in the 21st Century we need to encourage people of all ages to develop themselves to their full potential. This cannot be done by having a system that discourages participation and that prices some individuals out. Education at all levels should be free.
I and my party also would seek to reintroduce student grants for the moment. In the long term, under a Green government we would seek to cover students living costs through the introduction of the Citizen Income.
One of the main concerns of many students in the area is crime and the safety or our street. What will you do to combat this?
Crime, or the fear of crime is a concern to lots of citizens and not just students, but to some extent it depends on where you live. The basic fact is that those areas where there is high deprivation, poor housing and other social problems also tend to be where crime is at its highest and unfortunately these areas are where there is a lot of student accommodation.
While the Criminal Justice System and Policing Policy are important that alone cannot solve the problem, we need to address the underlying social factors. For instance, everyone need to have good quality housing that is secure and not dilapidated.
Has there ever been a more challenging time to enter the Houses of Parliament?
I would say yes and no.
Yes in terms of the economy because unfortunately economic downturns have happened before on numerous occasions, but we don’t learn and greed takes over. The fact is, based upon what has happened in the past, in 10 or 20 years time it will all happen again.
But what is different, new and so challenging is our knowledge of what we are doing to the planet we live on. The great challenge is, are we willing and do we have the capacity to change our lives and the way we do things so future generations can have acceptable lives, or are we that selfish that we throw our children’s future away. That is the challenge. I believe we can rise to that challenge, but the clock is ticking. the time is running out and we need people electing who will deal with these problems head on.
How is the government going to regain the trust of a completely disaffected electorate?
Trust in politicians, parliament and governments comes and goes, although currently trust has probably only been as low as this back in the 18th Century when Robert Walpole was around and not in modern times. For government and parliament to deal with this disaffection it needs to make itself fit for purpose.
Clearly the way we pay MPs needs sorting out, but is it right that a political party can get just over 1/3 of the vote and form a majority government? I say lets introduce proportional representation.
Is it right that unelected members of the House of Lords should make decisions about our lives? I say lets have an elected second chamber.
In my view we need to decentralise power down to the lowest level, so ordinary people can have a real say in the things that effect their lives.
Finally, we need constitutional arrangements introduced restricting powers available to the government with regard to wars, to ensure the country can never again be taken to war on lies.
I think what will not stop is wrong decision being made sometimes or the odd corrupt politician, but at least we are more likely to get the will of the people enacted.
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Politics debate special
Julia Mulligan speaks to LS
Leeds Student‘s James Legge talks to Julia Mulligan, prospective parliamentary conservative candidate
While the student vote is obviously important for you in this constituency, how will you represent students, who make up over 25% of you electorate, if and when you sit in the House of Commons?
I believe that students should be involved in the review of university fees, and am glad that the Conservatives plan to provide 10,000 fully-funded university places, which aren’t dependent on programme of study. Labour have offered 10,000 places but they aren’t funded and are dependent on programme. We would also improve access to FE, through vocational courses and apprenticeships, which the Labour government has neglected.
One of the main concerns of many students in the area is crime and the safety of our streets. What will you do to combat this?
The Conservative council have already provided 6 extra PCSOs on the streets of Headingley. I would also look into street lighting because that’s of great concern to residents
Has there ever been a more challenging time to enter the Houses of Parliament?
No
How is government going to regain the trust of a completely disaffected electorate?
I was personally dismayed by the expenses revelations. The way to regain public trust is to deliver on promises and have full transparency on expenses.
Why are you a Conservative?
I have a fundamental belief in taking opportunities, and believe that the government should create a framework of opportunity for people to get on in life.
In 2005 the Conservatives came third in the constituency, with only 25% of the votes cast and Greg Mulholland seems to think you don’t stand a chance. How confident are you of victory at the next election?
That’s a load of rubbish. If you look at the local council elections, which The Conservative Party won, you’ll see that it’s going to be a close fight.
You say you want to look out for the interests of the people of Leeds North West, but you also seem proud to back your party’s policy of raising the inheritance tax threshold, which only benefits people leaving behind over £300,000- How many of your potential constituents in Leeds North West leave an estate of over £300,000?
If you look at some of the areas which are in the constituency, like Cookridge and Bramhope, you’ll see that-
But what about Hyde Park and Holt Park, etc?
Well I think that inheritance tax is an inherently unfair tax and if you’ve got on in life and earned money which you’ve already paid tax on, you shouldn’t be stopped from passing it on to your children.
So would you, in principle, agree with a complete abolition of Death Tax?
Well that’s not what we’re talking about. At the minute we’re just making sure fewer people pay it that currently do
You’re the only candidate from the four main parties who isn’t a current MP or local councillor. Does this make you less qualified to enter parliamentary politics?
Well, if you look into my past I have been a local councillor, but I believe that my experience as a businesswoman and a mum have provided me with invaluable real world experience, because I think there are many MPs who don’t know what it’s like to wake up and wonder if you can afford to pay your employees.
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Politics debate special
Greg Mulholland speaks to LS
Leeds Student‘s Laura MacKenzie talks to Greg Mulholland Liberal Democrat, MP for Leeds West
With students making up over 25 per cent of your electorate, they are obviously an important part of your constituency. How do you work to represent them in the House of Commons?
This is something I take very seriously. Students are not different from other groups of constituents. You have to really ensure that you are representing them on the issues that matter to them and that’s just as important to students as it is to any other community within the wider constituency. Of course having been the MP for Headingley and the area now for a number of years, I have directly helped students on a number of issues, particularly in terms of disagreements with landlords and not getting their bonds back, and housing standards. That’s something that I’ve been quite heavily involved in. I have also been working with Unipol and the NUS on a campaign to try to get the Government to reduce the level of rent where people aren’t bound by what’s called assured short-hold tenancy schemes. In simple terms it’s ensuring that people in shared housing are protected and that they can’t be exploited by the landlords in terms of taking bonds. The Government is currently looking at that and I hope it will come back with positive news. You know, that’s my approach; I go out and I do special advice surgeries, I’ve done that at various halls of residences around the constituency. So I just try to make myself as available as possible and to communicate with people. I am their MP and their representative and that’s really the only approach that works so that’s what I’ll carry on doing.
Thank you. I’d now like to ask you a few questions following on from that: I don’t know if you know this already but Leeds University Union currently has a pro-choice stance on abortion and it is something that many students feel passionately about. On several occassions, however, you have voted in favour of legislation that would reduce the upper limits for abortions – would you say that you are pro-life rather than pro-choice?
I make no bones about it and this is very well known. The important thing to remember is that this is an issue of conscience, it is not a party issue, and I make it absolutely clear that I am someone who has pro-life views. I respect those who have pro-choice views and of course it’s important to remember that while Leeds University Union may have that policy there are students who have a variety of different views, which is exactly the same as in the House of Commons and the population at large. What we need to make sure we do is have a sensible and sensitive debate on a very serious issue and what we all agree on is that people need to be properly educated with the choices they make and that we support people afterwards. And I think the more that we can debate about that, the better. But I’m perfectly straightforward on what my own views are.
So ideally would you see abortion de-legalised?
That’s not on the agenda, that’s not going to happen. What we need to debate about is what the right process is and what the number of weeks are at which you can still have an abortion. That’s what the parliamentary debate was about last year. But it was a very intelligent and sensitive debate and I think it was credit to the House of Commons. There were people from all parties speaking from all different viewpoints. So it is important that we have the debate and it’s fundamental that we do that based on scientific evidence but that’s the right approach for this issue and I think that on this one actually Parliament is getting it right.
Ok, so onto another issue that is important to students. Leeds University Union has a very strong LGBT community that does a lot of good work around campus and gay rights is a very important issue for a lot of students. I know that you have previously voted in favour of an amendment that would prevent the prohibition or restriction of the discussion or criticism of, or antipathy towards, conduct relating to a particular sexual orientation, or urging persons of a particular sexual orientation to refrain from or modify conduct related to that orientation – in effect allowing public criticism or discrimination against a person based on their sexual orientation. In light of this I wanted to know what your opinions on gay rights and homosexuality are?
I very surely believe in equal rights and I very strongly believe in responsible free speech. I was heavily involved in the campaign against homophobic bullying and that was something I was very proud to do as a Liberal Democrat and Shadow School Minister at the time. It’s an issue that at that stage wasn’t receiving sufficient attention and I’m glad that that is now getting more attention. I also campaigned to stop the deportation of gay men to Iran where they faced persecution and indeed I have actually had a constituent case of helping someone fight that. It’s outrageous when we know the intolerance of a society such as Iran and we should not be sending people back there who face persecution. That’s an issue of gay rights and that’s something I’ve been heavily involved in.
But do you not think…
I can’t make this into a discussion so we’re going to have to move on.
Alright. That’s fine.
No no, by all means, ask another question but we can’t…
Ok, so my next question is about university top-up fees. Obviously it has been a Liberal Democrat policy to abolish them but is it true that this will not be on the Party’s manifesto come the next general election?
No that’s not true. At the moment we don’t know the manifesto of any party and we won’t know until the general election is announced next year. I will be pushing for as strong a policy for students in general as I can. That’s something I’m very passionate about and I’m very committed to the idea of higher education. I will say that regardless of the outcome of this issue and how it changes. I feel you should always have a higher education system based on ability not ability to pay; I went to university and I think it’s wrong that people are being charged fees in the first place. I think having said that, that where the debate now is , is about the cap on fees and about whether universities should be able to charge variable fees. I just don’t think that variable fees are in anyone’s interest apart from the elite universities who will carry on admitting only a certain section of the population and that’s exactly what we should be trying to stop.
One of the main concerns for students in the Headingley area is crime and the safety of our streets. What are you doing to combat this problem?
Again this is an issue that I have been very engaged on both with the Student Union and also with the local police. I think there have been some very positive initiatives over the last couple of years in terms of really educating students, particularly of course first year students who are living in Leeds for the first time, on the issues of personal safety and the problem that there is in terms of walk-in burglaries, which remains a big problem area. So it’s just trying to give people that support and that education about knowing what to do. Hopefully it’s positive that we now have patrols on the streets. We now have Community Support officers that are being funded by Leeds City Council and that was something that I campaigned for. It’s important that there’s this presence here, and of course it has to be a presence that is there later on (at night) at times when students are out and about. But there is of course always more that can be done.
The BNP is a big issue for students at Leeds, many of whom were involved in the Unite Against Fascism protest against the English Defence League rally last weekend. In light of this I wanted to ask you about a comment you made earlier in the Debate that it was the BBC’s decision to invite Nick Griffin onto Question Time: surely it wasn’t really a decision for the BBC to make – were they not simply following the impartiality rules that govern them as a publicly-funded organisation? Is it not true that it is actually up to the House of Commons to put forward legislation to ban racist parties and prevent them from being allowed to take part in the democratic process?
But you know, you can’t ban the BNP. We’re a democracy and it’s just really not helpful to the debate, and actually I think gives the impression to many people who don’t feel connected to the political system that the political class thinks that anything they don’t like they will ban. That really isn’t the right approach. I find the BNP abhorrent but I certainly don’t think it’s for politicians to be dictating who can and can’t appear. You know it’s an issue for the union and that’s what I respect. The BBC made their own decision as an independent broadcaster and it’s quite right that they do that. I think the sad truth is that now that we do have two BNP in the European Parliament that we have to expose them for what they are. We have to show to be not afraid to take them on through the democratic process and through the ballot box. And actually show those people that had mistakenly thought that the BNP were the answer to their problems when they are so clearly not, as well as being a vile, racist and bigoted party.
But do you accept that it wasn’t really a decision for the BBC to make – they had to follow the rules on impartiality relating to elected representatives?
But it was a decision for the BBC to make. Absolutely. That’s the whole point. And if you’re saying do I think the House of Commons should ban the BNP? No. It’s counter-productive for the political class to be seen to be saying we don’t like what you’re doing so we’re going to ban it. Of course we should ban organisations that are outside of the acceptable political process but whether you like it or not the BNP is not an illegal organisation. And really I think more energy needs to be focused on actually getting out there and talking to people about what they are really like.
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