General Election 05

[AlanG]

I will try and have this updated with the details of whos standing where in Dundee at minimum, if there are a lot of Fifers interested etc we can add those details. For now I'll stick to Dundee East and West

Dundee East boundary

Dundee West Boundary

Scottish Conservatives and Unionist Party
Scottish Manifesto

Dundee East - Chris Bustin
Dundee West - Christopher McKinlay

Scottish Liberal Democrats (LD)
Scottish Manifesto

Dundee East - Dr Clive Sneddon
Dundee West - Nykoma Garry

Scottish Labour Party (SLP)
Scottish manifesto

Dundee East - Iain Luke
Dundee West - Jim McGovern

Scottish National Party (SNP)
Manifesto

Dundee East - Stewart Hosie
Dundee West - Joe FitzPatrick

Scottish Socialist Party (SSP)
Manifesto

Dundee East - Harvey Duke
Dundee West - Jim McFarlane

UK Independence Party (UKIP)
Manifesto

Dundee East - Donald Low


OVERVIEW

Dundee East

Scottish Conservative & Unionist - Chris Bustin
Scottish Liberal Democrat - Dr Clive Sneddon
Scottish Labour - Iain Luke MP
Scottish National Party - Stewart Hosie
Scottish Socialist Party - Harvey Duke
UKIP - Donald Low

Dundee West

Scottish Conservative & Unionist - Christopher McKinlay
Scottish Labour Party - Jim McGovern
Scottish Liberal Democrat - Nykoma Garry
Scottish National Party - Joe FitzPatrick
Scottish Socialist Party - Jim McFarlane

[AlanG]

I dont know if UKIP and Greens will actually stand here, theres also the possibility of Scottish Regiments and that IVOTE mob standing, not seen anything. Scottish peoples alliance seem to have dissapeared too (probly into UKIP/Veritas)

[AlanG]

Heard on radio the other day that Gianno de stefano the famous "lawyer" has created a new party called the "Radical Party" and he will stand at one of the Dundee seats next year. I cant wait for hustings etc to see him.

[Ascended Master]

hey man..
The link for the SNP is: http://www.snp.org/

[neilcoalesce]

The "Chris Bustin" that's standing for the tories - it isn't the same Chris Bustin that used to be DUSA president is it????

[AlanG]

Originally Posted by neilcoalesce

The "Chris Bustin" that's standing for the tories - it isn't the same Chris Bustin that used to be DUSA president is it????

yes it is

"President of Dundee University Students' Association, and was heavily involved in all aspects of this multi-million pound business. ..Chris is a member of the Constitutional Monarchy Association"

[chrono]

Labour Party candidate for Dundee West is Jim McGovern, a GMB official, incase you're planning an update.

[AlanG]

Id heard he was a while ago but it wasnt officially announced. Hes apparantly a member of one of the Labour lefty groups I think its "Campaign for Labour Party Democracy".

Updated the list and added UKIP candidate for Dundee East, as far as I know thats all for Dundee but the forms dont get picked up til Wednesday for candidates and am unsure when closing date is.

I moved the questions thread to a hidden forum so that no candidate can go check them then decide to pull out.

Have contacted:
Scottish Conservative & Unionist - head office
Scottish Liberal Democrat - Dundee contact address
Scottish Labour - Scotland contact address, Nykoma Garry
Scottish National Party - Stewart Hosie, Joe FitzPatrick
Scottish Socialist Party - Harvey Duke, Jim McFarlane
UKIP - press contact I think

Green Party - are not standing in Dundee but are standing in North East Fife, so contacted their candidate there as we have a fair load of UGS members and contributers to this forum from Cupar etc.

If anyone else announces I'll try and get them too (apart from that fascist supporting publicity seeking "lawyer" di stefano who I wouldnt give publicity/attention to)

[AlanG]

Up to date infofrom candidates wanting the questions
SSP - Jim got questions
Green - NE fife who said "rock on" in email to phone
Tories - East candidate to reply
Labour - to pop to west and east offices to speak to candidates
UKIP - to phone
SNP - Jim Hosie now has questions, west not replied yet

sent questions to these and awaiting response so I can post, I will put one thread with all the responses and put the responses into the poll threads as well to stimulate debate

Question responses from:
Chris Bustin, East, Conservative
Harvey Duke, East, SSP
Clive Sneddon, East, Liberal Dem
Nykoma Garry, West, Liberal Dem

[AlanG]

Here are the questions the candidates have been asked:

1 What are your policies on coalitions within the government, are there any parties/individuals you would rule out joining with to form a majority administration and equally, any you would happily join with.

2 What is your position on PFI and PPP? Will you be fighting for or against any current or future planned projects in Dundee?

3 What is your positioning on drugs? Would you support any Met like softening on cannabis possession, or opening of cannabis cafes in Dundee? Are you for either legalisation or decriminalisation

4 What is your policy on boundary changes within the city? Given the widening of the Westminster Ward to include Monifieth and Invergowrie etc do you support a reversal of Tory gerrymandering to return these areas into the cities boundaries or a wider Tayside council?

5 What is your position on the building of mobile phone and TETRA masts within your constituency, especially when near schools or other sensitive buildings?

6 What is your position on student fees/top up fees/grants/loans?

7 What are your plans for youth employment? Not only New Deal/YTS type schemes, but also minimum wage and how this does not fully protect youth under 18/21 from exploitation.

8 Predict the seats! What do you think the outcome of the election will be, rough numbers, percentages or majority of winners are all appropriate answers.

9 Do you support the lowering of the voting age to try and attract more young people to vote given less than 1/3 of 18-24 year olds intend to vote.

10. What's your stance on: Stem Cell research, Vivisection, Criminal DNA profiling, Choosing the sex of babies?

11. Whats your position on the war in Iraq, as well as any future one? (Iran and Syria, Bush is looking at you)

12. The tsunami gained massive public sympathy and solidarity, what will you do to ensure that unlike previous disasters the UK and others provide the aid thats been pledged?

13. A few people on the forum (mainly students with 1 year leases) have had problems with landlords, what would your housing policies do to address cowboy factors trying to dodge doing repairs to houses, trying to dodge giving deposits back and generally being bad landlords?

14 Finally are there any policies you wish to implement and I have not addressed?

[AlanG]

First reply goes to Chris Bustin - Dundee East - Conservative

1. In terms of the general election I am confident that the Conservative Party will be the largest party at Westminster come May 6th. Coalition governments at Westminster are very rare. At Holyrood it is unlikely that any one party will have an overall majority of seats, and therefore coalitions are more likely. Scottish Conservatives are willing to work with any party on an issue by issue basis which supports our policies, however we are not willing to abandon Conservative principles for the sake of a Ministerial Mondeo.

2. Conservatives support PPP. There are several advantages to PFI. Firstly, it transfers risk to the private sector, who are better equipped to cope with it. Secondly, it allows a great many projects to be undertaken at the same time, which helps ease the large backlog in demand for such investment. Thirdly, there is a major incentive for the private sector companies involved to be innovative and thorough at the design and build stage, since they are the ones who have to pay for its maintenance and operating costs. Fourthly, and arguably most importantly, the projects are delivered on budget and on time, because the financial risk of an overspend or a late completion lies with the private sector.

3. Conservatives have a zero tolerance strategy on drugs. We would not leaglise drugs and have pledged to reverse the declassification of cannabis. A great deal of crime is caused by drugs. Too many families are touched by the blight and worry of drugs. It is essential that we break the link between crime and drugs by getting young people off drugs and stopping them turning to crime to finance their habit. Most addicts develop drug habits early in life. Currently, however, it can be many years before an addict receives treatment, and then only as an order of a court as a result of a serious crime. By then it is often too late. The great majority of drug addicts wish to come off drugs completely - not to have their habit 'managed' by state-supplied methadone. Conservatives will help people to live drug-free lives by ensuring that an increased proportion of funding is devoted to rehabilitation courses which offer a drug-free programme. In Scotland young people receive mixed messages from government. Much information provided by government agencies about drugs adopts a neutral stance on whether children should actually use them. Some even tells people how to take drugs safely, for example the images on the 'Know the Score' website. But there can be no equivocation on drugs. Conservatives will adopt a clear zero tolerance approach to drugs and a clear, consistent anti-drugs message.

4. Conservatives do not believe that a case has been made for redrawing council boundaries

5. Labour have failed to champion the interests of local residents. They have ignored the feelings of powerlessness and frustration experienced by those living under the threat of badly sited masts. The suspicious timing of this announcement suggests that the Government is back to its old tricks of 'burying bad news'. Only Conservatives have pledged a comprehensive action plan to strengthen planning rules on masts. On issues like monster masts, traveller camps and sprawling housing estates, we will give local people a greater say to help protect their environment. At the election, there is a choice - between Conservatives who will stand up for local people, or Mr Blair who will ignore them.

6. Conservatives have pledged to scrap the graduate tax at Holyrood and to scrap top-up fees at Westminster

7. If the Government really wants to help young people who have been left behind, it should stop defending failed policies and accept that we need a fresh approach. Only 39% of individuals on the new deal programme for young people entered employment on completion of the scheme in Scotland. This fell to only 26% of individuals on the New Deal 25 plus programme. These figures show how wrong ministers are to defend their bureaucratic employment programmes. The evidence shows that we need for a fresh approach to helping people get back to work. Conservatives will replace the New Deal with a New Programme - Work First. There will be no place for so-called training schemes which play such a cruel trick on the young unemployed by raising their hopes of a job only then to dash them again. And we will sweep away the cumbersome bureaucracy of traditional Job Centres. Instead we will work with charities and commercial providers to transform the opportunities facing our young people.

Conservatives also have proposals to help business thrive, which will in turn increase employment. We will lower business rates to at least the same level as in England. Currently business rates in Scotland are 9% higher, creating a competitive disadvantage for Scottish businesses. We will also be investing £100m in road improvements.

8. I am confident that a Conservative government will be returned to Westminster with a number of Scottish MPs included.

9. I do not think that we need to lower the voting age. Currently there is a great deal of voter apathy among young voters. Our priority needs to be to engage with this section of socity to increase their participation.

10. I know many people are concerned about stem cell research. They are fearful of meddling with what they see as the stuff of souls. I respect those concerns. But I also believe we have a duty to offer hope to the millions of people who suffer devastating illnesses like Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, motor neurone disease, Alzheimer's - and as we saw in the paper's today now possibly heart problems. I believe that stem cell research offers a way forward. Of course, stem cells are still a recent discovery. More research needs to be done. But we must look at their potential in a responsible and grown up way. The hopes of millions of people rest on what could be achieved.

Conservatives remain very conscious of public concern about the use of animals in scientific experiments. The objectives of the new EU REACH legislation (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) are to promote the safe use of chemicals and improve the protection of human health and environment from hazardous chemicals. This could involve large scale animal toxicity testing. In order to limit the need for animal testing to an absolute minimum, we would support measures to facilitate more data sharing within the EU and a greater commitment to alternatives to animal testing wherever possible. We are also opposed to the testing of cosmetics on animals.

It would not be appropriate for parents to choose the sex of their child

11. On Iraq we believe that the war was right, however we believe that Tony Blair did not tell the truth about the evidence about weapons of mass destruction. We believe that disbanding Iraq's security forces immediately after the end of the war was a grievous error and has contributed to the insurgency's virulence.If democracy is to take root in Iraq, it must be underpinned by the rule of law. The next stage is to draft a constitution. If it is to keep Iraq stable, this constitution must give all of Iraq's communities a stake in the new country. It is important that Sunnis, who did not, or could not because of intimidation, take part in the elections are not excluded from the new state.

12. It is of course important that the United Kingdom plays a role in responding to disasters, and generally helping on the global stage. That is why the Conservatives are committed both to increasing Britain's aid budget by a fifth in the next three years and to working towards the UN target of spending 0.7 per cent of our GDP on overseas development. But however effective our aid programme is we have to recognise that on its own it will never solve the problem of global poverty. Good governance, free enterprise, free markets, fairer trade - these offer an end to the neo colonial world of rich donor countries handing out cash to dependent, poorer recipients.

The growth of free markets has done more to lift people out of poverty than all the aid programmes in the world multiplied many times over. Far from the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, the spread of liberal markets enables the poor to lift themselves out of poverty.

The failure of many politicians to grasp this fundamental truth has left millions of people stranded in poverty. In my opinion if we really want to help the poor and extend opportunity then the path is clear: establish the rule of law, protect private property, and constrain the power of politicians. Good governance creates the stability essential to attract investment and for free markets to flourish - a virtuous circle. Debt cancellation and rescheduling also have a role to play, We believe there must be faster and deeper debt relief. When he was Prime Minister John Major was the architect of the 'Trinidad Terms' which were designed to reduce the debt owed by the poorest and most indebted countries by two thirds. However we must ensure that such action does not inhibit developing countries from accessing credit in the future. Conservative MSPs have signed a motion in the Scottish Parliament outlining these commitments.

13. Housing

The Antisocial behaviour Act 2003 introduced registration of landlords to prevent the sort of problems you are describing. On a personal note, I was President of Dundee University Students' Association in 2003/4 - I therefore know very well the problems you are talking about and tried to use my position to highlight bad landlords and to improve the system.

14. There are a number of issues that you have not asked me about - crime, health, education, taxes all of which are important issues that matter to the people of Scotland. The following outlines the Conservatives' proposals on these issues:

Crime - Under Labour, a crime is committed every 78 seconds and there are only 140 police officers on the beat in Scotland at any one time. We will fund the recruitment of 1,500 more police officers to deter and detect crime, restore honesty in sentencing by ending automatic early release and ensure that there are enough prison places to meet the demands of justice and protect the public

Health - Under Labour there are now 9,064 more patients on hospital waiting lists in Scotland than there were in 1997. We will create a truly national health service by giving patients the right to choose where to be treated. Conservatives will ensure that health professionals are free to respond to the individual needs of their patients. We will keep hospital wards clean by putting Matron in charge and guarantee local access to healthcare by giving patients power to keep local services open

Education - One third of 14 year olds don't meet national standards for reading, two fifths don't meet the standards for maths, and half don't meet the standards for writing. That's partly because violence and disruption in our classrooms is spiralling out of control. A member of staff is assaulted every 12 minutes of the school day - a 900% increase since 1997. We will improve discipline in our schools by giving head teachers the right to permanently expel violent and disruptive pupils. Parents will be given the right to choose the best school for their children and schools the freedom to set their own priorities and run their own affairs in accordance with parents' wishes

Tax - Labour have raised taxes an astonishing 66 times. Council tax alone has increased by 55%, punishing pensioners and hard-working families. Conservatives believe in lower taxes and value for money, therefore we will cut council tax for everyone by an average of 35% across Scotland, give pensioners a further 50% council tax discount and reduce taxes across the UK by £4 billion.