General Election Event
- Apr 8, 2015
- 6 min read
On Thursday 12th February 2015 we had our final event was the closing third part of our Westminster General Election Debating series! We were very fortunate to have a diverse panel of representatives from each of the political parties. The debate will be chaired by Professor Graham Smith.
Professor Smith highlighted that, “The percentage of young people who vote have dropped, young people, it seems have become more distanced and alien to voting.”
Each panel member was given one minute to provide a little background info and their parties’ political aim and why we (the students) should vote for them;
The panel:
Conservative – James Bellis (Vauxhall) – By voting conservatives there will be less of a burden by paying less debts. By voting conservatives you are voting for a government that will fix the job. We will be taking lower paid people out of paying high taxes.
Labour – Nik Slingsby (Westminster) – Attended SOAS (School of African and Oriental Studies) University, lived in London. By voting labour you are going to help reduce the cap of school tuition fees to £6000 per year, we will provide a good economy, increase the minimum wage and invest £200,000 to increase building new homes. Key message – “Study hard or you’ll become a politician!”
Liberal Democrat– Ibrahim Taguri (Brent Council) – Spent 15 years in the charity and in the film business and main focus points to tackle are; homelessness, hunger, racism, prejudice and child poverty by 2020. Also highlighted on housing policies, access to care and better improved mental health care. “It is easier to build stronger children than fix broken adults" quoting Frederick Douglas.
UKIP – Jack Duffin (Uxbridge and South Ruslip) – It has been 7 years since the great financial crash of 2008. We need to leave the EU. By Leaving the EU we will be saving £8billion a year. With these savings we can restore the NHS (National Health Service). By voting UKIP you are helping to slash taxes across the board and help make the government accountable to the people.
Green Party – Tom Chance (Lewisham West and Penge) – By voting for the Green Party, we will effectively scrap tuition fees altogether, we are going to ban internships, invest £100,000 towards building of new homes and our main focus will be on improving the air pollution and tackling climate change.
The following is a transcript of questions and answers by the respective policitcal parties:
First question posed: “Most MP’s went to university without debts. What are your policies on improving this?
Lib Dem – It is wrong to go into government without promising to deliver. Under the Brown Review, we have looked into the issue of student finance and it seems that the fairest method is having a graduate tax. This is where you only pay back once you are earning over £21,000.
UKIP – We will be looking at scrapping tuition fees for all STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) subjects.
Labour – We are going to introduce a maximum cap of £6000 per year and also look at introducing a graduate tax.
Green – As I mentioned earlier, by voting for Greens we would effectively scrap tuition fees altogether. This may cancel previous debts. Most importantly though, we want student loans to be in the public.
“Why should young people vote if it is not going to change?”
Labour – The fact that you are all here today is encouragement and enthusiasm enough that you should vote! It is such a fantastic opportunity, and at the end of the day, it does not matter what party you vote for, you should still exercise your right to vote. Because it is a right.
UKIP – Vote for UKIP, so that we can leave Brussels.
Green – Labour trebled tuition fees. The Lib Dems trebled them again. We need to be supporting student societies and get involved in campaigns and make change.
Lib Dems – Power never seeds anything unless you demand it. It is your chance to be heard. Don’t waste your vote.
Conservative – You should vote.
“Most of the parties seem to argue for the interests of pensioners and this is to the detriment of young people.”
Labour – The thing is that it is the parents’ generation who have benefitted from tuition fees and full employment. It was all about providing an affordable yet high quality education.
UKIP – We need to maximise opportunities for young people and introduce affordable housing and build more dwelling units.
“Many students are from migrant communities, the current focus seems to be on the drain of those communities, why not celebrate it?”
UKIP – We recognise positive integration. What we don’t believe is that any country in the world should have first preference. We are turning away the common wealth and there should be no preferential treatment.
Conservative – Immigration is a massive benefit to the London economy. But we should not be seen as a country where people just come in and abuse the system. We need proper checks in place and we want people to contribute.
Labour – Immigration brings about huge economic and cultural benefit! We need to rise above the negatives and the other parties don’t do this enough. We can already see that there is a nasty tinge *looked to UKIP member* to immigration. Immigration brings £2billion as opposed to a deficit.
Lib Dem – Are immigrants taking away our benefits or our jobs? It’s either one or the other, it can’t be both. Immigrants become scapegoats of the failure of the establishment. UKIP say commonwealth, by commonwealth they mean the empire. It is the establishment to blame.
Green – We are pro-immigration there are no arbitrary figures and we would like to celebrate all kinds of diversities and rid of all kinds of discrimination and racism towards people who come to London. 1/4 doctors are not from the UK. The whole point of the EU is not just for capital to move around but so people move around as well!
“Comments on UK foreign policy?”
Lib Dem – We need to address terror groups, or as I would like to say Non-Islamic-Non-State as I like to refer to them. (Reference to ISIS – Islamic State in Iraq and Syria)
Conservative – We need to commit to supporting developing countries so that they can benefit. As a wealthy country (are we really now?) we cannot blame UK foreign policy for what is going on in Syria.
Labour – There is a big stain on the Labour Government to go to war with Iraq; without due diligence.
UKIP – We need to stop it. Pack it in. It is the fault of the governments in the US and the UK.
Green – The UK is the third largest arms provider in the world and a lot more. There is currently only 0.7% in aid to other foreign countries. We want to increase that to 1%. Imagine what will be brought by just giving aid alone.
“Increase diversity in parliament dominated by men?”
Labour – I am not sure if you have seen but we have a pink bus campaign that has been driving around London! Now we understand that it may seem a bit patronising, but what matters is that it is there! It is an issue and I agree that more women need to become involved.
Green – 100 members of our party (Green Party) MPs are women and we are headed by a woman!
UKIP – Does not matter whether a man or a woman. So long as they are accountable to the people!
Lib Dem – With more diversity there comes more dynamic. Politics is really broken. More good role models are needed in society and I agree, the current system is inherently imbalanced.
Conservative – Ethnic Minority Representation – Hopefully it will be increased. Political parties need to look like their country and the local communities that they represent. We need to ensure that they are engaged.
Labour – The time for talking has passed and it is now time for doing. The NFL have the Rooney Rule – where 1 ethnic minority candidate is interviewed.
“Inequality on austerity process in Greece. Do we need to carry on with our austerity policy?”
Green – We would not pursue austerity as an approach. This means we have to continue graving our economy. A wealth tax, local government finances, investing in our future and redefining our economy.
UKIP – National debt cannot go on forever. The problem with the programmes of the coalition, e.g. getting rid of the bedroom tax.
Labour – Drastic times call for drastic measures. We need to be smarter about this. Through attracting enterprises, foreign multinationals come to the UK. If you take this away then you are taking away investment.
Conservative – We need to get debt under control. Voting for an anti-austerity society won’t help the poorest in society.
Professor Smith concluded here saying, “This has been a really interesting evening, both from the floor and the five panellists here with me now. I would urge you to vote. Voting is something which has been fought for! It is a Duty!
Well Said! We all must exercise our demoratic right to vote!
With this in mind if you have not registered to vote then do so by clicking the link below:
https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote The deadline is Monday 20th April!
That's all folks!
Author: Asha Mistry (Magazine Editor of the Bar Society - LLB Law, Second Year)
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