Adrian’s Views

GENERAL

In 1997 after 18 years of divisive and damaging Conservative Government Labour came to power on a wave of optimism that our run down and under funded public services would be improved and our system of government modernised.

After a late start Labour made the essential investment in education and health that the public were demanding. They channelled regeneration investment into many of the most deprived areas of the country. Marginally improved the incomes of pensioners and introduced a national minimum wage that has helped lift the incomes of the lowest paid.

But inequality and the gap between rich and poor has never been greater, and apart from Scotland and to a lesser extent Wales, the reforms to our system of government far from devolving power have centralised decision making still further.

We still have an unfair voting system for Westminster elections and the link between the worst examples of expense abuse and safe seats remains. We don’t have a Bill of Rights setting out the limits of the state over individual liberty; and we still don’t have a written constitution setting out the duties of the State and the responsibilities of the citizen.

My view of politics can be simply explained. I believe in individual freedom and social justice. Unlike Conservatives I do not place the first above the second, and unlike socialists I see the redistribution of power as the best way to achieve social justice above the forced redistribution of income.

DEFENCE

I voted against the illegal invasion of Iraq. The war has had a catastrophic impact on our nation and its standing in the world. Over 2 million innocent Iraqi civilians have died, 5 million have been made homeless and the flames of extremism have been fanned across the world with the ever present threat of a nuclear exchange in the Middle East and/or Indian Sub-Continent.

The war in Afghanistan is in danger of faltering.  The UK and wider coalition forces need a coherent strategy to bring stable and legitimate government to the country and ultimately regional peace.  Change is needed with a new and coherent strategy to determine the UK’s role in the region.

Furthermore, the Government has failed to provide for our serving troops whether through their pay or the equipment needed to fight. I support raising the standards of pay for service personnel as far too many of our soldiers receive less than the basic pay of a trainee police officer or fireman.  There are savings to be made in the Government’s poorly handled procurement process and in the vast army of bureaucrats in the Ministry of Defence, which could be reinvested in the equipment and substandard housing. We need to ensure that the welfare of our troops is paramount not that of Whitehall, in order that we do not add to there two hundred brave service men and women who we have lost in action.

Liberal Democrats do not believe that the UK can afford the billions of pounds the Government wants to spend on a like-for-like replacement of the Trident nuclear weapons system. Full-scale Trident is a cold war system that we no longer need nor can afford. We believe that less expensive alternatives should be considered.

TAX

We are in an economic crisis. There are millions of families struggling to make ends meet, but over £80billion a year is lost to tax evasion by businesses and the very wealthy.  Liberal Democrats believe that not only must we set a clear and honest path to restoring the health of the public finances, but we must also offer help to ordinary people now to help them get through and out of the recession.

The Liberal Democrats want to close tax loopholes and shift the balance of tax away from those on the lowest wages.  We believe that those earning less than £10,000 a year should pay no income tax, cutting the average working age person’s income tax bill by £700 and cutting pensioner’s income tax bills by £100. These plans will mean that almost 4 million people on low incomes will no longer have to pay any income tax at all.  We also want to replace the unfair council tax with a system based on ability to pay, reducing the burden on pensioners and those on low wages.

PENSIONS

Today’s pension system is unfair. Currently, 2 out of 3 pensioners are forced to claim benefits to make ends meet. No pensioner should receive a state pension that is below the poverty line.

The current means-tested system results in pensions so low that many pensioners are forced to use up their saving or even sell their homes to make ends meet. I want to see an end to pensioner poverty.  The Government must change its spending priorities to give all pensioners a guaranteed decent income. 

UNIVERSITY FEES

Students leave university with tens of thousands of pounds of debt, which is added to by the need to pay tuition fees.  Creating a culture of debt is never a good thing and many graduates struggle after leaving university.  The high level of fees and other costs also discourages those from less privileged backgrounds from applying to university; deepening the social divide presided over by the Labour Government.

As soon as the country can afford it, I want to see an end to tuition fees.

ENVIRONMENT

Our environment is under threat from a number of sources; deforestation, the burning of fossil fuels, resource depletion, and rapidly industrialising countries such as China, Brazil and India.  We need to invest in renewable energy, due to the limited supply of fossil fuels. The UK can be a world leader in the new hi-tech renewable industry which will help create much needed jobs, improve people quality of life and make the country energy secure.

Investing in public transport and looking at innovative housing solutions can also help protect our environment and the Government is not doing this enough.  We can minimise the use of Greenfield sites for housing by making better use of the land we have already developed.  We must also continue to tackle carbon dioxide emissions by investing in reforestation and reducing pollution and unnecessary energy use.

As our most precious asset protecting the natural environment of Torbay should be the first priority for our local decision makers. When the Lib Dems ran Torbay they created the Coast & Countryside Trust to defend our heritage and protect hundreds of acres of land from development. Under the Conservatives the elected Mayor wants to sell off public assets and some of the remaining green spaces that add to everyone’s quality of life.

HOUSING

The failure to allow councils to use the proceeds from the sale of Council Houses to invest in new build remains the biggest factor behind the record numbers of homeless families on waiting lists. It is a human disaster as people housed inadequately or inappropriately are more likely to require health, social care and greater welfare support. Children in such housing are more likely to under perform at school.

Local Councils should insist that new housing meets local housing need and use the significant power and influence they have in this particular area. However, they do need greater powers over where housing is developed. All areas suffer from housing need but it should not be up to officials in Whitehall to decide where new homes should be built.

Having signed up for the Growth Points Initiative (GPI) Torbay was asked to find room for 20,000 homes. Torbay has identified space for 15,000, but now wants this reduced to 10,000. It was naïve in the extreme for our elected Mayor to accept money from the Government to pay consultants to draw up a Mayoral Vision using GPI funding, and not expect to have to find space for more housing. Someone should have pointed out that there was a clue in the title.

SOCIAL CARE

With an ageing population, many people will be concerned over what level of care they receive and how it will be paid for.  Government rules dictate that many elderly people have to use up modest savings and sometimes even sell their homes to support their care needs.

People also need more control over the care they receive and the personalised budgets available to some should be extended to everyone who can make decisions over their own lives.

At the same time the merger of adult social services and primary care in Torbay that the Lib Dems instigated is working well and acting as a model other areas wish to replicate.

SCHOOL

Class sizes even in primary schools are often at 30, which reduces teacher contact time and prevents personalised learning.  The education system also lets down pupils from less advantaged backgrounds-the gap in achievement by the time young people leave school between advantaged and disadvantaged grows every year.  We want to invest more money through a pupil premium to give teachers and pupils more resources where they are needed such as one-to-one support.  On top of this we need to remove the bureaucratic burden from teachers.

The level of spending has barely changed despite the promises of New Labours chant of 'Education, Education, Education.' For the improvements we need to see in our economy, education and our knowledge economy needs to improve and this can only be achieved by much needed investment and a system which recognises the needs of children.

MAKE HUNTING CRUELTY HISTORY

I have voted against hunting with hounds on every occasion and would like to see the Act strengthened, not abolished as the Conservatives are suggesting. We should continue to make this cruelty history.

Commercial seal hunting is cruel and unsustainable - the Government and EU must do all they can to reduce seal hunting around the world. Whale hunting is also merciless and untenable, the Government and EU must do more to put pressure on those countries that continue to hunt whales to reduce and halt their activities. I’ve written many times to the Japanese and Canadian Governments about this. If we can keep up the pressure we can win this one.

ANIMAL WELFARE

I strongly oppose animal testing for cosmetics and other non-medical uses.  All non-animal alternatives for medical research must be considered and all but essential medical animal research phased out as soon as practically possible.

I have been campaigning to stop the stranding of dolphins, porpoises and other cetaceans around our coast. Although the main culprit is most likely to be industrial pair trawling – that should be outlawed – it is possible that sonic pollution may also be to blame. We need more research and action.

I was the first MP to table a motion calling on the Ministry Of Defence not use bear fur for military dress. It is an unnecessary trade.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Labour has continued the process of centralisation begun under the Conservatives. Powers have been taken away from local authorities while extra responsibilities have been passed onto them.

We need to give local government a power of general competence to provide for their localities in any field that commands public support and pass upwards to a higher tier authority those functions they are not competent to perform. This would turn government on its head and move us from a centralised top down state to one where the greatest powers are exercised locally and closest to whom the decisions affect.

I opposed the idea of elected Mayors when they were being introduced. Just about everything the first elected Mayor of Torbay has done has convinced me I was right and that we should abolish the post at the earliest opportunity to restore democracy to our local government.

SMALL BUSINESSES

The growth and protection of our country’s small businesses is integral to raising us out of the current recession.  We need to reduce taxes on small businesses and especially on employment to encourage more jobs to be created.

We also need to encourage people to buy locally where they can. The Federation of Small Business calculates that 50p to 70p of every pound spent in a locally owned business is fed back into the local economy.

In all towns less and less of the money people spend stays in the local economy, but this is especially true in Torbay where locally owned tourism businesses have been replaced by national brands and chains. If we are to survive economically and retain some control over our own destiny, we must reverse this trend.

TRANSPORT

The transport system in this country makes it slow and expensive for us to make necessary journeys. There is too much traffic on the roads, and trains are expensive and overcrowded. Liberal Democrats believe buses and trains should be affordable and reliable so people can have a real choice about how to travel. Just because Torbay is a long way from London, our transport system should not be sub-standard. An improved infrastructure, importantly including Kingskerswell Bypass, would be the single largest boost to the regeneration of Torbay and bring much needed business and jobs to the area.

Comments

[Adrian]

Dear Mike

Thank you for your comment.

The Digital Economy Bill had good and bad aspects. There are good clauses that improve the public service responsibilities of Channel 4 and to help improve community radio. There are also clauses I disagree with about orphan works and the process for tackling copyright infringement on the internet.

The Bill was unfortunately debated in the Commons in the process known as wash up, where the party spokespeople debate behind closed doors over which aspects of the Bill to retain. We were not able to debate in detail the main clauses of the Bill and it is highly likely that the Act, which lacks legitimacy, will be overturned or amended after the election.

I was unfortunately detained by events in the constituency but a significant number of my party colleagues attended the vote and unlike the other parties, we voted unanimously against the Bill.

Adrian

[Mike Reilly]

Adrian

I'm delighted to know your views on the Iraq war but I'm sure you know that many potential voters consider the Afghan campaign as just as bad.
Still, this is a traditional matter.
What I am puzzled about is that you have nothing to say on the modern concerns of a internet age. I would particularly like to know what you think of the Digital Economy Bill. According to the Guardian's report on MPs voting, you did not vote either way.
I believe your constiuents have the right to know what your views are