My Views

 

I believe in freedom.  Our society is stronger because we let people speak out, let them be different, let them choose what to think, say or, within reason, do.  This liberty is vital to our way of life, our tolerance and our long standing stability as a society.

Freedom with responsibility

However with that freedom comes responsibility. We are each responsible for the consequences of our own actions and this principle, combined with the rule of law, is what stops one person’s freedom from becoming anarchy, in which only the strong survive.

Government should be the servant of people, not master. It should be there to protect us from external danger and to uphold the rule of law, without favour.

Government is well placed to enable the provision of public services like education, healthcare. Government however should not seek to tinker and meddle in our lives unnecessarily. When it does so it can undermine a balanced society, in which individuals, voluntary groups, business or charities can all contribute. Our community is always stronger when government works alongside everyone else.

Giving power back to people

That’s why I want a Conservative Government to hand power back to people. Planning and housing decisions should be made locally, not by unelected quangos. Head teachers should have greater freedom to run their school as they think best for their community. In return they should be clearly accountable to that community, but the current centralisation of much of school life is inflexible and undermines professional teachers.

I believe in encouraging and rewarding hard work, saving, and those who seek to be independent. That’s why I prefer taxes to be low, want saving to be better incentivised and believe that pensioners who worked hard and who now fear losing their home should be able to take out cover, so they can get the help they need in their final years, without losing the home they worked to pay for.

Reforming welfare

It’s also why I believe we must reform the welfare state. Help must be there for those who cannot help themselves, but not to create a permanent way of life for those able to work. Letting people become dependent on the state is bad for the individual, bad for their family and for their community. It robs people of their self worth and is unfair to those who work hard.

Restoring trust in politics

We need to try and restore public trust in politics and public life, after the appalling scandals. There are three steps which I think will help, but I recognise that it will take some time.

First we must be open about what we do. That’s why I have put my expense claims online since 2008, a year before the scandal broke. Second, we need to accept the tough new rules from the Independent Public Standards Authority, so that people can know that the whole system is run separate from Parliament. Third we need to reduce the number of MPs and the cost to the public. This constituency has 80,000 people, yet many urban seats are much smaller, creating unfairness in the system. This must change.