CtS Hustings Questions

Very well attended, excellent questions and organised but, no Farage type fireworks to liven things up!  The best hustings I attended was at the Methodist church in Stourbridge in 1992.  The fairly small attendance got so uppity that they almost took over the meeting from the Chair and the four of us on the platform.  Great fun and it was public participation!  Tim

1. What do you see as the role of faith groups in the life of the local community?  John Nightingale and Chris Martin are exemplary in being active from two faith groups.  I wish more were standing up for social justice and climate justice in the way they both do.
2. Everyone, at some time in their lives, relies on services provided by the health and social care sector.
   How does your party plan to resolve the present problems and provide world leading healthcare from which we will all benefit?  I would dump all the lengthy OTT assessment writing I did as a social care worker.  Adopt the best NHS from around the world.
3. Difficult ethical issues often arise when we talk about healthcare.
   What factors are most important to you and how might you vote,
   with regard to legislation that concerned ending the lives of the unborn or of the terminally ill?  Abortion laws are as essential as contraceptives that must remain more used than abortion.  I support and help fund 'Dignity in Dying'.
4. Our churches regularly assist those experiencing poverty, and together we set up and support the Black Country Food Bank, and the Life Centre in Stourbridge which provides debt advice.
   How will your party tackle the injustice of poverty, so that all members of our community can flourish?  I want to pay more income tax IF it supports the poor at home and abroad, is used to build a more sustainable, equal and fair society and NOT yet more WMD and other armaments that get sold on to dodgy regimes all over the world to kill people like me.
5. Charity begins at home, but it doesn’t end there. International Aid provides our nation with considerable international soft power, reduces economic migration, and promotes peace.
   Will your party restore the development aid budget to 0.7% of GDP (or perhaps increase it?) and what other measures do you propose to take to support the poorest nations, especially as they face the worst impacts of climate change?  I want 1% to go to NGOs with a good track record of practical work on the ground to alleviate suffering and who use solar power and other sensible technology.  Try and bypass government departments.  My own charities do excellent work.
6. As churches, we are increasingly hearing of young couples not wanting to have children because they are concerned about the future, with the risks associated with climate change, war, and financial pressures.  How will your policies inspire children to have hope and ambition and equip them for an uncertain future?  I'm responsible for two children and wanted no grandchildren because I am so concerned about our unsustainable lifestyles and warnings from prestigious bodies and respected people like David Attenborough.
7. The Nolan Principles of Public Life
   - selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, leadership - were established in 1995.
   To what extent do you believe these principles still to be relevant?
   And how do you expect to uphold these principles personally, and amongst your political colleagues?  I have written two pages of evidence to show how the WMCA has broken all seven principles in connection with their 43 years over one futile, foolish transport development, still nowhere near completion.  I would be happy to be picked up if anyone thinks I've broken any of the seven.
8. We’ve heard great ideas from each of you this evening, and whether or not we agree with what you’ve said, we’re inspired by your desire to serve all the people of our community and to improve life and lives here. Given that you are all so brilliant, how would you set about working more collaboratively with those in other parties, for the good of our community and for the country as a whole?  I've been suggesting and writing for years that the two main parties on Dudley Council should work together in a mature and responsible way.  Leadership should be shared and, following a party line be kept to a minimum.  Public participation must be allowed at WMCA committee meetings, as Dudley has had for years.

Please read and comment and put me right over my disquiet that every Nolan Principle has been broken by the West Midlands Combined Authority.  What I wrote was sent to their Chief Executive, Laura Shoaf who knows me, has met me but, she has refused to comment.  Always silence, apathy, acquiescence.  Like Royalty, "We never comment"!

I have just listened to Richard Harries, the retired Bishop of Oxford and former army officer who did today's 'Thought for the Day' on Radio 4's, 'Today', just now.  I am also simply a guy who shouts the truth, as I see it, from the rooftops.  I am desperate to be corrected that things are not as bad as I think!