Who are the candidates and who's got your vote?

[wheels]

SOMSeomne I know who attends every Councilm eeting tells me she also can't recall him making any contribution to the Council. He is not restanding for Council this year I assume because he has discovered its not for him

[simonesaffron]

It doesn't take much to put up a few posters, you have to have the sites to put them up though and I haven't seen one single UKIP poster.

Conversely I notice that there are a couple of farmer's fields festooned with Conservative posters. The Conservative posters look like the posters for the local estate agent and they don't stand out at all.

As far as issues and personalities are concerned, it is a bit of both. I certainly don't wish to have dinner with Lisa for free let alone for £500.00. I think that such a gimmick is derisory and devalues the campaign and her judgement in making such an offer.

I was speaking to somebody who went to the Council Meeting last week. Of our local Councillors SA,MC & KD ALL spoke, William Wragg didn't. According to my friend (she attends a lot of Council meetings, I know but it's her life) he rarely does, in fact she has never heard him once and she says that she has been to about 20 council meetings in the last four years. I find that a concern for me in relation to somebody who wants to be our MP. 

Of course he may have spoken at the one's that she didn't attend.  He's been a Councillor since May 2011, does anybody out there actually know how many times he has spoken and what his activity rate has been on the Council ?

There  doesn't seem much point in having an MP that doesn't speak. 

[mikes]

... I am informed that £500 will secure a special invitation to a post-election dinner with Lisa herself...

I wonder how much one would have to donate to get an MBE, KBE etc

[DarranPalmer]

I'd like to answer the concerns some of you have about not receiving leaflets from UKIP (I'm fairly sure it will be the same for the greens)
Most of the area should now have had a leaflet and before the election at least one more (hopefully 2) will be coming out.
The reason I can't match the the Libdems and torys on leaflets is the cost. They have both spent tens of thousands on the campaign. As a new party we don't have that level of money, and leaflets are being paid for by the local candidates and myself, again we are hand delivering them with volunteers as it costs a fair bit to get them delivered.
Just to give an idea of costs an A4 letter that will be going out to the whole constituency cost £930.
We are also canvassing, however with 37500 houses in the constituency this takes some time but we are out and working hard. If anyone wants to get in touch please feel free to contact me.

Hopefully this has helped explain the situation.

[Dave]

I asked William Wragg  to supply some CV details and explain why he wanted to be our local MP.... The reply came in just over a week. In my opinion, there is quite a contrast to Lisa Smart's evasive response. Mr. Wragg seems to have given straight answers to straight questions.

I think Mellorite's probing questions to these two candidates have flushed out some interesting and contrasting responses, and we should be grateful to her/him for that. 

That said, I think we should think carefully before basing our vote simply on candidates' readiness to give honest answers regarding their personal background, and then to reel off a model reply, as instructed by party headquarters, which advises candidates to concentrate on 'pavement politics' - i.e. trivial local issues - and no doubt all the parties provide similar advice. So Mr Wragg trots out this bit:

I have worked hard as a community campaigner, having organised successful petitions and led campaigns to protect local bus routes, instigated park refurbishment and retained school crossing patrols.

Jolly good, but where does he stand on the big issues, which are what counts when you are an MP.  On the economy, on the NHS, on education, on defence, on the EU and immigration, on law and order, on reforming the House of Lords?  These are the things that matter, and on which we should be basing our votes, IMHO.

As Tony Benn used to say 'it's the issuesh, not the pershonalities.' 

[admin]

Still trying to follow it and not yet made my mind up. In terms of posters, leaflets and candidates. So far, nothing from Ukip or Greens, very little from Labour, lots from Conservatives and LibDems

Two more possible hustings opportunities to see the candidates in action are:

Dialstone Lane Methodist Church: Sat 18th April: 10.00am Dialstone Lane Methodist Church, 161 Dialstone Lane, Offerton, Stockport SK2 7LQ
Churches Together in Marple: Thurs 23rd April: 7.30pm Marple Methodist Church, Church Lane, Stockport SK6 7AY

I've emailed the Marple Church to see if the general public are welcome to attend and will let you know the response.

[Disgusted of Marple]

I used to work with Graham at Marple sorting office where he was the Cwu representative.
He won`t be getting my vote but good on him for standing.

Appreciate that, thanks. Just because he's another who "can't win here" (usually accompanied by geometrically inaccurate bar chart), doesn't mean we should all disregard him altogether.

[wheels]

Mellorite,

I have no idea what Lisa Smart might do if she were not to win Hazel Grove, but I do think we have to be realistic, she gave up her job to move here to fight the seat, so she would have to find employment and who knows where that takes any of us.

I am sure you didn't mean to be unfair in your comments.

[simonesaffron]

Still trying to follow it and not yet made my mind up. In terms of posters, leaflets and candidates. So far, nothing from Ukip or Greens, very little from Labour, lots from Conservatives and LibDems.

 

[Mellorite]

Sorry to disappoint Disgusted of Marple (post above), but I won't be wasting time investigating the Green Party, UKIP or Monster Raving Loony Party candidates. I am however very glad and proud that we have an electoral system where people can and do stand up to be counted for what they believe in. Even if it is bonkers.

My view is that there are only two who stand any chance of winning here. Indeed, the Conservatives must fancy their chances as my retired father, who amuses himself by dropping into the campaign headquarters of each camp in turn to ask awkward questions, has been informed by the Blue team that they have identified us as a winnable seat and are shortly to inundate us with electoral propaganda. The Orange team must have got wind of this, as only this afternoon I got a begging email from Ms. Smart with a personal request to bolster her campaign funds. Clicking through to the campaign website, I am informed that £500 will secure a special invitation to a post-election dinner with Lisa herself. Quite apart from what my wife would think, I am given to speculate whether in the event of her losing, she would fulfil her end of the deal;  posters above have raised suspicions that she might disappear from view if she isn't victorious. 

Joking aside, Ms. Smart would have stood a better chance of a campaign contribution from me if she had answered the questions I asked instead of harvesting my email address for the distribution of spam.

I still haven't decided who to vote for and hope to attend a hustings.  Any suggestions for questions?

[wheels]

Well I haven't actually ridden a great deal since my cancer diagnosis last year but that aside the point I was making which I will try again to get over again is that our doctors particularly GPs should be employees of the NHS as are nurses, radiographers, porters etc. They should not be essentially small business people who via their contracts hold the NHS to ransom.  Many GPs work from unsuitable building from which they refuse to move as they prefer to sit on it as their pension.

Given the clear self interrest of Consultants and GPs I don't think I want to be lectured at by them.

[marplerambler]

Yes they can be wrong and are in fact the major beneficiary's of the health service, regularly holding it to ransom.

I wonder if you would be quite so critical of the NHS doctors if you were to be knocked off your bike tomorrow or suffered sudden serious illness? Is the good news is that you would hold your head high with the pride due to the fact that you would be taken away by a private ambulance to receive private care at a private hospital in protest at the NHS Consultants' 'regularly holding it (the NHS) to ransom/quote 'milking the system' or would you be saying an unseen prayer of thanks that you were being sped post hast down Offerton Road in an ambulance to Stepping Hill to be treated by the doctors who you say hold the NHS to ransom?

   

[Mellorite]

As noted above and in the interests of balance, I asked William Wragg  to supply some CV details and explain why he wanted to be our local MP. I did this via the contacts link on his website.  The reply came in just over a week. In my opinion, there is quite a contrast to Lisa Smart's evasive response. Mr. Wragg seems to have given straight answers to straight questions. Hardly like a politician at all, you might say. I've copied the response below, so you can make your own minds up.


Thank you for taking time to contact me. Please see below for my responses to your questions

 

What is your education background?

I have attended local state schools.
A levels: English Language, History, Physics and Maths
Degree: History (1st Class Hons) University of Manchester
PGCE- Primary This was as part of the Teach First Programme I attended.

 
Why I went into Teaching 

I have always had a passion and motivation to learn from being very young. This has included lots of reading from a very young age. Attending school was always very enjoyable and worthwhile.

My first job in education was as a learning mentor with children needing extra support. It was at this point I made the decision  to go into teaching. I also worked part time as a home tutor supporting students to  GCSE and A level standard.

As well as working in education I have been a school Governor at Hazel Grove Primary School for 7 years. I feel very privileged to have served  as a governor at this particular school as it was one of the schools I attended.

Why do you Want to be Our MP?

I passionately want to become an MP so that I can represent residents and can honestly say I do not want to be a MP anywhere else.  I have lived in the Hazel Grove constituency all my life so, I understand the area well and I want to make our area a better place to live. If I am elected, you will be represented by a fellow local resident, who shares the concerns of local people.

I was elected as a Conservative Councillor in the Hazel Grove Ward in 2011 .  I have worked hard as a community campaigner, having organised successful petitions and led campaigns to protect local bus routes, instigated park refurbishment and retained school crossing patrols. I was the first Conservative councillor to be elected for  Hazel Grove ward since 1992, with an 8.6% swing from the Liberal Democrats.

My experience as a councillor has included being a member of the Children's and Young People Scrutiny Committee as well as the Greater Manchester Transport Committee.  I have achieved a lot in local politics  and have worked really hard to do this. I want to be a  strong voice in parliament and would consider it an absolute honour to represent all locals residents.

Please do let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Best Wishes

William.

[Bowden Guy]

100 Labour-supporting doctors write letter accusing Tories of wanting to "destroy" the NHS.  What a surprise. Usual suspects on the list including Dr Chand from Tameside who seems to crop up everywhere.  I wonder if any of them are from Mid Staffs?

[red666bear]

Breaking news (well, four days ago but this is Marple!)... The Green Party have managed to cobble together the £500 and ten supporters needed for a nomination. Graham Reid is their man. I expect the intrepid newshounds on this board will be running background checks on his local credentials as we speak. I'm assuming he has some, unless it's a different Graham Reid to the Marple South 2014 local election candidate. Nominations close on Thursday at 4 p.m. if anyone else fancies their chances.

I used to work with Graham at Marple sorting office where he was the Cwu representative.
He won`t be getting my vote but good on him for standing.