Response
During the campaign I have been contacted by voters on a number of important issues. Below is just a sample of my responses.
What are your views on Regulation of the Financial Sector?
Following the catastrophic collapse of our banking system I believe it is absolutely imperative that a complete review of the existing regulations is carried out.
The current system incorporates the FSA (Financial Services Association), The Bank of England and The Treasury. This tripartite system was set up by Gordon Brown in 1997 and has subsequently come under a lot of criticism. The problem being that when Northern Rock, under the supervision of the FSA, got into trouble The Bank of England were not keen to inject cash into financial markets. The solution eventually came from The Treasury under deep political pressure.
I would therefore consider any proposals to improve the FSA and would fully support any proposals to create a new single regulator as used in The Netherlands. I also believe that bankers bonuses and the greed culture, that contributed to the mess that we’re currently in, has to change.
What are your views on the Deindustrialisation of Britain?
We have seen a continuing deindustrialisation of the UK since the early 1980’s. This is a direct result of the fact that western economies have lost there comparative advantage and competitiveness to Asian economies such as China.
Sadly this has meant a reduction in our manufacturing base in Redditch and the wider West Midlands region. However, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development), although the labour force has declined substantially in manufacturing output has not declined. The correlation between the decrease in industrial employment and the increase in production and sales implies an increase in productivity. On balance there has also been a significant growth in the service industries sector.
I believe it is important for the UK economy to retain our strong history of high quality manufacturing. However we do need to be realistic about the scale and, more importantly, the viability of what we can achieve. We are world leaders in engineering design and technology and one of my priorities will be to make sure that companies in Redditch get the support they need. Whether that be in the form of government grants or training initiatives. We are now in a global market and we have to ensure that we continually innovate in order to survive.
What is your view on Europe?
Europe is incredibly important to the UK economy being our largest trading body. The primary objectives, of what is now known as the EU (European Union), were to create political stability and freedom of trade. This has proven to have been a great success and has recently resulted in further countries joining the EU. Now twenty seven states strong it is a formidable power on the world stage.
I therefore would not support any proposals to leave the European Union as I do not believe this would be in the interest of the people of Redditch. Similarly I would only support any further integration into Europe if I felt it would be beneficial to the UK. I would also consult the people of Redditch before I made any such decision.