Our hustings took place at Highfields Church on 20th April at 7:30pm. Hope you were able to join us but if not we are posting recordings of the hustings below in the days running up to the election.
Cardiff Central candidates on what they would like to see change in Cardiff Central
If you could change one thing to improve this area of Cardiff, what would it be?
The candidates answer in the following order:
Martin Pollard – Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales
Chris Von Ruhland – Green Party
Anthony Raybould – UK Independence Party (UKIP)
Jo Stevens – Labour Party
Jenny Willott – Liberal Democrats
Lyn Hudson – Conservative Party (on behalf of Richard Hopkin who was unable to attend)
Cardiff Central Candidates on family breakdown
In 2015 family failure will cost the public purse £47bn* – what would you do to promote marriage and family life?
Jenny Willott – Liberal Democrats
Lyn Hudson – Conservative Party (on behalf of Richard Hopkin who was unable to attend)
Martin Pollard – Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales
Chris Von Ruhland – Green Party
Anthony Raybould – UK Independence Party (UKIP)
Jo Stevens – Labour Party
*Here’s the source of the statistic from the Relationships Foundation. Their website is worth looking at for more information on this subject. For example this report which contains the following quote from a former civil service chief:
It would be a happier world if civil servants were required at the end of every policy paper they wrote to include a paragraph assessing its relational implications for the society they are serving.
Cardiff Central Candidates on the death of migrants in the Mediterranean
The question is as follows:
What should the UK do about migrants from the EU drowning in the Mediterranean?
The candidates answer in the following order:
Jenny Willott – Liberal Democrats
Lyn Hudson – Conservative Party (on behalf of Richard Hopkin who was unable to attend)
Martin Pollard – Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales
Chris Von Ruhland – Green Party
Anthony Raybould – UK Independence Party (UKIP)
Jo Stevens – Labour Party
Cardiff Central Candidates on same-sex marriage
Here’s what the candidates for Cardiff have to say about same sex marriage. The question is as follows:
If it became clear that Christians and others with the traditional view of marriage as being exclusively between one man and one woman were being criminalised and excluded from public life, would you seek a change in the law?
The candidates answer in the following order:
Jo Stevens – Labour Party
Jenny Willott – Liberal Democrats
Lyn Hudson – Conservative Party (on behalf of Richard Hopkin who was unable to attend)
Martin Pollard – Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales
Chris Von Ruhland – Green Party
Anthony Raybould – UK Independence Party (UKIP)
To understand what the concerns are that were raised by the question see this post from Peter Saunders, CEO of the Christian Medical Fellowship and the information produced by the Coalition for Marriage that it links to.
Recording of our hustings
A few people who couldn’t make it on the night asked whether there would be a recording available and we thought it would be a good idea to be able to make the content of the evening available to a wider audience. So we’ll be posting recordings of each question over the next week running up to the election. The first question is:
Putting party politics aside, what characteristics and experience do you have which you feel would make you a good MP?
The candidates answer in the following order:
Anthony Raybould – UK Independence Party (UKIP)
Jo Stevens – Labour Party
Jo Stevens – Labour Party
Jenny Willott – Liberal Democrats
Lyn Hudson – Conservative Party (on behalf of Richard Hopkin who was unable to attend)
Martin Pollard – Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales
Chris Von Ruhland – Green Party
Martin Pollard – Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales
Chris Von Ruhland – Green Party
How can I decide who to vote for?
The obvious answer of course is to go to a hustings like ours! Nothing quite like hearing from them in person.
But there are lot’s of other useful sources of information. The primary source is the party manifestos that set out was each party wants to do. These have now all been launched. That will take you some time though. But I know you probably don’t have time for this, so the BBC has a very helpful summary of the different policies for each party:
Beyond that overview, there are a few different Christian organisations championing particular policies and causes.
CARE have their EngaGE2015 initiative which covers several areas within the areas of family life, sanctity of life and justice. They are also reviewing the manifesto commitments in these areas as they come out, starting with Labour. They also have a list of questions they suggest you might want to ask candidates.
Christian Concern have their Power of the Cross campaign which is concerned with “Family and Foundations, Liberty and Life”. They have the facility on there for you to quickly write to the top 4 candidates standing in your area to find out their views on these subjects.
The Jubilee Centre have a series of blog posts giving a Christian perspective on some of the election commitments that are featuring in the news with the most recent one covering the Conservative promise on inheritance tax.
Christian Aid are campaigning on for a Tax dodging bill in the next parliament and encouraging you to write to your candidates about this.
The Christian Institute have an Election Guide on several moral policy issues.
All of these organisations would encourage you to find out what the specific candidates in your area believe on their issues. This is because within each party there will be a spectrum of views and if elected they may be able to influence their party’s direction. There are also some issues (traditionally ‘moral’ issues, for example abortion) where MPs have a free vote, ie are not told which way to vote by their party. So on these issues particularly there can be a diversity of views in a party.
These are just a few of the issues and Christians will rightly be concerned about a wide range of issues. So think about the issues and ask the questions that are important to you.
Book review: Votewise 2015 by Guy Brandon
Votewise 2015: Making a difference at the ballot box and beyond
This book takes some of the main issues in the election (the economy, welfare, Europe, immigration, environment, justice, education, the NHS) and attempts to give a Christian perspective on each one. If you’re familiar with the work of the Jubilee Centre you’ll recognise the relational framework approach they take to issues. If not then you’ll find it a refreshing change from the typical left-right divide. Biblical explanations for views are given. These are necessarily brief but if you find yourself wanting more then the Jubilee Centre have other resources on these topics*. The book closes with brief explainations from Christians in the 5 main national parties on why they chose to join their particular party.
Overall, if you were going to read one book in preparation for this election I’d recommend this one. It’s 112 pages so you can definitely manage it before polling day. You don’t have to be a political boffin to understand it and the introduction to the issues it provides I expect would be useful beyond this election. You can get a copy here.
*For example see the recently published, “Immigration and Justice” which takes a more in depth (but still very readable at 44 pages) look at a major issue in this election.
Devolution and the General Election
It’s worth remembering that a lot of the issues covered by the national media are not actually controlled by Westminster but by the Welsh Government. This covers some major areas, so for example many of the election flyers that I’ve received in Cardiff Central mention the NHS, but the NHS in Wales is entirely covered by the Welsh Government. So if you want to influence how the NHS is run in Wales then it’s the election of your AM that you should be more concerned about.
For this reason, we want to focus the Cardiff Central hustings on matters that are not devolved.
If you want to know what powers are devolved in Wales then the BBC has a helpful guide.
PS: The MP for Cardiff Central will have a say (English voters might say unfairly) on how devolved matters such as the NHS are run in England. So if you are particularly concerned about what happens in England then you might still want to consider what the parties say in these areas.
What other hustings are taking place in Cardiff for the General Election?
http://www.engage15.org.uk/have-your-say/your-local-hustings has a list of church hustings. If there isn’t yet one on there to suit you then check back later as there are others still to be confirmed.
highfields hustings 