GE2019: Q&A with the candidates standing for the North West Durham seat

Richard Holden (Conservative)

1) What are three key local issues facing your constituency, and how would you address them?

Jobs, we need more good, well paid ones. The potential of North West Durham is massive. The people I’ve met are incredibly motivated and want an MP who’ll work with business and people from across the board to bring jobs to the area, not talk it down. Obviously protecting Shotley Bridge hospital is vital and I’ll make sure it gets it’s fair share of the extra £33.9bn we’re investing in the NHS. Transport is a major concern too. I’ll lead the fight to get a Metro link to Consett – it’s unbelievable that the Labour candidate hasn’t been interested in this while she was the MP. Finally, education – the 4.31% rise NW Durham is getting next year is good but education opens opportunities and especially in the rural part of the constituency we need to make sure it’s available to all.

2) Leave, remain or second referendum - what is your stance on Brexit and why?

We’ve got to leave. I voted Leave, I had friends and family who were on the other side but their vice is the same as the people I meet across the constituency. Firstly, It’s time to get Brexit done – we’ve wasted too much time. Secondly, there was a democratic vote of the people and whether people voted leave or remain they’re fed up of being told that their vote didn’t matter by Labour and we need to do it again. In North West Durham it’s between Labour and the Conservatives. A vote for any other party will let the Labour candidate win and undermine the vote of the British people.

3) Should people be prepared to pay additional tax to fund improvements in public services, like the NHS?

Only with a strong economy can we have strong public services. We’re investing £33.9bn more in the NHS delivering 50,000 more nurses and 50 million more GP appointments. We’re investing, over the next three years £14bn more in schools, meaning a 4.31% increase next year along. We’re also raising the salaries of all teachers with a new £30,000 starting salary in 2022/3 so those at university now will see it as a first rate career choice. I’ll make sure that NW Durham gets its fair share of the extra 20,000 police officers. It’s not about more tax, it’s about ensuring we have a strong and growing economy allowing businesses to create jobs, growth and paying fair tax for our services.

4) High streets are struggling - what would you do to rescue them?

They are, particularly in Consett. A metro link would really help and I’ll campaign for that. Furthermore we need an MP who doesn’t political opponents as their ideological arch enemy. I’ll work with anyone to get cash for our high streets. Consett needs the town’s fund – it’s time we had an MP who will get it delivered.

5) What does the Northern Powerhouse need to make it work?

Investment, particularly in transport infrastructure. That will help deliver jobs and growth. It needs great public services which people can rely on. But most of all it needs a government and local MPs which appreciate the need to get business on side and give them the confidence to invest in our community. That’s exactly what I’ll do if elected. We need an MP who is plugged into business and government to deliver for North West Durham not one shouting Corbynite Labour ideology from the sidelines – that achieves nothing for local people.

David Lindsay (Independent)

1) What are three key local issues facing your constituency, and how would you address them?

The three key local issues in North West Durham are good jobs and the transport provision necessary for them, affordable housing of a high quality, and the NHS, especially GP services in the Wear Valley and, in Derwentside, full hospital services in the Consett area in succession to Shotley Bridge.

2) Leave, remain or second referendum - what is your stance on Brexit and why?

Leave, because the EU did nothing to stop the descent of this part of the country from wealth and power in 1972 to poverty and powerlessness today. And no second referendum, because the people have already spoken.

3) Should people be prepared to pay additional tax to fund improvements in public services, like the NHS?

People in the highest income brackets, and certainly the five per cent above £80,000, ought to be prepared to pay a bit more for society as a whole to enjoy better public services, which are in everyone's economic interests.

4) High streets are struggling - what would you do to rescue them?

Made possible by being outside the EU's Single Market and Customs Union, I would compel public bodies to buy local and to require their contractors to do likewise. I would reorganise business rates completely, with very low, or if possible zero, rates on independent shops. And I would impose a windfall tax on the supermarkets, to fund agriculture and small business.

5) What does the Northern Powerhouse need to make it work?

The Northern Powerhouse needs the plan for the rail service that was advanced by The Northern Echo and other regional newspapers in June 2018. In the coming hung Parliament, I would not support any Government that did not give effect to that plan.

Michael Peacock (Liberal Democrat)

1) What are three key local issues facing your constituency, and how would you address them?

In the North of the constituency there are concerns around Shotley Bridge Hospital; while there are plans to build a new community hospital, there are concerns around the funding for that in the short term, and also that the health providers will just provide the out-patient services that exist at the moment rather than grasping the opportunity to widen the out-patient services provided. In the South of the constituency, the continual erosion of services at Bishop Auckland Hospital makes local people fear for its very existence as a General Hospital. By remaining in the EU, we can focus on fixing serious problems our area faces. I also want to see more funding made available to solve our health and social care problems, and asking those who can contribute a little more tax will help towards that.

North West Durham is ignored by Durham County Council which is determined to focus all investment on the Durham City centre, and leaves our towns and villages behind. Building a brand new headquarters in the middle of the city, instead of somewhere with less impact on transport and which could provide an economic boost to an area that needs it. I want to see investment distributed more fairly at a regional level, with local authorities held accountable for ensuring they do their part to invest across their area.

Welfare, jobs and skills are three interlinked concerns affecting people in North West Durham. We need a fairer welfare system that supports those who need it, helps people back into work and supports those who are getting back into work. We need to ensure that food banks become a thing of the past, with both welfare and jobs keeping everyone out of poverty. I want to see a fairer benefits system for those who need it, and more done both to stimulate employment in the area and ensure people have the skills that businesses and employers need. We have some serious skill gaps in the North East and plugging those could get more people into work, and generate even more jobs.

2) Leave, remain or second referendum - what is your stance on Brexit and why?

I want to see us remain in the EU, and will campaign hard for a second referendum. Brexit is going to cause significant disruption and will hurt the poorest in society the most. In the North East, we have employers such as Nissan which are reliant on frictionless trading arrangements, and thousands of businesses that face significant change, disruption and tariffs, which they cannot yet plan for. We need to be supporting businesses, not distracting them with Brexit.

3) Should people be prepared to pay additional tax to fund improvements in public services, like the NHS?

Individuals should pay a little more where they can, helping to ensure we have properly funded services. I believe an additional 1p in the pound on income tax to help fund our NHS will help us achieve this. But we also need to do more to clamp down on the rich not paying their fair share, recent tax giveaways to the wealthy and reductions to inheritance tax should be reversed.

4) High streets are struggling - what would you do to rescue them?

Firstly, business rates need reform; this is a cost borne by retailers, which currently puts them at a disadvantage over other businesses. By moving this to a land value tax this becomes fairer helps to further encourage landlords to ensure their premises have tenants. Currently, with business rates and the small business rate relief, businesses can be hit if they look to move to bigger premises. Local authorities should be encouraged to do more to incentivise businesses to move into empty properties and to encourage landowners to find tenants.

5) What does the Northern Powerhouse need to make it work?

The Northern Powerhouse needs to embrace the whole of the North, currently, it feels as though the North East isn't really part of any Northern Powerhouse initiatives. We need to do more not only to help Northern cities work together but also to boost them independently. Transport between the big Northern cities hasn't improved, the focus is still all about getting people from the North to London quicker; while fast transport links to the capital are important, doing more to connect the Northern cities can help the Northern and the North East economy grow, allowing businesses across the North to work together and collaborate. We also need to improve public transport within County Durham and the North East as a whole. Tyne and Wear have the metro which gives provides relatively good transportation, and quick access to transport hubs such as Newcastle station and the airport, but County Durham lacks connected transport, especially for those who don't live near some of the main routes.

Laura Pidcock (Labour)

1) What are three key local issues facing your constituency, and how would you address them?

Firstly, in-work poverty. North West Durham has an issue with low pay. Many of the full-time, secure jobs that we had in this part of County Durham, associated with industry, have gone and low paid, insecure jobs have become the norm for many in North West Durham. This is bad, not just for workers but for the local economy, which suffers when people don’t have the power to spend. Labour will reverse this vicious circle by (a) introducing a £10 Real Living Wage, (b) investing in the region with quality, well-paid, unionised jobs in the green economy. Labour have committed to 1 million climate jobs and I think we’re in a fantastic position to bring many of those to North West Durham.

Secondly, the lack of an adequate bus service. So many of our people and communities rely on buses. There were over 4 billion bus journeys last year, but that is decreasing, not because people don’t need buses to get around, but because routes are being cut and fares are going up. Again, here, the break-up of the national bus network has been a failure: it’s an obvious consequence of privatisation that less profitable routes are cut, leaving communities isolated. Labour will reverse this by allowing councils to regulate bus networks and take them into public ownership, offering free bus travel to the under-25s and reinstating 3,000 routes across the UK that have been cut.

Thirdly, it’s very hard to choose between two issues which are about Government underfunding, but also the direction that our public services have been taken in the near decade of Tory and Coalition rule. Both our schools and our health services have suffered from enormous cuts in real terms spending, which has left them unable to cope with the demands upon them. Rather than continue down the path of fragmentation and privatisation, we must invest in our schools and hospitals and return them to democratic control, being accountable and responsive to the local community. Labour will gradually rebuild our education system with a National Education Service and take the NHS back to its founding principles – that it is universal, comprehensive and free.

2) Leave, remain or second referendum - what is your stance on Brexit and why?

The political class, based in Westminster has failed, that much is clear, and I sympathise with all of those who are frustrated, on both sides of the argument. The Labour Party are trying to achieve a position that is fair to everyone and reflects the divide in opinion whilst getting to a solution as soon as possible. So, in government, we would negotiate a deal to leave the EU which does not sell out workers or environmental protections, whilst still allowing us full access to our nearest trading partner. We would put that deal to the people, alongside an option to remain and faithfully deliver what the people decide. It is important to understand that the Labour Party has not tried to frustrate the Brexit process, whilst also standing firm against a terrible Tory deal which sells out workers.

3) Should people be prepared to pay additional tax to fund improvements in public services, like the NHS?

I believe in a fair taxation system which funds all of our public services. Good public services are a benefit to the whole of society, but logic tells you that it is not possible for all people to pay equally into the system. So, we ask those who are richer to pay more tax, as a recognition that their ability to pay and to redistribute our wealth and resources in society. Everyone benefits from a healthier nation, less people on the streets, less people in distress and destitution. We shouldn’t identify one particular service over others, because needs are different at different times, but the fundamental principle is that people on lower pay should have less of a tax burden, and as a party we have committed that 95% of the population will pay no more income tax under a Labour Government.

4) High streets are struggling - what would you do to rescue them?

High streets have really suffered over the last decade, from a combination of high rents, changing shopping habits, the impact of job insecurity and low pay in our region. These high streets were the hubs of our communities, but now we see too many empty shops and dereliction. I’m not pessimistic about the situation though. We can make our high streets great places again – using these spaces for start-ups and community hubs, leisure and beautiful public spaces. It needs investment and some creativity. Amongst other measures, Labour is proposing a review of business rates, stopping bank branch closures, banning ATM charges, as well as funding local authorities properly to invest in the high street and giving them powers to use vacant properties to put them to good use.

5) What does the Northern Powerhouse need to make it work?

The North East is still scarred from the de-industrialisation of Thatcher’s Government. We feel that very strongly in North West Durham, where the steel works and textile industry provided decent, well paid work. On top of that, we’ve been left behind in terms of transport infrastructure, central Government investment in industry and technology. For the Northern Powerhouse to be more than just a phrase, we need proper investment and people who care about the North East in Parliament, recognising the historic injustice in funding disparity. We need a regional transformation fund to invest in post-industrial communities and an industrial strategy which incentivises and encourages high quality-high skilled jobs to the region. This is all perfectly possible and I am so hopeful about our future under a different government, we can thrive under a Labour Government which cares about the North East and working people.

David Sewell (Green)

1) What are three key local issues facing your constituency, and how would you address them?

The running down of services, such as the NHS and rural transport needs to be reversed and improved so will require investment. Theft of vans and quadbikes is on the increase, so we need more community policing and we must ensure food security, integrating human health and wellbeing, environmental protection, animal welfare and decent livelihoods for farmers, farm workers and growers.

2) Leave, remain or second referendum - what is your stance on Brexit and why?

Brexit has been a distraction for nearly 4 years, turning the UK into a international laughing stock at a time when we need to focus on domestic issues. The Green Party propose a People's Vote on the issue, as we don't want to make this mess worse by alienating millions of people by simply revoking Article 50, leaving with no deal or with a deal without asking people what they think after 4 years of wrangling and new information.

3) Should people be prepared to pay additional tax to fund improvements in public services, like the NHS?

We are not living in a fair society, rich corporations are not paying their share for the profits they are able to make in the UK. The Green Party would seek to re-balance taxation and return public services to public ownership. The Greens want health services to place as much emphasis on illness prevention, health promotion and the development of individual and community self-reliance as on the treatment and cure of disease.

4) High streets are struggling - what would you do to rescue them?

The Greens want to see local, sustainable economies and supports Neighbourhood Planning. Each local community should be able to express their own vision of a ‘lifetime neighbourhood’, defined as one where the social and physical conditions support a strong and vibrant community.

5) What does the Northern Powerhouse need to make it work?

The Northern Powerhouse concept appears to start in London with HS2 and fizzle out at Leeds and Manchester. This region and many others around the UK have been neglected for decades. What is needed is the North to lead the green industrial revolution, investing in renewable energy, helping industry cut pollution, making existing houses environmentally-friendly and building the world-leading “green” homes of the future. Tourism can be boosted too by scrapping VAT on UK hotel and holiday home stays, and tourist attractions, to encourage people to take less flights and take holidays at home to boost regional economies.

John Wolstenholme (Brexit Party)

1) What are three key local issues facing your constituency, and how would you address them?

Shotley Bridge Hospital is a recurring topic. The lack of an A&E Department means long journeys. I understand why it is difficult to run a full range of services in smaller hospitals. I will visit the Hospital in the next few days, so I can understand what options are available. Buses need to be clean, comfortable, reasonably priced, quick and on-time. People won’t ditch their cars otherwise. I have also been asked time and again about the current treatment of ex-soldiers. My response is simple, ‘it’s dreadful’. Soldiers who have seen active service deserve our support, not constant retrials.

2) Leave, remain or second referendum - what is your stance on Brexit and why?

Leave with a Clean Break Brexit. We have only ever been part-time members of the EU (Jean-Claude Junker, 12th September 2019). It’s the time for us to recognise this, and find a better way of working with our European neighbours. This is not turning our back on Europe. A clean break Brexit is the quickest way of achieving a tariff-free trading arrangement. Free trade is in the interests of both this country and the EU, and, as we are aligned in almost all areas, this should be quite achievable in a short timescale.

3) Should people be prepared to pay additional tax to fund improvements in public services, like the NHS?

Yes, if people want more spent on the NHS or any other services, the only options are paying more taxes, having a bigger economy or borrowing. Unfortunately the latter option, the Labour Party choice, just means your children and grandchildren will pay more taxes. The Brexit Party supports a publicly owned NHS, free at point of delivery, but this does not mean throwing money at its problems. We must ask the difficult questions that most politicians avoid, and ensure that every current and future pound spent is spent wisely. This will give us an NHS fit for the future.

4) High streets are struggling - what would you do to rescue them?

Brexit Party pledges, such as reduced Business Rates and a Zero-rate Corporation Tax Band, will help small businesses directly, but this is not enough. We need to make High Streets loved again. Thankfully, towns like Crook and Consett have free parking. Why not look at low-rent options for locating craft-based businesses in empty premises, where they can also sell their products. This works in other places. Stop building out of town supermarkets, we have already passed saturation-point. Make our High Streets pleasant places to spend time in. And, we need to visit our local pub!

5) What does the Northern Powerhouse need to make it work?

It needs words turning into action. Reality has always fallen short of political promises and expectation. Funding also needs to be distributed more evenly. Visit the City of Durham and you see large cranes and big development. Visit Tow Law, and the picture is rather different. Labour Party vanity projects, like the new County Hall in Durham, seem more important than the people living in ex-mining towns and villages. The Brexit Party has pledged to scrap HS2 and reduce wasteful foreign aid, redirecting money to Business and Infrastructure Development in the forgotten Regions.

We are still yet to hear from Independent candidate Watts Stelling, we will publish his responses as soon as we recieve them.