David Cameron answers your questions
When Conservative leader David Cameron visited Gloucester earlier this month, we asked readers to submit questions to the potential prime minister. Here, Mr Cameron answers a selection of the best questions we received.
Mr Cameron, if elected will you withdraw from the Human Rights Act, so that this country can deport people hell bent on trying to change our way of life? John Thompson, Gloucester
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David Cameron
Yes we will. We’ve said we’ll scrap the Human Rights Act, which has put our police in the ridiculous position of trying to tackle the most serious crimes without putting the faces of the most wanted criminals on posters, and made it incredibly difficult for the government to deport people who they know to be threat. Instead, what we need is a modern British Bill of Rights which clearly sets out people’s rights and responsibilities, and strengthens our hand in the fight against terrorism and crime.
What would a Conservative Government do to lift the low-paid out of the poverty trap? Sandra Pember, Gloucester
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The first thing we’d do is stop the government making things worse. It’s unbelievable that if you’re a single mother with two kids earning £150 a week, the withdrawal of benefits and the additional taxes mean that for every extra pound you earn, you keep just 4 pence. That’s effectively a 96 per cent marginal tax rate on the lowest paid in this country. What kind of a crazy incentive is that? It’s got to change and we’ll make sure that happens.
Next, we need a long-term plan for beating poverty. What we’ve seen over the past decade is the government shifting money around in the tax and benefit system, when what we really need is a real focus on the causes as well as the symptoms of poverty. So yes, there’s been some progress - but the poor are still getting poorer and there are more of them. So we need a long-term solution is to break the cycle of family breakdown, debt, crime, drink and drug abuse and lift people up and help them to make the most of their lives.
That means strengthening families to help keep couples together and give our kids a good start in life. It means radical school reform to create more good school places and to give the poorest children the chance to go to the best state schools. And it means a new model of welfare provision based on payment by results to help get the millions of people who have never worked under Labour into long-term jobs.
Mr Cameron, do you think the NHS has too many managers and not enough nurses? Colin Batty, Gloucester
I think we’ve got a big problem when the number of managers in the NHS is rising almost three times as fast as the number of nurses. So what we’ve said is this: we’re going to protect the NHS budget, but we’ll also cut the cost of bureaucracy and admin by a third. That will free up more cash for the doctors and nurses on the frontline and help us to improve the whole quality of healthcare.
Would a Conservative Government increase the minimum wage? John Edwards, Gloucester.
We’re absolutely committed to the minimum wage and we’ve made clear we’ll keep it. The best way to decide the precise level of the minimum wage is listen to the advice from the Low Pay Commission who advise the government on what’s best.
Do you believe this country was right to go to war in Iraq? Paul Sutherland, Rodborough
I voted in favour – but there’s no doubt that serious mistakes were made in the run-up to the war, and planning for the aftermath of the invasion was hopelessly inadequate. That’s why William Hague and I worked so hard to press the government into holding the inquiry into the Iraq war which is taking place at the moment.
Does Mr Cameron think public sector workers have pensions that are too high compared to the rest of us? Asif Ali, Cheltenham
Let’s be clear: public sector workers do incredibly important work. A Britain without well rewarded and highly regarded teachers, police, doctors and nurses would be a poorer, less safe and seriously unhealthy place. So they are entitled to security in retirement, just like everyone else. But at the same time, we’ve got to be honest and deal with the massive debt crisis our country is in. This year we’re expected to borrow almost 14 per cent of our GDP – that’s nearly twice as much as when we nearly went bust in the 1970s. So we’ve got to take action now to deal with the deficit, and we’ll all in it together. That is why George Osborne is looking at imposing a £50,000 annual cap on the size of public sector pension payouts.
Can he ensure student that university fees would not rise under a Conservative Government? Jamie Bent, Stroud
I know it’s not the answer you want, but I can’t promise that, no. We’ve got to strike the right balance between putting the funding of universities on a stable footing and making sure that all young people have the chance to go to university. There’s a review into tuition fees being held at the moment and we need to look at what it says before drawing up long-term plans.
Does Mr Cameron think council tax is too high, and that rises above inflation are unfair? Lisa Angel, Gloucester
Council Tax has more than doubled under Labour, and that’s a massive hit if you’re a pensioner or on a low income or in a young family. I want to keep Council Tax bills down for everyone, and so we’ll work with councils to freeze council tax for two years, funded by cutting wasteful central government spending. We also want to give local people more power over the level of their council tax, and so we’ll give people the power to veto high Council Tax rises through a local referendum.
Would the Tories consider bringing income tax down if there was enough public support? Robert Gill, Cheltenham`
I’m a Conservative, so lower taxes are in my DNA. But with this debt crisis, cutting taxes without showing how you’re going to pay for it would be seriously irresponsible. Our first priority has to be dealing with the deficit. Most of that needs to come from spending cuts, but I can’t promise income tax cuts just yet.
What is Mr Cameron's opinion on fox hunting? Laura Perry, Gloucester
I was brought up in the countryside and personally I support rural sports. But whatever you think about hunting, it’s clear that the ban isn’t working. So we’ve said that we need to reopen the debate and hold a free vote on repeal.
Comments
by Sideshow, FOD
Saturday, January 23 2010, 6:43PM
“Sorry Abbeymead resident but if you actually look at that page their are very few policies. Lots of good intentions but very few policies. Just saying they want to improve the economy won't make it happen.
And yes their tax policies do favour the rich.”
by Abbeymead resident, Abbeymead
Saturday, January 23 2010, 10:18AM
“Sideshow, FOD
If you're really THAT interested, then you need to do a little research.
Google;
conservative policies
and the very first website gives you just about EVERYTHING you need to know to make a decision.
The main problem with
'I've always voted Labour, like my Mum and Dad, but I don't know why, perhaps because I think I'm working class', syndrome, is that you never look beyond the red haze.
Conservatism isn't all about 'the rich upper classes', not that I'm a believer in the class system.
Conservatism is all about aspiration, responsibility, free enterprise etc.
We all have access to a good education, from there, it's up to you.
If you 'listen' in school, you can go on to do ANYTHING, if you don't, you'll be kicking yourself when you're forty, blaming the govt for this that and the other.
Instead of pulling yourself up, and getting on with this wonderful life we've been given.
It'll all become clear in May.”
by Sideshow, FOD
Friday, January 22 2010, 4:42PM
“I agree with you Abbeymead resident. How can the guy expect to get elected when he's told us very few policies and they all benefit the rich.
Crazy!”
by Abbeymead resident, Abbeymead
Friday, January 22 2010, 8:56AM
“You know, I'm sick and tired of this one TINY bit of law being blown out of all proportion.
I used to be anti-fox hunting, but now I don't care.
Why? Because I'm fed up with this lousy Govt stuffing it's nose into every nook and cranny of our lives.
From snooping in our bins, to telling us what to put in our children's lunch boxes.
All very convenient to distract us from the biggest item on DC's 'To Do List' when he gets in to No 10 in May, ie. sort this damned economy out, something that GB claimed to have saved the world, this time last year. But that should have read, saved the world EXCEPT United Kingdom, 'cos we're way behind the big powers in Europe.
And yes in principal, I'm against people, of any position, dressing up in red jackets, chasing a wild animal till it's cornered and torn apart, but anyone that's seen what a fox does in the name of fun, in an unprotected hen house, will have little compassion.
DC has spoken honestly about the fact that f/h is on the agenda, but not his first priority, getting people back to work is, because
LABOUR'S NOT WORKING!”
by Joe K, Barton & Tredworth
Friday, January 22 2010, 3:22AM
“I wouldn't want to repeal any rape law either, Kathy, but I wouldn't 'strengthen' it because some of those accused of rape have not faced charges, due to a lack of firm evidence, which may be a consequence of them not *being* guilty. There may be some fox hunters who flout the ban, just like a tiny portion of the male population commit rape. The law is not going to paint everyone with the same brush by lowering the bar so that even *looking* at a fox is a criminal offence (never mind asking for her phone number). If it won't do that, the law will continue to be 'unworkable', and the hunters won't worry about taking extra precautions, if that's even possible, because they know the police aren't interested in cases that don't stick.”
by Kathy Perkins, Gloucester
Thursday, January 21 2010, 7:06PM
“Joe, I have read and understood your post but I think Alan's point is valid.
The ban in its current form could be a workable compromise if the huntsmen attempted to obey it. However huntsmen are choosing to ignore it, knowing that it is very difficult to prove that a fox was intentionally hunted.
If it was my decision I would give them a final warning to attempt to comply and if they don't have a complete ban of hunting with hounds.
In some cases it is very hard to prove rape. However that is not a reason to repeal the rape law. I see no difference here.”
by Joe K, Barton & Tredworth
Thursday, January 21 2010, 3:33PM
“'When criminals circumvent the law it should be strengthened to stop them, not repealed to reward them' -
Alan Kirby, Hayle, Cornwall
I guess you didn't read my comment, then Alan. You want a law 'strengthened' that has to be applied on the toss of a coin, effectively. To wit, is the accused culpable or not when hounds leave an artificial trail to chase a fox instead? Because the answer of some people is going to be 'always', is no good reason to 'strengthen' the law.”
by Alan Kirby, Hayle, Cornwall
Thursday, January 21 2010, 1:41PM
“Cameron's answer to the fox hunting question was disingenuous. He says he wants to 'reopen the debate' , emphasises a 'free vote'.
Doesn't mention, of course, that it is to be a Government Bill, that he's been gung-ho for repeal since before the ink was dry on the Act, that he is an ex fox hunter himself, that his Environment Secretary, Nick Herbert, used to be a fanatical hare hunter, that hunting proponents are massive donors to the Tories, including some subscribers to the Heythrop hunt in his constituency. Or that the Countryside Alliance [the British Field Sports Society in disguise] are now a major force in the Party and the the activist group Vote OK, which has been targetting Gloucester heavily among many other seats held by anti-hunt MPs, is a hunt front organisation as well, and that it's now all but impossible for an avowedly anti-hunt Tory to get selected as a candidate..
Another commenter asked if Cameron signed the pre-ban Declaration pledging to ignore any legal ban. We don't know - the names were never made public. But he might as well as, because he's been tipping the wink to the hunters to go ahead and break the law ever since, which many have been doing.
And why? Because he and they
can't bear the idea that society has, at last, democratically decided that their perverse passion for chasing, terrorising and slaughtering wild animals is not acceptable.
What does this predeliction for violence against defenceless creatures tell us about the true nature of Cameron and his cronies? If he's elected, repealing the Hunting Act will be just the start of a series of measures designed to appease and please his 'people', regardless of public opinion or their detrimental effects on the rest of us, especiallyy the weak and vulnerable, human or animal. Nor does he tell us why the ban 'isn't working'. When criminals circumvent the law it should be strengthened to stop them, not repealed to reward them.”
by Peter Jones, FOD
Thursday, January 21 2010, 1:32PM
“I don't have much hope for the Tories sorting out the economy. The Shadow Cancellor can't even fill out his expenses correctly.”
by Joe K, Barton & Tredworth
Thursday, January 21 2010, 10:58AM
“Which mosque do you attend, 'Mohammed'?”