Tiemo
Talk of The Town @ Royal Commonwealth Society
Monday
28 April 2008
Host - Amadeus Martin
Candidates
Present :
1. Alan Craig (Christian Choice Party)
2. Lindsey German(Left List)
3.
Paul Wiffen (UKIP)
4. Steven Uncles (English Democrats London regional Chairman)
5. Winston McKenzie (Independent)
These
people represented 5 of the 10 Mayoral and London Assembly candidates standing at the London elections on 1 May 2008. They
provided substantially diverse ideas on how London should be run than voters are hearing from Boris, Ken and Brian.
A
debate which ended with a sensational twist and caused uproar in the Royal Commonwealth Society
By
Desiree Joule-Adam
“£1000
offered to every couple that gets married, take back the £13.5bn subsiding the Scottish society, abolishing the Congestion
charge, extending school hours to 8pm and introducing evening curfew for young people…”
Just
a few of what may seem like an avant-garde of solutions to issues of the ordinary man on London’s streets. This is what
the ‘other’ runners in the election propose. Yes, there are others.
10
CANDIDATES STANDING
Anyone
could be forgiven for thinking that only ‘two and a half’ candidates are running for mayor, but in a round table
discussion, organized by Tiemo Talk of The Town, on Monday evening, 28 April, at the Royal Commonwealth Society, attended
by 5 of the 10 contenders, yes 10 contenders, I’m sure they’d beg to differ. This was the only debate in the entire
election campaign to feature so many of the “other” candidates aside from Boris, Brian and Ken.
MEDIA
BIAS
Though
they disagreed on a wide number of issues, there was one issue they were all united on : That the mainstream media decided
who was running for Mayor and who they’d talk and write about by way of information to you the newspaper reader/ TV
viewer. In a nation that boasts of a premier league, open, level-playing field democracy, this election campaign has patently
been anything but that.
The
media coverage opportunity has mostly gone to the well funded big parties, with well heeled, resourceful supporters with clout.
Paul Wiffin of UKIP eloquently explained that the American model for politics, adopted by the media, could be the fundamental
problem for Britain. Creating a 2-party race and condensing the whole election down to personalities because reality sells,
so unfortunately the people at grass-root level get no coverage, no media opportunities to engage with the wider general public.
The average Londoner has been subjected to something of an adversarial ‘gladiator’ type contest. Pick a personality
and get on his side. Tiemo Talk of The Town sought to address that trend by providing this platform for debate.
CANDIDATE
SUPPORTS RIVAL PARTY !
Given
the opportunity, ordinary Londoners might have seen things a little differently if they had been at this debate which began
with a surprise announcement that Alan
Craig (Christian Choice Party) is backed by Matt O’Connor (English Democrats), who withdrew from the election last Friday.
Lindsey
German(Left List), Steven Uncles (English Democrats), Paul Wiffen (UKIP) and Winston McKenzie (Independent and the only African-Caribbean
candidate) offered substantially diverse ideas on how London should be run than voters are hearing from Boris, Ken and Brian.
BIG
IDEAS
Each
nominee is spearheading their campaign with at least one major issue they believe is under-represented.
“It
is not a secret that it is getting harder and harder for people to live in London” stated Lindsey German on the question
of rising costs. “The cost of living, food, gas and electricity, housing and transport are all things that mean that
for most ordinary Londoners at the end of the month they spend most of their money on bills. Our policies are to get a big
reduction in tube and bus fares and an emergency programme for council house building and a situation where the money is spent
in a better way for youth and community services, schools and hospitals”.
Alan
Craig, painted by Lindsey as a right winger on a lot of issues because of his policies on family, immigration and opposition
to mosques is pushing forward for the re-construction of the family unit which may not tackle transport or housing issues,
but according to him is the answer to seriously reducing youth crime, teenage violence and educational under achievement.
“No
one else wants to talk about it, but I am not ashamed to say that havoc is reeking in our society and the key problem is due
to the undermining and destruction of the family unit. If we deal with that first everything else will fall into place. I
am promoting marriage which is a commitment that provides the most stable format in which to raise children and I will be
offering £1,000 to every couple that gets married.”
Steve
Uncles’ stance is to question the £2,500 Londoners pay per year to subsidize
Scotland’s rich region. “They have free prescriptions on the NHS, 11 life-saving drugs available to them
and not England and free University fees for students. The fundamental solution is for England to have their own parliament
which will represent the needs of the people and get a reduction in council tax or improve public services.”
Although
Paul Wiffen identifies with some of these solutions he sees them as more long term and for the issues that Londoners are facing
there needs to be a sense of immediacy, “We are looking to abolish congestion charge. The rich people are always going
to be able to afford to use their cars regardless of the price, but it penalizes the small business owners, or people who
need to take equipment around for whom public transport is not an option. We also believe that the traffic patterns are deliberately
being manipulated to make the Congestion Charge look effective which might ease the cost of living.”
Winston’s
campaign is focused on saving the children. “Our policies are about the youngsters and gun and knife crime. None of
the candidates seem to understand the intensity of the situation. It is not about bringing out new tazer guns or stop-and-search
policies; it is far deeper than that. We need a hands-on Mayor. We need to be out there at ground level to get to the core
of the issues that the young people are facing. Most of the problems are among the minorities in London. Our children are
the leaders of tomorrow, our doctors, nurses, technicians and future leaders. They have no role models and no-one to meet
them at their level.”
SHOCK
REVELATION
The
discussion ended with a shocking revelation from Steve Uncles that Matt O’Connor had withdrawn due to dealing with alcoholism.
Steve Uncles admitted to managing Matt O’Connor’s campaign and thought it unbecoming that Alan Craig was happy
to have him as a supporter in his camp. “I paid the £10,000 for Matt’s campaign and I helped him get the signatures.
The character of a man pulling out at the last minute should be abysmal and I find it appalling that you should be associated
with a divorced alcoholic especially in light of the issues of family that you are highlighting,” said Steve Uncles.
Alan
Craig uttered that it was sad that Steve Uncles had to brand Matt in the media about his personal issues.
WHO
PAYS ?
Still
the questions remain, “Who would pay for the implementation of all these ideas and how long would they last? Would they
make any substantial difference to the lives of the millions living in London? Are they any different to Boris, Ken and Brian?”
According
to ITV London survey opinion polls are erratic; Londoners are still unconvinced and undecided. Who are you voting for this
1st of May?
The
debate was organized by Michael Peters of Tiemo Talk of The Town and hosted by Amadeus Martin.
For
more information on the candidates please go to the websites below. The BBC link provides an excellent, simple to follow guide
to comparing the 10 candidates issue by issue.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/bsp/hi/elections/london/08/issues/html/issues.stm
http://www.londonelects.co.uk
By
Desiree Joule-Adam
Copyright
Tiemo Talk of The Town. No unauthorized print publication permitted without permission from Tiemo Talk of The Town.
Tiemo
Talk of The Town’s next seminars take place in June 2008. Details to follow later in May 2008.
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