Tag: Huw Jones

Political engagement – trust in politicians and bothering to vote

07:18 Monday 27th April 2015
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

DOTTY MCLEOD: We’ve been talking today about political engagement. Overall in 2010, the last General Election, Cambridgeshire saw a turnout, the number of people voting, that was actually above the national average, although only just. The turnout varied between 74.9% in South Cambridgeshire to just 63.9% in Peterborough. And you do hear people complaining that all politicians are alike, that politicians just don’t keep their promises, so why should we bother voting? Why should we bother voting when they never do what they say they will do before the election? So lots of people trying to do more to increase the number of people who actually turn up to vote on May 7th, and we’re going to hear from two of them now. Clive Semmens is the Green Party Parliamentary candidate for South East Cambridgeshire. Morning Clive.
CLIVE SEMMENS: Good morning.
DOTTY MCLEOD: And also with me in the studio is Huw Jones, who’s the Labour Parliamentary candidate for South East Cambridgeshire. Morning.
HUW JONES: Hiya Dotty.
DOTTY MCLEOD: So South East Cambridgeshire, at the last General Election it was neither the highest nor the lowest in Cambridgeshire in terms of turnout. Why do you think Clive that still one in three people on average just don’t vote?
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A county divided on Europe

09:24 Friday 24th October 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: Many comments from you as you can probably imagine this morning on the subject of Europe, and this survey that says that 56% of us now want to stay in. It’s the highest number for 23 years, according to this new poll, although the news today may impact on that I would think, the fact that we’ve got to give this £1.7 billion extra to Europe, because our economy has been doing so well. Yvonne says “How dare they! We’ve taken pension cuts, wage freezes, university fees doubling and so many cuts to get where we are. Let France, Germany and Greece take the punishment. They’re not taking away any more money from us.” Andy says, ” If I do well in my pub Paul, does that mean I have to give some of my profits to the pub in the next village because they’re having a bad time? No. So we shouldn’t give our money to the rest of the EU.” Gary says, ” Paul, didn’t Margaret Thatcher negotiate a rebate in 1984 because the UK economy was performing so badly which all of the other member states had to pay for and have continued to do so?” We’re in the club, we’ve got to pay I think is what Gary is saying. If we do better, then we help those that don’t. Paul Bullen is Leader of the UKIP group on Cambridgeshire County Council. Morning Paul.
PAUL BULLEN: Good morning Paul.
PAUL STAINTON: So, we’re part of the club, we’ve got to chip in when others are not doing so well. It’s a good idea, isn’t it?
PAUL BULLEN: Ah of course it’s a good idea. It’s absolutely ludicrous. Where do they get these figures from? This is a recalculated growth figure apparently. What they’re not saying is it also includes income from the black economy. It’s got nothing to do with the British economy. It’s Europe after more and more money. They’re saying that they’re going to take more money from Holland and Italy, Italy is almost on its knees, and from Greece which is on its knees. And yet we’re going to give a £1 billion rebate to France, and almost as much to Germany. What the EU is telling the UK taxpayer is that it’s got to pay £1.7 billion to Germany and France. That is absolutely ludicrous when we have old age pensioners currently going to food banks and who are going to be in fuel poverty in a couple of months time.
PAUL STAINTON: Yes, if we believe this poll out in the last 24 hours, more and more of us are actually warming to the idea of Europe, warming to the idea that we all look after each other. 56% of us now want to stay in Europe. That’s not good news for you, is it?
PAUL BULLEN: Well I don’t believe .. I believe that that poll was of the members of the Liberal Democrat Conservative and Labour parties. So what it’s saying is that fifty ..
PAUL STAINTON: (LAUGHS) It’s not is it, obviously. It was carried out by Ipsos Mori.
PAUL BULLEN: .. six per cent of the members of those parties wish to stay in Europe, which proves categorically that the old parties are all pro-Europe. And that’s why UKIP’s popularity is growing at such an unusual rate.
PAUL STAINTON: So the poll’s wrong.
PAUL BULLEN: The poll is of members of the old parties. Not of the British population as a whole.
PAUL STAINTON: Huw Jones is with us as well. He’s the Labour Parliamentary Candidate for South East Cambridgeshire. Huw, morning.
HUW JONES: Good morning. How are you?
PAUL STAINTON: I’m alright. Welcome to the Big Conversation my friend. So, what are your thoughts, first of all, on this poll? 56% of us, more than ever in the last 23 years, are now cosying up to Europe. We all want to be part of the big gang. What do you think?
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Huw Jones on the merits of international aid

11:42 Friday 26th September 2014
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

PAUL STAINTON: Earlier on in the show we were talking to Patrick O’Flynn, who’s the Parliamentary Candidate for UKIP in Cambridge, and we were getting his reaction to what Nigel Farage says, that he wouldn’t support the Government’s plan for air strikes in Iraq when they vote today, and that they’d cut various things in order to support an income tax cut in this country. One of the things they would cut is overseas aid. And listening to that earlier was Huw Jones. He’s the Prospective Labour MP for South East Cambridgeshire. Huw, Patrick got your goat, didn’t he?
HUW JONES: Yes he did. I think it’s a very short-sighted attitude to cut international aid, because essentially we’re buying influence and power at a far better deal than if we send troops in. Had we spent maybe a tenth of the amount we spent on fighting in Afghanistan on nation-building and helping the people there, we’d have friends in that country, rather than the mess, and it would have saved us an awful lot of blood and treasure in the long run.
PAUL STAINTON: Yes. Somebody did make that point earlier, that it’s the way you have to do trade with some countries. You help them out with a bit of aid and they’ll give you a few contracts for airplanes or machinery or whatever.
HUW JONES: I think it’s soft power rather than hard power. It’s a very good way of gaining influence in the world, rather than sending the troops in or sending the bombers in.
PAUL STAINTON: But then again, on the flip-side of that, many of our listeners listening to what Patrick had to say would have been cheering, and saying woop woop. Yes. It’s about time we looked after our own rather than giving money abroad, particularly to India or somewhere like that. Half their population starving and they’re sending people to Mars.
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