Mid-Beds by-election: We quiz all the candidates on key issues
Ahead of the by-election on Thursday, candidates have answered questions on three issues facing the people of Mid-Beds
People living in Mid-Beds get to vote for a new MP this week, so we've been putting your questions on issues you tell us are key for you to all the candidates.
Polls will open at 7am on Thursday (19th October), following Nadine Dorries' resignation in August.
The results of this election are expected in the early hours of Friday 20th October.
We ask the candidates about GP access, the cost-of-living crisis and why people should vote for them
Ahead of the election, Greatest Hits Radio has contacted all candidates to hear their thoughts on the following topics:
- Access to local GPs and NHS dentists
- The cost of living crisis
- Why constituents should vote for them
The candidates from the three main parties (Conservative, Liberal Democrats, and Labour) were given up to two minutes to address the three questions on camera, the others were asked the same questions in written format.
Festus Akinbusoye, Conservative Party candidate
Emma Holland-Lindsay, Liberal Democrats
Alistair Strathern, Labour Party
Sid Cordle, Christian People Alliance
Regular access to local GPs and NHS dentists
Our policy is to re-introduce GP fundholding which worked so well in the 1990s. The GPs are given a budget for operations which they then purchase from hospitals. If they can get them done cheaper they keep the difference. What happened last time was that GPs hired new staff and built new surgeries without it costing the NHS any money at all. Minor operations they did themselves. Tony Blair scrapped all that but the end result was that though he put a lot of extra money into the NHS waiting lists went up and GP surgeries became a disaster area with appointments harder and harder to come by. The main problem with the NHS is that GP surgeries aren’t working so people go to hospitals that don’t need to. One Ambulance driver told me that over 90% of the people he takes to hospital don’t need to go there. So its obvious we need to sort out the GP system to sort out the whole NHS. As for dentists I know NHS dentists who will take people on if they are on benefits. Contact me direct if that applies. It is absolutely vital that these services are addressed at the planning stage of building new homes. It is irresponsible not to.
Cost of living crisis
Our policy is to introduce a turnover tax to to be set at 5% initially which will be a sellers VAT with the same threshold as purchasers VAT, £85,000. We would offset it against corporation tax (tax on profits) so British Companies would pay less. The idea is to get tax off Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, Starbucks, Shell etc. who send all their profits abroad and so don’t pay corporation tax. We would use the anticipated £40.5bn raised to get rid of all Commercial rates to help small business and stores to compete with online retail. This will save our shops and benefit all small businesses that have premises. The cost would be £21bn saved by all who pay commercial rates. All shopkeepers should vote for this policy and lobby hard for it to be introduced.
Why constituents should vote for you
Our values of supporting marriage and the family and protecting children from sexualisation in schools are values our society needs. I am a very experienced and caring politician and acting as I do as a researcher for an MP I have read the EU withdrawal agreement and the Windsor Framework document and am well up to date with what is going on in Parliament and am therefore in a very good position to represent Mid Beds in parliament. I will listen to the views of all residents and reply promptly to all e mails sent to me.
Dave Holland, Reform UK
Regular access to local GPs and NHS dentists
Our services have failed to keep pace with the population increase in Mid Bedfordshire for decades. Currently we have 1 GP per 2,800 people, an increase since 2017 from 2,300. Our council encourage house building for the addition council tax but fail to scale our critical services in line with this growth. Our living standards keep falling and yet the taxes keep rising. GPs should be paid for how many appointments they carry out rather than how many patients they have registered at their practice.
Cost of living crisis
We will increase the basic rate tax threshold from £12,500 to £20,000 taking over 5 million of the lowest paid out of paying income tax. It will add £30 per week net into the pay packets of the lowest paid, greatly helping them with the cost of living. Additionally we would cut green energy taxes and cut 20p / litre off the cost of petrol & diesel, reducing transport costs which in turn will ease inflation pressures, reducing ongoing price rises and further easing the cost of living pressures on the lowest paid. These tax cuts are costed (see www.reformparty.uk for costings).
Why constituents should vote for you
I am Ampthill born and via Flitwick and Haynes West End now live in Shillington. I pledge to hold a minimum of 12 surgeries per year that I am in office, in different cafes, coffee shops and pubs around the constituency so I am easily accessible to all. Additionally, I pledge to respond to all phone calls and emails within 2 working days so constituents will know that I have seen their correspondence, and it is being dealt with.
Gareth Mackey, Independent
Regular access to local GPs and NHS dentists
It is clear that we have arrived at this position because of repeated failures by multiple governments to properly invest in and reform the NHS. The new MP must adopt an activist approach by lobbying the government to take the appropriate actions to incentivise people to follow the medical vocation. Fair pay and conditions must be a priority to attract people into service in the NHS.
Cost of living crisis
More than anything, people need an MP who has lived life in the constituency in the same way as those they seek to represent. Only someone who has experienced the same difficulties, fought the same fights and overcome the same obstacles can hope to properly fight for a fair deal for their neighbours. This experience will give me the energy to fight this battle by holding the government to account over the decisions they want to take. For me to vote for a proposal, it must be the best deal for Mid Beds!
Why constituents should vote for you
All my life I have dedicated myself to service. I want to use any talents I have to make Mid Bedfordshire a better place to live and give people hope that those they elect can actually do a better job at representing them. I feel passionately that this is a fight for the soul of the country. The choice of the people can’t be distilled to support for failed political parties more in love with their own fortunes than with fulfilling the hopes and desires of the people. I represent the change that people want by being a trustworthy, honest and hard worker solely focused on the cares of those whom I represent.
Chris Rooney, Mainstream
Regular access to local GPs and NHS dentists
Demand has outstripped supply - there are far more people living here, facing an unchanged level of services. Central government must increase NOW funding to local front-line services, based on the correct population numbers, not the outdated fantasy numbers they’re using.
Cost of living crisis
CUT VAT and Income tax – we keep more of our earnings, and the stuff we need to buy, costs less! This and the NHS costs in Q1, can all be paid by the savings from huge spending cuts: Cancel HS2 completely, end all sending of aid / compensation money overseas (We’re in a cost-of-living emergency, yes this measure is drastic, but it’s justified ). And Mainstream’s 5-year breathing space from Asylum rights, brings another big saving, the associated legal costs . Anyone coming here illegally, would have to pay for their own lawyers, instead of landing our taxpayers with this multi-billion-pound expense.
Why constituents should vote for you
Why should Mid-Beds electors vote for me? I’m different. The one with a “story to tell” – more experience of the real world, than the whole lot of them in Parliament now. (See my election leaflet, attached – you’ve may already have read it). I don’t avoid questions, I say exactly what I mean. My flagship policies are the stuff in the news now: Cost of living emergency, knife crime epidemic, small boats crisis, the Trans self-if controversy, HS2. Unlike Sunak and Starmer, I don’t U-turn, and didn’t come up with these policies yesterday! My policies on these issues, are exactly the same as the policies I stood for in the 2005 and 2015 elections. So vote for me – the only candidate who’s truly honest, and wants the real change we need!
Cade Sibley, Green Party
Regular access to local GPs and NHS dentists
Firstly, I would make sure to ease the pressure on the NHS by funding it properly. Not only by investing in equipment, but by investing in the retention of skilled people, by ensuring that staff get inflation matching pay deals. The NHS has to be somewhere that people working there feel valued and under the current government that just isn't happening, so more and more people are leaving in search of better options.
Cost of living crisis
The green party is committed to extensive investment in renewables and building insulation. By transitioning towards cheaper, more accessible renewable sources of energy, we would be less reliant on foreign fossil fuels that are subject to changes to do external influences like the war in the Ukraine. This along with a subsidised insulation scheme would make sure that our homes and workplaces wouldn't be leaking heat that hard working people have paid for.
Why constituents should vote for you
By voting for the Green party, people are voting for a different style of politics. A style of politics that isn't focused on internal conflicts within the party, but on what's best for the hard-working British society their descendants.
Alberto Thomas, Heritage Party
Regular access to local GPs and NHS dentists
Seeing your GP should be a priority, especially for children. Constituents need to be made more aware of the help available when you’re unwell. Contacting your doctors surgery before 8am by phone doesn’t always get you an appointment, but you should be able to make an appointment for later in the week to see a doctor. And, the Practice Manager may be contacted if you’re still having issues. Don’t forget, you also have additional support via: https://111.nhs.uk - and if you feel you can’t wait because the issue may be more severe, you can always go to A&E, or call 999. Finding an NHS Dentist is very challenging, and should be addressed by the government as a matter of urgency. The NHS website gives a list of the available dentists in your local area.
Cost of living crisis
The candidate did not answer this question.
Why constituents should vote for you
The choice is simple, vote for the main parties that want to implement ridiculous Net Zero policies for a non-existent emergency or vote for the Heritage party who will abolish them.
Alan Victor, True and Fair Party
Regular access to local GPs and NHS dentists
As the constituency MP, I would use my voice in Parliament to influence policy making, especially regarding the training, incentivising and retaining home grown GPs and dentists as well as increasing funding to these areas to support these initiatives. This will take time to produce results so, in the meantime, I would lobby for incentives to attract overseas doctors into the NHS in much the same way that Australia is a magnet for our home-grown doctors.
Cost of living crisis
The cost-of-living crisis is a consequence of over a decade of failed government policy, starting with austerity, exacerbated by Brexit, COVID19 and the illegal invasion of Ukraine. A quick fix for some would be to compensate the self-employed and small businesses who were excluded from government support during the pandemic and to finally settle the just demands of women born in the 50s who had their pensions withdrawn with insufficient notice. Also, paying NHS practitioners what they are worth would relieve many hardworking COVID heroes of unfair stress caused by the cost-of-living crisis.
Why constituents should vote for you
We all know the mainstream political parties are letting us down. They act in the interests of a small group of the political elite and their friends. I will champion a change in the rules that govern the behaviour of all politicians, especially MPs and ministers so that they act with integrity and serve the interests of the people and not themselves, their donors, lobbyists and shadily funded think tanks.
Antonio Daniel Vitiello, English Democrats
Regular access to local GPs and NHS dentists
Due Barnett formula English taxpayers’ money is currently diverted to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. To achieve equality of healthcare in England this needs to be scrapped and a dedicated English parliament created. If elected as MP, I will champion for both.
Cost of living crisis
I support ending all wasteful (and costly) involvement in the war between Russia and Ukraine. In addition to deporting all illegal migrants, rather than putting them up in 4 and 5 hotels (at the taxpayers expense) as the Conservative party has done.
Why constituents should vote for you
If you would like English Equality of university fees, public services, the NHS and for St. George’s day to become a national holiday then VOTE ENGLISH DEMOCRATS – Putting England First!
Kelly Ann, The Official Monster Raving Loony Party
We have contacted Kelly Ann, The Official Monster Raving Loony Party but she has, so far, been unavailable for comment.
Prince Ankit Love, Emperor of India, no party
We have contacted Prince Ankit Love, Emperor of India, no party but he has, so far, been unavailable for comment.