Question Time - Truro & Falmouth Candidate: Ian Wright

From Steve - Can you please tell me a little more about you and your background? As a Cornish candidate, can you tell me your local credentials?

Having been born in London, I am not technically a 'local' person. However, I moved down here over fifteen years ago and have a great love for the county. I have been a great supporter of local campaigns for affordable housing and landscape preservation.

Green – You frequently rank highest on the vote for policies website, and not just for environmental issues. What do you think should be done to change our electoral system to transfer this positive regard into votes?

Within this constituency we have been saying for months that tactical voting is not really going to lead to change. If people don't take that chance on us, we are not ever going to grow and show that people really value our ideas. The other issue against us is the leaders debate; although it is a great idea, it essentially narrows the argument to only the three main parties. Without that exposure, we are disadvantaged by a lack of major financial backing. To fight a decent local campaign needs at least £2 000, a good one, £3000. Although I'm not sure of the exact numbers, I would guess that the 'other two' in Truro and Falmouth must have spent between £10000-15000.

Also, I would suggest a series of 'second tier' televised debates. Green, UKIP, Mebyon Kernow, even the BNP – we should all have a chance to debate the issues. We did campaign the idea to the BBC, who were very interested, but unfortunately it came too late and could not be organised in time.

From Samantha – Issue of parliamentary expenses. What accountability measure do you support?

There should be crystal clear guidelines. I think that there should be a large 'hotel-like' facility near London, with everything MP's would need. Although the current rent-allowance scheme is an improvement, it still means that thousands of pounds are being paid to private landlords.

Put simply, if you breach the rules, you should be out. Just like it would be if you or I abused rules within our jobs.

From Georgina - What are the candidates’ views on the proposed plans to transfer cancer surgery out of Cornwall to Plymouth? Also, what is your view on nurse training at the Knowledge Spar? There are plans to switch to “exclusively degree” level training programmes, which will mean that hundreds of students will have to start travelling to Plymouth.

I am completely against it. Travelling from a place like St Ives or Penzance would be extremely difficult. I have had people in my family who have had cancer, and you just don't need that kind of additional stress. Cornwall needs to have it's own system, and the government need to get past the idea that we are just this tiny little place, where a trip to Plymouth isn't just a quick jaunt along the railway.

In regard to nurse training, as someone who has working in care, I can vouch for the fact that there needs to be clear and accessibly training progression. A sole degree course would be counterproductive to this.

From Chris – Obviously change is a big part of this election. Can you tell me what kind of things you plan to do differently to Matthew Taylor.

I personally thought Matthew Taylor was an excellent MP. He always responded to any letter I wrote him and he was a good representative of his constituents. Although our politics may differ, he was a nice guy and very approachable. That is the part of his legacy I would like to continue.

From Nat – How do you plan to juggle countryside preservation with the need for affordable housing. It just feels like Truro is seen as 'fair game' for developers as it is seen as a city.

What we have seen time and time again is that developers are trying to quietly eat their way into the green belt. There is a definite need for local housing, particularly rentable properties. What we are saying is that new builds should be put on 'brown belt' areas and slowly built up in 2-3's over several years, so that the local infrastructure has a chance to grow with it.

The other big problem is second homes. If I were moving to the county now, I would not be able to afford to move into the house I now live in. There should be a second home tax/premium, as well as a need for planning permission. By increasing this by around 200% it should level out the prices and make it affordable for local people again.

From Sue – How do you find the local campaigning process? How do you tread the line between legitimately going after your opponents and outright negativity?

I find it good, but there are some problems. The big one was the Radio Cornwall debate, where the audience was packed with volunteers and supporters of particular parties – it all got quite panto as they started cheering, booing and hissing. I felt quite grubby afterwards.

Otherwise, all the candidates have mostly gotten on. We have a mutual respect for each other, even if there are occasionally some comments that come out of left field, just to get a laugh out of the audience. Personally, I try to criticise policy and not person.

From Lewis – What is your stance on the DNA database, ID cards in relation to defence vs civil liberties.

It's a very difficult issue. On the one hand people see successes in the press as people are arrested and charged because of the DNA evidence. On the other hand, currently anybody arrested is currently catalogued, which is just not right, because they are not yet proven guilty. Ultimately, we have to side with civil liberties, because without that we turn our society into some sort of autocratic regime.

From Iain – There is a percentage of empty shop space in Truro and Falmouth. What is your plan for dealing with this?

The Green party has always said that we need to support small business', not multi nationals. A 20% Corporation Tax would be used to support this approach, while anti-monopoly legislation would make some of the less ethical practices (like buying up large portions of land and then not using it) outlawed. We need to start reversing the trend which has seen large corporations taking over, it's the small business which vitalises communities.

From Helen – I recently had a family member in hospital, I have a child and work part time. Owing to the parking fees, I spent over £100 on just being allowed to be there, when you factor in buying her fruit etc, and the odd coffee, it cost me around £200 pounds to see her. What are you going to do about this? Also, what is your plan to reduce congestion in the city?

I once wrote a complaint about this very issue, and was completely fobbed off. My opinion is that there should be no parking fees in hospitals, nothing at all. You should not be punishing people for being ill.

From Laura – What did you think of the televised debates? And what is your plan for the final week of campaigning?

I think they were a great idea, which has been brilliant at invigorating this election. Obviously, like I said earlier, the problem is that it narrowed the perceived choice for voters. It also served to highlight the position of the Welsh and Scottish parties, who I think were unfairly excluded.

I listened to all three on the radio, and the big problem was a lack of detail. They all talked about policy, but no details. Where are the cuts, what are you going to protect and how are you going to pay for it? We would cut Trident, ID cards, and all nuclear weapons for the UK. We would heavily tax the bankers and financiers who brought the country into recession.

As for the campaign, we couldn't afford any royal Mail leaflet deliveries, so I will be out personally posting leaflets. Being Greens, if we have any left, I am going to make sure nothing from the campaign gets wasted. If I am not elected, I am going to have a good rest for a few days, get to know my family again and do the housework before my wife divorces me.

After that, we are going to be holding stalls, once every week in Truro and Falmouth, to keep our profile up. Even if we don't win, the Green's aren't going anywhere.

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Have your say.

Are you voting Green?  Has Ian said anything that would make you consider voting Green tomorrow?