- 18/06/2024
Hear from candidates standing in the general election, hosted by Abby Hook.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Okay, good evening everybody and welcome along
00:05to KMTV's Medway Election Hustings brought to you
00:08by the KM Media Group, Universities at Medway
00:11and of course supported by our event partner, Maxim.
00:14I have to say in the unlikely event of a fire,
00:16your exits are the two doors at the back, the one you come
00:18through at the front to, that door over there
00:21in the corner will take you straight outside.
00:23Now tonight we're joined by candidates standing
00:25in the general election from the three Medway constituencies,
00:29candidates from all major parties have been invited
00:31to join us this evening and we'll be starting
00:34with Rochester and Shrewd of course.
00:36Here with me is Labour candidate Lauren Edwards,
00:39Liberal Democrat candidate Graham Conley,
00:41Green candidate Kat Jameson
00:43and Reform candidate Daniel Dabim.
00:45A full list of candidates in each constituency,
00:47it's important to say, can be found on Kent Online.
00:50Kelly Tolhurst was, is invited but chose not
00:53to attend this evening.
00:54Now each candidate will have 90 seconds
00:56to give an opening statement.
00:58And please throughout the evening
00:59if you have any questions, please do raise your hands.
01:02We'll have some people roaming the audience
01:04as well throughout this evening
01:06and I do have some questions given to us by people
01:08that are attending tonight and the KM readers as well
01:12and our audience too on social media.
01:14Now we've drawn lots, Reform candidate Daniel Dabim,
01:18you are up first, your one minute 30 starts now.
01:20Okay, my name is Daniel Dabim, I am the candidate obviously
01:24for Reform UK, for Rochester and Shrewd.
01:28The reason I've chosen to stand as a candidate and to be involved
01:32in politics is because of the utter mess that I've witnessed
01:35over the last 30 plus years from our previous Tory
01:39and Labour government.
01:43We've got levels of economic vandalism that is playing
01:47out that we're living through now,
01:48the cost of living crisis is all due to the policies
01:51and the management of these parties.
01:53I decided that I just cannot sit by and let this continue.
01:56I feel I have to try to do something about it and Reform is
02:00a party that is going to do that.
02:02Okay, so if that's okay.
02:03Okay, and Liberal Democrat candidate Graham Colley,
02:07you are next.
02:07I'm Graham Colley, I'm a local solicitor living in Rochester.
02:11I too have seen the chaos that has happened more recently
02:17in current years, but in fact it started with Thatcherism
02:21and Reaganism and the abandonment of a mixed economy
02:24to go to a laissez-faire economy where they try
02:29and stop government doing anything.
02:32And my view is that we should have a combination
02:35of individual enterprise and government planning in order
02:41that everybody can have a fair deal.
02:43Labor candidate Lauren Edwards, you're next.
02:48Good evening everybody.
02:50We have the opportunity on the 4th of July
02:52to really turn a corner on 14 years of conservative failure.
02:56We have a conservative MP at the moment
02:58with a really poor record of standing up for us
03:00in the House of Commons, and who isn't here today
03:02to speak to her record.
03:03Now I've been meeting people across Rochester and Stroud
03:06for the last year, and I know
03:08that there is a huge appetite for change.
03:11Most people feel weighed down by how hard just ordinary life is
03:14at the moment under the Conservatives.
03:16It's simple things like getting a GP appointment for example.
03:20Now Labor has fixed Tory messes before and we can do so again.
03:25And one of the things I also want to do is to restore a sense
03:28of hope and pride here in Rochester and Stroud.
03:30And one of the ways that I'm going to do that as your MP is
03:33by fighting to get our fair share of the investment, the jobs,
03:37the resources that I know a Labor government is going
03:40to bring.
03:41Now I'm local.
03:42I've got a strong record as a local councillor.
03:45I've been leading the regeneration
03:46of towns across Medway.
03:47I also have a background at the Bank of England,
03:50so I know how important a stable economy is.
03:53And I'll also make sure
03:54that your taxpayer money is being spent appropriately.
03:59We need a much stronger voice for Rochester and Stroud
04:01than we have had in the past.
04:03And I will be that voice, but only if you vote Labor
04:06on the 4th of July.
04:07If you vote for any of the other parties,
04:09then I'm afraid we'll be looking
04:10at another five years of Tory decline.
04:13Green candidate, Kat Jameson, you're next.
04:16Thank you for inviting me here today.
04:18It's actually a real honour
04:19to be here, your Green Party candidate
04:21for Rochester and Stroud.
04:23I actually believe the Green Party is the only party
04:25that has the values, the vision, and the principles
04:29to tackle the multiple crises that exist today,
04:32from the housing crisis to the climate crisis, to poverty,
04:36to political instability internationally.
04:39The Green Party is different.
04:40It's not afraid to be bold.
04:42And what I love about it, and I hope you will too,
04:45is that we can see that everything is interconnected.
04:49You cannot address issues in isolation.
04:51It's only, for example, through having a healthy
04:54and thriving environment that humans can live healthy
04:57and happy lives, and that we can have a thriving economy.
05:02I came to Medway in my early 20s.
05:05I came for work and built my career here working
05:07with young people.
05:08I've also volunteered for various organisations,
05:10currently involved with the Friends of the Vines,
05:13Rochester Riverside PTFA, and I was part of one
05:17of the co-founders of the Rochester Eco Hub.
05:20I moved to Medway for work, but I stayed for the people.
05:23It's a fabulous place with fabulous people.
05:26It's my home.
05:27It's where my little boy goes to school.
05:29I am fully committed to representing the people
05:31of this constituency in Parliament
05:33to ensure a greener and fairer society for all.
05:36Okay, thank you all very much.
05:38There are your open statements.
05:40You're sat in order.
05:41Who would have guessed it?
05:42What are the chances?
05:43Okay, now we're going to go to the all-important questions.
05:46We'll have a few from me and a lot from the audience as well.
05:49That's the key thing, and from our readers, as I said earlier.
05:52First, we'll start at the end, and we'll move along,
05:54and that's how we'll progress with the questions.
05:56So, Kat, we'll come to you first.
05:58How will you assure residents of Rochester and Shrew
06:01that you'll stand up for their particular
06:03and individual needs in Parliament?
06:06I'm a big, very much sort of an advocate
06:09for public engagement and participation.
06:13In the Green Party, we think that all decisions should be
06:16made at the closest practical level, and I hold that,
06:20you know, to my heart, actually, in kind of the work that I do
06:22with young people.
06:23It's always about listening.
06:24It's a sort of nothing about us without us motto that we have
06:27when we're working with young people,
06:29and it would be the same for Rochester and Shrew
06:31because only the people who live
06:33in a community know what's best for themselves
06:36and how they want to organise.
06:37So, I would always be ready and open to listen, support,
06:40understand, and take the views
06:41of Rochester and Shrew to Westminster.
06:44Lauren, the same question to you.
06:45How will you assure residents of Rochester and Shrew
06:47that you'll stand up for their particular
06:49and individual needs in Parliament?
06:50Well, I think the first thing is to say that regardless
06:53of how people vote or any of their characteristics,
06:56you are responsible as the MP for representing everybody.
06:59It's key to the job.
07:00You are the voice for everybody.
07:02I have a track record, as I said, as a local councillor,
07:05very active in my community, very active in terms
07:08of responding to people with casework,
07:10helping them with their problems.
07:11So, I have that experience.
07:13I also have the experience, and I hope we're going
07:15to get a Labour government, of being in administration.
07:19So, I'm a cabinet member
07:20on the Midway Labour Administration here
07:23in Midway Council, and so I understand collective
07:25responsibility.
07:26I understand about delivering to budgets.
07:28I understand about how to manage people and how
07:31to make change in a community
07:32when you are responsible for running things,
07:35and I think that's a really important criteria
07:37if you're an MP, and you are hopefully going
07:39to also be a big voice in government and making sure
07:42that your local issues are being represented
07:44by the people who are in government.
07:47I also have a background as a trade union representative.
07:50I've been a trade unionist for over a decade,
07:52and that gives you a lot of skills.
07:53You are elected by your peers
07:55to represent people, to be their voice.
07:57I've saved people's jobs.
07:58I've got them good pay deals.
08:00I have given them good redundancy terms,
08:03and so I understand how important it is
08:05to represent people, and I know how to use my voice
08:08to improve people's lives, and I think that's really key.
08:11And Graham Colley, the same question.
08:12Yeah, I think there are two reasons.
08:14Liberal Democrats are known as the party of community politics.
08:19We're called pavement politicians.
08:21We go around and knock on doors.
08:23We find out what people want.
08:25We liaise with people.
08:26We find out what the issues are, and then we seek
08:29to represent them.
08:31The other reason is, of course,
08:33that becoming a Lib Dem MP is quite difficult, and you do it
08:38because you have built up that reputation
08:40of working hard locally, and once you're there,
08:43you have to work hard in order to keep that reputation going
08:46and in order to win again.
08:49And Daniel, how will you assure residents that you'll stand
08:51up for their particular needs in Parliament?
08:53Well, there's a lot of areas that need to be tackled.
08:55Cost of living crisis is obviously the main one.
09:00Local taxes are far too high.
09:01It doesn't matter how much tax revenue is taken
09:04by the council, they will always overspend what they receive,
09:08and the level of service actually goes down.
09:10I don't know how they manage to achieve it.
09:12It's shocking, but cost of living crisis is a main area.
09:16It needs to be tackled.
09:16It needs to control local taxes.
09:18The last thing we're going to do is put up more council tax.
09:22The other area as well is that energy costs are too high.
09:24We've got our own resources.
09:26We need to start using that instead of using the same level
09:29of fossil fuels that we're buying
09:30on the other side of the world and shipping it over.
09:32I mean, the whole thing is a complete nonsense.
09:33Why would you do that anyway?
09:34We're paying more money to have it
09:36from the other side of the world brought over so we can pretend
09:38that we're saving the planet.
09:40We're using the same amount of fuel.
09:41Complete nonsense, and we're all paying for it.
09:44Net zero levies on energy bills.
09:47The cost of energy is killing our economies too much.
09:51It's killing us on a national level, but obviously,
09:53it's killing us on a local level as well.
09:55What I intend to do if I win the election is I will hold the
10:02government's account in every way that I possibly can
10:06to make people's lives better.
10:07People should not be paying the level of taxes
10:10that they're paying, and people deserve to have better services
10:12than what they're being given, and that is what we're doing.
10:15Okay, and we have a question written in from one
10:17of our attendees tonight, some from social media too.
10:21Someone said, I have children who are approaching voting ages,
10:24are engaged in the news now, and have a dim view of politics
10:27and politicians given events over the years.
10:30How will you rebuild trust in our politicians
10:32and political system between this general election and next?
10:36Lead by example from a local level to a global level.
10:39Lauren, we'll come to you first.
10:42Obviously, having young people engaged
10:44in politics is super important.
10:46I'm really pleased that Labour has said
10:48that they will extend votes to people at 16
10:50because I think it's really important
10:52that if you're paying tax in this country,
10:54then you have a say in the people who are going
10:55to be spending your tax money.
10:58I obviously want to make sure
11:01that young people are as engaged as possible.
11:04Obviously, politicians do not have the best reputation
11:06in recent years.
11:07That's a fact.
11:08I mean, I decided to stand for council because I was so fed
11:12up of seeing Boris Johnson in particular
11:14and Matt Hancock during the pandemic lying about things
11:17and having, you know, dodgy PPE contracts.
11:20They were giving lots of money out to fake businesses
11:22through COVID loans because they weren't doing the proper checks.
11:25And of course, we've got the Partygate scandal
11:27where they seem to think that they weren't held
11:29to the same standards and the same rules as everybody else.
11:32So that restoring a sense of integrity and truth
11:35into politics is actually a driving reason why I decided
11:38to put my hat into the ring because I thought I could
11:41continue to just sort of sit and watch the television and sort
11:43of complain about it or I could actually get involved,
11:46stick my head above the parapet and try to change it.
11:49So one of the ways, if I'm elected as your MP,
11:51that I will help restore that integrity and that trust that,
11:54you know, used to be there in politics and is
11:56so important is by being truthful,
11:59by being open with you, by, you know,
12:01not trying to tell you what I think you might want to hear
12:04but give you my honest answer.
12:06And it means that you might not always agree with me
12:08but you will at least have a clear, straight answer from me
12:10and I'll have a justification for why I'm doing something
12:13or why I'm saying something.
12:14And I think that will go a really strong way
12:16to restoring faith in politics and faith in your MP
12:20for Rochester and Stroud.
12:22Graham, we will come to you next on that.
12:23I just want to remind the audience
12:24if you have any questions at all, pop your hand up.
12:26We have Gabriel who will be roaming and come over
12:28and get your question and then we'll be able to slot that in.
12:31So make sure to put your hand
12:32up if you do have a question, nice and high.
12:35Okay, Graham, we'll come to you on that same question.
12:37Yeah, I think you have to look at the underlying factors
12:40and why young people look like that and I would suggest
12:44that it is the political and constitutional system
12:48that we have.
12:50Britain is the only country apart from Byler-Russe
12:55that doesn't have a proportional representation system.
12:59Because we don't have a proportional representation
13:02system, we have two parties, Tweedle-Duck and Tweedle-Dee
13:06who have to try and say everything to please voters.
13:10They can't say, well, we would like to attract a certain part
13:13of that electorate and therefore, it does tend,
13:16it does preponderate people not, politicians,
13:20not telling the actual truth.
13:23If we had a PR system and I'm sorry to bang on about it
13:27but the liberals before the Lib Dems, we've gone
13:29on since 1918, would provide a system
13:32where people can speak the truth and if people like it,
13:36they will vote for it.
13:37If they don't, they'll vote for someone
13:39who says what they believe in.
13:41And Daniel, how will you rebuild trust?
13:44Do a good job.
13:45If you do a good job as a politician,
13:47then you rebuild trust.
13:48It's just not acceptable to just keep the status quo
13:51and just keep plodding along while the country slowly descends.
13:55It's not acceptable.
13:57We're not a third world country,
13:59one of the most powerful countries in the world
14:01but one of the biggest economies in the world.
14:03We need leadership, we need vision.
14:05This is something we've been lacking for a long,
14:09long time and if you want people to be interested in politics
14:12and want to go into politics and they look at the politicians
14:15that are serving the country, those politicians need
14:17to be doing a good job.
14:19That's it.
14:20Do a good job and problem solved.
14:23They'll be interested because they will look at that
14:25and they'll look up to those people.
14:26They want to be like them.
14:27Okay?
14:28Okay, the same question on trust just
14:30to finish off this question.
14:31Yeah, I'm not surprised that that young person feels
14:34like that.
14:34The things that we see, how our politicians act, you know,
14:38the pantomimes that we see in parliament
14:40with people shouting at each other.
14:41We hear about bullying, tractor porn.
14:44I mean it just goes on and on.
14:45All this like the people feeling the politicians being
14:48above the law, thinking they're above the law and actually
14:53if a politician who makes the law breaks the law,
14:55the penalty for that should be more severe
14:58than if someone else breaks the law
14:59because they should be setting the example
15:01to the rest of the country.
15:03But actually we just see people getting, you know,
15:05moved around, resigned from here, go to there.
15:07It's absolutely disgusting actually what politics looks
15:10like today.
15:11I think that there's lies that are allowed to be kind of, yeah,
15:19put out there with not very much come back for that.
15:23So we saw the lies in Brexit and no one is kind
15:28of taking accountability for that.
15:30We see politicians still now lying
15:34on our TVs during this election campaign.
15:36So in order, sorry, to get to your question,
15:40how would you restore trust?
15:42The Green Party would have a sort of a fair politics,
15:46clean politics act in which there would be
15:49more transparency.
15:51We've got all those think tanks that you're not quite sure what,
15:53how much involvement and influence they have.
15:55There'll be more transparency on that.
15:57Agree with Graham about proportional representation.
16:00There will be, you know, there'll be standards
16:02and people would have to keep to those standards.
16:04But it will take some time to rebuild trust, I do think.
16:07But it's a really good question and a really good point.
16:09Okay, we have an audience question
16:11with Gabriel just over here.
16:14Yeah, we've got the first audience question of the night.
16:16It is from Matthew Methew from Chatham and Ellsworth.
16:18What is your question for the panel?
16:21Thank you.
16:21We were just talking about trust in politics,
16:24but locally we had a public consultation in regards
16:27to Red Roots where the council overruled the decision
16:30of the members of the public
16:33that actually contributed to that survey.
16:35Sorry, Matthew, to interrupt.
16:36You might have to pull the mic a tiny bit lower
16:38because we can't hear you.
16:39That might work.
16:39Try and speak as clear as you can, the mic a bit lower.
16:42Sorry. We are talking here about public trust in politicians,
16:47but we recently had a survey in regards to the Red Roots
16:50across the Medway towns.
16:52The people of Medway rejected that proposal,
16:55yet the Labour-led council still rolled it
16:57out anyway at huge cost to the public.
17:00You know, we've also had Chatham Docks, which I know
17:02that the Lib Dems and Greens have been on as well,
17:04supporting that which was supported prior
17:07to the local elections and has since been abandoned.
17:11So we're talking about trust, but there are huge,
17:15there are large examples of trust,
17:17why people have little trust in politicians locally
17:21that hasn't actually been addressed by the panel and,
17:24you know, doesn't help people's perception of politicians.
17:29And that is a very good question.
17:31I've got most of what you said, but yeah, very good question.
17:34So I'm jumping the gun, but wait.
17:35Who would like to, who would like to answer first?
17:38Can you repeat the question?
17:39I didn't catch it.
17:40Do you want me to give you a quick overview?
17:43This is correct.
17:43Basically, the public said they want one thing to happen,
17:46such as we want the docks to be, to be retained.
17:49Yeah, yeah.
17:49And the jobs to be saved.
17:51There was a couple of other examples
17:53where the people had said they wanted
17:54on mass a certain thing to happen.
17:57And obviously, we've got the current council
18:00and the current MP have gone ahead
18:02and done what they want to do.
18:04They're not listening to what the people want.
18:06Yeah.
18:06Sorry, that wasn't my speech.
18:07That's a very good question, thank you.
18:11Let's keep our answers short for this one,
18:15just so everyone can respond.
18:17So take the floor first.
18:19Oh, okay.
18:19Yeah. And my response to that is the reason I'm
18:22in politics is because I feel that we are completely ignored.
18:25We have no representation in government.
18:27Westminster seems to be a completely separate group
18:31of people, sort of us normal, everyday British people.
18:34And at the end of the day, we're the ones
18:35that build the country, aren't we?
18:36All the taxes come from us.
18:38We're the ones that get things done, yeah?
18:40So basically, these people live in their little bubble.
18:43They need to understand that they work for us.
18:45They need to listen to us.
18:47And the reason why I've decided to stand, a big reason,
18:50is that when I spend time with people in the area
18:53and they tell me, this is what I want you to go and do,
18:56I'm going to go ahead and I'm going to fight for that
18:58because I want to represent the people.
19:00Okay?
19:00Thank you.
19:00Yeah, I really don't know why Labor changed their view
19:07on Chatham Docks.
19:08It's really up to them to explain.
19:10My view is, and as I said right at the beginning,
19:14we've moved to this laissez-faire economy
19:17and the developers of, so-called developers of Chatham Docks
19:21have bought all the docks up and now want to turn them
19:24so they can make a quick profit out of them, whereas Lib Dems
19:28and others, the Greens, believe that we should be working
19:31for local jobs and good local jobs and that that kind
19:35of work is needed.
19:36Liberal Democrats, as I said, we believe in consulting
19:41with the people and if you consult and discuss,
19:44then the best solution comes.
19:46You shouldn't try and impose your views on people,
19:51on liberal issues.
19:53Yeah.
19:53And Lauren, if you want to pick up on the contentious issue
19:58of Chatham Docks then.
20:00Yeah, I mean I'll deal with Red Roots first just
20:02because that was raised first by the questioner.
20:04So Red Roots did not have a majority
20:08against them in the consultation.
20:10There were pockets where it was less popular,
20:12but overall there was broad support
20:13for the introduction of them
20:15and they have been used quite successfully elsewhere
20:17in the country and actually we had a really robust
20:20public consultation and we listened and there were a number
20:24of changes that were made as a result of that.
20:26For instance, there were more loading bays put
20:28in for the businesses.
20:29So we absolutely have listened on Red Roots and to be honest,
20:33if you, you know, the rules haven't necessarily changed,
20:36it's just the process for fining has.
20:38So if you, as long as you're following the rules,
20:40you're not stopping on the streets
20:41where you shouldn't be, then you should not have a problem
20:43and actually the Red Roots are going
20:45to improve our traffic flow because one of the things
20:47that a lot of people raised with me is the congestion
20:50on Medway's roads.
20:51If you'll let me finish, so basically they have worked,
21:00but they have worked elsewhere and they are working here
21:02at the moment and actually we're getting some areas
21:04who are saying that they actually would prefer them
21:06on their high streets because it is stopping parking
21:09on high streets.
21:10So that's Red Roots.
21:12I'll also go to Chatham Docks.
21:13And then we'll come to your question,
21:15Gabriel will bring the microphone over.
21:16So if you continue.
21:17I'll go to Chatham Docks.
21:19So I absolutely support jobs in Rochester and Stroud.
21:22I'm leading on that work for the council and I'm on track
21:24to deliver a thousand new jobs by 2027.
21:28The issue of Chatham Docks is
21:30that there was an independent planning committee,
21:32which I did not sit on, who needs to look at planning rules
21:36when they assess some of these applications.
21:38And there was a planning application
21:40to change the type of employment.
21:42And unfortunately there was no planning grounds to do so.
21:45And one of the key drivers for that is
21:47that there was no updated local plan
21:49by the previous conservative administration on the council
21:52over the last 20 years, which made it very,
21:55very difficult to not approve that application.
22:00So the existing MP has obviously put in a call in request
22:04to the Secretary of State to review that decision.
22:06I have said if I'm going to be the next Labour MP for Rochester
22:10and Stroud, I will support that being looked at.
22:12So I will support a review of that decision
22:14by the Secretary of State.
22:16And I think it's really important, you know,
22:18that we do support jobs across the constituency.
22:21This is a dispute ultimately between a landlord and a tenant.
22:25And Labour has been very strong about saying you need
22:27to get together in a commercial way
22:30and discuss how you can find a solution.
22:32Lauren, if we pause there, because we're going to get
22:34into this, and Kat's still yet to answer this question.
22:38So if we bring Kat in on this question of Chatham Docks
22:40and Red Roots, we can finish that part,
22:42and then we'll come to you for a question here.
22:44Okay, Kat.
22:45I think just on the kind of methodology of consultation
22:49that we've got currently, it's a sort of this is what you want
22:51to do, what do you think, and it's not really proper
22:55engagement and consultation with the residents at the point
22:58of coming up with proposals.
23:00We're not starting with a problem and say,
23:02we need to address traffic flow.
23:03Let's get together as a community
23:05and think how can we do this.
23:06It's more we are going to enforce this.
23:09It will support traffic flow.
23:10And what do you think, yes or no?
23:12We might make some minor tweaks.
23:14Personally, I was in Rochester against the Red Roots
23:18on Corporation Street, because I had no idea how they could
23:21possibly improve traffic flow, because the traffic was all bunged
23:25up where you, across the bridge over to Strude.
23:27And of course, we have got the Red Roots now,
23:29and the traffic is still the same.
23:30So I'm not, for me, it was a waste of time and money, but.
23:34Okay.
23:34All right, thank you for answering those questions.
23:41Gabriel, we'll go to Gabriel now with an audience question.
23:43Well, let's bring in Monica.
23:44I know you had a question for the panel.
23:45What was your question?
23:46Thank you very much.
23:47When, it's a question to Lauren, actually.
23:50Lauren, apparently when you applied for PCC
23:53for Rochester and Strude, you said that you want
23:57to hold Tories quite rightly, in my opinion, to account,
24:02i.e. Kelly, Tollhurst and Co., by offering labor values
24:06of collaboration and commitment
24:09to well-run public services in Medway.
24:13Does that mean that such offer only applies to those
24:17who vote labor and or work directly for Medway Council?
24:24Okay. Slightly interesting question.
24:27So, as I said at the beginning, if you were elected
24:30to be the MP, and if I'm elected to be the MP,
24:32I'm responsible for working with everybody and working
24:35on behalf of everybody who is within that constituency,
24:38no matter how they voted or what their views are in terms
24:42of, you know, that I might not necessarily agree with,
24:45but I need to represent those people.
24:47That is the job.
24:48So, absolutely, my part of it.
24:49So, it's not the labor values, collaboration.
24:51Yeah, labor values are collaboration.
24:53We believe that you can achieve much more by working together
24:58than the more conservative view, which is about individuals,
25:01sort of, getting the most that they can get out of the system.
25:04So, my instincts are absolutely towards cooperation
25:07and to collaboration, and that's absolutely how I would operate
25:10as a labor MP.
25:11Okay. I think we want to make sure we're branching out
25:14and covering all questions for the entire area
25:17that all the candidates can answer as well.
25:19We'll move on to another question that I've got here.
25:24Someone has written in asking,
25:26would you swim in the River Medway?
25:28So, touching on some pollution issues there.
25:32Graeme, would you like to come in first on that?
25:35I enjoy swimming, but I'm afraid I wouldn't swim
25:38in the River Medway at the moment.
25:40And I might swim at other times, but as people may know,
25:45we've done our own tests on the River Medway
25:48and we found E. coli in there.
25:50So, it's not something that I would like to risk as much
25:54as I love our local river.
25:56And Daniel?
25:58Yeah, it's just a very good example
26:00of failed services, isn't it?
26:02It's basically large amounts of tax revenue going
26:05in a labor council and a Tory MP, and the services coming
26:10out at the other end via them.
26:11It's just failed services.
26:13We shouldn't be paying half the amount of tax we're paying,
26:14and we should demand better services.
26:17It's not that difficult to improve on what we've got
26:20and save money.
26:21The amount of waste across the board in local
26:24and national government is astronomical.
26:26Can I come back on that?
26:27Obviously, it's a southern water problem, the pollution,
26:32and that is nothing to do with local council tax.
26:37Saying it's someone else's fault is not my approach.
26:39It's our fault.
26:40If you're in government, you deal with it.
26:42You're the politician.
26:42It's your job to look after your people.
26:44I'm in your area.
26:46That's it.
26:47I will not farm it off to another company and say,
26:49sorry, this is their problem.
26:50They should have done a better job.
26:51It's not their fault.
26:51Our river is polluted.
26:53Do something about it.
26:54Make them react.
26:55It's the same as the docks being closed.
26:57It should have been all over Pilwater,
26:59and it should have been resolved a long time ago.
27:00The Tories could have done it.
27:01Instead, they let it hang because they wanted to use
27:04that as an axe over the local voters to say,
27:09if you don't vote Tory, then the labor people will come in,
27:12and you'll lose your jobs, and you'll lose the docks.
27:15And they kept that axe hanging over the local people
27:17as a way of winning votes in the area.
27:19And basically, they've sold them out, and I think it's disgraceful.
27:22And that's an exact example of that.
27:23The problem was the privatization
27:26of the water companies, which they were privatized, sold off,
27:30and now they've been taken over by shareholders
27:33who are not in this country, who've taken huge dividends out.
27:38And admittedly, yeah, that's down to the politicians
27:41to deal with.
27:41The politicians have got to solve it, but it's not
27:44down to local taxes or even national taxes.
27:46Can I just come back again quickly because that's a
27:48very- Very quickly, and then we'll bring Kat and Lauren in.
27:49Part of Reform UK policy is that our utilities,
27:53such as water and energy, they need to be 50% state-owned
27:56and 50% owned by British corporations
28:00so that we have full control over our utility companies
28:04that are critical to our infrastructure, such as water.
28:06So that is one of our policies.
28:07So thank you for highlighting that.
28:08Kat, Lauren, if you want to jump in on this,
28:13would you swim in the River Madway?
28:15No, I wouldn't.
28:17It's a short answer to that question.
28:19But actually, our rivers, our oceans, our seas,
28:22our chalk streams, they're all in a desperate state.
28:26They are absolutely disgusting, quite literally.
28:28And the Greens' policy is
28:30that we would take the water companies back
28:31into private ownership.
28:33We would stop asset stripping and money going to shareholders.
28:36And any money that's made
28:38through the water companies will go back
28:40into improving the service.
28:41And Lauren, if you want to come in quickly on that too.
28:43Yeah, to be honest, I don't think you would find anybody
28:46who's read a newspaper in the last few years who would swim
28:49in the River Madway.
28:50It absolutely has nothing to do with any councils anywhere.
28:54It is a southern water issue.
28:56We have water companies like Southern Water who have failed
29:01to invest in their infrastructure.
29:04And they've paid out millions in dividends to shareholders.
29:07And that is why we have such regular
29:09and large sewage discharges
29:13into our lovely rivers, unfortunately.
29:15But it's not just Southern Water.
29:17The reason that they have been able to do
29:19that is because the Conservative government has failed
29:21to regulate them properly and has allowed them to do this.
29:25So Labour would ban bonuses, for example, to executives
29:28of these water companies who are polluting our rivers.
29:32It's a simple thing that would incentivise them to stop doing
29:36so and to actually spend the money
29:38on improving the infrastructure to make our waterways clean.
29:42And it's a very simple policy.
29:43We would also make sure that they are regulated properly.
29:46There's very lax regulation at the moment.
29:49And it needs to be much, much tighter.
29:50I have a background in regulation.
29:52So I know what good regulation looks like.
29:54And it is not what we are seeing for the water companies
29:56under the Conservatives.
29:57And that's why we need a fresh change under Labour.
29:59Okay.
30:00That question there was how would you represent people
30:08in Medway if you were elected?
30:10For all the candidates?
30:11Is that a question for all the candidates?
30:15Okay, very quickly.
30:16Specifically on the issue of water regulation?
30:19Yeah, absolutely.
30:21Well, very simply, you would obviously have to meet
30:24with the water companies.
30:25But I would be part of the government
30:28that is implementing a much stronger regulatory regime
30:32to keep the rivers clean.
30:33And I would also make sure, as I've said, to make sure
30:36that the executives will be introducing legislation
30:39to prevent money coming out of these companies
30:41if they are polluting our waterways.
30:42It's as simple as that.
30:45Okay. Would anybody else like to comment on that?
30:47Yeah. One of the problems we've got with water companies,
30:50a number of privatized companies that a number of years ago,
30:54we entered into international treaties that were designed
30:58to stop third world countries renationalizing companies.
31:02And they partly tie us.
31:05The way that it must be done is
31:07that we must have good regulation of those companies.
31:12And insofar as we can,
31:14try and get them back into public ownership.
31:17Okay. Okay.
31:18I think I just, oh, we've got a few hands up in the, yeah,
31:25if you were happy jumping in.
31:26I just wanted to say before you go, if we have hands
31:29up for any questions, Gabriel will be making his way around.
31:31But Daniel, you can come in on that question.
31:32Yeah. Just very quickly, two things need to be done.
31:35Obviously, it needs to be raised at Parliament.
31:37And you need to put pressure to make sure that these,
31:40the pain is felt by all until it's resolved.
31:43And you need to get in front of the people running the water
31:46companies, and you need to make sure
31:48that they are basically feeling the pressure as well.
31:50And you don't stop until they basically do their job.
31:53That's it.
31:53Okay.
31:54And Kat, did you have a line on that question?
31:56I think it's just what I already said.
31:58It needs to be brought back into public ownership.
31:59I think that is representing the constituents,
32:01because I think that people feel very strongly about looking
32:03after our water and cleaning it up, so.
32:05Okay. I think we now have another audience question.
32:08A few people over this side had their hands up, too,
32:09and we'll, he'll come around to you shortly as well.
32:12Gabriel.
32:13Yeah. We've got another question.
32:14This time it is from Trish.
32:16I'll give you the microphone and ask the panel the question.
32:18Hi. Thank you.
32:19And so, over the years, the demographics
32:22across the Medway towns has changed quite dramatically,
32:25and almost there's been some sort
32:26of splinter within the population.
32:28How would the candidates bring back the people of Medway
32:32to be a cohesive Medway towns once again?
32:36Okay.
32:37I didn't hear that.
32:38Yes. You said a divide between the people of Medway,
32:42and how would we bring people in Medway back together?
32:44What people?
32:44Yes. What people?
32:45Was it to do with the influx of new buildings,
32:46or the Medway local plan, or?
32:47Just the way that the, sorry, I've got to shout.
32:50So, the demographics have changed.
32:54I've been in Medway my whole life,
32:55and it's changed a lot over the years, and there is sort
32:58of community groups that are not cohesive,
33:01not joined together across the whole of the towns.
33:03So, how would you address the bringing together
33:06of the population of the Medway towns as a town,
33:09as towns, I'm not talking about city, I'm talking about towns,
33:12so that they can all sort of trust and work together,
33:15and feel part of a community across the whole of Medway?
33:18Yeah.
33:18Okay. Who would like to take that first?
33:23Go for it, Daniel.
33:24Quite simply, we need to make people proud
33:28of their country again.
33:29We need to reinstall that basically this is one
33:32of the most powerful, wealthiest countries in the world,
33:35and we've got a lot to basically be extremely proud of,
33:38and that's how you bring back unity.
33:40Or it's divisiveness where we're talking
33:41about all these bad things that have happened in the past,
33:43and how we're responsible for things
33:44that have happened all over the world.
33:45It's complete nonsense.
33:47Basically, you should be proud of your country,
33:48proud of who we are, and what we do.
33:50We always stand for what we feel is morally correct all
33:54over the world.
33:55We put our lives in, we send people to put their lives
33:57in danger on our behalf to fly that flag,
34:00to protect the people that we feel need protecting,
34:02and to bring freedom and democracy around the world.
34:05That's what we do.
34:06This is, that's what we need, more unity around.
34:09We need to feel more unity and more pride
34:11around the country that we have.
34:14Sorry, lady.
34:14Can I ask you what you mean by moral correctness?
34:18Moral correctness?
34:19Yes, you said you want to, you want to,
34:22you feel that we have some place.
34:24Yeah, we feel that we need to, we act with a moral,
34:28we feel it's morally correct is how we behave.
34:31That's what we try to implement.
34:32Does that make sense?
34:33So, if we see a country being invaded, invaded like Kuwait
34:36by the Iraqis, we send our army out there
34:38to help that country, because we feel morally obliged to do
34:42that, because they've been invaded
34:43by a larger country that's basically dominating them.
34:46Does that?
34:47So, you don't see that as having any link
34:49to our economical foreign policy interests?
34:53Oh, so you're saying that basically the only reason we
34:55wouldn't have done that, so you're saying, no, no, sorry,
34:57you're saying, sorry, you're, no, no, no,
35:00I'm answering your question.
35:01Your question is that basically, your suggestion is
35:03that the British people thought we were going to war with Iraq
35:07at that moment in time, because we wanted the oil
35:09from that country, that's what the British people thought,
35:11is that what you're saying?
35:12No, I think that's reductive, that's not what I'm saying,
35:14I'm saying it's, do you not think it's connected?
35:17If I wouldn't mind interjecting,
35:19if we could get your question through a microphone,
35:21so everybody watching our live stream,
35:23Gabriel, could you head over with the microphone
35:24so we can get this audience question,
35:27and everyone will have a chance to answer that.
35:29We'll keep our answers nice and short, because we've got loads
35:31of issues to cover, doctors, dentists, housing,
35:34I'm sure we all want to know about all of that.
35:36So, we'll have this question, if we all answer it, in a snippet.
35:39It's more for our live stream purpose, would you be able
35:44to just re-ask the questions
35:46so the candidates could answer, please?
35:47Gabriel?
35:47So, my question, you mentioned moral correctness in terms
35:53of our foreign policy, in particular
35:56when we see there being a crisis in another country,
36:00and I asked you whether you would mind defining moral
36:02correctness, because I feel that there is a connection
36:06between what we do in other countries
36:08when we send our troops there, and our economic interest
36:13in other countries, I said it was a connection.
36:15I didn't say it's the only reason why we would go
36:17and do something like that, but it kind of bothers me
36:20that you seem to connect some kind of, you seem to infer
36:25that morality, our morality is something
36:28that we should be exporting to other countries,
36:31and sometimes I think we can all admit
36:34that Iraq was a very, very big mistake.
36:37I don't think anyone in this room is going
36:39to say that it wasn't.
36:40So, on that basis, that's why I asked you
36:43about moral correctness.
36:45Oh, I completely disagree with what you just said.
36:51I think also, as well, I don't know if you're talking
36:52about the second Gulf War or the first Gulf War.
36:54I presume you mean the second Gulf War.
36:56The first Gulf War was to liberate a country,
36:58which we did.
36:59So, I don't see how that was something that's gone wrong
37:02or gone badly, and the other, no, I'm answering your question,
37:06and the other area, as well,
37:07we're saying we should export our morals
37:12on other parts of the world.
37:14I didn't say that at all.
37:15You know, if that's what you're, you kind of got
37:18from what I've said, then you've misheard me.
37:20What I was saying was that the British people should be proud
37:23of who they are.
37:24Obviously, you feel differently.
37:25You feel that we only attack countries for economic reasons.
37:28I completely disagree, and that's all.
37:31Yeah, sorry to interrupt.
37:32The focus of this hustling here is to really hone
37:35in on those local issues.
37:36So, we'll circle back to some local issues now
37:38if everybody's happy, and we'll move on to something
37:41that matters to the people in this room.
37:42I wanted to address that issue about society.
37:45Yeah, of course.
37:47I started by saying, talking about Margaret Thatcher.
37:51Margaret Thatcher said there is no such thing as society.
37:54I disagreed with it then, and I still disagree with it.
37:57Over the period since she became prime minister
38:03and started putting her views into effect,
38:05it's the individual that always comes first, and individuals have
38:09to maximize profit.
38:11They have to work harder.
38:13They don't have time to join events
38:16that society might want, because if they do,
38:19they're not maximizing the amount that they need to pay
38:22on their mortgages, on higher prices, and everything else.
38:25We need to move to a society where the individual is balanced
38:31with the needs of the community.
38:32Sorry, that's a complete statement.
38:36It has nothing to do with the question the lady asked about.
38:38We're circling back round to the community aspect
38:41of the conversation.
38:43Yeah, I'd like to come in, because I don't quite know how
38:46we got to a question about community cohesion and ended
38:49up talking about Iraq, but there we are.
38:50So, I'd like to go back to the original question.
38:53So, I think that the original question was about, you know,
38:56the demographics changing here in Medway over time,
38:59and the kind of challenges and opportunities that presents.
39:02So, I mean, I think it's a great thing
39:04that people are coming to Medway.
39:05It's because it's a great place to be.
39:07That's why people want to come here.
39:09And obviously, you know, there is a perception that a lot
39:12of people are moving down here from London
39:14because of house pricing.
39:16You get that familiar phrase, down from Londoners,
39:20but actually if you look at some of the data,
39:21it's from other parts of Kent.
39:22It's other parts of Kent where people are moving to Medway
39:25because they can see we have great opportunities here,
39:28and that is fantastic.
39:29But how we bring people together is, you know,
39:33that there are different cultures here.
39:35I think we need to celebrate our multicultural community
39:38that we have here, celebrate the diversity.
39:41I've certainly tried to do that in my cabinet role
39:43on the council by supporting, you know, local community events
39:47to bring people to our high streets,
39:48to celebrate our diversity, to get people spending money
39:52in our restaurants and our shops, because that is a strength.
39:56It is not a weakness.
39:56It is a strength of Medway.
39:58Now, one of the things that I think brings us all together,
40:02though, is a very clear set of core British values,
40:05which are taught in our schools and are very important.
40:08And they are things like sharing.
40:10They are collaboration, which we talked about earlier.
40:13They are things like hard work,
40:14and that's how you can bring people together.
40:16You bring the community together.
40:18You bring people into our town centers.
40:20You have people mixing.
40:22But you do have that core sense of what it means to be British,
40:25which is really valuable, and which actually, in my experience,
40:28people who move to the area are really, really willing
40:30to take on and feel really proud to be from Medway
40:33and feel really proud to be British.
40:35And as I said in my opening remarks,
40:36I think we need more of that.
40:38And Kat, how would you reconnect people in Medway together,
40:44that community that we're discussing now?
40:46Yeah. First of all, I'd just like to say
40:48that I think diversity brings a richer community,
40:51and that's something to celebrate.
40:53I think with diversity, it's really important
40:56to find commonality as well.
40:57And, you know, we're all humans.
40:59We all need to work to live.
41:01We all have problems with the cost of living.
41:03We have relationships and health, and there's much more
41:07that unites us than divides us.
41:10And I think sometimes where cohesion and integration needs
41:14to happen is that people perhaps feel fearful of one another
41:18because they don't know each other.
41:20So it's really about bringing people together,
41:22and that could be through community events.
41:24It can be investing more in arts and culture and sports
41:28so that actually people do have positive things to just get
41:30to know each other without it being you have to come and do this.
41:33It's just in a natural way just really supporting, yeah,
41:37everyone to get involved in community
41:39and bring down those barriers.
41:42A bit of kindness.
41:43I'm just very curious about the talk
41:47about how it's going to diversity.
41:49Do you feel that basically if someone's come
41:51from another part of the world, wherever that may be,
41:53and they've settled in Britain,
41:54do you feel that they can't feel proud to be British?
41:58And that goes to all of you.
41:59Do you feel that it's a problem?
42:00I don't understand the question, I'm afraid.
42:02I don't understand the question.
42:03I'm just, because you seem to be talking about other things
42:06and other cultures.
42:06I'm just wondering.
42:07The question, the original question was
42:08about social cohesion with different demographics.
42:11That's why we were talking about diversity.
42:12I think people feel proud of whatever.
42:15They want to feel proud.
42:16At the moment, I would say that after Brexit,
42:21which has introduced the, you know, much more likely
42:24that Scotland is, you know, is pushing again for independence.
42:27Being British may be a thing of the past
42:29because we're destroying what.
42:31Well, if you were going to,
42:33if the United Kingdom is no longer going to exist
42:36because we have independence in Scotland and so on,
42:40then it's a breakdown.
42:41So I think that those who push Brexit
42:44inadvertently have pushed a breakdown of the United Kingdom.
42:47And also, I'd like to say as well, people come from all
43:00over the world and settle here.
43:01They love this country.
43:02They love our culture.
43:02They don't want to see it broken up and it just disappoints me
43:04to have people clapping for basically
43:06that the union breaking up is very sad.
43:08We're not, we're not clapping about the thought
43:10of the union breaking up.
43:11That is really sad and I would hate to see that,
43:12but I also hate it to see the European Union being broken up.
43:15And I'm saying that the United Kingdom potentially breaking
43:17up is a consequence of the EU breaking up.
43:20Right. We'll remind, if you've got any questions,
43:26anything you want to ask to all the candidates,
43:28please put your hand up.
43:28Gabriel is around.
43:30I think Gabriel's just going to come in
43:32and fix your mic now, Lauren.
43:33I'm going to move on to another issue that will be impacting all
43:36of you sat in this room, I'm sure.
43:38Someone's written in and asked how, and this is important.
43:42I'd like you to answer it how.
43:43How will you increase access to doctors and dentists?
43:49Graham, should we come to you first?
43:54You, what, it's, things have been run down over many,
43:58many years, and it's not going to be easy.
44:01You need to have more doctors.
44:05It's partly through training,
44:06but of course training takes a long time,
44:08seven, eight, nine, ten years.
44:10You can get doctors from elsewhere.
44:15We used to get a lot of doctors from the EU,
44:17but they don't come anymore for the reasons that we know.
44:20They come from other parts of the world,
44:22but then we're depriving those parts of the world
44:24of the doctors they need.
44:25It is a long, it's going to be a long-term strategy,
44:30and also I suppose we ought to be trying
44:33to improve health awareness so people can look
44:38after themselves better than perhaps they're doing
44:41at the moment.
44:42We also, at least as temporary measures,
44:46need to use people who are slightly less qualified.
44:48It's not something that I'm happy about, but you can't,
44:53you can't, you can't manage, with respect,
44:57with respect, you can't manage doctors out of thin air.
45:00I think the audience, the clear part of this question is how.
45:05It's a long-term thing, and it's training.
45:07We're going to suffer.
45:14Okay, who would like to take that question next?
45:15Doctors and dentists, how?
45:18So, Labour has a really good policy on this.
45:21So, we obviously recognise, as I said in my opening statements,
45:23people can't get GP services anymore.
45:25So, people can't get an appointment.
45:27Something that used to be quite easy pre-2010 is now a huge
45:31struggle for people, and one of the things
45:33that we are seeing now is people presenting with, for instance,
45:35things like cancer, much later, much more advanced
45:38than it otherwise would be, and that is unfortunately, you know,
45:42being driven by this inability to deal with, you know,
45:45simple scans and get simple advice early on.
45:51So, we recognise there's a huge backlog in terms
45:54of the NHS appointments.
45:55So, for instance, we have said that we would use money
45:58from taxing the oil and energy companies
46:00who've made huge profits from the war in Ukraine,
46:03and we would use that money in a very targeted sort of wealth tax
46:08to make sure that we could clear that backlog
46:10of GP and NHS appointments.
46:12So, we would use that money to pay for longer,
46:15longer opening hours, so evening appointments
46:17and also weekend appointments to make sure
46:20that they would be able to be seen.
46:22A similar approach for dentistry,
46:25but one of the things I also think we need to focus
46:27on is obviously training up our own health services workers
46:31here, so we do need that longer-term plan,
46:33but crucially at the moment, we need a short-term plan to deal
46:36with this massive backlog, and as I've said,
46:39we've got a fully funded policy.
46:40We've said how we would do it.
46:42We would incentivise people who are already in the NHS
46:45to by paying them more, by paying them over time.
46:48It's as simple as that, and then once we get that onto sort
46:52of a good footing, you know,
46:54we can look at doing more local things.
46:57So, one of the things I think we need to be doing is looking more
47:00at things like diagnostic centres like we have in my ward,
47:03so having people being able to go for things
47:05like cancer scans much closer to where they live rather
47:08than having to trek all the way across Medway to a hospital.
47:11I think local community care focused
47:14on preventative health is going to be the way forward
47:17in the long term.
47:18We've got about sort of 10 minutes
47:19until we have to wrap up, so I'm really keen
47:21to get a few more audience questions
47:22and a few more things rattled off.
47:24We're going to come to the next people
47:27who haven't yet answered this question.
47:29So, for the NHS, we have seen serious neglect of the NHS,
47:32and we all know the reason, you know,
47:34we can all see what that looks like now with difficult
47:37to access GPs, some people can't even get a dentist,
47:39hospital waiting lists, and so on.
47:42We don't think that that's by accident.
47:43We think that's political will and political choice,
47:46and that probably the reason for that is
47:50to pave the way for privatisation.
47:52We are totally against privatisation
47:53and marketisation of the NHS.
47:55Billions of pounds have already been given
47:56to private healthcare contracts, and we are totally against
47:59that and reverse any privatisation
48:01that has already existed.
48:02We would invest absolutely heavily in the NHS,
48:04and we would do that through a wealth tax.
48:07So, we would tax multimillionaires
48:09and billionaires a moderate amount of 1% or 2%
48:12so that those with the broader shoulders can pay more tax
48:15in order to restore our health service that is fit
48:17for everyone to use and free at the point of access.
48:20And we would also ensure a fair wage for all NHS staff.
48:26Sorry, yeah, we'd also support, yeah, a fair wage
48:31for all NHS staff, which would help with retention
48:34of those currently working in the health service.
48:36Okay.
48:36Can I just make one point on dentists,
48:38because that was raised after the initial question.
48:41I don't think Daniel's come in on this question.
48:43My question was how would you increase access
48:45to doctors and dentists?
48:47It was not what I was asked from over there.
48:49That's the question that I put to the candidates here.
48:51So, we'll have Daniel come in on this, and then very quickly,
48:54you can say what you want to say.
48:56But Daniel first.
48:57Okay. So, from a national perspective, obviously,
48:59we've got mass immigration,
49:01which means that we've had 2.4 million extra people come
49:03into the country in the last two years alone using the same,
49:07using the same services as the rest of us.
49:10So, obviously, we will have problems with our services.
49:14It's just obvious.
49:16Okay. So, what we need is smart immigration,
49:18not mass immigration, okay?
49:20If we continue to flood the country more people
49:23than we have physically available services,
49:25we won't have services.
49:26If you want services, you have to basically be sensible,
49:29and you have to control your borders,
49:30like the rest of the world does.
49:32Every country in Africa has secure borders for a reason.
49:34Yeah. It's pretty standard stuff.
49:37But on a local level, because obviously,
49:41what they do in government, I might not necessarily be able
49:44to control myself or our party after the election.
49:47But on a local level, the way
49:49to improve health services here is they want
49:51to build 28,500 new homes across Medway.
49:55This is the Medway local plan.
49:57And if they want to do that, well, then,
49:58they're going to have to build their infrastructure.
50:00And when I say they, as in the house builders,
50:03not the taxpayer, it needs to be the house building companies
50:06need to build the GPs, the dentists,
50:08the walk-in health centres.
50:10They need to provide the infrastructure,
50:12not just for the new-build properties and new people,
50:15but for the whole community who's already suffering.
50:18We've had lots of new-build estates go
50:20up all over the constituency.
50:21I don't see the new GP.
50:23I don't see the new dentist.
50:25And I don't see the health centres.
50:26It's not there.
50:27And that's it.
50:28They need to pay for it.
50:30That's how I'd fund it.
50:31Okay. Exactly.
50:33Sorry, sir?
50:33How can that be the immigrants' fault?
50:37How can that be what?
50:38How is that the immigrants' fault
50:39that our politicians have chosen not
50:41to build the vital services that are needed?
50:43Do you think it's two things?
50:46First of all, why did you think,
50:49though I said it was the immigrants' fault,
50:50do you think if someone comes here to settle?
50:52No, sorry, I'm not answering your question.
50:55So you think if someone comes here to settle,
50:57I'm blaming them for the problems with our services,
50:59which are run by the government?
51:01Is that what you're saying?
51:02Yes. I listened to my answer,
51:04and I was careful as to how I said it.
51:06It's sensible.
51:07If you bring large numbers of people in to an existing,
51:09to a country, do you think, do you think, do you think,
51:16can you, do you think there's a building company in the world
51:19that can build the GPs, doctors, the hospitals,
51:22for 2.4 million people in two years
51:24to keep up with that flow of people?
51:26Who's responsible for that?
51:27Well, there you go.
51:27Who's responsible for that? Our politicians?
51:29It's not the, yeah, the politicians, the government.
51:31That's why I'm standing here.
51:32Yeah, the government. Yeah, exactly.
51:34Yeah, you're right, the government.
51:35Yeah, exactly.
51:37Did you not know international law?
51:38No, wait, wait, wait, wait. Let's keep it.
51:40Okay. Everybody?
51:42So answer, sorry, sir, to answer your question,
51:45excuse me, Daniel, can you please sit back down?
51:47Right, I'm really keen to...
51:49I was just going to make that one point,
51:52which I can do in 30 seconds.
51:53I'm really keen to keep your questions answered.
51:56We don't need to ask more questions about that.
51:57Let's answer these lovely people's questions.
52:00Graham, we'll come in very quickly on this last point,
52:03and then we're moving on.
52:04Where there is a shortage of GPs,
52:06there are enough dentists.
52:08It's just that they're not paid correctly by the NHS,
52:11and we need to alter the contract.
52:13So they're paid, so they will do national health service work,
52:18and all the people who need dentistry,
52:20children, all those who can't afford it
52:22can get their dental treatment.
52:23I agree. Okay.
52:26Can I come in on some of this,
52:27some of the answers that we just had there?
52:29Around, I mean, just around the housing issue, very quickly,
52:33but around the house, there are developer contributions.
52:35They're called Section 106 developer contributions
52:38for when houses are built.
52:39The problem is they don't go far enough.
52:41So one of my pledges is absolutely to make sure
52:43that where we are building any new housing in Medway,
52:46we get the infrastructure,
52:47because we don't want to be just building housing.
52:49We want to be building communities,
52:50and that does mean having decent roads,
52:52and it means having proper primary schools and GPs,
52:57as others have said.
52:58I don't think that you can blame the problems
53:01that we are having with the NHS at the moment on immigration.
53:04This is a conservative failure to invest in people,
53:08in technology, in health services.
53:11And that is where the blame lies,
53:14and that's why we can't face another five years
53:16of the Conservatives, because they have caused the problems,
53:19and they can't be part of the solution.
53:20We are running very short on time.
53:22We have five minutes, so I really do implore you
53:24to all answer this next question as short as you can,
53:27so all be courteous to each other
53:30and answer this one nice and short.
53:31We have one more audience question.
53:33Gabriel's there now.
53:34Yeah, one more question from the audience.
53:36I know we're short on time. What is your question?
53:38Hi, Daniel, you mentioned about the state of the country
53:41and lying politicians.
53:43I was just wondering if you agreed with Farage
53:45that Brexit has been a failure?
53:48Nigel Farage did not say it was a failure.
53:50He said that basically the opportunity that the party had,
53:53they failed to implement it.
53:55What you listen to, in effect, is propaganda from mainstream...
53:58On LBC, Brexit has been a disaster.
54:00Yes, LBC, yeah.
54:02Mainstream media, propaganda.
54:04They take something, and they don't put it in any context.
54:07He had his own show on LBC.
54:09Yeah. Did you listen to it?
54:11And you misheard it?
54:13He was very clear in what he said.
54:14I got one word in wrong, but I'm sure everyone here knew.
54:18No, no, sorry.
54:19The mainstream media, Farage worked for them.
54:22So is he part of the mainstream media?
54:25I'm just curious. I'm not trying to...
54:26No, he's not, though, is he?
54:28He's not mainstream media, is he?
54:29He doesn't tell you all the time.
54:31OK, that's a separate thing anyway.
54:32So what you're saying is, Nigel Farage, you believe that he is...
54:35No, no, I don't believe, I'm just asking for your view,
54:37whether you agree with him on it.
54:39Yeah, and I'm confirming with you,
54:40do you believe Nigel Farage has said that Brexit was a failure?
54:42Has failed. Brexit has failed.
54:44No, I would say to you, in his defence,
54:46as, basically, I'd imagine anyone who's listened to Nigel Farage
54:49made very clear, the only failure is by government
54:52to actually implement it correctly and fulfil it.
54:56That's it.
54:57Let's open this up to the floor.
54:59Brexit. Let's go to the other candidates.
55:01Right, let's move on.
55:04We're going to widen this up to the other candidates now,
55:07because it is about all the candidates and for Rochester and Stroud.
55:10So we're just going to quickly open it up.
55:13Would you answer the same question?
55:14Do you think that Brexit was a failure?
55:16Let's go through.
55:16And I do urge you, please keep this short as you can.
55:19As a Liberal Democrat, we are the party of Europe.
55:22We continue to be the party of Europe.
55:25Insofar as whether Brexit has been a failure or not,
55:30I think you only need to look at other European countries.
55:33Out of all the other members of the EU, who agree with us?
55:36Not one.
55:37And other countries like Ukraine and Georgia are wanting to join.
55:50Brexit has been very divisive.
55:52We're not going to rejoin the EU in the near future.
55:56But they are our neighbours,
55:58and we should be as close to them as possible
56:01and build on what we had before,
56:04so that we do work to rejoin the single market.
56:07OK.
56:10We are going to work our way.
56:12We'll come to Lauren.
56:12If you answer the same question, then we'll come to you, Kat.
56:16So the supposedly oven-ready Brexit deal that we got from Boris Johnson
56:20was clearly anything but.
56:22People are not feeling any benefits from Brexit.
56:24People are feeling much, much worse off.
56:26And that's a common view that I hear from people who voted to remain
56:30and ones who voted also to get out as well.
56:34So I think that oven-ready deal has completely failed.
56:37I respect the referendum results.
56:39I absolutely respect it.
56:41So we need to operate, you know, in light of that.
56:45And I think one of the things that we need to do
56:47is reset our relationship with EU
56:49in recognition that they are our largest geographical neighbour.
56:54They are a massive trading partner.
56:56The conservative approach at the moment
56:58has been to go around and do all these sort of small trade deals
57:01with these Pacific islands on the other side of the world.
57:04And that is never going to drive the economic growth.
57:07That is never going to create the jobs that we need in this country
57:11to give people a really strong future.
57:14So that is the Labour position.
57:16We respect the referendum result,
57:17but we foster a much stronger relationship with the EU,
57:21particularly in terms of trading and the economy and business,
57:25because a lot of businesses that I speak to are really suffering
57:28because of Brexit.
57:29And we have to make sure that we are driving economic growth
57:32and we are creating good jobs in this country for people.
57:34And they can.
57:35APPLAUSE
57:36Lastly, we'll come to you on that one.
57:39Well, I mean, I think the stats show that we've probably lost
57:41about £140 billion this country since Brexit.
57:45So, and we've had staff shortages of 330,000 people
57:49in our low-skilled economy.
57:52A lot of people voted for Brexit
57:53because they wanted to take back control of our borders.
57:56But actually what we've seen since Brexit
57:57is the travesty of the small boats,
58:00which didn't happen before Brexit
58:01because we had a station over in France.
58:05So collaboration with our European partners
58:09to address some of the big issues of our time
58:11is absolutely important and crucial.
58:14We've taken away opportunities for our young people
58:16to go and study and live and work freely.
58:19And I find that really depressing.
58:21So I find it really hard to find any positives out of Brexit,
58:25to be honest.
58:27In terms of the climate,
58:28we had trading partners who are our neighbours.
58:31Why would we want to be trading with people
58:34halfway across the world
58:35when we could trade with people who are right next door to us,
58:37reducing our carbon emissions?
58:39So the Green Party stance
58:41is that we want to work as closely as we can with Europe.
58:43And when the time is right, we would like to join the EU.
58:45And I'm very proud to say that.
58:46OK.
58:47APPLAUSE
58:48Well, that is all we've got time for.
58:51I imagine we're not having...
58:53Unfortunately, we've got no more time for that.
58:55We could talk for hours about Rochester and Stroud, I'm sure.
58:57We want to deal with them well. We want to trade with them well.
58:59We don't want to be stuck to the EU.
59:01Daniel, let's finish that there.
59:03Everybody's had their part to speak.
59:06APPLAUSE
59:08We'd like to thank the audience for all your lovely questions
59:10and for being here as well.
59:11We hope you got some answers.
59:13As I said, we could talk for hours about Rochester and Stroud,
59:15but we have two more constituencies to go to yet.
59:19We'll be back after this very short break.
59:21We'll see you soon.
59:22Thank you.
59:23APPLAUSE
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