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In the firing line
Reporter: DAWN MARSDEN
Date online: 07 January 2011
Candidates clash at Chronicle Question Time
TENSIONS ran high as voters were given the chance to grill election candidates a week before going to the polls.
Labour’s Debbie Abrahams, Liberal Democrat Elwyn Watkins and Conservative Kashif Ali drew a near-capacity crowd of well over 100 at Denshaw Village Hall for the Chronicle’s first ever Question Time — chaired by Chronicle editor David Whaley ahead of Thursday’s by-election.
The contest, which will secure a new MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, was called when Labour’s Phil Woolas was ousted from power after High Court judges decided material he distributed in the run up to May’s General Election personally attacked Mr Watkins.
The trio delivered opening statements outlining their key messages before taking questions from the floor.
Tuition fees caused the biggest controversy with audience members challenging Mr Watkins to explain his U-turn on a pre-election promise to abolish fees before offering his support for fellow party members when they voted in favour of an increase.
Mr Watkins said: “Students will not have to pay anything up front and will pay the money back when they earn over a certain amount. Someone earning £30,000 a year would pay back £60 a month. Some people will never have to pay back a penny. We have to make savings somewhere.”
Mr Ali added: “Labour introduced tuition fees when times were not as tough. There are cuts being made to the Higher Education budget and it was widely accepted before the election that tuition fees would be raised. We need to be adult and realistic about this.”
Mrs Abrahams said: “This is another broken promise from the coalition. I have spoken to families with young people that have had to rethink their plans as they can no longer afford to go to university and be weighed down with that level of debt. We want to implement a graduate tax that would be based on ability to pay.
“The rise in fees will affect the poorest members of society and will affect social mobility.”
Police cuts were also a hot topic with all three candidates agreeing that there needs to be more police on the streets.
Mrs Abrahams said: “The coalition promised to increase the number of bobbies on the beat but in reality they made cuts.
“We had started to see a reduction in crime under Labour thanks to key investments made and now there is a real danger because of a reduction in the number of officers.”
Mr Ali said: “Under Labour, only 11 per cent of an officer’s time was spent on the beat. The rest was spent doing paperwork and trying to hit targets. Yes we have made cuts but this has mostly been to backroom staff, not frontline officers. We want to see officers on the streets, getting to know the area and being accountable.”
Mr Watkins said: “We have always known there were far too many people in the back office. From next year, there will be more police officers on the beat.”
The trio were in agreement that, if elected, they would fight for money to make improvements to Saddleworth School as promised in the Building Schools for the Future programme.
Mr Watkins and Mr Ali accused Labour of promising funds for BSF that were never really there in a bid to win votes while Mrs Abrahams said the scrapping of plans to improve Saddleworth School was denying local youngsters opportunities.
The candidates agreed that they would put the needs of constituents before Westminster if elected.
Comments
"The candidates agreed that they would put the needs of constituents before Westminster if elected"
I can GUARANTEE that when one of these three is elected (as they will be) that party loyalty will outweigh local loyalty EVERY TIME.
Yet another meaningless promise. Why can't they admit the truth, at least we could admire that honesty.
Just last week Watkins turned up at my parents door in Springhead and said if he was an MP he would have voted AGAINST the rise in tuition fees!!He said it would have been wrong for him to do so as he had benefited from a free University education!! To be fair Labour are no better.They take Oldhamers for granted and have yet to have the decency to apologise unreservedly for their behaviour. So come on then Mrs Abrahams; show Oldhamers you will put them first and issue an unreserved apology!
Labour talking out of their backside as per usual. They will not be getting my vote. Half the Labour MPs voted for the rise in tuition fees as well and I notice this hasn't been mentioned. Things have to be done to get the country out of the mess that Labour have left the country in, it's just unfortunate that the new government are getting a bad reputation for having to sort it out. Labour need to start being more realistic!
Stephy, where have you got the idea from that half of the Labour MP's voted for the tuition fee increase? Absolute and total nonsense? None of them did.
It's interesting that Watkins has allegedly said (El Chila comment) he would have voted against the increase, yet in this article defends it! How is that putting people before Party?
People need to take a LONG, HARD, LOOK at the LibDem candidate and think VERY HARD about what he says, as well as his Party!
Isn't it sad that in a constituency as large as Oldham East & Saddleworth, there isn't enough interest to fill a small village hall to capacity? We know that Denshaw is an isolated place and perhaps if this had been held elsewhere there would have been more interest.
Or maybe people are just so hacked off with the three main parties they can't be bothered?
Why werent all the candidates invited? id like to have heard the BNP UKIP and English Democrat opinions.The 3 main parties have failed the people and its time other partys were given space to say their views.
Mine is a biased view, as I didn't have a university education, and I have no children, but as this education has to be paid for somehow, isn't it right that students should contribute? I totally agree that the promise not to raise fees shouldn't have been made if it was to be immediately broken. But if Elwyn is to be believed, students don't repay until 1. they have a job and 2. they are earning a decent wage. Getting number 1. is tough enough nowadays, then wages round here are usually low.
To be honest, I have lost faith that any of the main parties are fit for purpose. The Labour party passed more legislation than any other party ever did during their term of office - no wonder the back office had to be expanded to cope with all the extra admin, target-driven and paperwork that resulted. Reducing support staff raises issues on who is now going to do the work they did - well the front-line staff obviously. Lib-Dem - politically naive as we've seen. Tories - same as Lib-Dems.
No matter what, I just wish they'd all stop knocking on my door and begging for my vote. They didn't canvass this hard before. Desperate times call for desperate measures me thinks.
@oldboy..the tuition fee thing is a total red herring being used by labour. labour brought them in and set a maximum of £6,000. Not one protest from the NUS happened, not a peep from the anarchist rabble, not one back bench Labour rebellion.
The Tories plan an increase to a maximum of £9,000 under exceptional circumstances and they become the Devil's spawn? Typical old hat, outdated class war stuff trotted out by the left, when it was they who made the biggets change.
Debbie Abrahams talks about fairness. Let's hear her unreservedly denounce Woolas, Chaytor and the other corrupt labour politicians for being the liars, cheats and thieves they were. It's only fair isn't it?
I agree with flake, all the candidates should have had an invite to take part because whether any of the so-called three main parties like it the others will take votes, it is called democracy. Blair now a multi-millionaire and Gordon Brown...a supposed financial genius sold off our gold reserves for $270 an ounce, it is now $1650. The 3 main parties are liars, they have all renaged on their promises. Was gonna vote UKIP but Farage swilling beer in a pub put me off, BNP tell it as it is, Adams x
Went to a supposed 'meet the candidates' bash in Delph yesterday afternoon, it should have been called SOME OF THE CANDIDATES. I have had it with the three main parties, wanted to hear what UKIP and BNP had to say. The BNP man was not allowed a place despite his party beating both the UKIP and Green's last time round! I left soon after along with other disgusted locals. Also, why were questions being taken only on paper, worried what might be asked? Democracy was killed stone dead, shame on them
I wouldn't expect anything less from you ProDriver than to get your facts wrong.
Labour introduced tuition fee's: fact; but it was £3k, and some of the backbench MP's DID oppose this move. What you didn't have was those same Labour MP's going on to a university campus signing pledges against ANY increase in order to secure the student vote, and in some cases, Norwich being one, securing that seat.
Why should Abrahams apologise for something that another allegedly did. She wasn't involved.
dailyrant, there are many things that our taxes pay for that people don't use.
Why should people pay for education if they don't have children, if they don't use libraries, if they don't visit art galleries or use public transport. The list, I'm sure, could go on.
Like you, I didn't have a university education, but, to name the obvious ones, my doctor did, and I benefit from that, as did my dentist and optician.
@prodriver
To begin with, those things you say didn't happen actually did, and if we're talking about selective protesting where were the farmers and truckers with a go slow on the m6 when gidean Osborne added 3.5p to petrol?
OldBoy I totally agree with what you are saying. I didn't mean that I objected to paying taxes towards student fees, just because I didn't have a university education - that was down to my choice and my family circs. I just feel that students perhaps should contribute directly, but only when they are earning enough to do so. Now if we talk about my taxes going towards benefits, that's a different story....
I was at this meeting, I went to hear what all three candidates had to say. I was surprised that Mr Watkins didn't even wear his party colours on the evening and also he banged on about how his integrity was proven by law and then proceeded to take pot shots at both the others but Mrs Abrahams in particular. I listened very carefully to the questions and answers and heard very few real answers given. The past is done and I do think we should all be looking forward at whats best for Oldham.
The Blue bins in Oldham will be super full this week. The political junk mail is incredible. Sadly not so much said about what they have done/will do - more focused on knocking the opposition. Really concerned by the level of interruption from one candidate yesterday during the politics show on the beeb - so rude, despite the fixed inane grin.
Did anyone see her on the politics show on Sunday? She couldn't answer one question! You say she talks about fairness but her ideas are really unrealistic at this moment in time. Labour spend and borrow too much money and the Conservatives are getting a bad name for trying to pay back their debt. Also, I am a student and the raise in fees doesn't bother me, they have a realistic plan on how the money is to be paid back and yes, we should pay for our education as the country isn't made of money!
Have Your Say
hold on there with the saddleworth school issue!
the school may need some improvements. yes because the place has been a little neglected in recent years.
but saddleworth certainly doesnt need a brand new school like the one proposed for the old shaws pallet works in diggle.
that was just one massive waste of money which luckily has gone away when labour did.
the are much worse schools in the area and in the coutry that deserve this sort of proposal!
but not saddleworth.
By fedupoldhamer @ 07/01/2011 17:23:49