Orpington election 2019: candidates questioned on policy

Read on to see how candidates in Orpington responded:

Orpington - Conservative - Majority 19,453​

Conservative - Gareth Bacon

Quick blurb: Who are you and what is your connection to the constituency? 

I was raised in Sidcup, just outside the constituency and still live there with my wife and daughter.

I took one of my A levels at Orpington College and for the past four years I have represented Orpington at City Hall as part of my Bromley & Bexley GLA constituency.

Brexit – How will voting for you guarantee the best resolution to the Brexit impasse? 

A Conservative majority government will ensure that the Withdrawal Act is passed by Parliament and we will leave the European Union on 31st January.

NHS – What will you do to ensure residents in your constituency have the best access to healthcare possible? 

I will support the government’s programme to increase NHS funding by £33.9 billion by 2023-24, including a £6.2 billion increase in the present financial year.

I will support the propose NHS expansion, including a record level of funding for mental health.

Environment – Does your position on the climate crisis take the issue with the seriousness it deserves? How?   

Yes. I am supportive both of the significant steps this country has taken since 1990 (which have reduced our emissions to around 1% of global emissions) and of the government’s proposed future programme.

This country has cut harmful emissions faster than any other major economy, and is legislating to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 – making us the first major economy in the world to do so.

Economy – One in five British workers live in poverty. What would you do to ensure working people in your constituency have a better standard of living? 

It is vitally important that we keep our economy strong and growing – a growing economy is the path to prosperity for all.

In recent years, we have seen rapidly rising employment and wages and in the post-Brexit era we will need to make our economy more nimble, with lower taxes, better infrastructure and free trade deals around the world to increase opportunities here at home.

In addition, I will vote for the increase of the Living Wage to a historic high of £10.50 an hour.

Crime – What is the best approach to dealing with crime in your constituency?

We are very fortunate that crime is comparatively low in Orpington, but fear of crime remains and there is absolutely no room for complacency. We need more police officers in the borough and in Orpington specifically.

I will be pushing for the creation of a town centre team and for a strengthening of community policing across the constituency. 

Labour - Simon Jeal

Blurb

I’m a Councillor in Bromley (representing Penge, where I live) work in Compliance in investment management and volunteer as a trustee of Bromley Relief in Need (a charity that supports those in poverty around the borough), a team leader for Bromley Homeless Shelter and a tutor for disadvantaged young people.

Brexit

The Conservatives have had three years to get Brexit sorted- they’ve failed- Boris’ deal is basically the same as Theresa May’s, which he voted against!

I don’t see how he can possibly get a good trade deal the EU will agree to in nine months. Labour would give people the final say, with a public vote to decide how we move on.

NHS

We’d reverse the cuts the NHS has suffered under the current government with a £26 billion rescue plan.

This would help solve the staffing shortage, improve patient care and protect the future of our health services- paid for by asking the richest to pay a little more tax.

Environment

Yes- there is a climate emergency and urgent action is required to prevent irreversible harm to our planet. Labour’s Green New Deal aims to get us as close to zero emissions by 2030 as possible, while also creating jobs, reducing energy bills and nature restoration.

Economy

Universal Credit has pushed thousands of working people into poverty. Families are losing their homes and parents forced to use food banks to feed their children.

We’ll end this cruelty and the hostile environment disabled people and single parents face from this Government, introduce a minimum wage of £10 an hour and bring down the cost of housing to rent and buy.

Crime

Getting thousands of police officers the Conservative’s cuts took away back onto our streets is a start- but we also need to deal with the long term causes of crime including; rebuilding youth services for young people, properly funded treatment for drug/alcohol addiction and effective ‘community justice’ rehabilitation schemes for first time offenders.

Green Party - Karen Wheller

Blurb

I’m Karen Wheller, I’ve lived in Orpington since 1994, and most of my direct family have been based in Orpington since the 1950s. I worked at Beaver Water World zoo in Tatsfield for eleven years, rescuing exotic animals locally, and now work in a primary school in the Cray Valley.

Brexit

The Green Party believes that we should hold a final say, legally binding vote on the final Brexit deal offered, with remain an option on the ballot paper. I would personally campaign to remain in the EU, with a look to reforming it into a federalist structure.

NHS

The Green Party has committed to investing a further £6bn in the NHS.

We feel that a more holistic approach should be taken with regard to treating the root causes of ill health in our population and will invest in schemes to encourage and improve the general health of our people, for example by bringing in a Clean Air act to reduce the number of pollution-related illnesses.

We would also ensure the mental health services are on parity with physical health as they are not mutually exclusive of each other.

Environment

We believe climate change is the biggest issue facing our people – after all, if there’s no environment, where will that leave us?

We will invest £100bn in a 10-year plan, which would transform our economy to one where we reduce our net carbon emissions to zero by 2030 and create millions of jobs in industries working to create new, environmentally friendly technology.

We would also strengthen the legal protections of our natural environment by bringing in an Environmental Protection Commission to oversee our governance.

Economy

I would like to work towards introducing schemes such as rent capping which will help with the crippling cost of renting within our borough.

We will also introduce a universal basic income as part of our Green New Deal, in order to offset the cost of increased automation in our economy.

We will also introduce a minimum wage of £10/hr, regardless of age brackets, and a living wage of £12/hr. By renationalising infrastructure such as water, gas, electricity and the railways we will insure profit is reinvested into these in order to bring part of the cost of living down.

Crime

We feel the best way to reduce the incidence of crime is to look at what the root causes are, and work towards solving those.

We would bring in more community based policing and reverse cuts made already.

We would look at evidence based interventions to reduce crime, such as re-opening youth services which have been closed as well as bringing in better methods for rehabilitation of offenders.

The Liberal Democrat candidate was contacted but did not respond.