The following is a plan of the policies I hope the public will support and adopt as I have based them on the people of Gravesham and the opinions they have been expressing (informally) over the last few years. Statistical analysis and research is all very good, but we need to include the voice of the people too when creating policies that affect our future.

There are three principles I have based my policies on...

·        Intervention and prevention

We all know that prevention is better than cure and avoiding the ‘problem’ in the first place is better than trying to fix it at a later date.

·        Bottom up input, not top down dictation

Policies that affect Gravesham should reflect the desires of those living here. Policy input should be from the ordinary citizens as well as the experts and academics.

·        Integration of all systems

Gravesham’s systems (eg, the council, the NHS, education etc) are somehow all linked. Policies should not be created without consideration of other areas in society.

The policies in brief ...

·        Education:

We need to not only focus on academic ability but also common sense, life skills and basic knowledge. I propose better, more thorough and earlier sex education and basic life skills that teenagers can use in adulthood.

We also need to stop focusing solely on getting children to university, but on vocational courses and apprenticeships.

·        Crime:

There needs to be a crackdown on mindless crimes, such as vandalism and anti social behaviour. We all want Gravesham to be a safer place, one where we can all live together harmoniously.

·        Council:

Basic fundamental responsibilities need to be kept on top of and ensured they are working efficiently, such as filing in pot holes and gritting the roads during winter.

Furthermore, we need some long term thinking regarding housing - obviously there is a need for 1-2 bedroom flats, but we also need to think about the future and groing families, therefore the need for family houses.

·        Green:

We are all aware of the issue of our carbon footprint and being more environmentally friendly, if anything, for our children’s futures sake. We need to make sure everyone is doing there bit, look into ways of improving our recycling and energy efficiency and encouraging the surrounding big businesses to take responsibility so that they do not negatively impact on our town, villages and countryside.

As MP, I will put pressure on the Government (what ever party they are) to continue to look into renewable energy resources.

·        Health:

The government has pumped £10billion into the problem of obesity in children yet 10 years on, reports show that nothing has improved! We need to get to the start of the issue, BEFORE it becomes a problem – we need to encourage and educate children at an early age about the benefits of healthy eating and how to do it, and through them, teach their parents.

• Immigration:

As a country, we have no tight border controls and as a result we have no idea who is coming into the country or who is leaving. This is an issue the Government needs to address and currently is not paying enough attention to.   

 

 

Make an input

 We must appreciate that times are constantly changing and thus we must be flexible with the policies we set out. Thus, I am encouraging the residents of Gravesham to have an input into the drafting of the policies. Please contact me with your input and ideas!

In more detail....

 

 

Education

 

What Basics education

Why Whilst academic education is very important for our children, we often neglect the basic skills and life education that could help our children develop into mature young adults. Schools are often too concerned about the league tables and exam results due to government pressures and thus forget the importance of other factors in our children’s education and the importance of issues such as basic common sense and morals.

How I believe that many children and their families would benefit from lessons in basic skills. For example, basic first aid, how the tax system works, how to tax and insure your car, how mortgages rates work and what things like APR and interest rates are, how to write a decent CV etc. It’s important knowing the formula for the circumference of a circle and the king and queens of England in the 16th Century, but what about the information and skills you can take away with you and develop on in your adult life? A lot of 6th formers have compulsory ‘general studies’ A level lessons an hour a week. We should look into scrapping this as a lot of universities do not regard this as a ‘real’ A level and use that hour a week for the proposed ‘basic skill’ lessons. Furthermore, this policy would be of no extra cost to the tax payer or to the school budget, as the provisions (such as the teaching power and timetable allocation) are already in place, it only requires an adjustment to the curriculum.

Cost and implementation 6th forms and colleges already include an hour a week or so for general studies A level. Therefore there is already a space for ‘basics education’ if general studies were scrapped. Plus the teaching resources and materials are already there too. This would not even make a great deal of difference wither to A levels and UCAS points for university as many universities do not even accept the A level. All that is needed for its implementation is to find out what useful ‘life knowledge’ our teenagers would appreciate, and doing the best to provide that from the teachers.

Crime

What Crack down on mindless crimes

Why Crime is an issue in all political matters in all areas, not just in Gravesham. With a father in the Metropolitan Police, I have a particularly good understanding of crime and how to deal with it. Everyone wants to live in a town that is safer, where they can confidently walk home from the pub late at night, know their belongings are safe, sit at a non-vandalised bus stop etc. The key here is to be proactive rather than reactive. Rather than waiting for the crimes to happen, then issuing a punishment (which to be honest is never much of a deterrent nowadays)  we need to prevent them from happening in the first place

How We should find out what the reasons behind the crimes taking place are. I am not talking excuses here, but if we can find out the ‘why they did it’ then we have a better chance of showing them the negatives consequences of their actions and stop them from doing it all together. For example, a youth vandalises a bus stop. Why? 1.      Were they bored? Ok, then we’ll find something more constructive for them to do with their time – youth groups, sports, creative outlets etc. 2.      Because they know that they won’t get caught? Then we’ll put out more patrolling police officers and PCSOs with decent training. 3.      Did they not comprehend what they were doing as wrong? Then clearly better ‘morale’ education and guidance is needed from schools and parents at a younger age. And if these systems fall short in deterring crime then we need to properly punish them to dissuade them from doing it again. Prison is a place for punishment and rehabilitation to change and amend one’s errors. Currently it all seems bit of a ‘doss’ what with their sky TV, play stations etc. Prisons should be basic with no form of luxuries! If this were the case then maybe people would be a little bit more scared of the consequences of their actions. Plus the extra money saved could be spent on better areas such as the NHS and the local councils which would benefit the law abiding, taxpaying citizens! However, I will admit that I do not know all the answers to questions such as ‘why do people carry out such mindless crimes’ and ‘what would really deter them’. In order to answer these questions properly, we need to talk to those that are directly related to the issue, ie, the police and the convicted. The pen pushers in government that make the rules affecting our criminal justice system have no comprehension of what is really happening on the streets or what is going on in the criminals’ minds. How can they, they are worlds apart from them. This is why when brainstorming potential policies and laws that govern and protect us, we need to talk to all those affected – think tanks need to be made up of criminal experts and senior police executives, but also the police officers that patrol the streets of Gravesham, those who have been victims of crime and those who committed them. It only then we can understand the who, what, why and how and implement policies that will actually work and benefit all.

Cost and implementation There would be a small cost due to the employment of someone to discuss matters with the think tanks, plus the cost of schemes in place to help offenders reach their potential and realising their errors.  However with the strategy that prevention is better than cure, the cost to society should decline if we could prevent some crimes happening in the first place. For example, by spending a bit in the first place deterring lawbreakers (eg vandalising bus stops) then money would be saved in the long run for the tax payers (eg by the council by avoiding the cost of repairs)

 

Council

What Road maintenance

Why The current state of the roads is ridiculous for a developed country as well as being dangerous for all – accidents are being caused by bikes falling in pot holes and cars swerving to avoid them for example. Road maintenance is one of the basic and fundamental foundations in society. We deserve for them to be of a good standard. Short term vision of the government means that the road construction and repairs are contracted to the cheapest price, therefore saving on quality and long term duration, thus as a result, the long term consequence is more cost (due to repairs now being needed and public seeking compensation from the council), more road works and accidents (which affect the NHS)

How This would not be a hard task to achieve. We already have a decent council in place and the means to fix the pot holes in the road. It is simply a matter of doing it before it gets any worse and before more accidents occur.

Cost and implementation There would be no great cost to the tax payer as the council already has provisions in place for maintaining roads. It may appear that initially a large percentage of the council’s budget is required for decent road repairs but this is a long term strategy. Money, time and effort will be saved in the future as less road maintenance will be needed due to the long lasting nature of the work, and the unnecessary payouts and legal hassles, and the avoidable cost to the NHS due to accidents.

Green

What Pressure on big businesses, not just households to be more environmentally friendly

Why Households only contribute to 10% of the nation’s waste, with big businesses being the main culprits. Yet the government puts a lot of pressure on the ordinary person to be greener, fining us for putting rubbish in the wrong bins etc. I feel government could be doing more to help us, for example, the town hall (Woodville Halls) never seems to have refuse bags. Whilst I am not suggesting at all that the ordinary public should not do their bit to help with the reuse, recycle, reduce development, I am putting across the fact that government should be putting more pressure on the big businesses as well as the public. I understand that this may be difficult at first for smaller, independent companies, which is why we need to look at the major MNCs first. When I worked at a large department store at Bluewater, I was amazed to see how much waste they produced and the minimal attempt they made at striving to be more environmentally friendly. ‘Unsellable’ goods with the slightest mark or chip were thrown away (when they could have been donated to charity or sold cheaply to staff), paper was not kept for scrap, packaging was over the top and not recycled (and think how much packaging they got through each day!) etc

How There are many ways that big businesses could recycle, reuse and reduce, especially as they have the space and provisions to do so more than the average household. ·        Reduce – packaging on products is often much bigger than required, by even slightly reducing this, a lot of resources (and money for the company!) can be saved. ·        Recycle – they have the space for separate bins (glass, cardboard, plastic) etc therefore should make more effort in recycling ·        Reuse   - just because something is not sellable to the paying public, it does not mean a charity or a member of staff would not appreciate it. Damaged goods should not automatically be written off and binned. There may be alternative uses. ·        Reuse – old food is perfect for composting. Big restaurant chains need to look into reusing their waste food, investing in ‘worm bins’ to produce organic compost (which, as an incentive for them, they could sell) ·        Car sharing -  as an example, think how many hundreds of people work at the 3 major department stores in Bluewater and how many of them work on the same shift. Big businesses should look into car sharing schemes, so that the petrol consumption is shared and therefore the carbon footprint reduced! (these ‘hows’ are not comprehensive there are many more examples that we can work on)

Cost and implementation The cost here is focused on the big businesses and shopping centres rather than the ordinary tax payer or small business. Big businesses that can afford it should be pressured into being greener especially as they are causing more environmental damage than the average household. The cost to the business would depend on factors such as the size of their establishment, how much waste they produced, their carbon footprint and how well their provisions for recycling already are.

Health

What Better health awareness in schools.

Why We need to encourage our children from an early age the importance of health and fitness, how to prevent such illnesses and the benefits of following this. Unfortunately a lot of us are aware that this should be the parents’ responsibility but we also must realise that we cannot punish the children for the parents’ mistake and misunderstanding. It is often the case that parents are not neglecting their children, they just don’t understand the consequences and benefits of a healthy lifestyle. We need to break the cycle and start teaching the younger generations about the importance of health and how good physical condition can prevent cost and problems in future, for individuals and society. As a country we have a problem with many health related issues, where most of these illnesses can be prevented earlier on in life with a simple plan of exercise and a balanced diet. For example, ·        Type II diabetes ·        Obesity ·        Osteoporosis ·        Heart Disease If children understand from an early age, and grow up understanding the importance of health, then a lot of these problems and costs for the NHS can be reduced, thus saving money and resources for other sectors, especially in areas where they are unfortunate, accidental and could not have been prevented. Moreover, 1 in 5 of our children are not just overweight, but clinically OBESE! This shocking and serious issue only highlights the importance of informing our kids (and their parents) of the necessity of healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle. On the other scale, eating disorders are on the increase which is just as dangerous and costly to the nation. Parents are increasingly busy and as a result we have moved to a diet of junk food and convenience microwave meals. Whilst they may have the good intentions of providing a substantially satisfying healthy meal for their family, it is often easier said than done, and that is when the takeaway becomes tempting!  The benefits of a healthy lifestyle are unlimited. A few examples include... ·        less days will be lost at the workplace due to sickness and stress, benefitting our economy. (approx $13bn a year is lost) ·        money would be saved on the NHS due to less people being admitted to hospital or taking medication due to the potential illnesses now being prevented. ·        Healthy diet = a healthy mind, we must not neglect our mental health too. This would help people to avoid mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression and stress.

How 1.      Regular lessons in how to live a healthy and active life 2.      Nutrition education, as a lot of people are unaware of the fat, salt, sugar content of the food they eat. 3.      Regular sport at school and access to activities 4.      Cooking lessons at schools to be amended. Scrap the futile recipes currently being taught, such as jam tarts and bread rolls, in favour of quick, healthy, cheap meals that they can take home to their family and use when they are older, such as chicken stirfries and spaghetti bolognaise.

Cost and implementation The implementation to this policy should not cost the schools or the tax payer any more than at the present. Schools already have the kitchens and equipment in place for home economics, therefore it would only require an adjustment to the teaching syllabus to swap unhealthy, timely recipes for nutritious and quick ones. Parents already have to buy the ingredients for their children for cooking lessons, and as the focus is on cheap yet healthy eating, they would not be expected to buy ingredients out of their price range. During these cooking lessons, nutritional information and health education can be included therefore not taking up any more school budget or teaching time. Many schools offer after school sporting clubs however for the ones that do not, it would be worthwhile looking into the possibility of a scheme were children such schools can attend the clubs of neighbouring schools. Regular lessons in health education would require a school to schedule lessons in somehow, with every school differing in how they would do this, for example, in morning assemblies, one off talks from professionals, or incorporated into compulsory lessons. There would be no demanded extra staff costs as existing staff have the ability to teach such lessons.

 

 

Immigration

In a wealthy and advanced country like ours, you would expect Great Britain to have the effective security and border controls. If we look at other countries such as Thailand and Australia they have the right systems in place to know who exactly is entering and leaving the country. If you over stay your visa in Thailand you will be expected to pay $25 a day.

I welcome immigration and those who can offer something to the country, are willing to work hard and contribute to the economy and society. My mother came to Gravesend 30 years ago, and since then has contributed a massive amount to society and the economy of Gravesham and the rest of the country.

What – Better border controls, keeping track of who enters and leaves the country

Why This is a concern for a lot of people, not just in Gravesham and the major parties are failing to face this issue in the fear of being branded a racist. However, it is not a matter of race and religion but of respect and responsibility. I believe there needs to be respect of this country and its people, and the responsibility of each individual to look after themselves and their assets and the environment, and this applies to both those who are British born or those new to the country. Like most people, I do not appreciate anyone who commits crimes, spoils our culture and society or  does not contribute to the economy.

How We should be looking to other countries to see how they balance their welcoming of immigration with not overworking their limited resources. By looking at other countries we can often learn a great deal. Thailand – if you set up a business in Thailand as a foreigner,  you are expected to employ a certain percentage of Thai locals in that business in order that their society and economy prosper. Australia – has a points system to emigrate there, with points awarded for certain criteria that the Australian Government feels they need. With the European Union, residents of those member countries are allowed to freely find work in Great Britain. Britain has a very unique culture, different to most European cultures, and it is sometimes difficult for new comers to grasp this (my mum struggled for years to understand certain British mannerisms, humour and sayings). The Government should educate immigrants about the British way of life, so there is a better understanding of its society and therefore more respect in return. The country’s ports and airports need tighter security and border controls. The government needs to know who is entering the country, and who is leaving in order to have a better understanding of what resources are being used and needed. Crime from anyone, including those that have chosen this country to settle should not be tolerated. Many people have expressed that immigrants have ‘taken their jobs’. I feel that the job should go to the person best suited for the job, and sometimes this will mean a non-born resident. However, I do not agree with businesses and companies choosing the person for the job based on the applicant being prepared to be paid less than the minimum wage or an acceptable amount! This is something the government needs to address.

Cost and implementation Whilst tighter border controls and better policing of the borders may be costly at first, it is needed for the long term prosperity and safety of the country and its people (both British born and new comers). I understand from people’s personal experience, that many people who come to Britain on a holiday visa are overstaying their visa, and then seeking benefits such as council houses. Not only is this is costly to the Government and society but also illegal, as they are not entitled to it.

 

 

Local concern, over national

 

 

My main concern are of issues relating to Gravesham, and the effort of encouraging the ordinary citizen to have they say and be listened too. This is not to say that I have total disregard for matters of nation importance, but I am realistic to the fact that whoever becomes Gravesham’s next MP will probably have very little influence in major policy making affecting Britain. The governing cabinet make such decisions therefore the Gravesham MP should concentrate on local issues.

Moreover, if MPs spent a little more effort in local matters concerning their own constituency then perhaps we would have less major overall problems in the country.  

The reasoning behind the thinking...

The following information explains how I came to my policies and the principals I adopted when formulating them. It is quite weighty but worth a read if you want to know the thinking behind the policies.

Intervention and prevention:

I know from experience and from management practice that ‘perfect planning prevents poor performance’. A lot of problems that arise in any area could have been avoided if preventable systems had been put in position in the first place or the long term outcomes had been thought through properly. It seems to me that politicians implement policies at the cheapest cost, never looking in to the long term consequences of the action and the knock on effect it could have on other areas.

If there were preventable systems in place from the start, then many problems that arise in society at a later date could have been prevented! And if government made interventions when the cracks started to show, rather than leave it until it all falls apart, then a lot of cost (financially, socially, economically) would be averted.

This idea is how I came to base my policies and thinking on the theme of ‘intervention and prevention’...as your mum always used to say, ‘prevention is better than cure’ (and we all know that our mums are always right)

It is about being proactive rather than just reactive. By thinking long term we can pre-empt the consequences of actions now, thus put in the relevant systems in place that will affect them.

For example, we all know there is a national problem of obesity and bad health amongst our young kids, and this is going to cost the nation a great deal. But rather than pumping money into the system of helping the obese children (who have a higher chance of becoming obese as adults) we should help prevent the children becoming obese in the first place, as no child is ever born obese, it must have started somewhere, and with the right system in place, we can help before it happens.

Bottom up input:

“manifestos are rarely worth the paper they are written on”

Kaletsky, The Times August 2008

 Unlike political parties, I will not dictate a manifesto to the public, but instead, will ask for their ideas and contribution. We all know that MPs will say what they think we want to hear, promoting their party and never actually fulfilling the claims. Whilst a draft plan of policies has been outlined, they are up for negotiation from the Gravesham community. If they are not supported fully by the people, then they will not be implemented.

Prior to the election, policy input can be made through questionnaires currently in circulation (please feel free to request one) and of course, people can voice their opinions through my facebook page or by writing to or emailing me. Once in a position of authority, policy input will also be made through think tanks and focus groups. I will allow for any member of the constituency to request to sit in one of the meetings.

With a background in studying and applying management I know that the best plans and products  are the ones that are thoroughly thought out, scrutinised for all the potential problem areas and things that can go wrong, and actually consider the people who are to use the plans and products the most.

I believe policies should be made from the bottom up, ideas and thoughts of the everyday person who are directly involved with the system, rather than what is currently in place, as top down management only seems to reflect dictation with no relevance.

For example, in matter concerning health in children, we should not just be asking the ‘academic experts’ but the doctors and nurses of the NHS, the children, their parents, the food industry companies, schools etc.

Integration of all systems:

The problem in politics and the governing bodies is that they rarely seem to consult each other and see how each department affects the other. Nothing in life is solo, everything has a knock on effect to another. For example, the local governments are trying to save money by not properly maintaining the roads, as a consequence of the snow, the roads in Gravesham are now in a terrible state, which is unacceptable in a developed powerful country as Britain. Whilst money may have been saved for the local councils, the hospitals experienced FOUR times as many incidents over the snowy period, obviously costing the NHS an expense that could have been prevented.

If the budgets were shared and conferred between each department then the money saved on the NHS at winter could have been used in maintaining the roads properly. Again, here we see that prevention is better than cure.

The philosophy of W. Edwards Deming was that, by adopting appropriate principles of management, organisations can increase quality and simultaneously reduce costs. The key is to practice continual improvement and think of manufacturing as a system, not as bits and pieces. Applicable to governing Gravesham, we can clearly see that by correct management can increase the quality of the area whilst not incurring any extra cost, and maybe even lowering cost in the long run. Furthermore, we need to look at the systems in Gravesham as an integrated mechanism, rather than separate the departments and services that affect us.

CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility

As MP I will encourage the people Gravesham in doing their best in being socially responsible, regarding matters such as becoming environmentally friendly, doing their bit for charity, living a healthy life etc. It would be hypocritical if I did not practice what I was preaching so here is a list of ways me and my family try to live socially responsible.

Batteries	Use only solar battery chargers and rechargeable batteries.
Bicycle and walking	When possible, always cycle to meetings, shops, family visits etc
Healthy Eating	When offering a buffet/snacks, I try to encourage a balanced diet of ‘treats’ and vegetables and fruit.
Fresh Produce	Grow mint, herbs and other items in the garden (whether permitting!).
Motor Vehicle	Use the car as little as possible, or seek to car share with friends or share journey routes.
Recycling Paper	Recycle all waste paper as scrap note making paper. If not, then it is shredded and becomes food for the worms in the worm bin.  This will provide compost for a garden.
Waste Food	Recycle all waste food as food for the worms in the worm bin.  This will provide compost for a garden.
Charity	Donate blood, sponsor a child in Cambodia and send Xmas boxes to soldiers.
Old Clothes	Donate clothes to Charity Shops (or to friends)
Xmas Cards	Recycled as leaflets
Loo Rolls	Recycled as leaflets
Social	Try to buy from local companies rather than big corporations. (I’d much rather eat at a local cafe than a McDonalds any day!)
Morals	Be 100 per cent straight forward and honest. Admit when wrong and take appropriate action to correct it.
Unwanted Goods	Either Ebay, give away to friends or donate to Charity Shops
Recycle Newspapers	Use when doing ‘Messy Chores’ such as dying my hair
Magazines	Use as wrapping paper
Packaging	Reuse birthday gift bags, jiffy bags, bubble wrap etc
Bottles	Recycle at the bottle bank
Glass Jars	Wash out and reuse when making homemade soups and sauces.
Plastic carrying bags	Try to take canvas bags to the shops where possible, but if plastic bags are used then we always make sure they are always recycled (eg bin bags) and not thrown away