News
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Luton Conservatives recently sent a survey to thousands of local residents which included a letter from David Cameron and a series of questions about the recent expenses scandal - and what politicians should be doing to restore trust in politics. The survey was deliberately sent to a cross section of Luton society and was not targeted just at Conservative voters.
The response showed how angry and concerned local residents are about these issues because more than 700 local residents replied (351 from Luton South and 357 from Luton North). This makes it one of the most comprehensive surveys of local political opinion in years.
The survey also asked people about their top concerns and issues, and included a behavioural contract by myself and Jeremy Brier (PPC for Luton North) in which we outlined our promises to be accessible and responsive to constituents, and open and transparent about expenses including a commitment that they would only ever claim expenses for what is necessary to perform our jobs as MPs - should we be elected.
I was particularly pleased to see that so many respondents said that my personal behaviour and expenses pledges did indeed give them greater confidence in my ability to serve them.
By giving people the opportunity to provide open comments and asking them about their top issues and concerns, I also received a very clear steer on what our national and my local priorities should be. We are listening, we are developing policies accordingly, and when elected - we will act.
I was also pleased to see that so many voters are in favour of recall powers to force a bad politician to face a by-election. This is a hot topic in Luton South where such a rule would have enabled us to oust Margaret Moran already.
Detailed results are provided, below, and key findings are:
• David Cameron is viewed as having responded best to the expenses scandal and the most likely of all the political leaders to tell the truth about public finances
• 78% of Luton residents believe the MP’s communication allowance should be scrapped
• 68% believe the public should be involved in selecting party candidates
• 88% do not believe MP’s should be allowed to employ their own family members
• 83% believe that the number of MP’s should be reduced
• 89% support the return of powers from the EU and a referendum on approval of such transfers of powers in the future
• 87% believe the Human Rights Act should be replaced with a British Bill of Rights
• 84% believe that local people should be able to recall their MP and force a by-election
• 82% believe parliament not just the government should approve plans to commit troops to combat
• 65% of respondents had greater confidence in the Tory candidate’s likely behaviour in the light of commitments made by them in a letter accompanying the survey
• Fighting crime topped the list of issues facing local residents, followed by job creation, the NHS and caring for the elderly/ retired.
In response to the question ‘what can the candidates do to increase your trust in politics?’, the most frequent comments were: ‘be honest’, ‘tell the truth’, ‘be responsive’, ‘no spin’ and ‘complete transparency’.
|
Number |
Question |
Response |
|
Question 1 |
How important is the need to reform MP's expenses and restore trust in politics compared to issues like the economy, crime and the NHS? |
|
|
|
More |
48.6% |
|
|
Same |
36.4% |
|
|
Less |
11.7% |
|
|
Not important |
1.6% |
|
|
Blank |
1.7% |
|
|
total |
100.0% |
|
Question 2 |
Which party leader has responded best to the MP's expenses scandal? |
|
|
|
Brown |
4th |
|
|
Cameron |
1st |
|
|
Clegg |
3rd |
|
|
None |
2nd |
|
Question 3 |
MPs can currently claim a Communications Allowance of £10,000 a year to communicate with their constituents via leaflets, websites etc. David Cameron thinks this promotional activity shouldn't be funded by the taxpayer. Do you agree? |
|
|
|
Yes |
78.5% |
|
|
No |
13.5% |
|
|
Don't know |
5.7% |
|
|
No answer |
2.3% |
|
|
total |
100.0% |
|
Question 4 |
MPs are currently given an allowance to employ their staff. Some people have suggested that MPs's staff should be employed by the House of Commons authorities to provide an independent check that they are doing the work they are contracted to do. Do you agree? |
|
|
|
Yes |
87.8% |
|
|
No |
5.0% |
|
|
Don't know |
5.0% |
|
|
no answer |
2.3% |
|
|
total |
100.0% |
|
Question 5 |
After the next election, there will be 650 MPs each representing about 70,000 electors. David Cameron has argued that we don't need that many MP's and that we should cut the size of the House of Commons. Do you agree? |
|
|
|
Yes |
82.3% |
|
|
No |
6.4% |
|
|
Don't know |
9.6% |
|
|
no answer |
1.7% |
|
|
total |
100.0% |
|
Question 6 |
What do you think of the following proposals that David Cameron has made to shift power to individuals or their elected representatives. |
|
|
Question 6a |
Requiring the House of Commons to debate an issue or proposal if enough signatures are collected asking it to do so: |
|
|
|
Good |
85.4% |
|
|
Bad |
3.7% |
|
|
Don't know |
8.2% |
|
|
no answer |
2.7% |
|
|
total |
100.0% |
|
Question 6b |
Involving members of the public, not just party members, in the selection of each party's candidates for the General Elections: |
|
|
|
Good |
68.1% |
|
|
Bad |
14.4% |
|
|
Don't know |
14.2% |
|
|
no answer |
3.2% |
|
|
total |
100.0% |
|
Question 6c |
Supporting the return of social and employment laws from European Union to our national control, requiring a referendum to approve any further transfers of power to the EU and having far more detailed scrutiny in Parliament of EU legislation and spending: |
|
|
|
Good |
89.2% |
|
|
Bad |
4.9% |
|
|
Don't know |
3.7% |
|
|
no answer |
2.3% |
|
|
total |
100.0% |
|
Question 6d |
Replacing the Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights that spells out the extent and limit of rights more clearly and ensure that any new rights are agreed by elected politicians, not unaccountable judges: |
|
|
|
Good |
87.2% |
|
|
Bad |
4.9% |
|
|
Don't know |
5.6% |
|
|
no answer |
2.4% |
|
|
total |
100.0% |
|
Question 6e |
Requiring Parliament to approve any plans to commit British troops to combat: |
|
|
|
Good |
81.9% |
|
|
Bad |
6.4% |
|
|
Don't know |
8.4% |
|
|
no answer |
3.2% |
|
|
total |
100.0% |
|
Question 7 |
Do you think there should be a 'recall' power to allow local peple to force a by-election if enough of them are unhappy with their current MP, rather than having to wait until the General Election? |
|
|
|
Yes |
83.6% |
|
|
No |
7.7% |
|
|
Don't know |
5.1% |
|
|
no answer |
3.5% |
|
|
total |
100.0% |
|
Question 8 |
Who do you think is most likely to tell the truth about the state of the economy and the public finances? |
|
|
|
Brown |
4th |
|
|
Cameron |
1st |
|
|
Clegg |
3rd |
|
|
None |
2nd |
|
Question 9 |
Does the commitment that Nigel (South)/ Jeremy (North) has made give you confidence that he would behave properly if he is elected as the next MP for Luton South/ North? |
|
|
|
A lot more confidence |
24.7% |
|
|
A little more confidence |
40.5% |
|
|
No change |
17.0% |
|
|
A little less confidence |
0.3% |
|
|
A lot less confidence |
1.7% |
|
|
Don't know |
10.9% |
|
|
no answer |
4.8% |
|
|
total |
100.0% |
|
Question 10 |
Is there anything else Nigel/ Jeremy can do to increase your faith in politics (open comments). |
|
|
Question 11 |
Which issues do you think David Cameron and Nigel should be focussing on? |
|
|
|
Fighting Crime |
1st |
|
|
Job creation |
2nd most important group |
|
|
NHS |
2nd most important group |
|
|
Caring for elderly/ retired |
2nd most important group |
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