ConservativeHome sent this selection of your questions to
David Davis back in November - the most popular person in the Shadow Cabinet amongst Party members.
Simon Chapman: Have you hugged a hoodie yet?
The chances of that happening are very slight indeed. If I ever did, I’d probably be tempted to hug just a little bit too tightly.
And under this government I would probably get prosecuted.
Richard Weatherill: How does he think that the NuLab charge that the Conservatives are 'soft' on crime/terrorism (e.g. because of our opposition to the 90-day detention without charge proposal) can best be rebutted?
Anyone that thinks I would be soft on terrorism is clearly not of this world. But when we take the fight to terrorists we have to demonstrate that it is they who are seeking to remove freedom and liberty and not ourselves. Conservatives believe that freedoms and hard won liberties must be cherished. Of course there are times when limits have to be put on individual freedoms. So far no one - in government, in the Police or in the judiciary – has been able to prove the case for an increase in the days a suspect can be detained without charge to 90 days. Even John Reid said he saw no case for it, yet it appears to be back on the agenda. It is hard to avoid the suspicion that there are other forces at work.
NigelC: At the last election the Conservatives lost some seats by a handful of votes taken by UKIP, Veritas and BNP candidates when far left candidates stood aside to allow the Labour candidate a free run. Any thoughts on an election strategy to deal with this?
You can never appease fringe parties. Whatever they are offered, they always want more. What we have to do is demonstrate to voters that any vote against the Conservative Party is a vote to keep a discredited Labour government in power. The Conservatives are the only Party to commit themselves to fighting a European Constitution and prevent further powers draining away to Brussels. People in marginal constituencies who are considering voting UKIP should pause before they do so, for by doing that they will be increasing the chances of re-electing a Labour government which would sign up to a European Constitution and eventually join the euro.
RobC: What do the Conservatives need to do to win more seats in Scotland and Wales at the next General Election?
First of all, we in London should not dictate terms to the Scottish and
Welsh Conservative Parties. They must become distinctive in their own
right. Cheryl Gillan has done a terrific job in Wales and I know that
the Welsh Conservatives are in fine fettle and I expect them to win
seats at the Assembly elections in May. David Mundell is also doing an
excellent job in Scotland and I hope that that also delivers good
results. If we are to win more Westminster seats in Scotland and Wales
we’ve got to rebuild our local government base and win more seats in
May in the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly.
RodS: Other than for presentational reasons - How can you logically
leave asylum seekers (genuine or non genuine) and EU citizens out of
the equation when considering immigration numbers?
Who says we have? Damian Green and I published a pamphlet before
Christmas setting out the benefits and costs of economic migration.
Different considerations apply to asylum seekers – but of course they
must be counted. The government sold the pass on EU immigration and I
am afraid there is nothing we can do about that. We warned them of the
consequences of their actions but they failed to heed our warnings.
Thomas Wales: If a Conservative Government inherited a ID-Card system
created by a previous Labour Government, would we scrap, alter or
preserve it?
I have again made clear in the last few days that we will scrap it. Indeed, I have written to the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Gus O’Donnell informing him that we would immediately reverse Labour’s plans and I have also written to the likely main contractors. No one should be under any illusion that we will scrap the ID cards system lock, stock and two smoking barrels.
Matt Wright: I share your concerns about ID cards but how should we best counter Labour's claim that because we don't support ID cards we can't manage immigration?
Our immigration system is out of control not because we don’t have ID
cards, but because we can’t manage our borders. If Labour had taken up
our policy of introducing a border police force things might have
improved. To blame our chaotic immigration system on a lack of ID cards
may be convenient for Labour spin doctors but it is far from the
reality.
Tired and Emotional: Does Mr. Davis believe that the demographic
trends this county is experiencing - along with old Europe - are
irreversible and how might a Tory government attempt to reverse or
mitigate such changes without recourse to mass immigration?
If you mean the trend for all Western countries to get older as lifespans increase and birthrates decline, yes it is hard to see how they would reverse. By the same measure, people are staying healthier for longer, which I guess is one reason people do not object to the extension of working life.
Can immigration stop this trend? No, because immigrants age too, and quickly match the demographic profile of the indigenous population. The actuarial arithmetic to stop the trend requires massive and geometrically growing numbers (many millions!), far greater than even the current government would countenance and massively greater than our housing and public services could cope with.
There are a range of answers to all the issues arising from this, ranging from a much more successful pensions policy right through to policies designed to encourage stable families.
We will be publishing some ideas on population policy in the next year.
Sally Roberts: What can we do to improve relations with the Muslim Community?
We have to recognise that in many areas multiculturalism has failed. It has promoted separation and divisions rather than unity - which is neither healthy for the local immigrant communities, nor the indigenous population. We’ve seen the terrible results of this in several places around the country. The one thing these towns have in common is that they have seen a rise in the BNP vote. Good community relations exist in places where there is one community and the concept of ‘them’ and ‘us’ does not exist. My colleague Dominic Grieve has done some sterling work building relations between the Conservative Party and the Muslim community and I think there is a real rapport there, which didn’t exist a few years ago.
Patsy Sergeant: How will Conservatives deliver joined-up government?
That is a phrase which, when I heard it, I knew would come to haunt the Labour Party. Government has grown so huge under Labour that it is virtually impossible for the right hand to know what the left hand is doing. I suspect that the smaller the State, the more joined up it becomes.
Oh, and not by cutting the Home office in two.
Party member: What can you do to help save us from a Conservative government uninterested in reforming our public services and cutting our tax burden?
Your premise is entirely wrong. I came into politics because I wanted to improve our failing public services. My period as Public Accounts Committee Chairman reinforced my view that the public was being short-changed. David Cameron’s commitment to improving our public services is just as deep as my own. As for the tax burden, surely all Conservatives agree that the Conservative Party is in favour of a lower tax burden? David and George have rightly refused to commit themselves to specific tax cuts. We are three years away from an election. What we have to do is make clear to people that we are instinctively in favour of lower taxes and a smaller state, which will contrast greatly with Labour’s love of tax rises and big government. Let no-one suggest there is not a clear choice at the next election!
Sour grapes: Do you, Liam Fox and other real Tories stand up for real conservatism in the shadow cabinet?
We are all real Tories and real Conservatives. Don’t fall for cheap media stunts. I’ve known David Cameron even longer than I have known Liam Fox. Our opponents will always try to emphasise the differences between us. If you were a fly on the Shadow Cabinet wall you would realise that this is the most united Conservative team in two decades. We all want the same thing. A Conservative government.
