Kulveer Ranger answers the questions that you asked here.
Jennifer Wells: Please describe your new responsibilities and examples of where the Shadow Ministers twinning with cities has worked?
The Chairman has asked me to work as an active figure for the Conservative Party with the portfolio for British cities. The role does require an understanding of British cities and the challenges they face. However, it is a broad ranging brief and I feel to be effective I shall focus on specific activities. Promoting and supporting initiatives run by the party, parliamentary candidates, councils and association as well as other non political organisations that align with our objectives will be a key job for me. Additionally, I will lean on my professional experience to focus on issues relating to transport and regeneration in urban and suburban areas.
Umbrella Man: Have you encountered discriminatory attitudes in your search for a Conservative seat?
Where does discrimination start and end? This question could be asked about any aspect of an individual’s life especially if they are come from a minority community background – and I would assume that many would feel that they have. I sincerely believe that our associations try to select the best candidate for their constituency. Our party is working to represent all and I think we must continue to focus on being a party that reflects modern Britain and selects the most capable candidates.
Bradford lad: Mr Kulveer Ranger, you must be aware of the bitterness felt by the host population in cities which have suffered from excessive immigration. What are your suggestions for controlling immigration into Britain and rooting out the rackets and racketeers involved with illegal immigration?
Being a member of an ethnic minority gives you an excellent chance to make sensible suggestions without the unhelpful comments often make against those who raise these matters.
Firstly, I must say that anyone who lives, works, pays their taxes and respects the laws of this land may feel concerned at the lacksidasical approach the Labour government has shown in managing our boarders. There are clear economic benefits to immigration. But without controls, these benefits will be lost among the social and economic difficulties caused by the sheer scale of the increase in population. I was called a racist for supporting our ‘controlled immigration’ policy at the last election. I supported it then and I support it now.
Tony Makara: Kulveer, how would you feel about the state hiring the long-term unemployed to provide the manpower to regenerate cities and other urban areas?
A system like the 1980s COMMUNITY PROGRAMME could provide the long-term unemployed with waged work, not degrading workfare, and could be a real factor in cleaning up eyesores and derelict areas.
We certainly want to get the long term unemployed back to work and if there could also a wider benefit such as the clearing up derelict areas I would welcome this type of scheme. However, I do not believe the state should directly carry the burden of employment. Instead I would seek the support of the private sector and social enterprise to act as a vehicle to deliver these benefits.
Justin Hinchcliffe: Gordon Brown has ordered all constituency Labour parties to select candidates by October. We in Tottenham have a number of people who wish to stand but CCHQ won't let us select. Is it really surprising that we're behind the Lib Dems in so many seats when we parachute somebody in a few weeks before polling day? The way that CCHQ view so many ‘majority seats’, often in our cities, is disgraceful.
Managing seat selection is a huge task for our party and I know that there are many thoughts as what is the best way to do things. The selection of target and marginal seats will always be a priority for the party. It is these seats that will decide whether we win an election or not. I do understand the frustration felt by many in our non-target seats of which a large proportion are in cities but I believe that our City Seats initiative that was used at the last election and is being rolled out again is a good way of making the best use of both resources and peoples enthusiasm to stand for the party.
Derek Johnson: Outside of London, Birmingham is one of Europe's most popular places for businesses to invest in. At present it is being thoroughly messed around by the government over the Birmingham Gateway project (incorporating the rebuilding of New Street Station). Thus my question to Kulveer is.how will a Conservative government enable cities such as Birmingham to improve its infrastructure and thus fulfil their economic potential?
Moreover, does he agree with me that in a city where 11 of 12 MPs are from the Labour Party, is it not a legitimate belief on the part of Brummies to expect their local MPs to back the city rather than playing stupid games with the government designed to undermine the Conservative council.
I want to start by saying that from vision to the delivery of key infrastructure projects, the process appears too convoluted. There needs to be more accountability and leadership so things do not drift and to avoid the waste of both time and money.
With regards to the 11 Labour MP’s we need to look closely at the role they are playing in making sure Birmingham gets the support it deserves from the government and this is not happening then I expect Brummies to act accordingly at the ballot box.
Regarding London, there seems to be an opaque relationship between Transport for London (TfL/Ken Livingstone) and the Borough Councils affected, especially where funding is concerned. TfL has significant control over the commissioning of bus lanes for instance and appears to be using this power to fly in the face of common sense.
By way of example, there is a proposed bus lane which is to run 24/7 on the Mortlake Road section of the Sth Circular which will also mean that the Lib Dem Council stands to benefit from being able to issue penalty notices even at 4 am when there are no buses running! The proposed bus lane is to service a bus which carries very few passengers, runs every 15 minutes and for which the travel time gain along the proposed stretch would be no more than 1 min 50 secs (according to TfL stats) in the rush hour and negligible in normal traffic flows. It will reduce the road to a single lane each way and have an impact both on the local rat runs and Kew Bridge for which there is also a proposal to reinstate a previous bus lane which had proved to be a disaster. I could go on...
Jessica Salter: Given that London Borough Councils already fund TfL by means of a surcharge included in Council Tax, and that proposals such as the one described above are further funded by additional specific contributions from individual Councils when requested by them, do you think that local Councils should make the final decision in schemes proposed by TfL?
At the moment, TfL have the final say.
Conservatives have express opposition to the plans currently before Parliament to transfer powers from London boroughs to the GLA – just as over housing and planning. But we recognise that Londoners did vote for capital government in the 1998 referendum – and we are not going to unpick that settlement. The key issue here is the arrogant way in which Ken Livingstone and his transport quango runs London. The solution to this is kicking out Ken Livingstone in next year’s London elections.
Mark Wadsworth: Would you consider imposing a surcharge on empty and derelict buildings?
No. The small print of the 2007 Budget reveals that Gordon Brown will rake in an extra £1 billion in taxes, by cutting back business rate relief on vacant premises. There are no offsetting reductions in business rates elsewhere. The tax relief to be scaled back was originally introduced in the 1980s, to reduce the burden on business and to stop the deliberate vandalism of industrial property; owners were damaging their vacant buildings to remove them from the ratings list and so not pay any business rates. It is already in the economic interests for property owners to sell empty property – as their assets are not generating a rate of return.
Robert McIlveen: Given your extensive experience in London, how can you reassure Conservatives in cities where we are in danger of being (or have been) wiped out that you understand the very different situation in London and, say, Sheffield?
I have campaigned in many cities including Birmingham and Manchester as well as London and have seen the challenges for us first hand in different parts of the country. We must continue to build our support at ground level. Engaging and attracting more people to be part of our party by listening to them and doing what needs to be done. This will be one of my key priorities. I am also planning to visit Sheffield very soon.
Russell King: "What can we learn from successful Inner London Conservative Boroughs like Westminster and Wandsworth?"
An important lesson I learned from my time in industry is that there is such a thing as best practice. You can look at successful examples and identify the key ideas from them. However, it is also the case that no two problems / areas are exactly the same. We must always be aware that what works in Wandsworth may not be appropriate in Liverpool. I think the point is to be able to distil the key elements of why something has been successful. Is it the approach? What was the method of consultation? Was it the manner of delivery or simply that they were brilliant ideas?
I do believe it is as much about being open with attitude and approach as it is about simply rolling out a set of policies.
601: "What do you think needs to be done to improve turnout at local elections?"
Voter apathy at elections must be a worry for all who believe in democracy. But Labour need to understand that the key to increasing involvement in local elections does not lie in creating new types of politicians or new ways to abstain, or fiddling with the electoral system for partisan advantage.
In local government, people want to know that their local council can make a difference to their lives, that it has the power to make changes to improve their quality of life, and has the freedom to respond to the needs of their local community. I believe there will be ever decreasing enthusiasm for local elections if councils are subject to greater interference from central and regional government.
