Friday sees the beginning of ConservativeHome's weekly Q&A with a leading pundit, thought-leader or Tory politician. We kick off with Ann Widdecombe's answers to ten questions you raised at the beginning of the month.
The second interviewee will be Ed Vaizey MP. Ed was previously chief speechwiter to Michael Howard and wrote a regular column for The Guardian. He became MP for Wantage and Didcot last year and was an early and enthusiastic supporter of David Cameron's leadership bid.
If you have a question for Ed please use the comments option below or email a question to [email protected].
Just had a quick look at Ed's website, my first question would be "why is there hardly any mention of you being a 'Conservative' MP?" Why is there no party logo and no link to the party website.
If I didn't know he was a Tory MP, I wouldn't know, I'd have thought he was independent.
Posted by: a-tracy | March 28, 2006 at 17:59
My question would be.. What is the Cameron led Conservative party going to do about the social justice angle of the NHS. Not money, just sheer practicality. I hear from old colleagues about the possible privatisation of the Health Visiting sevice for starters. NUlab??? What is going on here?
Posted by: Annabel Herriott | March 28, 2006 at 19:47
a-tracy, it's a public-funded site for his work as an MP, not a party-political site.
Perhaps a more perceptive question would be why Wantage Conservatives don't have a website?
Posted by: Cllr Iain Lindley | March 28, 2006 at 21:16
I've been enjoying listening to Ed's podcasts. In one of them he says that he's a Euro-sceptic who would like the EU to become merely a free trade area. Since it hardly seems to be moving much in this direction, does he think there's any possibility in the foreseeable future of the Conservatives advocating withdrawal from the EU, and perhaps joining EFTA instead? If not, why not?
Posted by: Tom Ainsworth | March 29, 2006 at 02:55
Should we pay more tax to improve public services?
Posted by: Edward | March 29, 2006 at 09:41
Do you think the levels of immigration recently projected by the IPPR are sustainable, and if not, what do you think the government should do about it?
Posted by: True Blue | March 29, 2006 at 10:56
Are tax cuts an alternative to economic stability, or an essential part of it?
Posted by: Sean Fear | March 29, 2006 at 11:20
My question would be: Boxers or briefs? The nation MUST know. I guess I missed out on asking Anne Widdecombe last week.
Posted by: Stephen Alley | March 29, 2006 at 11:31
You were going to ask Widecombe if she wears boxers or briefs???
Posted by: James Maskell | March 29, 2006 at 11:32
Which of the following should be reversed by a future Conservative Government ?
a) Student Tuition Fees
b) Abolition of upper earnings limit for employee NICs
c) Ban on hunting
d) Abolition of married couple's tax allowance
e) Nationalisation of Railtrack
f) Devolution to Scotland and Wales
g) Abolition of dividend tax credits for pension funds and charities
h) Abolition of Grant Maintained schools
i) Abolition of Assisted Places Scheme
j) Expulsion of hereditary peers from the House of Lords
k) Detention without trial for 28 days
Posted by: johnC | March 29, 2006 at 12:10
How do the Tories plan to reverse this disturbing trend:
http://www.civitas.org.uk/data/RecordedCrimePer100k1950-2004.htm
Posted by: Richard | March 29, 2006 at 13:22
Q: Does James Hellyer owe me twenty quid :-)
No, but seriously:
Q: What did the Tory Party do in the last election that you would not repeat in the next?
Posted by: Chad | March 29, 2006 at 13:54
Should the Priority List selection process be extended to include current Conservative seats, i.e. reselections, to increase the number of women and ethnic MPs? If not, why?
Posted by: Selsdon Man | March 29, 2006 at 14:03
If he's going to sign up to support www.reinstateroger.com?
Posted by: Andrew Woodman | March 29, 2006 at 14:43
What is he most proud of achieving in his short time as an MP?
Posted by: Jonathan Sheppard | March 29, 2006 at 22:56
Which individuals will be in charge of determining who makes the Priority List and when will it appear?
Supplementary: is David Cameron firm on increasing the base of women MPs from the current embarassing 9%?
Posted by: Reasonable | March 30, 2006 at 06:51
Q "What did the Tory Party do in the last election that you would not repeat in the next?" Lose, surely?
Seriously, though Q: Who would you rather see as leader of Labour at the next election, Tony Blair or Gordon Brown?
Posted by: Henry Whitmarsh | March 30, 2006 at 12:47
How do the Tories plan to reverse this disturbing trend:
http://www.civitas.org.uk/data/RecordedCrimePer100k1950-2004.htm
You mean the disturbing trend of think tanks to use unattributed, misleading statistics?
Try the British Crime Survey to get a more accurate picture.
http://www.crimestatistics.org.uk/output/page54.asp
Posted by: True Blue | March 30, 2006 at 13:16
Questions request now closed - thanks.
Posted by: Editor | March 30, 2006 at 13:26
"Try the British Crime Survey to get a more accurate picture."
It only goes back to 1980.
Why is it so hard for people to believe that crime in this country was once significantly lower than it is now? Even discounting the statistics there are countless people still alive who remember a law-abiding society, far too many just to put it down to "rose tinted glasses".
Posted by: Richard | March 30, 2006 at 21:22
It should also be noted that the British Crime Survey misses out crimes:
http://www.civitas.org.uk/data/crimeFigures2004-05.php
Some on the Left are even prepared to admit that we have a problem:
"But let's say the pre-war figures are a gross underestimate, and today's numbers are overly lurid. That still leaves a huge gap. Whichever way you cut it or slice it, crime is more prevalent now than it was."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,5673,941581,00.html
Posted by: Richard | March 30, 2006 at 21:25