The latest of our pre-election webchats with the main parties’ culture heads is continuing with the Lib Dems’ John Leech – who explains who council house building matters, why history will favour his party, and why David Silva is responsible for the best culture in Manchester 3.48pm BST Phos4 asks:Are you for or against mansion tax?I am in favour of widening the bands for Council Tax to better reflect the value of property. In principle I am not opposed to a mansion tax, so long as people on low incomes, but living in very valuable homes, are able to defer payments. 3.47pm BST craighm asks:How do you sleep at night with the knowledge that you have been a blight on the poor, the disabled and the least fortunate people in British society, whilst lining the pockets of the richest?This is a pretty silly comment. In Greece public sector workers ended up with a 40% pay cut because the Government failed to deal with their deficit. In Government the Lib Dems have delivered an economic recovery, tax cuts for the least well off and relinked pensions to earnings, which Labour, to their shame, failed to deliver in 13 years. The richest are now paying more tax than they were under labour through a number of changes to the tax system and the closing down of tax loopholes, many of which were encouraged by the last Labour Government. 3.46pm BST Kurwenal asks:Since 2004 the LibDems have lost all (38) representation on Manchester City Council of which 31have gone since you went into coalition. This appears to indicate that whatever local good was being done the decision to prop up the Tories has been far from popular. How can the LibDems come back from a wipeout?Good local councillors have been lost because people have stayed at home or not voted. We have to get the message across that the Labour councillors are not standing up for local people (eg over the Christie parking issue) and that Manchester needs an opposition to Labour. 2.24pm BST John had to attend a meeting, but is back to answer a few more questions. Watch out for his answers very soon... 2.09pm BST Graysoon asks:Are you proud of the fact, Mr Leech, that you voted, amongst other things, for the bedroom tax?Check the records. I voted against it in ALL the votes that actually mattered. 2.08pm BST leftthroughtheyrees asks:If you could get one thing into the programme of the government for the next five years, what would it be and why?A massive programme of council house building, because housing costs are the biggest financial burden facing the majority of people. 2.07pm BST CasAnderson asks:Are you going to not raise tuition fees again?I have never voted to raise fees or introduce them for that matter. Perhaps you should ask Labour and the Tories whether they intend to make increased tuition fees as a condition of any coalition agreement like 2010. Labour introduced fees and raised them with an enormous commons majority and a promise not to. 2.05pm BST BrainCheese asks:As a Withington resident who admires your work as a local politician and parliamentarian, how can you persuade me to vote for you and your party when I am determined to see the Conservatives prevented from governing in any form?The problem with our electoral system is that you can only vote for your local MP. In Withington constituency you have a choice of voting Lib Dem or Labour, every other vote is wasted. Either way, you won't get a Tory. I would argue that you need to decide whether the best person to represent you is either me or the Labour candidate. If you vote for me, you certainly will not get a Tory. 2.01pm BST macewen asks:The lib dems are facing wipeout - what did they do wrong in government?Not a lot, other than coming into Government at a time when some very tough decisions had to be made, and at a time when the right wing and left wing press were determined to tell everyone that we had failed. 2.00pm BST clareyesno asks:As a Manchester resident, what do you make of the ‘northern powerhouse’ plans? There’s been a lot of trumpeting about what it will involve - including big new (possibly white elephant) venues. But how will these plans actually foster stronger, richer culture in Manchester and across the north - what practical measures can be made to really improve the cultural life of people in the north of England?At the moment it is not altogether clear how the plans will turn out. We already have some fantastic venues in the north, both in sport and arts and culture. A strengthened northern economy, with local decision-making powers and booming creative industries will undoubtedly encourage investment into our cultural offer. At the moment there is still an attitude amongst some that nothing exists outside of the M25. A stronger north, both politically and economically, will undoubtedly help to explode that myth. As for the "best bit of culture to come out of this city", it is all a matter of personal taste. As far as art is concerned, LS Lowry was born just down the road from my constituency in Stretford, and is buried in the heart of my constituency at Southern Cemetery. As for music, I would have to say the Stone Roses. I was also a big fan of Frank Sidebottom, but I guess that this comedy choice would be a bit "left field". But in 2015 it has to be the left foot of David Silva! 1.39pm BST Darell Philip asks:As someone who has voted for the Liberal Democrats in the past, how will your party restore confidence in an electorate which believed in and voted for you as an individual and not a coalition party?Darell, I can only stand on my record of what I have done locally and how I have voted in Parliament. We did not win the election in 2010. The more Lib Dem MPs that get elected, the more Lib Dem influence there will be in Parliament. Anybody that thinks that we have made no difference in Government either does not really know what the Tories stand for, or spends too much time reading the Daily Mirror and the Guardian! I suspect that history will be far kinder to the Lib Dem role in the Government between 2010-2015. The easy option was to do what Labour did and stay out of Government on the basis that we did not win the election. In Government we have delivered many of manifesto commitments. (See my answer to a previous question.) 1.35pm BST scoobiesnacks also asks:You’re my MP. You seem quite low profile on TV compared to some lib dems. Are you more outside the government circle than other libdems?People tell me that I have the face for radio!I have not been a Government Minister, so I do not have the same profile as some other Lib Dems, but I am regularly in the local papers and radio, and sometimes on TV. 1.30pm BST scoobiesnacks asks:Under what circumstances would you support another conservative government?Personally I think this is unlikely to happen because the relationship between the 2 parties has deteriorated significantly in the last couple of years. I did not vote for the coalition last time, so personally I would expect to see the Tories recognise that their agenda for cutting welfare and other savage cuts is simply not acceptable. 1.27pm BST londonscot asks:Isn’t he technically a candidate rather than an MP now?Technically yes, although it is a pretty farcical situation. Councillors are councillors until the election, so I have never really understood why Parliamentary elections are different. Constituents still have concerns and problems that they need help with, and just because there is an election on, I do not understand why they should not be able to go the person that they elected at the previous election. Of course they do contact their former MPs, and so I see no sense in not describing people as MPs until the actual election. 1.21pm BST Still peeved, lipslikesugar continues:Did you have hair before you sold your soul to the devil?The last time I looked in the mirror, I still had hair. And most if it isn't grey yet, either. I thought I was doing okay for hair at 43, but maybe a need a new mirror. 1.19pm BST lipslikesugar asks:Will you suck up to whoever offers the most, just like last time, or actually stand for something? You do know and realize that you lot are guilty of political and cultural treachery, don’t you? Have some balls, pleaseIn 2010 Labour offered nothing. They were so determined to go into opposition that they made a very difficult option into a completely impossible one. Labour need to recognise that coalition Government does not mean that the other party simply becomes Labour Party voting fodder. Coalition Government is about compromise and breaking down partisan party boundaries.We stand on our manifesto. The reality is that in 2010 only 57 Lib Dem MPs were elected, but we still managed to get plenty of our manifesto into a programme for Government at a time when (as Labour put it) "there is no money left". 1.15pm BST Emma Jane Lacey asks:What Nick Clegg did at the last Election was very brave, one philosophical view is that to make change we must follow the rules that govern them.With the move into Government, it gave the LD’s a chance to block and comment, pause for further discussion on some decisions that otherwise would have had a total Conservative stance. It’s time for NC to raise the profile of LD’s manifesto and lead the party to have further influence in the future.Does John feel that the LD’s have more influence inside the government or in opposition?As one of only two Lib Dem MPs that did not vote to go into coalition, I can still confidently say that you have more influence in Government than in opposition. Politicians go into politics to get things done, not to simply complain about what others are doing. 0.7% of GDP to international aidLinking pensions to earnings and the triple lockMore then 1 million of the lowest paid taxpayers taken out of paying taxThe pupil premiumAnti-tax avoidance measuresNone of the above would have happened without the Lib Dems.As far as coalition discussions relating to culture are concerned, I would hope that the future of the BBC and more equitable geographic funding for arts and culture would be are priorities. 1.07pm BST stultusincubulo asks:What are you going to do after May, seeing as you won’t be in parliament any more?We're used to being the underdogs in elections. Nobody gave us a chance of winning Manchester Withington in 2005, everyone said it was a fluke and that we would lose at the next election. We're fighting to win again. It is just a shame that in so many seats around the country MPs are smiling to themselves because they know that our flawed electoral system will re-elect them, regardless of what they do. 1.05pm BST MediocreSoup asks:In Labour’s paper on the future of the Creative Industries, “Leading the Field: A Review of the Creative Industries, they have vowed not to weaken the BBC if it wins the election. What is the Lib Deb’s view on the future of the BBC’s role in the sector and how will the Lib’s Deb’s position on the deficit affect its charter re-negotiations with the BBC?The Liberal Democrats have been the BBC's strongest supporters in Parliament and are committed to maintaining a BBC funded by the license fee. 96% of people access BBC content for about £3 a week, which is exceptionally good value. I am happy to see the license fee rise with inflation to ensure that the BBC can maintain its position at the top of UK broadcasting and to force other broadcasters to up their game. 1.02pm BST John is with us, firing off his answers from the campaign circuit. He first takes on this from CrabbyGit:What are Lib-Dems for, exactly?In a time when the old established party elites and the minor parties and nationalists join forces pushing an illiberal agenda, there has never been a more important time for a strong liberal, Liberal Democrat voice in Parliament. 11.15am BST In the latest of our pre-election webchats grilling the main parties’ culture heads, we turn to the Liberal Democrats’ John Leech.John is the party’s culture spokesman, and the MP for Withington in Manchester, a seat he won in the 2005 general election which he’s defending in this year’s contest. His political career has seen him become shadow minister for transport, and joining select committees for both transport and culture, but he started from relatively ordinary beginnings, even working as a trainee manager in a McDonald’s after leaving university. His culture credentials meanwhile are bolstered by the fact he’s a member of amateur dramatics group the Manchester Road Players. Continue reading...
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