StemCell Therapy

In the 5th of our interviews with the candidates seeking to become Member of Parliament for the Isle of Wight this Thursday, Island Echo gave Labour candidate, Richard Quigley, the opportunity to make the case for voting for a Labour MP to represent the Island.

Those who see lack of connectivity as the biggest issue facing Islanders have the opportunity to vote for the pro-fixed link independent, Carl Feeney. Islanders for whom the so-called climate emergency is the greatest concern have the option of voting for the Green candidate, Vix Lowthion. Leavers in favour of the hardest of hard Brexits can vote for the independent pro-Brexit candidate, Daryll Pitcher. And if your answer is none of the above, then you have the option to choose quirky independent, Karl Love.

However, for many voters, the issue of paramount importance is who will enter Downing Street and form a government on 13th December. Will it be Jeremy Corbyn and Labour or Boris Johnson and the Tories? Voters will also be deciding whether they want Boris Withdrawal Agreement implemented and get Brexit done, or would they prefer further negotiations and a second referendum under Labour?

Interview:

Richard Quigley grew up in Retford, Nottinghamshire, a coal mining area. He remembers the Miners Strike of 1982 from when he was growing up. Interestingly, his parents were Conservative councillors.

Richards political awakening began when he left school for university and joined the protests against the poll tax. Richard has been a member of the Labour Party for four years, having been inspired to join by the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, Richard first moved to the Island in 2003. He is a small businessman in the catering trade, and owner of fish and chip shop, Corries Cabin, in Cowes. Richards father-in-law was a Cowes window cleaner, and it was he who suggested his son-in-law set up his business there.

Richard is married to Leah and they have two daughters, aged 17 and 12. Richard has also worked as a stand up comedian.

Small businesses have had their best years under Labour. Labour governments put money into the economy. All businesses need customers.

I joined because of Jeremy Corbyn. I find it inspirational to find someone who gets out of bed each morning to try and make this country a better place to live in. I dont think we can say the same about the Tories. I see the election as a battle between Corbyn and Johnson. It is an absolute privilege for me to be the parliamentary candidate and try to change whats going on.

I dont think Jeremy Corbyn is an anti-semite. He has spent the whole of his life fighting racism and prejudice. There is no place for anti-semitism in society. Of course, when you uncover anti-semitism in order to deal with it, this draws attention to the problem. But uncovering it is the right thing to do. I have never come across anti-semitism on the Island and would never accept racism in my friendship group.

There is no evidence that Jeremy Corbyn ever supported the IRA. If he was a supporter of terrorism, then MI5 would have uncovered this. Jeremy Corbyn is (using the words of Winston Churchill) in favour of jaw-jaw rather than war-war.

We would end austerity in our first term. We would invest for return in both council houses and people. We would transform the NHS from being a National Sickness Service to an organisation that invests in preventative medicine.

Tories believe that everything is static, that the economy is a zero-sum game. But when you go to a bank to ask for a loan, you create money. You dont have to travel to the moon to dig it up. Are you in favour of a fixed link? Im 50/50 on this issue. I totally see the economic and social benefits of a fixed link. I also see the drawbacks.

We need a properly funded feasibility study, followed by an all-Island referendum on the issue.

I voted to remain. Im one of the 48 per cent. Ive been a European citizen for 48 years of my life. Those who voted for leave are not stupid. The problem is that there is no clarity as to which version of Brexit needs to be implemented. We need to find the optimal version of Brexit and then put it to the people. I agree with Jeremy Corbyns stance of neutrality on the issue.

I fully understand Working Class voters being upset with the idea of their win being taken away from them. But they are the people who would be most harmed by a no deal Brexit.

I get out of bed every morning believing we can do it. 8 or 9 years ago, Labour was a wasted vote on the Island. However, we doubled our vote share in 2017. There are 30,000 Islanders who dont turn out to vote. We have a great team running a great campaign. Were on the road to success. I just hope success comes this time round.

There were some big majorities overturned in the 2017 General Election. Just look at Kensington, the wealthiest constituency in the country.

Because I genuinely care about Islanders and the Island. Im passionate about opportunities for young people and rebuilding communities. I dont need to do this as a career. I would be happy just to sit on the backbenches and represent Islanders.

The big thing for me, when looking at the country and the Island, is that many people are not happy with what they see and the way the party they usually vote for is behaving.

Some of you may not have considered voting before. Lend me your vote on Thursday and judge me on what we achieve.

If we can spend 550 billion pounds to bale out the banks (9,000 pounds for every man, woman and child in the country) then surely we can afford a hundred quid a head to help save the NHS.

Having given a platform to all candidates standing for election in the Isle of Wight constituency, tomorrow (Wednesday) Island Echo will publish an in-depth interview with the odds-on favouriteand sitting MP, Bob Seely (Conservative).

See more here:
MEET THE CANDIDATES: RICHARD QUIGLEY - Island Echo

This entry was posted on December 11, 2019 at 10:44 am and is filed under Preventative Medicine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |