Please see my responses to the six questions. 1) Should MPs live in the constituency they represent? I live in Dulwich and my view is that MPs should have strong local links and most importantly a fully staffed office in the constituency to make themselves easily accessible to local people. MPs have a number of important constituency roles ? to be the eyes and ears of their constituents, to represent their interests, and where possible to resolve their complaints. It is vital for an MP to be fully in touch with what is going on ?on the ground?. This can only be done by the MP being available and on hand to be informed regularly, speedily, and in detail of new events and developments so that quick action can be taken. Being an MP is a public service which can most effectively be carried out by being with the people where they live. And the further away an MP lives from their constituency the more difficult it is for them to share the experiences of their constituents. For example in late May the train timetable will be changed to fill gaps for East Dulwich, North Dulwich and Tulse Hill commuters into London Bridge. If you don't use these services you'd be much less likely to know how important an issue it is. I?ve been involved in the Dulwich Hospital campaign for more than 10 years and living locally I know what the hospital means to local people. Almost exactly 13 years ago to the day Tony Blair said, ?we have 24 hours to save the NHS?. Local people looking at what is left of our local hospital can see every day how they have been betrayed by Labour?s broken promises. If an MP is based some distance from the constituency they cannot see clearly how local services are performing. Such an absentee MP will have insufficient knowledge of what needs to be done for local people and will be unable to measure the speed and effectiveness of the necessary remedial action that needs to be taken. 2) What is the fairest way of capping individuals annual earnings i.e Bob Diamond?s ?63 million at Barclays? The best way is to set an upper limit on what bonuses senior executives are allowed to receive is by Statute. We will introduce ?fair pay audits? for every company with over 100 employees, and we will require all public companies to declare in full remunerations of ?200,000 per year or more. Liberal Democrats do not shrink from a taxation system that aims to be starkly fairer and more redistributive. It is especially important when this country needs to be rebuilt economically to sustain itself during the difficult five to ten years ahead and if we are to have any hope of repaying the vast amounts off the deficit. 3) Do you accept that whilst the crime solving benefits of surveillance are considerable, there must surely be a level at which the costs to an individual's privacy and sense of freedom outweigh the potential benefits? Yes. Solving crime through effective use of CCTV surveillance shouldn?t be at the cost of individual liberty, but sadly too often under Labour it has been used as a cheap headline grabbing stunt to appear tough on crime. In fact as a lawyer, I strongly believe the fight against violent crime is being hampered by excessive legislation and bureaucratic red tape emanating from the Labour government. This has spread confusion among police officers, judges and other professionals and gets in the way of detection and prosecution of crimes for which effective CCTV is a vital part. For example the Labour government has created 4,289 new criminal offences, between 1997 and 2009 ? approximately one for every day Labour have been in office including such ludicrous offences as: ? Disturbing a pack of eggs when directed not to by an authorised officer. (SI 2007/2245, Eggs and Chicks (England Eggs for Hatching and Chicks) 13.1c&8a. and SI 2008/1718). ? Causing a nuclear explosion. (Nuclear Explosions (Prohibition and Inspections) Act 1998). ? Sells or offers for sale a bird of game killed on a Sunday or Christmas Day. (SI 2007/2007 Regulatory Reform (Game) Order 2007, amendment to Game Act 1831 s. 3A). ? To wilfully pretend to be a barrister. A change in direction in crime and disorder policy making is long overdue. The focus instead should be on catching criminals, increasing the number of police and other enforcement officers on the street, a reduction in red tape and more efficient use of technology such as CCTV with mobile and state of the art digital cameras. Finally, I believe that police forces and other investigative agencies are not doing enough to make proper use of CCTV material in the fight against crime. Firstly, speedy access at an early point in the investigation is vital, and it is essential to obtain and preserve CCTV material. I have been engaged in far too many cases where Officers have left it too late to go after material or to go through it early enough, or to properly preserve it. Secondly, there is a wholly unsatisfactory system in place for ordinary citizens, people facing criminal charges, or those pursuing civil cases, to seek out, find, and get access to CCTV footage, let alone be allowed to see it and keep it for use in their case. There is a bad tendency for Government or other agencies to cover up vital evidence where it is not in their interests to disclose it. If elected, one of my first tasks will be to beef up the rights of access to CCTV footage and the disclosure remedies in pursuit of such vital material. When this evidence is speedily harnessed and preserved so that all can make use of it, I foresee a substantial decrease in miscarriages of justice. 4) Could the candidates please outline how they intend to offer this area (East Dulwich, Nunhead and the wider Southwark/South East London area) better transport links to other parts of London. Although I realise the Mayor has overall responsibility for transport in London, do any of the parliamentary or council candidates have a view/ have plans to propose measures to improve the connections between South East London and the rest of the city? A whole host of things that should be done by Transport for London/Dept of Transport - real time bus information at all bus stops, more local trains rather than long distant commuter trains. Keeping South London Line trains as well as the new East London Line phases 1 & 2. Ensuring ELL2 connects to Brixton and Surrey Canal to maximise local benefits. Extending the 63 bus to Honour Oak station. However, some things Southwark Council can do. In our manifesto we pledge that if we control Camberwell Community Council we would ensure a study of how to extend the under utilised Bakerloo Line down to Camberwell and beyond could happen. When Greenwich Council did this about the DLR it ultimately resulted in the extension to Woolwich Arsenal. We also want to see the completion of the plans for every local street to become a 20mph zone and encourage walking and cycling with more cycle lanes and better pedestrian priority at junctions. We can also work with the train companies to make sure that all local stations are fully accessible and have good cycle parking. Giving tax breaks to car sharing via car clubs - for every car they provide surveys have shown twenty four and a half private car journeys are given up by members. I believe this is a great way to ensure residents have the flexibility of car ownership without the costs of tax, MoT and insurance and they get priority car parking too. 5) I would like to ask the candidates what they would do to ensure that all local children can go to good local state primary and secondary schools (with the emphasis on good as well as local)? It?s important to remember just how far we have come. Just a few years ago ? under Labour ? Southwark?s schools were so bad, the education department was privatised and handed to a firm of road engineers to run. But we now have record results at both primary school and for GCSEs and many of our schools are now oversubscribed. And that is unequivocally a good thing. Liberal Democrats will boost opportunities for local young people to get a good education and meet the need for more school places by opening three more new secondary schools by September 2014 - in Rotherhithe, in Walworth and a permanent home for East Dulwich Boys School next to Peckham Rye. We will ensure children have a good primary school place within a mile of their home. This year we have changed the admissions process to reflect the increased demand for local primary places and to try to best plan where additional ?bulge? classes should go. Our aim is to maximise parents? first choice preferences and make sure school expansions are both sustainable and necessary. Instead of announcing which schools will expand in advance ? which simply encourages demand at those schools ? the council is taking a bit more time to process applications so it can be sure where there is most demand. It will then introduce temporary ?bulge? classes at those schools where there is most demand. I am confident this process will mean more parents in and around East Dulwich will get a place for their kids in a good local school a short distance away. 6)Should the government departments treat humanist, secular and religious organisations equally in policy making, funding decisions and consultations? Yes. JONATHAN STUART MITCHELL Liberal Democrat PPC Dulwich and West Norwood Councillor East Dulwich
