Background

The church is in the constituency of Finchley and Golders Green, in London.  Most of the church members live there too.  The candidates standing in the general election on 6thMay 2010 are listed below (in alphabetical order).  The link against each will take you to the individual's "profile" page, where it is available, on their own party's web site. This is followed by their email address, if you would like to contact them about anything that you read here.

Following a similar exercise in 2005, we have tried to find out where each of the candidates stand on various moral and other issues – issues that so often are ignored in the media and at national level. We asked each of them to respond to the same set of questions; we hope that their answers (as well as what they omit to mention!) will help you make an informed choice about which candidate to vote for.  We should stress that we have no particular party-political axe to grind, but we are concerned to see our country governed well.

When you come to vote, do take into account both the views of the individual candidates as well as the policies of the parties to which they belong. Sometimes they are very different! You may warm to a particular candidate's views, while disagreeing with the stance taken by the party as a whole, or vice versa. If this is the case, you will need to think carefully about which is most important. The information provided in the link at the bottom of this page should help to give you a better idea of the parties' stance on the matters discussed here.

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The Questions

We asked just two questions:

Q1. Please consider each of the broad areas listed below. If you are elected, will you seek to change existing law at all? If so, in what way?

1. Freedom of speech / religious liberty
2. Family / marriage / civil partnerships
3. Creation / intelligent design / evolution
4. Abortion / embryonic stem cell research / IVF
5. Euthanasia / mercy killing
6. Education / national curriculum / home schooling / sex education
7. Smacking / discipline
8. Environment (local and national)
9. Objectives of tax system
10. Crime / punishment / law & order
11. Immigration / asylum

Q2. What will be your main aim as Member of Parliament, if you are elected?

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The Answers

Four of the five candidates have now responded: Mike Freer (Conservative), Susan Cummins (UKIP), Laura Edge (Liberal Democrat) and Alison Moore (Labour).

Their answers are reproduced below in the order in which they were received. Their words are shown like this.  Text within square brackets "[ ]" has been added or altered for clarity.  Deleted text is indicated by "[ ... ]".  Small corrections (e.g. to spelling) have not been highlighted.

Freedom of speech / religious liberty

[MF-Con]
I would continue to support religious freedoms and I am not aware of any changes in the law proposed. I support the rights of faith groups to display/wear religious symbols.

[SC-UKIP]
As a Christian I feel that freedom of speech and Chritian beliefs are under threat in the country today, some Christians do feel marginalised and in some cases persecuted. I would certainly not support any new laws, and would in fact try to repeal laws that discriminate against Christians, such as the Equalities Bill. I fully suppport any faith wishing to carry out their beliefs without hinderance. This is an area I'm concerned about in Britain today.

[LE-LibDem]
Free speech: The United Kingdom has a very proud tradition of free speech but this has suffered greatly under Labour. The Liberal Democrats would introduce a "Freedom Bill" to do away with a raft of illiberal legislation including the ban on protesting within 1 mile of Parliament. We would also seek to reform libel laws to improve press freedom, including by requiring corporations to show damage and prove recklessness or malice and by providing a robust journalistic defence.
Religious liberty: My own religious background is ecumenical - my maternal grandfather was Catholic and my maternal grandmother was Jewish. I attended the United Reformed Church when I was growing up. More recently, the view of the Quakers has been closest to my heart. I believe in the freedom of people of all faiths, and none, to express their views and to observe their religion and wear the symbols of their religion. The Lib Dems supported the Bill on Incitement to Religious Hatred. I do not believe there is a need for further legislation in this area but rather for education to promote understanding between communities.

[AM-Lab]
I support freedom of speech and the rights of all faiths to express their views within an open and tolerant society.

Family / marriage / civil partnerships

[MF-Con]
I support the family as being the bedrock of society and support our proposals to recognise marriage and civil partnerships in the tax system, I don’t propose any further changes to the law.

[SC-UKIP]
I fully support marriage and the family and also would want marriage recognised in the tax system. Marriage is the bedrock [on] which children should be brought up.

[LE-LibDem]
I am very fortunate in that I come from a very close family and I believe that supporting families is [a] very important part of promoting a cohesive society. However, I do not think there is any need for a change in the law.
The introduction of civil partnerships was, to my mind, one of the best things that the Labour Government did during its term of office and I would not support a change in the law here.

[AM-Lab]
I support the right of couples to marry or not and welcome civil partnerships. I do however, believe that a strong family background – of whatever shape and size is important for our children.

Creation / intelligent design / evolution

[MF-Con]
I don’t propose any changes to the law.

[SC-UKIP]
I do not support any changes to the law

[LE-LibDem]
I believe that it is right that evolution should be taught in all our schools. Beyond that, it is for individuals to decide what they believe.

[AM-Lab]
As a former research scientist I believe in and am committed to the teaching of evolution within the scientific curriculum. I do however, support the right of others to express their belief in creationism and intelligent design, to develop arguments to support those views and to have a healthy debate on those issues outside the scince curriculum.

Abortion / embryonic stem cell research / IVF

[MF-Con]
On abortion, I would be supportive of reviewing downwards the upper time limit given medical advances; I do not propose any changes in stem cell research or IVF legislation.

[SC-UKIP]
I would support the lowering of the time limit to give abortions, apart from those carried out for medical reasons. I would not propose any changes in stem cell research or IVF legislation.

[LE-LibDem]
Abortion: I do not support a change in the law.
Stem cell research/IVF: Subject to very close scrutiny and consultation, I would be open to changes in the law, as and when it was necessary, to promote advances in the treatment of disease. Broadly, I believe that where techniques can save lives they should be explored but I do not support changes which would simply enable parents to choose the sex (or anything else) of their child for non-medical reasons as I believe this would be unethical.

[AM-Lab]
On abortion, I uphold the principle of a woman’s right to chose, believe that the upper time limit on abortion needs to be kept under careful scrutiny in the light of medical and technical developments but recognise that late abortions are inevitably performed in circumstances where there are overwhelming medical reasons.
I support embryonic stem cell research within a tightly controlled scientific and ethical framework.
I support IVF but once again within a strong legislative framework and through centres subjected to monitoring and challenge to ensure safe and ethical practice.

Euthanasia / mercy killing

[MF-Con]
I do not support assisted suicide.

[SC-UKIP]
I do not support assisted suicide.

[LE-LibDem]
I am not opposed to euthanasia and I do think that the law needs looking at. With our ageing population it is particularly important that people have the opportunity to live out their lives, and to die, with dignity and as they choose. However, I recognise that there are very real concerns about how any change in the law might impact on vulnerable people and any change must be very carefully considered and consulted upon – a national debate on the issue would be a good start.

[AM-Lab]
I recognise the enormous challenges presented ethically by the subject of euthanasia and mercy killing. I believe this is an are where there needs to be open and honest dialogue.

Education / national curriculum / home schooling / sex education

[MF-Con]
I support our proposals for a major expansion of schools, allowing parents, faith groups, charitable/voluntary organisations being able to open schools. That the national curriculum should be refocused on core-subjects; we have consistently supported the views of faith communities in sex education. I do not propose further legislation.

[SC-UKIP]
We fully support faith schools; these schools have worked well for many years and [we] would not want to change that. I do not support David Cameron's proposal in the press recently to "force faith schools to teach homosexuality" as supported by the other main parties. I feel this is an area that is best explained by the family of the child. I was taught to have respect for eveyone as a child, and parents are the best placed to ensure that respect.

[LE-LibDem]
Both of my parents are teachers in comprehensive schools (my mother was head teacher for many years) and I have learnt from them how much pressure there is on teachers today with respect to bureaucracy and red tape. The Liberal Democrats are proposing an “Education Freedom Bill” to free schools from onerous bureaucracy and centralist control from Whitehall and give teachers more time to teach.
I believe that the education system is presently failing many young people in that there is no real vocational pathway in secondary schools. One way of addressing this would be to enable children of 14 and over to attend further education and sixth form colleges which offer more choices when it comes to vocational education.
I believe that sex education, including education about homosexuality, should, as a matter of law, be taught in all our schools. Sex, and homosexuality, are facts of life and all children, regardless of their religious background, should be taught the facts of life.

[AM-Lab]
I support a mix of both faith and non faith schools that meet the needs of local parents and children and I think that local authorities are best placed to ensure an open, balanced and fair admissions process. I think the national curriculum has been a key part of raising standards in core subjects but welcome the drive to re-establish a more creative curriculum, particularly as primary school level. I support the right of parents to home educate within a strong monitoring framework but believe that children have best access to a full curriculum within a school and educated with their peers. I support sex education within schools and while I respect the right of parents to withdraw their child I believe that if there is a strong dialogue between schools and parents it should be by exception.

Smacking / discipline

[MF-Con]
I don’t propose any changes to the rules on smacking. On discipline we propose to restore the right of the head teacher to exclude pupils and remove exclusion appeals panels.

[SC-UKIP]
I would not support proposals from Europe to ban smacking. UKIP supports the bringing back of corporal punishment in schools (with the permission of the parent). Head teachers should be able to exclude unruly pupils and we would remove exclusion appeals panels

[LE-LibDem]
I do not believe that there is a need for legislation in this area but simply for enforcement of the current law. It is a matter of commonsense. Personally, I believe that, in most circumstances, smacking children does not send the right message about how to deal with things but sometimes, for example where a very young child has run out into the road, it is practical to try to get an important message across. The most important thing to concentrate on is on ensuring that we have the right people and systems in place to protect vulnerable children.

[AM-Lab]
I think that smacking a child is, in many ways, an admission of failure and last resort and that parents should be supported to develop positive discipline in the family.

Environment (local and national)

[MF-Con]
This is a wide area and the Conservative party have been strong on the need to ensure we address climate change.

[SC-UKIP]
It is unacceptable to have British goods dumped in China or Africa to be recycled. UKIP would invest in enviromentally-freindly technology. This I support.

[LE-LibDem]
Protecting our local and national environment and tackling climate change should be at the forefront of all our efforts and is a major thread of the Lib Dem manifesto which contains detailed measures for protecting our environment and supporting a switch to renewable energy. Many of these measures which we support, such as an Eco Cashback scheme to enable householders to borrow money to improve insulation or install microgeneration do not require legislation but some do - there isn't enough space to cover them all but, for example, at a local level, a third party right of appeal for planning decisions would enable local people to appeal against a decision of their local planning authority. Currently, only developers can appeal, local people only have recourse to judicial review which is costly and rarely succeeds

[AM-Lab]
I believe that we could be more energetic at a local, national and international level in tackling the challenge of managing our resources sustainably. Just as with the financial crisis – we are very much all in it together.

Objectives of tax system

[MF-Con]
To be fairer, to remove discentives to work, to remove discentives to avoid tax and to recognise the family in the tax system.

[SC-UKIP]
To recognise the family in the tax system. No tax paid on the first £11.5000 pa. and take those on mimimum wage out of the tax system altogether.

[LE-LibDem]
I believe that our present tax system is fundamentally unfair because the rich pay a lower proportion of their income in tax than the poor. The Lib Dem proposals would realign the system to make it more fair. In the longer term, I think we also need to look at fundamentally rejigging the way we raise taxes locally because council tax does not reflect a person’s ability to pay.

[AM-Lab]
I believe that we need to develop a system of taxation that is fairer for those on lower incomes, is genuinely progressive and that high earners do contribute broadly in proportion to income.

Crime / punishment / law & order

[MF-Con]
Crime can not be reduced until we break the cycle of offending. We must ensure the police can do their jobs by removing the enormous burden of paperwork and ensure that those who offend are re-habilitated.

[SC-UKIP]
Crime in the UK is out of control; criminals are released early of go out on bail, to commit more crimes. UKIP would scrap the failed human rights act, [a] criminals' charter which protects criminials and does nothing to protect our hardworking ciitzens. Create more prison places. Give people referendums to vote on police priorities.

[LE-LibDem]
We already have too many laws. The Labour Government has passed over six major Criminal Justice Acts since coming to office. Enforcing the laws we have by increasing the number of police on the beat and coming up with innovative measures to target crime in particular areas is more important than making still more new laws. Although sometimes there is no other option but to send an offender to prison, I believe that, given that it is often a conveyor belt to more serious criminal activity, we should try and avoid short prison sentences for first time offenders in favour of community punishments.

Immigration / asylum

[MF-Con]
We must ensure that our proud history of offering safe haven to those genuinely fleeing persecution remains intact. With regards to economic migrants we have to accept that there is a limit to what our country can absorb and our public services cope with. We therefore propose a point based system (as per Australia/Canada) where people with needed skills are permitted to enter. The inflow is likely to be in the tens of thousands not the hundreds of thousands as at present.

[SC-UKIP]
We would continue to offer asylum to genuine asylum seekers. Under Labour 3.5 milllion people haave been added to the population; this country cannot cope with mass immigration. We would triple border agency personnel, find and deport illegal immigrants [and] give work permits only for UK economic needs

[LE-LibDem]
I believe that it is vital to keep sight of the fact that immigration has been of enormous benefit to this country over the years and will continue to be so, particularly as our population ages. But it does need to be controlled so that access to public services, homes and jobs is fair. The rise of the BNP has, at least in part, been due to pressure on public services, homes and jobs in some areas and we need to recognise this. The Lib Dems support the re-introduction of exit controls because without these it is impossible to know whether someone who came into the country on, say, a student visa, has actually left. We also support a regional immigration policy which would help ensure that immigrants go to areas where they are needed and where the local infrastructure can cope.
On asylum, I believe passionately that we should maintain our country’s proud tradition of providing a safe haven to those fleeing persecution. In order to enable asylum seekers a fair opportunity to prove their case and to relieve the pressure on the public purse I believe that asylum seekers should be allowed to work while they are waiting for a decision on their application. I am opposed to the detention of young asylum seekers because I think it is simply inhumane and should not be tolerated.

[AM-Lab]
I believe that Britain has a proud history going back many centuries for providing safe haven and thus would want to see the rights of those seeking asylum to be protected. There does need to be an effective and efficient system of establishing when refugee status is not justified but believe that the issue of those awaiting a decision to work needs to be reconsidered.

My main aim

[MF-Con]
To work on ensuring I use my business experience to ensure any new legislation is challenged to ensure we avoid the law of unintended consequences and to ensure new laws are only proposed if needed. It is important that local people have a strong and energetic voice – helping them cut through bureaucracy when they are dealing with the many arms of the state. It is important that the MP is someone who can get things done and locally I will continue to press for improved breast cancer screening; an expansion of popular local schools and ensuring the agreed improvements to the Henley’s Corner junction are delivered.

[SC-UKIP]
It is important to give the people of Finchley and Golders Green a voice and UKIP will do that by giving them referendums that matter on important local/national issues. Local people need to be able to challenge laws that effect their lives; at present this is not possible. I will bring a fresh approach to politics; I have a passion for London and Golders Green. [I was] born in London and have lived with my husband in Finchley and Golders Green for some years now, where my son goes to school. I have seen London [change] and not for the better, and that is why I have entered this race. Having a strong sense of social justice I will actively campaign for the rights and issues that people feel strongly about in this area, whether that is a local issue such as the closing of hospitals' A&E, crime and lack of police, or for national issues. I'm not a career politician and am aware I am the only PPC to have young children, I do not have the political experience of some of the other candidates, but what I do have is a driving ambition to make this country a safer, more caring and democratic country for you, your children and mine to grow up in.

[LE-LibDem]
There are two. To be a hardworking representative for the people of Finchley and Golders Green living locally and working with local people and councillors to protect improve local services and to work at Parliamentary level to try and implement the Liberal Democrat agenda of fairness.

[AM-Lab]
Firstly to be a strong local voice for our rich and varied community, to strive to ensure that Finchley and Golders Green and its residents get a fair deal out of government and legislation.

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Further Information

The Christian Institute has produced an extremely useful briefing paper about the election, and the views of each party on various moral issues, which we are happy to recommend. Please click on the image below to access it.

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Election Results

The full results of the election are listed below.  The Conservative candidate, Mike Freer, won with a majority of 5,809.