Just some of what I thought...

Yesterday evening I had the pleasure of being invited along to the Shropshire Chamber of Commerce ’s business hustings event, in which 5 candidates from around the Shropshire constituencies attended.

Firstly, the attendance at the event wasn’t great – an inditement of our political exhaustion at this point? Local networking events see a higher turnout than this – and with more sense spoken – but we will come on to that later. What I will say is the event was well organised and hosted by Shropshire Chamber, Carl Jones from Shropshire Business magazine and Aico .

As a small business champion, and an advocate for enabling small business to grow and thrive and give back into local communities, I wanted to hear candidates talk about local issues, and how their parties, or themselves as local candidates were they to get into power, would do to help those small businesses. Answer – barely provided.

The good news is that the typical conservative vs labour sabre rattling did die down after a while, but not enough for answers to be relevant to questions asked and, in some cases, even keeping on topic was a challenge.

If the Conservatives are trying to cling on to power, they probably should have considered sending someone other than a previously suspended for bullying MP – perhaps a plant pot with a Conservative badge would have been more beneficial for them?  All of his responses to questions on local matters involving Telford and Shrewsbury rang with a sense that he somehow knows better, and the viewpoints provided to him are invalid to the point where they weren’t adequately addressed. When it comes to council matters, he believes that Shropshire should absorb Telford and Wrekin council, despite one operating diligently and well for local residents, and the other being 60m in debt.

On the NHS, his view that we should only have an A&E at Shrewsbury because it covers Shropshire and Mid Wales, and it is what surgeons have recommended is also misguided, and doesn’t factor in that, to his own point, the UK is not a 3rd world country, and we shouldn’t have to rely on regionalised resources being available in an emergency. I won’t even try to include that Shropshire and Telford shouldn’t need to consider NHS matters of mid-Wales because NHS matters in Wales are devolved to the Senedd.

On this point, I challenged the Conservative viewpoint. Around 6 years ago, most friends and colleagues know I was seriously ill. An undiagnosed auto-immune issue that caused complications which affected my airway, requiring adrenaline auto-injectors, and immediate medical intervention at an A&E. On several of my visits to the A&E in Telford, I was told, by the professionals the former Shrewsbury MP claims to listen to, that I would have died if I needed to get to Shrewsbury. Adrenaline was not doing enough to reverse the effects of this mystery illness effectively enough for me to travel the extra distance, and whilst from a surgical perspective I understand the ‘time to knife’ scenario, what I needed was medical intervention that without an A&E I would not have accessed.

Specialist centres of excellence for care and modernisation is absolutely of importance to the sustained future of the NHS, but if we are unable to get adequate emergency medical care locally, our government have failed. I do question, to the former MP’s point, that ‘Surgeons’ had let the review, and he quotes back a surgical solution of ‘time to knife’, what would the review regarding Shrewsbury and Telford hospitals have said if the nurses that work across all areas of the hospital had led the review? I suspect a very different, care-centric approach addressing patient needs.

Unsurprising, but no-less disappointing, the former Conservative MP opted to confirm that I was wrong (therefore the medical professions were wrong?) and that a regionalised A&E support is still the solution. No compassion, or understanding of a resident and business owners view, at a forum he is trying to convince us at, that his party should continue to be in Government? Well thanks for enlightening me. I see why the polls are currently the position that they are.

And this, from someone who has always voted Conservatives since I was old enough to vote. Not because I’m blue through-and-through, but because assessing manifesto’s (and naively believing they would ever be followed) I felt that they were the right party for me personally, for my family, and for my business aspirations. After this performance, I am, even more so, vehemently against the idea of a Conservative Government. And thankfully, polls suggest the nation will deliver.

By comparison, the Green candidate spoke well, addressing questions posed, albeit in some cases in an abstract manner and in theory rather than a delivery mindset – possibly evidence that there is no plan to deliver, or because the Green party do not have a manifesto at this stage. One key element that stuck with me was in discussing connectivity, and reminding me of the challenges we face in Telford and Shropshire, particularly for young people. With limited public services such as buses, ever decreasing in availability to access less trodden areas, it makes it very difficult for young people to attend work and training venues. I suppose Conservative National Service would solve that though.  I remember when I was first getting into work, local training providers used to loan mopeds and fund CBT training so that young people could get to work and training for those working in areas such as Ironbridge, and working less sociable hours outside of bus routes or starting/ finishing when buses did not operate– this is a distant memory now.

I liked the Lib Dem candidate, as someone working with (against) the ruling party of parliament, she spoke well on local matters and understood that business in our areas struggle with access to broadband, mobile signals and the challenges that brings which travelling across the county developing business, or trying to facilitate remote working arrangements to attract talent.

The labour candidate, when he also stopped Sabre rattling, did little to convince me that he was in his natural environment at a hustings, but what I got from him was a sense that he sincerely wants to see change in our broken public sector institutions, from the ruins they currently lie in. On the specific NHS comment I made, he understood the concern, and agreed that local facilities for emergency medical interventions are the right thing for a country such as ours. My hope is that with a Labour government incoming, the SATH reconfiguration is reviewed, and ensures that Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin are able to access local emergency support, and specialist resources at centres of excellence hosted in the trust.

On Reform UK’s candidate – he seemed like a nice guy, certainly out of touch to a more right wing alignment that he is currently within at Reform UK. He answered questions, albeit briefly, and for his own admission this was the first time he had done such an event and I think he probably need more prep to be able to respond fully to points raised – one key area he spoke on for me, abolition of IR35, which ends the persecution of small business such as ours when it comes to engaging businesses to win work when the off-payroll rules negatively target single employee firms – like isn’t that how all businesses start before they win work, expand, grow, and recruit from local areas – thanks again to the Conservatives for that small business hammer-blow.

So in summary, the hustings event wasn’t great, in that it hasn’t given me much in the way of information about how parties will help local business specifically in our area, but did help me confirm one thing.

Not the Tories.

Also whilst Politics is the thing I am typing about, I was beyond dismayed to find out upon leaving the event, that Rishi Sunak left the D-Day event early?! This a man that is trying to preach to the young about the benefits of national service, but couldn’t stay at an event to mark the ultimate sacrifice made by so many 80 years ago. I hope that on July 5th he packs his bags and gets on with the life he had planned in the States – how can he be the leader of the Country?

Thanks to Shropshire Chamber of Commerce for hosting the event, for Carl Jones at Shropshire Business magazine for hosting the hustings, and Aico for providing the venue.

Views are obviously personal musings only, and not of any of the other agencies referred. I felt it necessary to share as this was a targeted business husting, and therefore those with business interest will hopefully take benefit from the musings.

Keep safe all.