Quote Originally Posted by noel View Post
Here's a question to you: if you were to stand with your current manifesto, what type of constituency do you think give you the best chance of being elected? I'm thinking former industrial provincial towns. How about Northampton North? Bellweather constituency, and you could maximise your links to the shoe industry.
Probably red wall Noel. I see myself as small c conservative policies with some social support in key areas, particularly trying to improve the lot for those working at or around minimum wage, who I think have been the most shafted over the last 30 years.

I'm perceived as right wing, but as you can see on energy I'm suggesting building up the state run energy company to manage nuclear and I'd like to bring water and rail back in to public ownership although I'm not proposing that as a policy because I think it can be done by default, as rail franchises come to an end, and as water companies fail as Thames looks to be doing.
It might seem underhand not to announce, but you can imagine the share price would head north if it was public knowledge, just as the gold price headed south when Gordon Brown announced to the world he would be selling our gold.
In some respects William Clouston's SDP is closest to me and I have engaged with him - I disagree on housing - not a deal breaker.

We already have a "waiting list" for visas technically speaking. The Government has a cap and criteria that have to be met, it's just that they've blown the bloody doors off and only told us after the event.

And yes, I realise it will have an effect on labour and I will deal with that. We have 10 million part-time workers and 6 million "economically inactive" of working age and we need to better use them.
I will bring forward some thoughts on that next.

And consider, we have quite a few migrants in the UK that are unable to work at the moment. My proposals above moves them from dependants in supported accommodation to employees paying their way.

In addition to helping out the labour market, it should help reduce spending and increase tax revenue so that I can afford the billions for the nuclear programme

In terms of the visa limitations, it's very simple for me.

Our country is under immense pressure.

All services stretched. School places stretched. Housing stretched. All political parties are holding a bidding war on how many houses they are going to build.

We are only having to do that because our population increases by a city bigger than Bristol each year.

A "two out one in" policy will reduce that pressure.

Consider we have around 500,000 per year leaving at the moment (so 250k would be able to come in next year) so this isn't a stop on immigration, but a form management of it and a message to employers to use the pool of labour we have here more effectively and do something to train up your own.