The document summarizes responses from three political candidates to a set of questions from the Hayling Island Group. For question 13 on post-school education and zero hours contracts, the candidates provide differing views on apprenticeships, university funding, and protecting worker rights. Question 14 on income tax rates elicits responses about balancing taxation with incentives and addressing inequality. For question 15 on the US-UK relationship, the candidates acknowledge the importance of the alliance but note the value of other relationships as well.

1. HAYLING ISLAND GROUP - GENERAL ELECTION TOP 20 QUESTIONS
Day 4 – Answers to the next four questions::
13. Forty years ago, it was common in the UK for young people to undertake a 4 year apprenticeship and,
simultaneously, to attend part-time further education to gain qualifications such as HNC. Only the very
academic attended university but when they did it was fully funded by government grants. Nowadays, 50%
of young people attend university, but they rack up huge debts, while the traditional apprenticeship is a
thing of the past. How do you believe post-school education and training should be re-balanced to make it
more affordable, more relevant to the majority of young people and better targeted to the needs of the UK
economy? How do you believe the rights of zero hours workers should be protected, without such
protections leading to a loss of jobs or working flexibility for those who want it?
14. Do you believe the higher rate of income tax should be increased to 50%, or possibly higher? If the effect
of such an increase did not increase revenue (an entirely possible outcome due to people relocating, not
working as hard, using avoidance measures etc) would that make a difference to your views on what the top
rate tax should be?
15. Do you agree that the United States is our closest ally and that the 'special relationship' between our
two nations should be fundamental to the UK's foreign policy?
16. Should the UK renew, and even expand, its nuclear power generation capacity in order to guarantee
security of energy supply and to reduce damage to the environment?

2. Alan Mak
Conservative Party
13. Forty years ago, it was common in the UK for young people to undertake a 4 year apprenticeship and, simultaneously, to
attend part-time further education to gain qualifications such as HNC. Only the very academic attended university but when
they did it was fully funded by government grants. Nowadays, 50% of young people attend university, but they rack up huge
debts, while the traditional apprenticeship is a thing of the past.
How do you believe post-school education and training should be re-balanced to make it more affordable, more relevant to
the majority of young people and better targeted to the needs of the UK economy? How do you believe the rights of zero
hours workers should be protected, without such protections leading to a loss of jobs or working flexibility for those who
want it?
The traditional apprenticeship is not a thing of the past. It is alive and well. In fact, apprenticeships are very popular.
Conservatives created 2 million apprenticeships between 2010-2015, and we will create 3 million more if re-elected. Local
businesses like Head Romance, an award-winning hair salon in central Havant, run by two childhood Hayling friends employs a
growing number of apprentices, as do many other local businesses.
Post-school education and training should be re-balanced by ensuring young people have good careers advice and a range of
options (a job, an apprenticeship or further study, rather than university being the only route). We can make it more
affordable by asking employers to help with the costs of an apprenticeship or university (for example with scholarships). We
also have to be frank and accept that students themselves benefit from post-school education and training, and should
therefore also be expected to make some financial contribution. Employers should also work with government and training
bodies and universities to ensure post-school education and training is targeted to the needs of the UK economy.
Labour took no action on zero hour/flexible hours contracts during 13 years in office. Conservatives took action quickly to
make them fairer by banning exclusivity clauses in these contracts which tied people to 1 employer so they couldn’t take on
other jobs if their main employer didn’t give them any hours.
Flexible contracts allow certain groups who want to be in the jobs market and to earn a wage, but who don’t know exactly
what hours they can work each week. For example, they may have study commitments or child care commitments that
change. Around 1 in 50 jobs uses a flexible/zero hours contract, but we should certainly protect this group of workers.

3. 14. Do you believe the higher rate of income tax should be increased to 50%, or
possibly higher? If the effect of such an increase did not increase revenue (an entirely
possible outcome due to people relocating, not working as hard, using avoidance
measures etc) would that make a difference to your views on what the top rate tax
should be?
No. We need to get the right balance between taxation, and allowing successful,
hardworking people to keep more of the money they earn.
15. Do you agree that the United States is our closest ally and that the 'special
relationship' between our two nations should be fundamental to the UK's foreign
policy?
Yes, we have strong economic, cultural, military and historic links with the US, and we
work closely with them at the UN, NATO and other international bodies. In particular, we
co-operate at all levels on military and intelligence sharing under the “Five Eyes”
agreement (an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK
and the USA).
16. Should the UK renew, and even expand, its nuclear power generation capacity in
order to guarantee security of energy supply and to reduce damage to the
environment?
We should renew the nuclear deterrent, and we are the only Party to fully commit to
renewing and replacing all 4 Vanguard-class nuclear submarines so we have a 24/7
deterrent 365 days of the year.
We cannot know what nuclear threats may emerge in the 2030s, 2040s and 2050s, so
the only responsible choice is to recommit to our continuous at sea deterrent now
before it is too late.

4. Tim Dawes
Green Party
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13. Forty years ago, it was common in the UK for young people to undertake a 4 year apprenticeship and,
simultaneously, to attend part-time further education to gain qualifications such as HNC. Only the very
academic attended university but when they did it was fully funded by government grants. Nowadays,
50% of young people attend university, but they rack up huge debts, while the traditional apprenticeship
is a thing of the past. How do you believe post-school education and training should be re-balanced to
make it more affordable, more relevant to the majority of young people and better targeted to the needs
of the UK economy? How do you believe the rights of zero hours workers should be protected, without
such protections leading to a loss of jobs or working flexibility for those who want it?
Yes, well, 40 years ago we still had a manufacturing industry. We still had a thriving local building industry
and we had proper provision for training on the job supported by college courses for day-release. Where are
all these now after 40 years of Labour and Tory governments that have woefully failed to support them? I
referred in my answer to question 12 to what seems to me to much better opportunities available in
Germany, which still has a thriving indigenous industrial sector. If young people want to go to university and
that is the right thing for them, then fine – they should have that opportunity without being forced into
debt. The Greens would abolish the massively inefficient and damaging tuition fees and bring us into line
with Scotland. We also propose to follow the example of some successful education systems elsewhere and
set up Youth Colleges as an alternative to more academic schools for the 16-19 age group and would look to
fund quality vocational training in local colleges to support real trade and skills apprenticeships.

5. 14. Do you believe the higher rate of income tax should be increased to 50%, or possibly higher? If the
effect of such an increase did not increase revenue (an entirely possible outcome due to people
relocating, not working as hard, using avoidance measures etc) would that make a difference to your
views on what the top rate tax should be?
Our policy is to have a top rate of income tax of 60% on very high earners. In part that is intended as a
disincentive for employers to pay salaries that are so high they contribute to instability in our society.
Removing tax loop holes at the same time as raising higher rates changes the game with respect to net
tax take. It's not at all clear that higher rates lead to more evasion in other countries with less lop holes
– though they may be part of the reason that inequalities are less pronounced. Some very rich people
will want to do the unpatriotic thing and go an live a less vibrant, culturally poorer life in a middle-
eastern country or some other tax haven. That's OK, we can do without them. I don't think most
scientists, engineers and leading thinkers will go – especially if we radically improve the amount of
money spent on research – as the Greens propose.
15. Do you agree that the United States is our closest ally and that the 'special relationship' between
our two nations should be fundamental to the UK's foreign policy?
We have not always followed US to war (Vietnam), nor they us (Suez). It is a strong and mostly healthy
relationship, but more of our trade and many of our strongest cultural links are with Europe. I am very
fond of America personally and would always want to see a close and mutually respectful relationship,
but not a slavish one such as developed between the Blair and Bush administrations. I do believe very
strongly in the importance of collective security, but I want to see that extended beyond the limited
vision of NATO to include Russian and the emerging economic powerhouse countries. The UN is my
preferred vehicle for a more inclusive and stable collective security in the future, but I accept that there
may need to be interim arrangements. None of this is easy to achieve whilst Russian and some other
regimes do not altogether share our “rule of law” and open democratic principles, but I am not that
confident about all the NATO members either – for example Albania and Turkey may in the future prove
very problematic in certain circumstances. In the final analysis, a simple “England and the US against
the rest” policy is myopic and unrealistic. We should be trying to deal with conflicts on a global scale
and bring as many as we can into a common security system – only that way will those countries, like
Russian and Iran (and indeed Turkey and the Baltic States) that feel threatened, be made to feel secure
and confident enough not to threaten back.

6. 16. Should the UK renew, and even expand, its nuclear power generation capacity in order to guarantee
security of energy supply and to reduce damage to the environment?
No. It is of course easy to say “if it were me, I wouldn't start from here”, but that is how I feel about
energy strategy in the UK. The truth is that since Thatcher and monetarists decided that the market was
the solution to everything and we just needed to privatise the lot and all would be well, we simply haven't
had a strategic national energy policy worthy of the name. We are paying for that now with increased
energy insecurity. We need to move to a renewable energy low-carbon energy economy if we are to avoid
catastrophic climate change. Wind energy is a great asset in the UK because we have so much potential.
Even now, with only a small fraction of that potential exploited wind sometimes contributes as much as
25% of our energy needs. The trouble is of course it contributes that when the wind blows, when it
doesn't the generation capacity drops to hardly aything. If you want to understand our current energy
mix, I recommend you look at this web site: http://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/. As the notes on the
site explain because a lot of wind capacity is not linked to the national grid telemetric system its
contribution is actually understated, but even so when I checked just now it was registering at just short
of 15% - and its not that windy today. The major advantage of nuclear is that its output is reliable and so
it provides the base load to the grid. I would not like to contemplate an energy strategy that soought to
move away from fossil fuel completely, as I believe we must in order to plan in the national interest,
without the knowledge that nuclear was there to support the base load pro temp. But nuclear is
inherently dangerous and ruinously expensive. Tidal and geothermal solutions could, I believe, replace
the need for nuclear altogether and in the longer term will be much more cost effective and of course
won't threaten the environment or our safety. We also need more capacity for storage of wind and solar
energy – our existing two pumped storage stations, absolutely critical to the way the grid works, are both
older than some nuclear stations already decommissioned. The tragedy is that we have failed to invest at
all significantly in these technologies. If we start now, there is still time to catch up.

7. Dr Graham Giles
Labour Party
13. Forty years ago, it was common in the UK for young people to undertake a 4 year apprenticeship and,
simultaneously, to attend part-time further education to gain qualifications such as HNC. Only the very academic
attended university but when they did it was fully funded by government grants. Nowadays, 50% of young people attend
university, but they rack up huge debts, while the traditional apprenticeship is a thing of the past. How do you believe
post-school education and training should be re-balanced to make it more affordable, more relevant to the majority of
young people and better targeted to the needs of the UK economy? How do you believe the rights of zero hours workers
should be protected, without such protections leading to a loss of jobs or working flexibility for those who want it?
Havant and Hayling island benefit from excellent educators but all schools and colleges have struggled to manage cuts and
confusion in education policies. I believe in choice, but aspirational education for all needs to be properly funded for the
long-term. My Charity ‘Europe to Europe’ runs Summer Schools for disadvantaged high-achievers called OpenEd, which
encourages an international world-view, enterprise, character and leadership. For example investment in our pupils can
support ambitious young teams starting a business at 16, creating an NGO at 17 and running a political campaign at 18.
Billions of Euro EU Erasmus+ funding for this innovative extra-mural education is available until 2020 if local schools and
youth organisations are simply prepared to apply for it. There is a need for an integrated 21st century vision to encourage,
facilitate and mentor young entrepreneurs to set up new ventures with a low-tax threshold.
As I’ve said many times on the door-steps and hustings: ‘If you haven’t got a decent job in Havant, haven’t got an
affordable home in Havant, haven’t got a meal in Havant – then you haven’t got a hope in Havant !”. Real wages have
fallen £1,600 a year since David Cameron took office, the largest fall since the 1870’s. This has left many working people
struggling, with one in five workers low paid, and half of those in poverty now living in a working family. Labour’s plan
ensures that working people will benefit from an £8 an hour minimum wage, action to promote a living wage, and a ban
on exploitative zero hours contracts. Alongside getting young people back to work, a compulsory jobs guarantee, a
responsible welfare system, and abolishing the unfair bedroom tax – this is how we will tackle the cost-of-living crisis,
reduce dependency on food banks, and earn our way back to greater productivity and higher living standards for all.

8. 14. Do you believe the higher rate of income tax should be increased to 50%, or possibly higher? If the effect of such an
increase did not increase revenue (an entirely possible outcome due to people relocating, not working as hard, using
avoidance measures etc) would that make a difference to your views on what the top rate tax should be?
Business interests and the Conservative party once forecast that introduction of a minimum wage would be catastrophic for
the country and cause the loss of many jobs. This scaremongering proved not to be true. Restoring the highest rate of tax to
50% is reasonable and ethical in current circumstances. Ordinary working people and those unfortunate enough to rely on
benefits have borne the brunt of VAT and austerity taxation up to now. Those with the broadest shoulders should at least
appear to be carrying the greatest load. We must not allow unsound economists or fat-cats to get away with scare tactics
which resist a fair taxation system. Labour is committed to end non-dom status and also empower the HMRC to crack down
effectively on corruption and tax evasion.
15. Do you agree that the United States is our closest ally and that the 'special relationship' between our two nations should
be fundamental to the UK's foreign policy?
Great Britain is still a global power, the fifth or sixth richest in the world. With Queen Elizabeth being head of State in 53
countries, our diplomatic, economic and political influence is undeniable. Clearly, the UK has a ‘special relationship’ with the
Commonwealth. Since 1970 Britain has also had a ‘special relationship’ with Europe as a member State of the expanding
European Union. We also have a long historical and national security ‘special relationship’ with the USA, especially through
NATO and the UN. Each of these special relationships have on-going fundamental importance to the unique global foreign
policy of our nation. Of course special relationships have to be mutual. If the USA considers the UK to be its closest ally and
the UK considers the USA to be its closest ally then we have the basis for active strategic collaboration on matters of global
resonance. I had a two hour breakfast with President Obama in February at which international ‘special relationships’ were
very much on the menu. For me the tests of our UK-USA special relationship are now threefold: the imperative of peace and
reconciliation between nations; the urgency of binding global agreements on reversing man-made climate change; and the
reduction of threats from terrorism and nuclear proliferation.
16. Should the UK renew, and even expand, its nuclear power generation capacity in order to guarantee security of energy
supply and to reduce damage to the environment?
Due to a lack of investment in renewable energy and appropriate energy saving initiatives in this country over the past 5 years,
it is inevitable that we need some nuclear power generation for the next 30 years. However, we should invest more in
renewable energy including free geothermal energy for Havant and Hayling, as in Southampton. We must certainly adopt a
precautionary principle against new fossil-fuel power generation - I oppose fracking for environmental, health and economic
reasons. Given the complexity of our local geology, population density, and the importance of local aquifers to our water
supply, it would be extremely ill-advised to permit gas-fracking anywhere along the south coast.
I support a new generation of efficient, safe nuclear power plants on existing sites because it is essential for our growing
industrial, scientific and domestic requirements. Investment in 21st Century nuclear fision is part of Labour’s integrated UK
strategy to provide all the energy we need without harming the planet.

9. Steve Sollitt
Liberal Democrats
13. Forty years ago, it was common in the UK for young people to undertake a 4 year apprenticeship and,
simultaneously, to attend part-time further education to gain qualifications such as HNC. Only the very academic
attended university but when they did it was fully funded by government grants. Nowadays, 50% of young
people attend university, but they rack up huge debts, while the traditional apprenticeship is a thing of the past.
How do you believe post-school education and training should be re-balanced to make it more affordable, more
relevant to the majority of young people and better targeted to the needs of the UK economy? How do you
believe the rights of zero hours workers should be protected, without such protections leading to a loss of jobs or
working flexibility for those who want it?
The Liberal Democrats have worked in the coalition to increase apprenticeships and this expansion would continue
with an aim to double the number of businesses with apprentices including extending them to new sectors of our
economy. We would develop the skilled workforce needed to support this growth and extend the Grant for
Employers for the remainder of the next Parliament and deliver 200,000 grants to employers We would also
expand the number of degree equivalent Higher Apprenticeships.
The present system of university funding only requires students to pay back after they are earning more than
£21,000 a year. The majority of people I have talked to feel that the present system is fair and allows for the
required finance in the university sector. A continued expansion in apprenticeships could reduce the number
attending university but student fees do not appear to have significantly reduced the number who wish to attend
at present
There are times when fixed term contracts and other flexible contracts work well for some employees and
businesses. However that is not always the case and we would work to stamp out abuse. We would create a
formal right to request a fixed contract and consult on how to make regular patterns of work contractual after a
period of time.

10. 14. Do you believe the higher rate of income tax should be increased to 50%, or possibly
higher? If the effect of such an increase did not increase revenue (an entirely possible
outcome due to people relocating, not working as hard, using avoidance measures etc)
would that make a difference to your views on what the top rate tax should be?
I would not support a 50p tax rate as it’s unlikely to raise more tax revenue.
The issue we have to address is tax avoidance and our polices will do that as well
as introducing a new tax on properties worth more than £2million On this basis
the tax rates should remain the same with an increase in personal tax allowance
to £12500
15. Do you agree that the United States is our closest ally and that the 'special
relationship' between our two nations should be fundamental to the UK's foreign
policy?
The US is an important ally to the UK but we should not ignore the other allies
we have within Europe and beyond. Our foreign policy should be the best one for
the UK and not specially aligned to the US
16. Should the UK renew, and even expand, its nuclear power generation capacity in
order to guarantee security of energy supply and to reduce damage to the environment?
The UK should seek to ensure that nuclear energy remains part of our energy
power generation whilst recognising the risks of this If we are serious about
finding alternatives to gas and oil longer term then other environmental methods
of generation are required through wind and tidal power but there would need
to be some nuclear input into that to ensure we were not in a situation where we
were short of generation capacity

11. John Perry
United Kingdom
Independence Party
13. Forty years ago, it was common in the UK for young people to undertake a 4 year
apprenticeship and, simultaneously, to attend part-time further education to gain qualifications
such as HNC. Only the very academic attended university but when they did it was fully funded by
government grants. Nowadays, 50% of young people attend university, but they rack up huge
debts, while the traditional apprenticeship is a thing of the past. How do you believe post-school
education and training should be re-balanced to make it more affordable, more relevant to the
majority of young people and better targeted to the needs of the UK economy? How do you believe
the rights of zero hours workers should be protected, without such protections leading to a loss of
jobs or working flexibility for those who want it?
UKIP Policy is no tuition fees for STEM subjects and I agree with that as there is a shortage of STEM
subject graduates in the Havant area as evidenced by job vacancies. Since 45% of student loans are
being written off, student fees could be at least halved with no fiscal impact to the government
coffers. I believe we should reintroduce apprenticeship training, but this will only work if unskilled
migrants into the UK are restricted from entry, and that is UKIP policy.
I deplore zero hours contracts and would want them banned; they came in after the EU implemented
controls over contract workers, and so leaving the EU would help employers and employees alike.

12. 14. Do you believe the higher rate of income tax should be increased to 50%, or possibly
higher? If the effect of such an increase did not increase revenue (an entirely possible outcome
due to people relocating, not working as hard, using avoidance measures etc) would that
make a difference to your views on what the top rate tax should be?
Last year, once employees were paying 20% tax on £32,000 they were moved into the 40% tax
band. This should be raised by at least £10,000. UKIP policy is to have an intermediate 30% tax
band.
I believe the highest rate of income tax should be set at such a rate to maximise tax revenue;
France raised their tax rate too high so wealthy French employees moved to the UK to pay UK
tax. Therefore, I believe 40% is the maximum tax rate we should have now, since low tax rates
encourage more high paid employees into the UK and a greater tax take.
15. Do you agree that the United States is our closest ally and that the 'special relationship'
between our two nations should be fundamental to the UK's foreign policy?
Today’s paper suggests that the special relationship has gone following savage defence spending
cuts by Labour and the Tories. I believe we should try and re-kindle that special relationship so
sharing intelligence for Britain’s benefit. We in UKIP believe spending must be at least 2% of
GDP on defence. I would also like to see shipbuilding returned to Portsmouth.
16. Should the UK renew, and even expand, its nuclear power generation capacity in order to
guarantee security of energy supply and to reduce damage to the environment?
Short answer: yes, as no CO2 emissions and it guarantees us energy security. Nuclear Power
relies on fission; I am hopeful that cleaner nuclear power based on fusion may be with us in
future years to allay green concerns.

13. That’s it for Day 4
The last four questions will
be answered tomorrow
PF PowerPoint Presentations