Election: West Dunbartonshire hopefuls go head-to-head on Brexit

For three weeks the Post will feature a discussion topic and each of the six candidates will have their say. The first topic is Brexit.

Brexit is the driving force behind this 2019 snap election, and, despite the referendum being more than three years ago, the future of the UK and its relationship with the EU is still unclear.

The matter remains as contentious as ever, with both politicians and members of the public.

Your candidates are as follows: Martin Docherty-Hughes, SNP; Jean Anne Mitchell, Labour; Peter Connolly, Green; Alix Mathieson, Conservative; Jenni Lang, Liberal Democrats; and Andrew Muir, Independent.

Peter Connolly, Green Party:

SCOTTISH Greens campaigned to stay in the EU and since the referendum we’ve been consistent in resisting Scotland being taken out against the will of the vast majority of people in every single area – including the 62 per cent in West Dunbartonshire who voted to remain.

Brexit will have a huge and direct impact. As a constituency with high levels of poverty and deprivation, and a huge need for public services, we have the most to lose.

Food and fuel prices will go up, leaving more people relying on food banks to make ends meet. Our NHS and other vital services which particularly rely on workers from the EU are already struggling to recruit staff – a situation that will get worse as freedom of movement is stopped, leading to a deeper crisis in our hospitals.

New trade deals negotiated with Donald Trump and others will force the UK into accepting lower standards for workers’ rights, environmental protection and food safety.

Green MSPs Ross Greer and Andy Wightman led the court case that confirmed Article 50 could be revoked and that the UK could still remain. I believe that is what needs to happen, ideally after a referendum with remain as an option.

Whether it’s a Tory deal or no deal, West Dunbartonshire will be hit hard and that’s unacceptable. Brexit must be stopped.

A vote for me is the clearest way to send out this message on December 12.

Alix Mathieson, Conservatives:

One thing is absolutely clear to me: we must get Brexit sorted and move forward.

People are sick of politicians constantly going on and on about Brexit and yet doing nothing except complaining from the sidelines. In this election, I can promise that will not be me. I will put my head down and get on with it.

Brexit gives us great opportunities, especially here in West Dunbartonshire. It gives our whisky industry the opportunity to get out of the high tariffs imposed on them because of EU trade wars with the US and flourish.

It will give West Dunbartonshire a chance to grow the declining population with skilled workers specific to our needs and the deal guarantees EU workers and citizens’ right to stay here. While others complain about things yet unseen, I am championing the positive prospects that Brexit has for this area.

Furthermore, we must respect the result of the nationwide vote. While I respect that most people in West Dunbartonshire voted to remain, almost 16,500 voted to leave along with around one million Scots, including myself, which added to the 17.4million voices of the entire UK. I am speaking up for them.

We must accept the results of the referendum, even if we were on the losing side because otherwise democracy cannot function. It is time to implement the result, stop going in endless circles and move on to what really matters to people locally.

This is what I am offering the people of West Dunbartonshire, a chance for politicians to get back to the day job.

Only the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party offers that.

Andrew Muir, Independent:

I VOTED to leave the EU in 2016. This was due to concerns that we were heading for a federal state of Europe which was unaccountable and undemocratic.

I had seen how disastrous the recession had been for countries that had adopted the Euro. I was concerned about uncontrolled immigration with threats to unemployment, resources, the space we have in Scotland compared to crowded London and the extra traffic on the A82. I was also concerned about the annual contribution we had to pay and that we were subsidising the poorer countries.

We should respect the democratic result of the referendum. Those MPs who have refused to do so have created a gridlock for the last three years where very few new laws are created. There are currently 650 MPs, each with a basic salary of £80,000. There is an annual bill to the taxpayer of more than £50million for this – an incredible cost for achieving nothing.

I do not understand why the SNP would want to leave the UK so people in this country have a say in the running of their affairs, while at the same time wanting to remain in Europe when they would be handing control to someone else. I do not like the fact that we would be governed by someone like the European Council president Donald Tusk, who said there would be a special place in hell for those who wanted to leave the EU.

Jenni Lang, Liberal Democrats:

The people of West Dunbartonshire voted to remain in the European Union. Local people were not conned by the Tories’ false claims and lies over Brexit.

Remaining in the EU was and is best for ourselves and our families. Only the Liberal Democrats have been consistent and right in saying no form of Brexit is as good, as the benefits we enjoy by remaining in the EU – more skilled nurses and doctors working in the NHS; opportunities to work in Europe; beneficial medical research; ease of travel; enhanced security.

Labour, SNP and Conservatives say they want an exit deal. Any deal will make us worse off.

Liberal Democrats have a clear plan to build a brighter future for people and the planet. Our first step is to stop Brexit. By remaining in the EU we shall all benefit from a £50billion remain bonus which will be invested in public services and tackling inequality.

On day one of a majority Liberal Democrat government, Article 50 will be revoked and we shall remain in the EU. Many millions of people are voting Liberal Democrat. We gained 700 seats in local elections and more votes than both the Conservatives and Labour in the European Elections.

I take great pride in being your Liberal Democrat candidate. By voting for me on December 12, you are voting for a brighter future through remaining in the EU and in the UK.

Jean Anne Mitchell, Labour:

I AM fully committed to the United Kingdom remaining within the European Union.

I accept that the EU is not perfect and that it needs reform. However, that does not mean that I agree with leaving our single largest trading partner with no credible trade deals, with no credible safeguards for the Good Friday Agreement, and with no credible plans for medical supplies.

The Conservatives and the SNP have taken extreme positions on Brexit. Both parties won’t do anything to heal the division in our country. The Tories are hijacking Brexit to sell out our precious NHS and working people across West Dunbartonshire by stripping away your rights. Then there’s the £500 million per week of NHS money ending up in lining the pockets of large US drugs companies. As a former NHS nurse, this really concerns me.

The SNP has taken an undemocratic decision too, and want to cancel Brexit. But the SNP can’t win a UK General Election. Anyone voting SNP or Conservative makes Boris Johnson’s right-wing Brexit even more likely, plus a continuation of austerity.

Labour is the only party that can, and will, get Brexit sorted by giving people a legally binding, final say within six months of a Labour government coming to power.

I am determined to deliver the real change that West Dunbartonshire needs after a decade of Tory cuts at Westminster, and SNP cuts at Holyrood and in the council chambers. Please vote for me and together, we will be that change.

Martin Docherty-Hughes, SNP:

BACK in 2014, we were told the only way to protect our place in Europe was to vote no to independence.

A lot has changed since then and it’s not the only promise to Scotland that’s been broken.

As your MP, I have been clear that I will not support a damaging Brexit that is detrimental to the jobs and livelihoods of my constituents in Clydebank, Dumbarton and the Vale.

Even the UK Government’s own economic analysis shows that crashing out the EU would hit our local communities hard.

Brexit is a threat to our future that we wanted no part of. West Dunbartonshire and every part of Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain, yet we face being dragged out of Europe against our will.

My SNP colleagues and I have fought for Scotland’s democratic choices to be respected, but every attempt at compromise has been shunned and ignored by the Westminster parties. The democratic deficit has never been clearer – and yet now they seek to deny our right to choose a better path as an independent nation.

With the Tories turning their backs on Scotland, and Labour in an incoherent mess as out of touch as ever, it’s been left to the SNP to stand up for Scotland’s interests.

At this crucial election, the SNP is the only party that can beat the Tories in Scotland. A vote for the SNP is a vote to escape Brexit and put Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands – not Boris Johnson’s.