UKH

So as far as I can make out, Nick Clegg was handed the Hallam seat as it was a shoe-in. No birth or education ties to the region.

Oliver Coppard of Labour however was born and raised in Sheffield. He has sport at the heart of his politics. He is a local.

Ian Walker of Conservative from Fulwood. Again local.

Who is best to represent the people of their constituency? The local lad, or the political big gun who the party can't afford to lose?

Is it fair to argue that Nick Clegg is far too busy to fully represent those who vote for him? Although - this is a completely different argument. ( I wasn't going to include this last question however I feel it is relelvant )

In reply to JayK:

I quite like Oliver. He came to our door and I had a half hour chat with him and he seemed like a really decent guy. I didn't like his replies on the subject of being flexible for a coalition, but he was towing the party line on that one. I also thought he slightly overdid his Clegg-bashing but usually supported by some decent facts.

Cleggy is also a decent bloke. I think he is a victim of being a scapegoat for the Tories and, although he could have done it better, he was pretty snookered with some of the bigger issues he voted for in the last 5 years. Had he made a stand on tuition fees then I think it could have brought down the last government, but he could probably have complained a little harder. Also, he dropped a clanger with the local debates sending a student in place of himself for one of them.

So this voter in Sheffield Hallam is currently undecided.

Alan

In reply to JayK:
The FPTP and constituency system is difficult for MPs with senior roles in government. Do we want them to prioritise the country (as they should in that role) or work for their constituents as much as any other MP?

As for being a proper local: its a positive factor but its one of many and far from the most important in selecting an MP.

In reply to Offwidth:


Agreed. But I believe most national MPs have local agents who handle constituency issues which is fair enough I suppose.


Agreed again. Our Tory wanna-be is playing on the fact he is local and also that he has held a "real" job. Worryingly, that "real" job is a year in teaching after having done his teacher training. He is already being tipped locally for a position as an education advisor - God help those poor teachers if he gets in!

In reply to ByEek:
Sure, but I was responding to the OP. I think Clegg has a lot of explaining to do but that's not about not being a local nor about any lack of constituency work.

In reply to JayK:

In my constituency, on the Green and Lib Dem candidates live in the constituency, although the sitting Labour MP and the Conservative candidate are fairly local. The UKIP candidate lives 30 miles away, he claims to have grown up on a local Council estate (doesn't specify which), but he claimed the same when standing in a constituency the other side of Manchester.

In my neighbouring constituency the Conservative candidate lives in Fulham, which is 200 miles away.

In reply to ByEek:

>Our Tory wanna-be is playing on the fact he is local and also that he has held a "real" job. Worryingly, that "real" job is a year in teaching after having done his teacher training. He is already being tipped locally for a position as an education advisor - God help those poor teachers if he gets in!

So you don't want someone who has trained as a teacher and worked as a teacher advising about education.

Care to explain?

In reply to Oceanrower:



I am sure experienced teachers and heads love being lectured on how to teach by NQTs.

In reply to The New NickB:

But most junior advisor roles seem to go to people with no experience in the role whatsoever.

Surely some time served is an advantage

In reply to JayK:

I'm in Sheff Central, but one thing I've noticed is that the Lib Dems aren't using Clegg's name on their posters, whereas Coppard's name is everywhere. Has Clegg become that toxic ?

But the "not from round here" argument is a bit unfair. He was hardly parachuted into a safe seat - it had seen the biggest swing in 97 (he won it in 2005). And he has written about his love of Stanage. And, for good or bad, he has been deputy PM for the last 5 years, so that's why he's been a bit busy - look up Edmund Burke's address to the electors of Bristol for balancing the responsibilities to your country and your constituents.

Not that I'd vote for him, but I do feel that much of the criticism aimed at him comes from a failure to understand the nature of a coalition.

Coppard's supporters were very noticeable cheering on the runners at the Sheffield Half. At first I thought that was a bit off, undue politicization of a non-political event, but then I realised we were running past the campaign office (and on the steepest bit of the hill) so I guess that was alright. But they weren't handing out jelly babies - not even red ones - so they missed a trick there !

In reply to Oceanrower:



I would love that. If only it happened in the real world! This chap has done one year of training and worked for one year. In the local propaganda he is being dressed as a man of the people who has worked in the real world - as opposed to just another career politician. I don't buy any of it.

In reply to Chris the Tall:
No red jelly babies - they were being carefull not to break the law!

A person is guilty of treating if either before, during or after an election they directly or indirectly give or provide any food, drink, entertainment or...

http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/149729/Li...

In reply to elsewhere:

Would you take a sausage roll from this man!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-32234567

In reply to Oceanrower:



He'll still be finding his feet.

In reply to Oceanrower:




Why would you want a teacher in charge of education. It's like letting the police write the laws.

In reply to Philip:

Ok. So he can't be an education advisor because he knows something about teaching AND he doesn't know enough about teaching.

Now I understand.........

In reply to Oceanrower:



Michael Gove reckoned he knew something about schools and teaching because he'd been to school once. Just in case you weren't aware HE didn't know enough about teaching (although I suspect that he thought he did). Still that one all turned out well enough didn't it?

In reply to JayK:
in February i interviewed 3 of the candidates for Hallam: Oliver Coppard (Labour), Ian Walker (Conservative) and Peter Garbutt (Green) for different episodes of a radio programme which i present (on a voluntary basis) for Sheffield Live radio. The focus was their experience of working in or with businesses and social enterprises, and the approach was not a Paxmanian style grilling - listeners can make their own minds up. Garbutt was an accountant for 20 years, then became a teacher, and is involved on a voluntary basis with a social enterprise. Walker has run 2 engineering businesses, one in particular with a focus on renewable tech. Coppard's been running the Dearne Valley Eco Project. If anyone's interested, you can listen to the interviews here http://www.jamieveitch.co.uk/category/interviews/ [I did repeatedly invite Nick Clegg or a Liberal Democrat representative, speaking with and emailing his team on a number of occasions, but they did not come back to me].

In reply to Oceanrower:

A little knowledge...

In reply to jamiev:

How lame.... bet he claimed he was too busy running the country or some such nonsense . It is nice to see so many candidates grounded in real world experience though.

In reply to Offwidth:


I wish the same could be said for our local candidates. Labour are fielding a Politics student in Halifax, with no real world experience whatsoever, and in Calder Valley I'm not sure if their boy has even left school. He certainly doesn't understand the first thing about the economy, although he is trying to remember his lines. And he may yet win through no fault of his own. Heaven help us if these are the best of breed.

In reply to JayK:

I'm in the Hallam ward and whenever I've contacted Clegg about any matter, I've had a timely and very reasonable response from him. He may not be in the party which most closely represents my views (so as such I won't be voting for him) but he isn't a bad or neglectful MP.

In reply to jamiev:

Interesting. Was up in the Ranmoor inn tonight. They invited all the local candidates to individual Q&A sessions in the pub. Lab, con and green have all taken part. Clegg has not responded.

Saying he was too busy would be perfectly valid, but to not respond is bad PR. Is he in denial about the risk of losing his seat?