GENERAL ELECTION: How does Sir John vote in Parliament?

After two, four-page ‘wraps’ around recent editions of the Lincolnshire Free Press, plus his weekly ‘Hayes in the House’ columns, everyone locally will already be familiar with the views Sir John Hayes chooses to make public.

However, do any of us really know how he actually votes in Parliament, where his duty as an elected MP is to do what’s in the best interests of: (1) our nation; (2) his constituents; and (3) his party, in this order of priority?

So, in advance of the General Election, I thought I ought to invest some time in researching Sir John Hayes’ voting record in Parliament.

All you need to do is type “voting record of John Hayes MP” into your browser and you’ll automatically be directed to ‘TheyWorkForYou.com’, a site that offers an instantaneous analysis of all MPs’ voting records and, also, allows you to delve further if you wish. When I read through Sir John’s voting record, I was shocked and appalled.

For instance:

· Although our planet faces terminal global warming and species extinction, his voting record shows he’s “generally voted against measures to prevent climate change”.

He’s also “consistently voted for selling England’s state-owned forests” and, on January 26, 2015, he voted against “explicitly requiring an environmental permit for hydraulic fracturing”.

· Although South Lincolnshire is suffering from a decade of unprecedented cutbacks in housing, healthcare, social care, per-pupil school funding, policing, council services, transport, etc, he’s consistently voted for Conservative austerity measures, including “reducing central government funding of local government”, “reducing welfare benefits” and for the iniquitous “spare room (aka bedroom) tax”.

· Although there’s an urgent need to develop skilled workers in the UK and, indeed, he professes his support for apprenticeships, his voting record shows he’s “consistently voted for ending financial support for 16-19 year olds on training and further education” and also voted to increase university tuition fees.

Although he says he’s on the side of his constituents, he clearly votes very differently in Parliament.

Unless and until South Holland & The Deepings becomes a ‘marginal seat’, future governments are unlikely to feel minded to invest in our left-behind area.

So, I shall be voting for Davina Kirby, the Lib Dem candidate. It’s clear to me that not only will Davina be a wonderful constituency MP but also she has the insights and passion to lead a transformational improvement in the interests of everyone living in our constituency.

Alan Meekings

by email