For immediate release: 5th May 2015
Labour is most divided party on social justice issues
Over the past month the people of Leeds have been finding out what their candidates think on the big issues of today as part of a Leeds for Change campaign. The Fair Ten Challenge questions were proposed by local community and campaign groups and members of Leeds for Change voted on the top questions they wanted answered. The ten-point manifesto covers climate change, Trident, benefit sanctions and other social justice issues.
Now the results are in! They have found that the Labour Party has the greatest range of results with Elmet and Rothwell’s Veronica King scoring 10/10 and Ed Balls scoring just 2.5/10. The Fair Ten Challenge team also found that the candidates had most consensus on creating a better system for asylum seekers, while they were most divided on the Robin Hood Tax.
The Green Party, Labour Party, AGS and TUSC all fully engaged with the Challenge by supplying answers from all Leeds candidates whereas the team only received answers from 3/8 Conservative candidates.
Ben Jackson, the Fair Ten Challenge Coordinator, said:
“It’s great to see which parties have general consensus about the questions, whether positive or negative. It’s also surprising to see the variety of scores within the same parties, with Labour for instance we have some of the highest range of scores.”
“Its been great working with lots of other organisations to help bring the Fair 10 Challenge to fruition. The results analysis is a great way to quickly see where parties stand on issues and whether your ethos fits their ethos.”
Laura McFarlane-Shopes, Leeds for Change Coordinator, commented:
“It’s been brilliant to see so many people, especially young people, engaging with the big social justice issues this election. It just goes to show that when politicians actually answer the questions people want then people really want to listen!”
All parties enthusiastically took part in a live Fair Ten Challenge debate last week with over 60 people in attendance. Alex Pierre-Traves, the Conservative candidate from Leeds West, commented that it was the youngest audience of any hustings he had been to in 2015.
If you go to www.leedsforchange.org.uk you can read your candidates answers to the Fair Ten Challenge questions and use them to inform your vote on Thursday.
The Fair Ten Challenge team would like to thank all the candidates who gave answers to the questions. If you haven’t yet, there are still a few days to do so!
Notes for editors:
1. A coalition of groups from Leeds for Change have come together to form the 2015 Fair Ten Challenge – a ten-point-manifesto of global and social justice issues we think should be part of the debate this general election.
2. Leeds for Change aims to link all those groups in Leeds who are working to make the world a better place. Whether it’s better mental health in Seacroft, poverty in Bramley or climate change across the globe – groups trying to bring about social change often face similar sets of challenges and sometimes share broadly similar world-views. Leeds for Change aims to strengthen the existing cooperation between these groups, draw in others who want to get involved and make it easy to share skills and resources.
3. See more analysis of the Fair Ten Challenge results: www.leedsforchange.org.uk/resources/fair-ten-challenge/results-analysis
4. You can read full answers from the candidates by constituency: http://www.leedsforchange.org.uk/resources/fair-ten-challenge/fair-ten-results/?constituency=3
5. For the full Fair Ten Challenge questions, see here: http://www.leedsforchange.org.uk/resources/fair-ten-challenge/the-2015-fair-ten-challenge-questions/
Contact:
Laura McFarlane-Shopes: info@leedstidal.org / 07912569938
Leeds for Change