Who Are The 2024 General Election Candidates in the Southampton Itchen Constituency?

 

 

 

The nominations for candidates in the 2024 General Election have today been declared by officers of Southampton City Council.

Candidates have been approached for interview, and asked questions, by Southampton Independents. You can click the links below to see their answers and non-answers.

In the Southampton Itchen Constituency, the candidates, in alphabetical order of surname, are:

• James Batho for the Liberal Democrats (16/6/24 - refused to answer any questions and refused an interview)
• Declan Clune for the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (26/6/24 - answers received and published in full, no response to interview request)
• Alex Culley for Reform UK (16/6/24 all questions answered and interview published). bitternepark.info have also written about his campaign website.
  
• Neil Kelly for the Green Party (16/6/24 all questions refused and interview refused)
  
• Darren Paffey for the Labour Party (16/6/24 - no response to interview and question requests, 28/6/24 still no response). bitternepark.info reported on the Labour campaign launch.
  
• Sidney Yankson is The Conservative Party Candidate (16/6/24 - no response to requests, 28/6/24 still no response). Mr Yankson, the Conservative candidate who is a Kensington councillor and who has failed to answer any of our questions, also did not respond to Jason Lewis from the Local Democracy Reporting Service. The Conservatives are predicted by many polls to do very badly in this Election. We asked Mr Yankson how can he be a councillor 77 miles away and claim to live in Southampton. True to form, Yankson did not answer. He did go on TV though and is quoted praising the Conservatives by bitternepark.info.
   

Over at bitternepark.info, they have written a report on the hustings event at Oasis Academy Mayfield. A hustings is a public meeting where candidates are asked questions. They noted low attendance. 

And via the Local Democracy Reporting Service's Jason Lewis, bitternepark.info also have a report with information from candidates.

Why Southampton Independents Is Covering the 2024 General Election

Southampton Independents recommends no particular candidate in the 2024 General Election. We publish this information and the information about the other candidates to help inform Southampton residents for their vote, or for them to choose not to vote or to positively spoil their ballot by writing "none of the above". It's your choice.

 

Who Are The 2024 General Election Candidates in the Southampton Test Constituency?

 

 

The nominations for candidates in the 2024 General Election have today been declared by officers of Southampton City Council.

In the Southampton Test Constituency, the candidates, in alphabetical order of surname, are:

• Katherine Barbour for the Green Party (16/6/24 - interview refused and refused to answer any questions)
  
• Ben Burcombe-Filer is the Conservative Party Candidate (16/6/24 - all questions answered and interview refused)
  
• John Edwards for Reform UK (16/6/24 - 5 out of 6 questions answered and interview yet to be scheduled)
  
• Maggie Fricker for Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (16/6/24 - answers provided in full).
  
• Thomas Gravatt for the Liberal Democrats (16/6/24 - refused to answer any questions and refused an interview)
  
• Satvir Kaur for the Labour Party (28/6/24 still no response, 23/6/24 second request sent, 16/6/24 - no response to request for interview and the six basic questions asked of all candidates)
  
• Wajahat Shaukat for the Workers Party of Great Britain (29/6/24 candidate confirmed will respond to questions, 28/6/24 no response, 23/6/24 contact details obtained and request sent to candidate, 16/6/24 no contact details - link to party page here)
  

Candidates have been approached for interview, and asked questions, by Southampton Independents. You can click the links for their answers and non-answers.

Why Southampton Independents Is Covering the 2024 General Election

Southampton Independents recommends no particular candidate in the 2024 General Election. We publish this information and the information about the other candidates to help inform Southampton residents for their vote, or for them to choose not to vote or to positively spoil their ballot by writing "none of the above". It's your choice.

 

 

CAMPAIGN DELIVERED: Safe Standing for Fans At Southampton FC's St. Mary's Stadium

 

Andrew Pope Began The Campaign in 2017

Southampton Independents, led by co-founder Andrew Pope, has delivered another campaign win after a seven-year battle on behalf of fans of Southampton Football Club ("Saints") to get safe standing installed at St. Mary's Stadium, the home of Saints. 

 

Our campaign made this Echo front page

And this main article on Safe Standing

 Andrew says:

"I started this campaign in 2017 and kept it going despite resistance from Southampton FC itself because Saints fans wanted to be able to safely Stand Up If You Love The Saints, just like it says in the footbridge to the Stadium. I listened to fans and I acted for fans, providing the leadership that was not being provided by the (then) directors of the Club.

After a difficult time trying to work with those former directors of Saints, and due to my leadership of the campaign, in April 2023 I was invited to a meeting at St. Mary's Stadium with more recent directors Tim Greenwell and Toby Steele.

Tim and Toby confidentially briefed me on the proposals and asked for my feedback, after I had contacted the Sports Ground Safety Authority, the Football Supporters Association (FSA) and St. Mary's Stadium Safety Advisory Group.

And of course, after I had heightened the issue via national and local media, starting a petition and using the Southampton Independents website and social media, pressuring Southampton FC into doing Safe Standing. The Daily Echo and BBC Radio Solent interviewed me and published articles.

Andrew's Rail Seat Demo for Southampton Media

Another front page generated by Andrew's campaign

 

Directors have come and gone during this long seven year campaign, but I am pleased that Southampton FC directors eventually listened to my suggestions and acted on my concerns for safety and order at the Stadium. It took time, but I think these proposals are much improved from the very concerning proposals that I was initially presented with that seemed to want to make Safe Standing fail (see above Echo front page).

I kept my silence for a long time, as agreed with the directors, and waited patiently for the proposals to be altered. I am pleased that other fans on the Fans Advisory Board more recently told the Club what I had already told successive Southampton FC directors and chairmen over seven long years.

In addition to the new entire Safe Standing Northam Stand, away fans are being moved - something that Saints fans have wanted for years - and Saints fans are being prioritised instead in the new Northam Stand for Safe Standing.

Other clubs have done this - installed safe standing and putting away fans in the corner quadrant instead of prime position behind the goal, so I am pleased that Southampton FC are doing it too. St. Mary's is our home.

Fans will soon be able to stand safely and make more noise to support their team.

Thanks to the Daily Echo and BBC Radio Solent for reporting on my campaign over all these years. It has been hard but it will be worth it.

BBC Radio Solent asked me what I would do if I won the campaign. I said that I will be standing and shouting in supporting Saints with the rest of the fans.

And I am delighted to have delivered this campaign, for fans to be able to be Standing Up For Saints with me in the Safe Standing area next season, whether Saints are in the Premier League or The Championship!"

 

Southampton City Council (Labour) Asked Government To Increase Council Tax By 15% And Tried To Hide It

Southampton Labour Mismanaging Public Money Again

Last year, Southampton Independents said that Labour's bankrupting of Croydon Council could happen here in Southampton. We were absolutely correct to predict it.

Because it has happened. 

Southampton City Council has been brought to its knees by Southampton Labour. And the Section 114 warning of effective bankruptcy came when Labour Southampton Test Parliamentary Candidate Satvir Kaur was Leader of the Council. Instead of sorting it out, she quit, as did the Chief Financial Officer and the Chief Executive Officer.

Southampton City Council lacks leadership, as it has for many years. They are even struggling to collect the bins, the most basic function of a Council in most residents' eyes.

Yet because Rishi Sunak's Conservative Government is so unpopular, Conservative councillors have been reduced to just 10, with Labour somehow - despite the bankruptcy, bin chaos and lack of leadership, emerging as "in control" (as if!) of the City Council from the May local elections. The Liberal Democrats also gained a seat.

Now Southampton Labour councillors have been forced to admit that they asked to increase council tax by 15%. Worse than that, it was revealed during a chaotic Council meeting that Labour, with the help of Council officers it must be noted, tried to hide the request from local residents as a confidential matter, except that it relates to public money which involves residents' council tax and business rates paid by local businesses.

Is This A New Crisis?

No. Early in 2024, it has already been confirmed by the Labour-run Council itself that it could not balance its books without Government assistance.

This followed the warning early last year before last year's Council budget. The Chief Financial Officer warned, that the Council would have to issue a Section 114, effectively declaring banktuptcy of public finances in Southampton. He then resigned. Since then, the Chief Executive Officer Mike Harris has resigned. And the Leader of the Council Councillor Satvir Kaur also resigned.

Who Is The Leader Now?

Labour Councillor Lorna Fielker, who was elected after Satvir Kaur quit, apparently to concentrate on her Parliamentary ambitions. 

How Are They Going To Sort It Out?

There is no guarantee that those who have caused the crisis can be trusted to sort it out. But to balance the books the Council has been allowed, in an apparent once-off, by Government to sell Council assets (yes, they belong to the public, not councillors). And also to borrow more money. 

Has this dealt with the underlying structural deficit in the Council Budget? There is no evidence yet to say that it has. Will Council taxpayers have to foot the bill next year instead? It is very possible.

Whose Money Is It Anyway?

It is public money. It is your money. It is taxpayers' money. It does not belong to councillors. And certainly not to the Labour Party. Yet they treat it is as if it were theirs and manage it poorly. And they have used it regularly for party political, and electoral, gain. But when they fail to manage it correctly, they expect taxpayers to foot the bill. You should not have to.

Shouldn't They Ask Us First?

Yes they should. For many years, a Council has by law had to have a referendum to raise council tax by more than 2.99% plus the social care extra 2$, totalling 4.99%. This was introduced by the Conservative-led Government when Eric Pickles was the Minister for Local Government. 

Prior to this, there was no referendum necessary. Under the last Labour Government, Southampton Labour councillors put up Council tax by a whopping 18%. There was no referendum of the public, despite it being them who pay the council tax. Councillors decided.

So Whose Fault Is It?

Labour has been in control of Southampton City Council since 2012, for all but one year when the Conservatives controlled the Council. During this entire time, the Government has been a Conservative-lead one. It is a fact that Council budgets have been cut centrally by successive Governments, whether Labour or Conservative. Yet some councils have been mismanaged, whilst others have managed their budgets better.

Southampton City Council has been brought to its knees by Southampton Labour. And the Section 114 warning came when Satvir Kaur was Leader of the Council. Instead of sorting it out, she quit, as did the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Executive Officer.

The previous Council Leader Councillor Satvir Kaur had been in the Cabinet for most of those 12 years, either as a Cabinet Member or as Leader. The Cabinet is the Chief decision-making body of the Council. 

Councillor Satvir Kaur resigned for political reasons and has attempted to use the Council's resources for Labour Party electoral gain to become the Member of Parliament for Southampton Test. But only after bringing the council to its knees and spending your money.

Kaur had previously said that it was a "lie" that the Council was effectively bankrupt. This was despite official advice from the Council's most senior financial officer and the Section 114 warning being widely reported in local media and national media.

As reported here on the Southampton Independents website, Kaur's resignation followed the behaviour of the previous Labour Leader of Croydon Council.

- denial after denial by Councillor Kaur, despite the Chief Financial Officer warning of an imminent Section 114 notice which is Council-speak for effective bankruptcy

- Councillor Kaur accusing local media of reporting these warnings as a "lie" - again despite the warning of her Chief Financial Officer, who then resigned before the 2023/24 budget was approved by Labour councillors

- the Section 114 warning proving to be correct, leading to the Council stating publicly that it could not balance the 2024/25 budget and then only mentioning the borrowing and loan agreement with the Government - the request to raise Council Tax by 15% was not mentioned

How Do We Know About The 15% Raise?

According to the Daily Echo, the request to raise council tax by 15% was hidden in documents that the Council sought to hide from the public at the public meeting, claiming confidentiality.

In effect, it is abuse of the law to protect career politicians like Satvir Kaur.

It is the public that pays the council tax. And pays their taxes.

And who elects councillors to look after their money. So the public has a right to know.

Yet officers and councillors agreed that they would put the requested increase in documents that were hidden from the public under what is called "exempt matters".

Southampton Independents does not dispute that Government and Council should be able to have discussions, before a decision. But once that decision has been made, it should be available for councillors and the public to scrutinise.

Yet the Head of Legal at the Council approved keeping this political decision from the public.

According to the Echo report, the Echo has seen the documents that show the 15% request. And the documents confirm that Labour councillors asked for a 15% increase. But it was turned down by Government.

At the 20th March 2024 Council Meeting ("Extraordinary Budget Meeting") where councillors considered the delayed budget for the Council, the new Labour Leader of the Council Councillor Lorna Fielker revealed that she had asked Government to raise council tax by 14.99% because they could not balance the books. 

Previous reports by the BBC and Daily Echo did not mention this request for a council tax increase. Why? Because the request was hidden in supposedly "confidential" papers, hidden under what are called "exempt matters". 

Councils have repeatedly used "exempt matters" for political (and party political) purposes instead of legitimate and legal reasons. It appears from what has been revealed by the Daily Echo, that this is another such case.

Questions arise...

Why is it one rule for Croydon but another rule for Southampton?

Croydon taxpayers suffered a 20% increase when their Labour-run Council could not manage public money well enough.

Yet Southampton taxpayers are to be spared - for this year at least. When will they get a grip, if ever, of the Council's finances?

Did councils elsewhere make similar requests for council tax increases, but not hide them under "exempt matters". Southampton Independents understands from its contacts elsewhere that other councils were open about it. 

So why did Southampton try to hide it? To cover up the truth for politicians' personal gain and for the Labour Party's damaged reputation.

What happens after the local elections and the General Election? Is this "once off" like the former Post Office Chair Henry Staunton alleged that he was told by civil servants for the Post Office to hobble on until after the Election?

Will taxpayers now be hit with a massive increase to Council Tax after the elections are over?

Will Southampton's council tax rocket? It is still a possibility.

Is it the case that the Conservatie Government is kicking the can down the road, and Southampton Labour councillors are happy that they are able to get away with it for another year?

We shall see. Tell us your thoughts.

 

Labour's New Highway Robbery by Tyrant Sadiq Khan in London - And How It Was Stopped in Southampton

Labour's Highway Robbery in London

 

Desspite resistance from London residents, Labour's tyrannical Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has carried on regardless, and imposed an expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) across the whole of Greater London. 

This is despite Labour losing the Uxbridge by-election to the Tories after the resignation of the disgraced former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was MP for the Uxbridge constituency. 

The Conservatives have claimed that the ULEZ policy is the main reason for them narrowly winning, in the context of losses in other by-elections and disastrous opinion polling with the Conservatives trailing Labour by over twenty percentage points in some polls. The Leader of the Labour Party Sir Keir Starmer has distanced himself from the ULEZ policy and called for a debate over the policy.

Commenting, former Southampton Independents councillor Andrew Pope has written to the Daily Echo with the following letter:

Former Councillor Andrew Pope on BBC South
on the defeated Elected Mayor plans

"Campaigning works. I feel sorry for the people of London who have had this measure imposed on them without a Referendum. The people should decide, not a tyrant Mayor of London. That's why I campaigned for a Referendum on similar measures proposed by Labour-controlled Southampton City Council.

The same fate could have befallen Southampton if the Labour-run Southampton City Council had not u-turned on their plans in 2018 after I called for a Referendum, as reported by the Daily Echo. 

I also asked questions in private and public of Council officers and again in public to the former Leader of the Council, Christopher Hammond, who resigned following Labour's defeat in the 2021 City Council elections. Hammond refused to rule out charging.

Over the last few years, including over recent weeks with the expansion of the ULEZ, residents and visitors have thanked me for campaigning against the Labour plans for Southampton. This includes new residents of Southampton who told me that they would not have moved here and contributed their work and businesses if Southampton had vehicle charging.

 

I'm also delighted to have led the campaign in Southampton to stop our City from having an Elected Mayor like Sadiq Khan. Again, as reported by the Daily Echo, I was the only Southampton councillor opposed to it with the Labour and Tory councillors voting for it like the party puppets that they were - and still are - placing their parties over the people once again.

 

I have noted Tory Hampshire County Council Leader Rob Humby calling for support for new devolution and a new split with other councils in the Region. Do these party politicians want an elected mayor? It is unclear, but they need to be honest and tell the people if they are proposing it.

 

Residents do not want another party puppet with too much power and that's what elected mayors are.

 

Sadiq Khan in London, Marvin Rees in Bristol and Joe Anderson in Liverpool are three key examples of why elected mayors are bad for residents. There are many other examples.

 

Labour and the Conservatives support elected mayors and the concentration of power to one individual. They support elected mayors because they want it for the benefit of the parties and not for the people of Southampton, London, Liverpool or Bristol.

Labour or Tory, same old story.

Residents do not support having an elected mayor - that's why Bristol residents voted in a Referendum to scrap Marvin Rees and the role of Mayor and why Liverpool has also rejected having an elected mayor. Councillors in Liverpool made that decision - a Referendum would also have led to the scrapping of an Elected Mayor.

Councillors made that decision to try to quell widespread corruption in Liverpool Labour and Liverpool City Council. Having an elected mayor failed. The damage had been done.

I'm pleased to see the rise of independent councillors in Liverpool and moves by residents  for the same in Bristol. In Croydon, bizarrely after Labour brought the Council to bankruptcy, they now have an Elected Mayor, who is a Tory and is now seeking to impose massive council tax increases on residents, when it was Labour councillors - and a Tory Government's Draconian cuts - that caused the bankruptcy. The residents were not to blame, but they are the ones suffering.

Like Liverpool has had, Croydon has had and Bristol has had, Southampton residents have had a Labour-led Council for too long that has brought the City of Southampton to its knees and to the brink of bankruptcy - something which the current Leader Satvir Kaur denies.

Having an elected mayor in Southampton, Portsmouth and across our Region - with even more concentrated powers - would make things even worse."

 

Leader of Southampton City Council Satvir Kaur Denies Bankruptcy - Just Like Labour Councillors Did in Bankrupt Croydon Council

 

Councillor Satvir Kaur Bankruptcy "Lie" Claim
Daily Echo Website, 20th May 2023

The Labour Leader of Southampton City Council, Councillor Satvir Kaur, has told the Daily Echo that:

"Unlike Hampshire County Council we are not facing bankruptcy. To say otherwise is a lie and political opportunism."

As confirmed by local investigative reporters Inside Croydon, when we asked them about Satvir Kaur's claim:

"Funny. That’s what @CroydonLabour leader Tony Newman said in Oct 2020"

Like Councillor Kaur, Tony Newman, the former Labour Leader of Croydon Borough Council in London, also repeatedly denied a financial crisis. Newman shortly after resigned in October 2020, having plunged the Council into bankruptcy, later with the councillors left having to call Government commissioners in. Labour councillors were voted out. 

Now Croydon councillors want to put the Council Tax up by 15%! And the Tory Government - with the help of Croydon Labour councillors caving in - is going to let them do it! 

Residents are being robbed by Labour and Tory councillors, yet it was no fault of the local residents.

Labour or Tory, same old story? You bet it is!

The Dead Labour Rose of Southampton

Did you know that Southampton Council is in such a dire financial situation? Labour councillors including the Leader of the Council are in denial, but financial experts have repeatedly warned them.

Labour councillors don't want you to know. So we are telling you.

Did Councillor Kaur know? She should, shouldn't she, in her role? 

As well as calling the bankruptcy claims by her own Chief Financial Officer a "lie", Satvir Kaur also denied to the Daily Echo knowing about a report by the External Auditor, Kevin Suter of Ernst and Young. Mr Suter's report issued a warning to councillors that the Council is running out of money, at a public meeting of councillors on 24th April 2023 called the Governance Committee.

Satvir Kaur told the Daily Echo: 

"she was 'not aware' of the report".

Yet somehow, the Leader of the Council did not know about this worrying independent auditor's report to councillors. How can that be? She is supposed to be the Leader!

The Council auditor's warning follows another financial expert, the Council's former Chief Financial Officer warning councillors of a lack of money and then quitting the Council in February. A new Chief Financial Officer was appointed by Councillor Kaur and her Conservative opposition leader.

Does it worry you that this is the same person, Mel Creighton, who resigned last year from Liverpool City Council (another Labour Council) amid controversy over financial management? In its report, the Liverpool Echo cited a £16 million energy contract disaster. 

Does it worry you that prior to joining Liverpool City Council, Ms Creighton was the Chief Financial Officer at Southampton City Council?

Knowing all of the above, do you have confidence in Labour to run the City's finances? As reported by Southampton Independents, an independent report last year told councillors that the council was not being run properly.

Do you think the Council has spent wisely? As investigated and reported by Southampton Independents, we know that it has not, and has wasted millions if not billions over the last decade. 

Residents were shocked and angry when we told them what the Council and its councillors had done. They voted for our Independent candidates in the local elections and General Election, which we were grateful for.

Did you know that Labour has been in control of the Council for 10 out of the last 11 years? The other year was the Conservatives running the Council, whose national Government, now with Rishi Sunak as its latest Prime Minister, has slashed funding for councils and in May's local elections, lost over 1,000 seats.

Residents tell us very often that it's another case of Labour or Tory and the same old story. Do you agree?

Are you happy that the Labour-run Council has put up council tax again this year, when the cost of living is so high? Are you struggling to pay your bills? Do you get value for money for your council tax? Do you get value for money for your income tax that goes to the Conservative Government?

Contact us at the link here to tell us your views. You can also comment below.

This is why Southampton needs Independent councillors, like it used to have a few years ago.

UPDATE (9/6/23): "Trust in police hanging by a thread" says Inspector - Lies, Damned Lies and Police Commissioner Statistics

 

Southampton People's Decreased Trust in Police
2021 to 2023

UPDATE (9th June 2023)

"I can't recall a time when the relationship between the police and the public was more strained than it is now," Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Andy Cooke has told BBC News.

Under the headline

"Trust in police hanging by a thread, inspectorate says"

the Inspector said that:

"Time is running out if the police and the government are to restore public trust in policing".

The credibility of Donna Jones, the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), is also hanging by a thread, given what she has told Southampton Independents:

"I have not seen a dip in trust & confidence of local officers in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Constabulary"

Donna Jones Election Leaflet May 2021

---

by Andrew D Pope, 12th May 2023

Now that the local elections are over and the Conservatives have received another beating, we can reveal more facts about the public's views of the Police and the desperate tactics employed by PR people to hide the truth.

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones - for brevity's sake let's just use "PCC" - has denied when questioned by us that there is a trust and confidence problem in our local Police.

This is despite people here in Southampton, in Hampshire and nationally telling survey after survey that they have decreased trust and confidence in the Police. This is not a new thing, it is a long-term trend. Yet Ms Jones and her staff want you to think otherwise.

Their false PR and spin is despite the view of the Police sinking further in the public eye following the false arrests made of anti-Monarchist protesters and Monarchy supporters alike.

When the PCC's public relations officers responded to questions about this topic, they have resorted to very dubious tactics.

But now the Head of Communications of the Office of the PCC has made claims that are possibly even more laughable and lacking credibility than those made by their employer, Ms Jones the PCC.

Under pressure to justify the untruths written by the PCC, the officer has pointed us to Yougov surveys specific to Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

The officer has laughably pointed to an increase in trust - not over the period of time that Ms Jones has been PCC - to now since May 2021, but during just two months in late 2022 when there was a brief and very small uptick in trust. 

As you can see from the graph above, the overall trend from 2021 to 2023 is a marked decrease.

Be in no doubt that the overall trend is a decrease. The Yougov statistics prove it. And what residents have told us backs it up.

People have decreased trust in the Police over the time that Donna Jones has been the PCC.

This is why we asked Ms Jones about it, but it seems that Ms Jones is in denial.

We wonder what the Deputy PCC thinks about this. Former Portsmouth Tory Councillor Terry Norton was very outspoken when he was a councillor, including accusing other councillors of being hypocrites (e.g. Full Council on 9th November 2021, shortly before Norton was appointed and announced that he would step down as a councillor).

Perhaps he will have something to say about Ms Jones' claims and the desperate tactics of her PR staff to defend her?

Mr Norton was appointed as a colleague of Ms Jones. As people elsewhere in England have discovered to their shock and annoyance, there is no proper procedure for appointing Deputy PCCs.

It has tended to mean mates from the same political party being appointed, and it appears that Mr Norton's elevation to this publicly-funded role was no different to elsewhere. 

Competence is not relevant. The public being served is not relevant. What matters to party politicians like Norton and Jones is access to public money and spending it in the wrong ways, all to assuage their egos and their party, instead of what they are supposed to do, which is public service.

We will continue to bring the truth, instead of PR spin by officers who are paid for by public money, and the guff spouted by councillors or other elected representatives.