Danczuk happy to answer questions

Rochdale’s Labour Parliamentary Candidate Simon Danczuk

Rochdale’s Labour Parliamentary Candidate Simon Danczuk has said he is more than happy to answer questions from the people he seeks to represent, following the online publication of a letter he wrote to Father Paul Daly.

Father Daly has been pressing Mr Danczuk on several issues for some time, and the Labour Parliamentary Candidate explained to Rochdale Online: “I have made it very clear that my campaign will focus on addressing concerns of the people I wish to represent and I am spending as much time as I can talking to voters on the doorstep and in meetings about the issues that matter to them,” he said.

“Our focus is on taking Rochdale forward with Labour and we are making good progress in this area.”

“In the lead up to the next election I hope we can debate all sorts of issues that affect Rochdale and strengthen democracy in the process,” he said.

In a lengthy response to Rochdale Online, Mr Danczuk answered the questions:

On the subject of Trident renewal he said that he was genuinely undecided about whether this needed to be replaced or not as there were compelling arguments for both sides. “I said at the time of my selection that I would rather the decision be taken later and we focus all our efforts on limiting the spread of nuclear weapons,” he said. “The Commons Defence Select Committee has said that all systems could last long enough to delay making a decision on renewing them until 2010 and my preference would be to do this.

“However, a vote has now been taken and the reality is that Trident has won Commons support. Our Trident submarines will last until 2025 and I am concerned and saddened that it looks like the nuclear club will be a lot bigger then than it is now. We are facing a huge amount of uncertainty in the world now and whatever decision we make on this must not threaten our national security. Even the last Lib Dem leader Sir Ming Campbell said, "It would be unwise at this time for Britain to abandon its nuclear weapons altogether”, and I think we have to use this as a starting point.  I am more concerned now with the argument of whether Trident is really the effective way to deal with the post Cold War challenges we face or is it an outmoded, militarily unsound option?”

Turning to abortion, Mr Danczuk said he supports women’s right to choose within the timescales determined by health experts and did not want to see abortion criminalised as many pro-life advocates wish. “My view is that this would ultimately harm the poorest people who would be forced to turn to backstreet clinics and risk incredible harm or even death. Every year 70,000 women across the world die unnecessarily because they’re denied access to safe, legal abortion. Prohibition would hit the poorest people hardest as affluent women will always have the freedom to find a private clinic or doctor to carry this out for a fee.”

Regarding the NHS reconfiguration changes in Rochdale, he added that he was currently carrying out extensive meetings with health professionals on what the changes would mean to Rochdale residents and would be reporting his findings shortly. However, he was quick to stress that he had been assured that the government was committed to improving health outcomes in Rochdale. “There has been a lot of Liberal Democrat propaganda put forward about this issue and the message I want to get across is that Labour strongly supports Rochdale’s NHS. Lives will not be lost and the Healthy Futures decision was not just ‘rubber stamped’ by the Government as Jean Ashworth and other Liberal Democrats constantly argue. Perhaps they have forgotten the words of the High Court judge, Mr Justice Bennett, in their legal case earlier this year. He said: ‘The consultation process was an exercise conducted in good faith and there was no shutting of minds.’

“The same case saw the judge explain that Rochdale Infirmary was identified as a potential ‘locality’ hospital because it had the smallest catchment population of the four hospitals, the fewest number of acute, medical and surgical admissions, the fewest number of beds, the smallest site with the least potential for expansion and the least impact on patient flows to hospitals outside the North East Greater Manchester area. The question now is how we get the best access to the best health services for people in Rochdale.”

In addressing the question about the decline of the manufacturing industry Mr Danczuk stressed that despite the global shift of manufacturing to low wage emerging economies he would fight to keep as many jobs in the UK as possible.

“Despite the fact that manufacturing employment has halved in the UK over the last 25-years British manufacturing is currently on a three year high,” he said. “Rochdale has a proud manufacturing tradition and I will be looking to continue this by bringing in investment where possible. Job creation will be an important part of my campaign and I am already talking to a lot of small business owners and would-be entrepreneurs about how they can better establish themselves and take their ideas and existing businesses forward.

“Jobs and education are inextricably linked and we need to work a lot harder in improving educational outcomes and ensuring that people develop new skills here in Rochdale to give us a better base for higher employment levels.”

On other matters he said he was not minded to support an EU referendum on the latest treaty because there were limits within it for the UK, was in support of the Say No to Ding Quarry Campaign and saw increased investment in public services, better education outcomes, tougher solutions to crime, greater carbon efficiency, extra support for budding entrepreneurs, more child-friendly planning policies and a better integration of different communities as being among the challenges that Rochdale must meet to improve the quality of life for everyone.

“I am working very hard to meet as many Rochdale residents as possible,” he added, “and look forward to talking to more Rochdale Online readers in the coming months. I am happy to answer any questions or concerns you have about my ability to be the most suitable representative for you in Parliament.”