The importance of knowing your local MP

Kevin Brennan MP (Image: The Guardian)

It has been a busy week in British politics but I would like to steer away from the death of Margaret Thatcher and bring your attention to something quite unrelated. I have a passion towards local politics and feel it is vital that people vote for their local politician and not just for the next Prime Minister during a general election. My local MP, Kevin Brennan of Cardiff West has represented this constituency since 2001 and has won the last three general elections pretty convincingly. He is a Labour politician following the footsteps of Cardiff West's last MP, Rhodri Morgan, who was Wales's First Minister. Cardiff West has been a Labour constituency since 1987.

This post is aimed to see how compatible I am with Mr Brennan. I voted for him in 2010 as I have seen my area continue to develop and improve, becoming a safer and sustainable environment to the people who live there. I was also a supporter of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown so the decision to vote Labour three years ago was rather easy.

I am judging my compatibility with Kevin Brennan MP through the website "They Work For You", a website which helps British people understand what their local politicians stand for. Since 2001, Brennan has been an active voter of a series of policies. Here is what he voted for and how I would have voted, if I was in his position.

• Voted very strongly for the hunting ban.
  I would have also voted for a hunting ban. Although you hear some unfortunate news of foxes attacking children and pets but, on the other hand, hunting them down isn't going to solve the problem.
  
• Voted very strongly for allowing ministers to intervene in inquests.
  Ministers are representing us so they should intervene in inquests, if it has anything to do with the people of their constituencies.
  
• Voted moderately for university tuition fees.
  This is the pre-£9,000 cap vote. Tuition fees will be pain for me once I start paying my loans back, but since Tony Blair introduced tuition fees, Ucas applications shot up. All-in-all, I am against tuition fees.
  
• Voted against raising England’s undergraduate tuition fee cap to £9,000 per year.
  Paying £9,000 a year is a ludicrous amount of money to pay just to study. When Labour lost their power in 2010, the fees were just over £3,000. Increasing the fees by almost three times as much is bonkers. The day before the student riots in 2010, I voiced my concern about the fee hike.
  
• Voted moderately against the Iraq war.
  Moderately against, for me, is an understatement. Don't get me started about this war. I don't usually agree with many of George Galloway's radical thoughts but he was on the ball and right to protest about this invasion. I've written bits about this invasion through various posts but Britain is stuck in a similar situation today with the ridiculous sanctions imposed on Iran.
  
• Voted very strongly against an investigation into the Iraq war.
  I do agree that the investigation is a waste of money, and a waste of time. It is clear what happened, we don't want to be reminded of it. The Chilcot Inquiry hasn't told us anything new. The war was "illegal" and instead of an inquiry, there needs to be court cases and criminal convictions to those who went against the United Nations wishes and broke the law.
  
• Voted moderately for replacing Trident.
  What I do not get about the Conservative Party's fascination towards Trident is that they are completely against Iran's nuclear ambitions because they believe the country has deadly weapons. Yet we're spending so much money on supposedly, the same ambitions. There isn't proof that Iran possesses nuclear weapons, so why do we need to develop them "in case"?
  
• Voted strongly for introducing foundation hospitals.
  I'm in support of a free health service and I hope that this government realise its importance and supports it through difficult times.
  
• Voted very strongly for removing hereditary peers from the House of Lords.
  Hereditary peers and its titles are slightly old fashion, but hold a strong history in British society and is a symbol of British tradition. Such peers have inspired film makers to create more original, successful costume dramas. But, yes, they should go.
  
• Voted very strongly for a wholly elected House of Lords.
  I think that people should understand what the House of Lords actually represents as to me, it's a laughing stock. To me, they're just a bunch of people with silly costumes, but I know they're more than that. If Lord Prescott doesn't like the "Lord" in his name, then that says a lot.
  
• Voted strongly against increasing the rate of VAT.
  I was in huge support of the decision to reduce the VAT rate at 15% for 2009. I started University life then and food shopping was so much more affordable. Even at 17.5%, things were affordable. Since the Coalition came to power the year later, VAT increased to 20% which is far too high. The rate in other parts of Europe may be 25%, but the average wage in places such as France and Scandinavia is significantly higher than in UK, so they can afford to spend that much more.
  
• Voted a mixture of for and against a more proportional system for electing MPs.
  According to the ever-reliable Wikipedia, a "proportional system" is "a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council". In hindsight, it is a system which gives the smaller political parties an opportunity to be in the media spotlight. I'm in support of that, although seeing UKIP overtaking Liberal Democrats in the polls is slightly horrifying.
  
• Voted moderately for automatic enrolment in occupational pensions.
  I think it is a terrific idea that employers contribute to their workers' pensions. Current pension rates are decent but occupational pensions is another way for companies to show their appreciation and gratitude towards their employees.
  
• Voted a mixture of for and against encouraging occupational pensions.
  I encourage occupational pensions but companies shouldn't be forced to provide such benefit.
  
• Voted moderately for a transparent Parliament.
  I'm always up for transparency.
  
• Voted very strongly for equal gay rights.
  I'm in support of gay marriage and other rights for them. In some parts of America, they sack their employees for being attracted to their own gender which is nonsense. We evidently have a long way to go. The government can pledge their support of gay rights all they want, but they cannot change the public's attitudes overnight.
  
• Voted moderately for laws to stop climate change.
  Climate change isn't a hoax, although some may think so. I was told in High School that in the future, the weather will get warmer and wetter. It certainly has gone wetter and, even if we've seen the coldest winter on record this year, Earth is getting warmer. We're seeing more floods than ever before and natural disasters in the US are increasing at devastating levels. Again, we cannot change people's perceptions overnight but having more green initiatives is a must.
  
• Voted very strongly for Labour's anti-terrorism laws.
  I am always going to be against terrorism, but Labour's laws were pretty flawed. Brennan first voted this in 2001 and is a firm believer of these laws and I agree that there must be anti-terrorism laws, but we did have the Afghanistan invasion to fight against the Taliban. The intervention has made very little improvement to the lives of the innocent people there.
  
• Voted moderately for a smoking ban.
  As a tee-total, I was delighted to hear of the smoking ban in public places. When I was younger, the smokers and non-smokers were segregated but you could smell the nicotine in the atmosphere, it was rotten. I can now breathe in cafes and restaurants. Yes, all the smokers are outside smoking and I have to hold my breath walking past them, but I prefer them smoking outside than in public areas.
  
• Voted very strongly for a stricter asylum system.
  I agree. I am always in support for offering people from abroad a chance to live better lives in Britain than in their areas victim to extreme poverty and war, but we don't have the resources to accommodate as many people as we would have 20-30 years ago. However, I don't want to close the door on absolutely everybody. When Britons move to Australia or Spain, they don't get shown the door.
• Voted strongly for more EU integration.
  David Cameron, I feel has made a mistake in announcing a referendum which will determine whether UK should stay or leave the European Union in 2017, if the Conservatives remain in power by 2015. We need the EU's support and shunning them isn't going to help. We need to be friendly and become allies with France and Germany and I'm sure that Germany and France needs the UK.
  
• Voted very strongly for introducing ID cards.
  I think ID cards are important but the amount of fake ones being made and accepted is scary. I think that National Insurance cards should be our main source of identification.
  
• Voted moderately against greater autonomy for schools.
  I am somewhat bewildered of the Coalition's education system. Labour's was supposedly flawed, but in my opinion, all parties shouldn't think drastically about changing the system. I've written about the education system, focusing on the positives, and what can change.

It seems that overall, I agree with most of what Kevin Brennan believes in. If I remained in Cardiff West two years from now, I can only see my vote going to Brennan and Ed Miliband. Knowing your MP is important, equally as it is important that your MP understands you.