In today’s political climate of wrong versus right and left versus right, if we are to achieve a welcoming and tolerant Somerset, it quite simply cannot and will not be achieved under the counsel of Ian Liddel-Grainger. Somerset Labour Party member Sam James takes a look at the Bridgwater and West Somerset MPs voting record.
Whether you agree or disagree with what you reveal, it is essential for voters to divulge themselves
in the voting record of their local representatives. Our local area has been inhibited by the anti-
progressive Conservative regime for decades. The vote for Liddel-Grainger to some is the only
candidate worth voting for, even to some it’s the safest option: however, is it the moral option?
Liddel-Grainger boasts the backing of countless intolerant policies that can only match the likes of
Jacob Rees-Mogg and his 19th-century politics and would make even the most right-wing voters
flinch. Here are some mentionable and tremendously questionable examples of this.
1. Ian Liddell-Grainger consistently voted NO on Adoption and Children Bill — Suitability of Adopters.
The Adoption and Children bill was amended to allow unmarried heterosexual and homosexual
couples to adopt children, of which Liddell-Grainger consistently voted against. Although this vote
took place in 2002, this backward mindset does little to associate itself with a progressive and
accepting Somerset and especially doesn’t deserve the platform it has been generously given.
2. Ian Liddell-Grainger voted against allowing same-sex couples to marry.
This vote is especially troubling, as our representative and a member of our parliament (with a
majority of his conservative colleagues) voted against same-sex marriage… as recent as 2014! This
form of discrimination and intolerance is something that the Labour party are devoted to removing
from our government and making the United Kingdom a more welcoming, modern society.
3. Ian Liddell-Grainger voted against making it illegal to discriminate on the basis of caste.
Campaigners had said legislation was needed because thousands of people suffered abuse and prejudice in Britain because they were considered low caste. Liddel-Grainger aimed to change nothing for these people, and instead let their hardships continue, rather than use his platform to alleviate the struggle that burdened so many people, whom he was elected to protect.
4. Liddel-Grainger almost always voted for use of UK military forces in combat operations overseas.
The militaristic approach of the Conservative party both past and present has led to thousands upon
thousands of innocent deaths and billions spent in wars exacerbated by our interventions. With the
Labour party, peace is the priority, as opposed to flaunting our military capabilities throughout the
Middle East.
5. Consistently voted for taxation and employment policies that would have significant repercussions for the most vulnerable in society.
Liddel-Grainger epitomizes the old-school capitalist Tory regime, in that those at the lowest of the
economic food-chain are to be left for the vultures. Here are a few examples as to how he voted on
taxation and employment:
- Almost always voted for more restrictive regulation of trade union activity.
- Generally voted against increasing the tax rate applied to income over £150,000 (a tax that, if
overturned, would solely benefit the wealthiest of society). - Generally voted for higher taxes on plane tickets.
- Generally voted for increasing the rate of VAT.
6. Generally voted against measures to prevent climate change and consistently voted for selling England’s state-owned forests.
Unsurprisingly, Liddel-Grainger does not feel a necessity to protect the earth from man-made
climate change, as well as attempting to prevent any form of nature conservation, and his voting
record shows this.
With the voting record he boasts and a rather intangible political campaign, it presents no
revelation that Liddel-Grainger has endeavoured significant backlash even amongst his own party
during his time in charge. In 2015, West Somerset Councils Conservatives group passed a vote of no
confidence in Ian Liddell Grainger, and described the MP as “back-stabbing” and was accused of
using “unethical manoeuvres” as a total of 18 Conservative West Somerset councillors backed calls
for him to be removed from his position. He was then critically described as having made
“gratuitously derogatory and offensive comments about West Somerset Council, its leaders and
some of its councillors and officers.” It begs the question that needs to be answered: is this who we
want to represent us?
The immature and power-hungry MP has been questioned many times on his disrespectful
comments but has very often refused to comment; not a favourable didactic response when being
addressed in front of your voters, particularly after episodes such as the one in 2014, when
Somerset’s farms and homes were severely flooded, the local MP called for Lord Smith, the
chairman of the Environment Agency, to resign and threatened to “stick his head down the loo”. He
said: “I’m livid. This little git has never even been on the telephone to me. When I find out where he
is, I will give it to him. He’s a coward.”
The disastrous voting record and irresponsible actions are unfortunately all too common amongst
the Conservative party, particularly in the South-West of England, but with today’s modern climate
and the rise of politics amongst the youth, the rise of social justice and equality and the rise in
helping those most vulnerable in our society, it is hopeful that voting records like Ian Liddell-
Grainger’s will be eradicated in the very near future.
Voting record source: theyworkforyou.com.