The People’s Republic of South Devon website has circulated questions to all the candidates standing in Torbay. You can read the answers Kevin has given below:
Personal questions
What’s your background?
Born in Plymouth, my Father was a Painter\Labourer in Devonport Dockyard and my Mother was a Teaching Assistant.
I attended Hele’s School (A Comprehensive) in Plymouth. I then studied Law at Warwick University and worked a range of jobs from van driver, food factory operative and barman to help fund my studies. I also spent time working in a Solicitor’s Firm that undertook Criminal Defence work and for an MEP. I spent 12 years as a Councillor in the Midlands, before returning to Devon.
I live in Torquay Town Centre with my Fiancé and am a member of the Steering Group of the Torquay Town Centre Community Partnership. Whilst serving as the bay’s MP over the last two years I was a member of the Public Accounts Committee holding the Government and Senior Civil Servants to account for how our money is spent. We also investigate HMRC’s performance in dealing with those seeking to avoid paying tax.
What got you into politics?
I have always had an interest in current affairs and how politics makes a difference to peoples’ daily lives. I therefore felt drawn to get involved myself as I dislike those who just stand on the side-lines and complain or say they could do better, yet do nothing more than that.
I can remember meeting my then MP, Gary Streeter, just before he got elected in April 1992 and discussing various issues with him. A couple of years later I joined the party and the rest is history as they say!!!
Why are you in the party you’re in?
My background, not least with my Dad having been in his Trade Union for over 40 years and my Mum growing up on the Ham Estate in Plymouth, would more tend towards Labour. Yet as a believer in free enterprise, blue collar aspiration and given many of my wider family worked in Devonport Dockyard, the Conservative Party was the natural choice for me.
In terms of Labour I respect the contribution they have made over past generations, the founding of the NHS and the Minimum Wage, yet I could never support someone like Jeremy Corbyn. The Labour Party has been in a particularly poor state over the last two years, although it will come back at some point under more competent leadership and with a credible policy platform.
I have always viewed the Liberal Democrats as the political version of a franchise operation, pretending to be left wing in some seats, right wing in others depending on whose vote they are trying to win. Their negative campaigning style is something I find particularly off-putting, hence I never considered joining or supporting them.
Why do you want to be elected?
Our bay faces many challenges, from how we provide the health and social care services our aging population needs, to how we bring more investment and jobs so the next generation get their opportunity to succeed. I believe a difference can be made and over the last two years I have worked to do so, based on the plan I put forward in May 2015.
There will always be challenges and not every decision will go the way we want it to, yet I believe our bay can and will be better, hence wanting to be part of delivering that change.
And why you?
Coming from an ordinary working family I was lucky enough to have an upbringing that was rich in love, if not in money. There was no silver spoon in my parent’s household.
During my life there have been times when I have had to live on a low income, whilst I put the hours in to achieve my goals. Many in the bay will be doing the same to achieve their goals or to see their family meet theirs. This is what drives me to want to use my experience and skills to make a difference to them.
Over the last two years I have sought to be a positive and proactive voice for our area who works throughout the year, not just at election time. I have used the opportunity to speak in parliament as a way of highlighting the needs of our area, the positive work happening and the challenges we face, rather than seek to score cheap political points.
Finally, where can we follow what you’re up to, and keep up to date with your campaign?
I run a weekly newsletter via e-mail that covers my work and local news. If you do not receive it already just send an e-mail to [email protected] with “subscribe” in the subject box and I will add you to my list. You can also visit my website www.kevinjfoster.com
I also have a page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/KevinforTorbay and you can follow me on twitter @kevin_j_foster
Politics questions
- Brexit is at best an expensive distraction, how are you going to fix the NHS and public services?
Whatever anyone’s personal views the impact of Brexit and the importance of getting the right deal cannot be understated.
That said it is not the only issue in this election and challenges around the future of our NHS and other public services remain. I am proud to have helped secure more funding for Social Care in the recent budget, with Torbay Council set to receive an extra £7.4m over the next three years.
The key problem many of our health and social care services face is recruitment, with shortages of key skills meaning staff cannot be recruited even if there is a budget. Hence I have worked with South Devon College to develop more opportunities to train for these here in the bay.
There is a need for a long-term plan for funding our health and social care services. I am pleased to have been part of cross party work by the Public Accounts Cttee, Health Select Cttee and the Local Government Select Cttee to look at long term solutions. It is easy to argue about these issues at election time, but long term solutions, that will last more than the term of one government, are needed.
One issue I have focussed on since being elected was improving the provision of our mental health services. Only two years ago most of those requiring a place of safety for assessment were taken to a Police Cell and Devon had no Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit. Now the numbers being taken to cells has declined dramatically and a PICU for Devon will be built in Exeter.
A key priority for me has been resolving the long-standing injustice in relation to funding for schools in our bay. It is wrong that funding per pupil here is far lower than in many other areas nationally with comparable demographics, for reasons that are lost to history.
A new formula has been proposed to address this and many bay schools will get a long overdue rise, although some (surprisingly) were predicted to see a fall in their funding. It is therefore welcome that, after lobbying of Ministers, more money will now be put in overall to ensure no school loses money, whilst ensuring the bay still gets an overall rise in funding.
- Should politics be based on evidence? Why isn’t it.
One of the biggest areas of work for the Public Accounts Committee is trying to ensure there is accurate information\evidence on which decision makers can then decide their policies.
In politics many people will have very firm beliefs about what types of policies will produce the right outcomes. You can regularly see MPs arguing completely different policy approaches based on statistics from the same House of Commons Library Briefing note.
What can be difficult is striking a balance between effective monitoring of services and the outcome of policies, without creating a bureaucratic culture of targets and form filling to produce endless data sets, some of which will have little real use.
- What responsibilities should a constituency MP have? If you’re elected how will people know if you’re any good?
The key responsibilities for a constituency MP are to be vocal in parliament, accessible to constituents and part of the local community they seek to serve.
I have continued to run my weekly e-mail update service that lets thousands of people across the bay know what I have been doing on their behalf. I also ensured my columns in the local press were focussed on my work as Torbay’s MP and issues being debated, rather than party political analysis of other parties that was of interest to very few.
I kept my pledge to have a visible high street location where residents could drop in for advice, help or just to share their views. This will continue if I am re-elected.
Anyone can show up a few weeks before an election, attack their opponents and pledge the earth in the hope of getting a few votes. This might be a way to run an election campaign, but it is not what being a good candidate or MP is about. If these issues mattered so much to them, why only campaign on them when an election nears?
- How do you aim to engage in politics those who aren’t engaged? How will you represent the whole of your electorate?
One area I have focussed on is engaging with those for whom politics seems to have no relevance or is something other people engage in.
Through my advice surgeries I am asked to help many people facing difficult times and who may never have thought of contacting their MP before. This included running a special surgery session at the Winter Night Shelter for those who were homeless and encountering issues with the benefits system or housing providers.
I regularly visit schools talking to pupils about my role and meeting all ages to explain how political decisions affect them. This can range from talking with a group of primary school children about how issues they have read in the newspapers are decided to a more detailed debate with Sixth Formers about the issues of the day.
I hope that during one of my school visits I will spark a political interest in the person who will be the bay’s MP in twenty or thirty years’ time. I hope this will be by agreeing with me, yet if not it will still be good to think someone’s path to parliament started with meeting their then MP at an early age.
- What are your British values? How does your party (or yourself if you’re an Independent) represent these?
Democracy. The Rule Of Law. Equality Before The Law. Fairness. Enterprise.
This could be a very long answer, but I have always believed that my party has stood up for the values that make our nation what it is.
The core of our beliefs though is that we settle our disagreements by democratic means, not violence or the threat of it. A message that seems all the more important in light of recent attacks at Westminster and in Manchester.
Special bonus question: is gay sex a ‘sin’? Or is it a ‘sin’ to not campaign for and support equal rights for all members of the community
I believe in a God that pours out his love and grace, not his condemnation. The fundamental message of the Gospels is one of love, therefore there is no reason in my faith not to be able to endorse the relationship of two people in love.