The General Election and… a Small Business Owner

The GE & ME Voter Profile

The General Election and… A Small Business Owner

For this voter profile we spoke to the owner of a small, Llanelli based, business. We found out that, to win Mr C’s vote, a parliamentary candidate must convince him that he/she will prioritise constituents’ interests over anything else. To learn more about Mr C’s voting intentions, including why he is against further devolution, read the full transcript of his interview.

Interview Transcript

Q: Have you decided what party you will vote for in May’s general election?

A: No

Q: What would persuade you to vote for a party?

A: A party that genuinely represented the interest of the majority of their constituents as opposed to representing Westminster in their constituency.

Q: Which party are you least likely to vote for in the general election and why?

A: The Tory party because of past history. I was a teenager through the miners strike, hated Margaret Thatcher as a result and see today’s socio-economic troubles as being directly related to the damage done through the Thatcher years.

Q: Do you think the current Welsh Labour Government have successfully governed Wales?

A: No

Q: Why do you think that the Welsh Labour Government have not successfully governed Wales?

A: On account of the fact that services are worse in Wales since they’ve taken office, and despite government cuts and reduced budgets my council tax bill still goes up.

Q: Do you think that the Tory/Lib Dem coalition government have successfully governed the UK?

A: No

Q: Why do you think that the Tory/Lib Dem coalition government have not successfully governed the UK?

A: They’ve protected the rich at the expense of the poor. The rich have, as a class, sailed the recession untouched.  The poor and the ordinary however, have seen significant reductions, in both standards of living and income.

Q: Do you think that the UK should remain part of Europe?

A: Yes

Q: Why do you think that the UK should stay in Europe?

A: Much of the protections that ordinary working people enjoy come directly from the EU as directives.  Pulling out of the EU would allow employers to start offering people jobs with low wages and terrible employment conditions.

Also, Wales gets a large amount of development money from the EU, which supports the economy in multiple ways.  If we were to pull out of Europe we can pretty much guarantee that Westminster would not match this funding in any meaningful way.

Q: Do you think that Wales should be fully devolved from the UK?

A: No

Q: Why do you think that Wales should not be fully devolved from the UK?

A: I’m of the opinion that we have more in common with the people of the rest of the British Isles as to make further devolution pointless.  I also strongly believe that we should be focussing on our common interests, not on common differences.  We’re too small a nation to be split up into medieval kingdoms.  Further devolution would simply serve to increase poverty in the poorest areas.

Q: Which two of the following policy topics mean the most to you and would persuade you to vote for a party?

(i) The NHS;

(ii) Economy;

(iii) Immigration;

(iv) Education; or

(v) Welfare

A: The NHS and The Economy.

Q: Regardless of the party itself, which party leader do you believe to be the most capable Prime Minister and why?

A: David Cameron.

Q: Would you choose to vote/not vote for a party if you liked/disliked their leader?

A: Yes. I like much of what Ed Milliband says. However,  I don’t think he would make a capable or competent leader. Also, thanks to the actions of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, I can’t bring myself to trust the Labour Party.