Pre-election questions for my MP, Islington North
Other candidates for Islington North, feel free to answer too.
My MP, since I moved last year, is Jeremy Corbyn (Labour) Links here and here.
Question 1:
Jeremy Corbyn has a great record - strongly against the Iraq war, Id Cards, longer detention without trial, and even showed up to vote against the Digital Economy bill. In fact, against the bad things that his own party has done anyway. But a vote for Jeremy Corbyn is a vote for Labour. How do I settle that contradiction?
Should we stay with the argument that: "you don't vote for a person, you vote for a party - the MPs obey the whip most of the time anyway, therefore don't vote for a party that does things that you don't agree with", or to the argument that "vote for a candidate if they are a good person, the preponderance of good people will define the party's centre ground and change it from within"?
Question 2:
Does Jeremy Corbyn support evidence-based policy in medicine? How about in other policy areas? If not, what should policy be based on? The way I see it, it's a choice between examining policy on the grounds of rational evidence, or on religious conviction, or on tabloid hysteria. I obviously prefer the first over the other two.
How does he square his support of government funding of homeopathy on the NHS with this? I know that he "believes that homeopathy works for some people" but is medicine about belief or evidence? How about drug policy? Immigration?
Question 3:
Islington North is the smallest area constituency in the UK (but makes up for it by being densely populated). But it is a very safe seat for Labour. Jeremy Corbyn has been Labour MP here since 1983. This is age ago - the age of Thatcher and Reagan. This may explain why I haven’t seen more in the way of electioneering than a few pamphlets through the letterbox.
Given this, what's the point of voting in Islington North at all? Related, do you favour proportional representation?
My MP, since I moved last year, is Jeremy Corbyn (Labour) Links here and here.
Question 1:
Jeremy Corbyn has a great record - strongly against the Iraq war, Id Cards, longer detention without trial, and even showed up to vote against the Digital Economy bill. In fact, against the bad things that his own party has done anyway. But a vote for Jeremy Corbyn is a vote for Labour. How do I settle that contradiction?
Should we stay with the argument that: "you don't vote for a person, you vote for a party - the MPs obey the whip most of the time anyway, therefore don't vote for a party that does things that you don't agree with", or to the argument that "vote for a candidate if they are a good person, the preponderance of good people will define the party's centre ground and change it from within"?
Question 2:
Does Jeremy Corbyn support evidence-based policy in medicine? How about in other policy areas? If not, what should policy be based on? The way I see it, it's a choice between examining policy on the grounds of rational evidence, or on religious conviction, or on tabloid hysteria. I obviously prefer the first over the other two.
How does he square his support of government funding of homeopathy on the NHS with this? I know that he "believes that homeopathy works for some people" but is medicine about belief or evidence? How about drug policy? Immigration?
Question 3:
Islington North is the smallest area constituency in the UK (but makes up for it by being densely populated). But it is a very safe seat for Labour. Jeremy Corbyn has been Labour MP here since 1983. This is age ago - the age of Thatcher and Reagan. This may explain why I haven’t seen more in the way of electioneering than a few pamphlets through the letterbox.
Given this, what's the point of voting in Islington North at all? Related, do you favour proportional representation?