Dragon Interview: Zoe Franklin, Prospective Parliamentary Candidate

Published on: 2 Aug, 2016
Updated on: 3 Aug, 2016

In her first media interview since being selected as the prospective parliamentary candidate (PPC) for the Liberal Democrats in Guildford, Zoe Franklin says why she has put herself forward, gives her take on some current issues and explains what she would try and do locally, if elected. She was interviewed by Martin Giles.

Prospective parliamentary candidate for the Lib Dems, Zoe Franklin

Why did you put yourself forward as a parliamentary candidate?

I’ve been thinking about standing for Parliament for a long time. When I stood down from being councillor for Stoke ward, in 2015, part of my thought process was that by doing so it would free up time to concentrate on campaigning to become an MP.

I am passionate about Guildford and being able to work on behalf of its residents as a councillor showed me that I would love to be able to similarly serve the wider community of Guildford as its MP.  Guildford needs a strong liberal voice that will speak up for it in parliament but also be prepared to challenge the local councils where necessary – I believe I can be that person.

Anne Milton had an increased majority of 22,000 (57% of the vote) at the last election in 2015. Why do you think the Lib Dem vote collapsed and can you realistically expect to win?

I think there’s a couple of reasons why our vote went down. First, I don’t think voters realised how much the Liberal Democrats achieved while in the Coalition – 75% of our 2011 manifesto policies were brought in, including some of the Coalition’s most popular, such as the increase of the personal tax allowance to £10,000. And we prevented the Conservatives from bringing in the big cuts that took place after the 2015 election.

Second (and this is linked to the first in some ways), many voted against us because we went into a coalition and they were angry that we would do that.

Finally, there was a real and widespread concern that if you voted anything but Conservative you’d get Labour – and people didn’t want that either, so voted Conservative possibly expecting to get the kind of government they experienced under the coalition. Interestingly, we also know from the doorstep that some people liked the Coalition and what we had done to moderate the Tories but couldn’t actually vote for “a coalition” so succumbed to the “Vote Tory to stop Labour” campaign.

As for winning, yes. Perhaps not immediately but I am committed to turning Guildford gold, even if it takes a while.

How likely do you think an election this year is?

I would think it’s fairly unlikely this side of Christmas. Going into 2017 it’s possible but again unlikely. Much depends on what happens to the Labour Party in its leadership election, what progress is made on the Brexit negotiations and whether the Prime Minster feels it would be beneficial to her to have one and that she could win it. However it’s hardly been predictable recently so I certainly wouldn’t place a bet on it either way!

If an election is called this year and the Conservatives lose do you think Brexit should be reconsidered?

Our leader, Tim Farron, has said that we will contest an election with a clear policy of remaining in Europe, if elected. I agree with that approach. A four per cent majority is not conclusive given that the voters were not provided with a clear indication of how Brexit would impact the UK and in fact, on some points, were lied to by the Leave campaign about what could happen if we did leave – like extra NHS funding and stopping free movement of people.

There is quite a lot of talk about a realignment of UK politics following the EU referendum result. Is a realignment necessary and desirable? What changes can you foresee?

I think that the political parties with the kind of policy stances that people are calling for already exist. What’s missing is a voting system that means that if people want to vote for these parties their vote will really count and they can potentially see them elected. Also many sections of the press don’t give these parties enough airtime which means people don’t hear the ideas that they are trying to put across.

I would like to and hope we will see the mainstream media give more air time to progressive, centre ideas so that people know that there are alternative parties to the Conservatives and Labour. I think we’re also going to see a resurgence of interest in politics by those who are naturally drawn to centre policies and also young people who were unable to vote in the EU referendum but are drawing close to voting age.

So you don’t think a new centre party should be created?

In many ways I’ve found it strange that people are calling for a new modern, progressive, centre party because that’s exactly what I believe the Liberal Democrats are. I also wonder what would be achieved by doing so, unless it was formed out of the coming together of existing parties, otherwise it would simply split the centre vote and result in an even stronger right – exactly what it would be aiming to prevent.

What do you think of Lib Dem leader Tim Farron? Have you met him? Is he better than Nick Clegg?

I’ll start with Nick Clegg – I’m proud of what we achieved in Coalition and the role Nick played in that. He made mistakes yes but hindsight is a wonderful thing. As for Tim Farron he was absolutely the right choice for leader after the 2015 election defeat. I have met him a number of times and have found him to be very approachable, considered and a man of real integrity. He has shown great leadership at a really challenging time for our party while also presenting a strong case to voters, when we get the air time, for our policies and why people should vote Lib Dem.

Would you have any qualms about disobeying a party whip if you felt it necessary to represent the best interests of your constituents?

I would certainly consider doing so if I felt that it would make a difference to the result. Sometimes where it can’t have a direct impact it is better to vote in line with the whip in order to retain influence that can bring about direct impact at a later date.

Do you think Guildford’s Local Plan should go ahead as drafted despite the uncertainty caused by the EU referendum result?

The challenge is that we don’t know what the final impact of the referendum result will be without having a clear idea of the final deal we strike with EU. However before it goes forward the Local Plan has to take into consideration best estimates of the impact on Guildford in terms of housing and the economy, just as the final submission will take into account infrastructure and environmental constraints.

As an MP for Guildford what changes within the constituency would you try to effect or influence?

A priority for me is being an MP who understands the needs of their residents and that requires an emphasis on listening which in itself necessitates being accessible and available to residents. I would therefore emphasise regular residents surgeries across the constituency to enable residents to contact me as easily as possible. In turn these conversations with residents would be part of my guide on what issues to prioritise.

Currently, my key issues are firstly the Local Plan and ensuring house building is fair, proportionate and appropriate, and where it happens it is accompanied by the necessary infrastructure. It is such a key issue both now and for the future of our Borough.

Second is transport which encompasses road maintenance, encouraging cycling and other green transport methods, improving bus and train services so that they become a truly viable option for commuting within the constituency and beyond.

My final one is housing – lobbying for changes to government policy to make affordable housing properly affordable in both the market and affordable/social housing sectors and seeking a better deal for tenants who are mistreated by their landlords.

See also: Lib Dems Select Former Councillor As Parliamentary Candidate and Opinion: Why I Can’t Continue To Be A Councillor

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