Jury Team Profile - Graham Burton

Below are the responses to my questions to Jury Team candidates, these responses are from Graham Burton who is running in the West Midlands.

You can view Graham's full Jury Team profile, here.

If you would like to vote for Graham in the Primary, text GRABUR01 to 86837 (25p + Standard Rate).



Please answer True or False to these statements:

1. The EU should have even more control over the governing of member states including the UK.
False

2. The EU is the future of Continental Europe; the UK should be less resistant to this and more willing to be engaged with EU partners.
False

3. The EU is fundamentally undemocratic in how it is made up and how it functions.
True

4. If elected to the EU Parliament I will always vote in favour of returning legislative powers to member states.
True

5. Countries like Iceland and Norway should be made to join the EU.
False

6. Ireland was wrong to vote NO in their referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.
False

7. The main reason why people are against the EU in the UK is because the Tabloid media runs scare stories.
True

8. I believe the UK should be a part of a federal Europe, whether as the UK or as component nations or regions.
False

9. The UK should leave the EU as swiftly and as amicably as possible.
True

10. The UK Parliament should be sovereign. No laws made by the EU should be above the law making decisions of the UK Parliament.
TRUE TO FIRST PART AND FALSE TO THE SECOND PART.

11. The UK and France should give up their seats on the UN Security Council in favour of an EU representative.
FALSE

12. The city of London and UK financial institutions should be regulated by the EU.
False

13. The EU has kept peace in Europe for 60 years.
True

14. If the UK left the EU, it’s economy would never recover.
False

15. Plans should be made for the UK to join the EURO within the next five year sitting of the EU parliament.
False

16. UK armed forces should answer to a European Military Chain of Command.
False

17. The EU should be allowed to collect taxes directly from European citizens and/or businesses.
False

18. There will never be war in Europe as long as the EU is strong.
TRUE HOPEFULLY

19. The UK should not be allowed to declare war without the approval of the EU.
False

20. The UK should be allowed a referendum whether it accepts the EU Lisbon Constitutional Treaty before it comes into force.
True

21. I am prepared to give up some small freedoms so that the UK and/or the EU governments can better protect us from terrorists.
False

22. The EU should have control of EU wide policing to make standard the same across Europe, as well as centrally gather intelligence.
False

23. UK Common Law is incompatible with European Courts. We should protect Common Law.
True

24. People who stand opposed to the EU should be punished.
False

25. The Eurovision Song Contest is a wonderful form of European entertainment and the voting is in no way rigged.
False

In no more than 200 words for each question, please tell us about the following:

Q. If you are elected to the EU Parliament, by what method and frequency will your expenses be made public?
Open and transparency to all to see, I would make these available on a monthly or quarterly month base

Q. Have you ever stood for an elected position before?
ONLY IN THE TRADE UNION I BELONG TOO

Q. Do you have you own website or blog?
YES http://www.techiesinfo.co.uk/ and I am on twitter http://twitter.com/gbwestmidlands

Q. Do you regularly read any particular newspapers or magazines? Who are your favourite writers/Journalists?
I do read newspaper mainly for information and the politics as well inside. My favourite journalist would be Martin Lewis of moenysavingexpert.com

Q. Why did you decide to stand for Jury Team instead of an existing political party?
I agreed with the statements that the jury team was putting out. I had always voted for lib dem and got upset when Charles Kennedy was not the leader of the lib dems they could have done much more for him by letting him go off and sorting is drink problem out and he could than come back as the leader of the lib dems if he want to do that and not the way he was being forced out and also with the currant stats of affairs with expenses from politicians dare i say it need honesty politics.

Q. What is the very first thing you will do in your official capacity if elected?
I think I would try to understand the expenses and try and make it easier for everyone to see and also to make sure the so called books of the EU being signed off and find out why they do not sign them off. By the way if I do get elected as MEP than my books will be available to anyone who wants to see them.

Q. And, as you have been good enough to answer the above, in no more than 1,000 of your own words, tell us why we should vote for you.
I hope by the answers I have given above this shows how committed I am to being open and honest to the taxpayers in the UK and in the West Midlands region. I would also hope that I can make a difference on the manufacturing industry in the West Midlands, Education, Health especially the learning disabilities’ area and also general disabilities’ as well.

Also on farming to make sure farmers received the right amount of money for what they produced in the UK and to make sure anything thy produce in the UK is cheap for the consumer to buy so it is not loaded with extra price for the consumer to buy and the other produce aboard is cheaper in the UK. I believe if it is produced in the country where grown the consumer buys it cheaper and not at a higher rate.

If I am not to sure of the answer to any question I will also say I do not know the answer and I go away and find out the answer. I believe there is no shame in not knowing the answer to question at times it just proof that everyone is not perfect and research has to be carried out.
So please ask me any questions you would like and also for the ones in the West Midlands anything that you would like me to do if I am successful in becoming an MEP

4-4-09 Update: Graham emailed me to apologise that he had answered Yes & No on the True or False section and asked me to change his responses which I have now done, and to offer an honest apology to readers for the error. Yes now reads True and No now reads False.