VIDEO ELECTION INTERVIEW: Robin Long, Lancaster and Fleetwood

Robin Long, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood, said he feels that members of the public should be given a final say on Brexit.
Robin Long, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood.Robin Long, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood.
Robin Long, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood.

He said that austerity “sucks the life out of the economy” and that pay freezes should be lifted for public sector workers.

Mr Long, a physicist at Lancaster University, lives in the city with his wife and two children.

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He said: “We propose to put an extra one penny of tax on every £1 earned, which would raise £6.3bn and cover the deficit in the NHS.

Robin Long, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood.Robin Long, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood.
Robin Long, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood.

“We need a cross party committee to look at a proper funding model for the NHS.

“We want to move towards a system where end of life care is completely free and raised through taxation.”

Mr Long said his priority if elected would be to try and find out from people exactly what they want out of Brexit, and present that voice in Parliament.

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“We feel that the people should be given the final say on Brexit, and we support staying within the Single Market, which makes trade easier and cheaper between the countries,” he said.

Robin Long, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood.Robin Long, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood.
Robin Long, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Lancaster and Fleetwood.

He said the Lib Dems want to look at better ways to fund higher education.

“When we were in coalitition, raising tuition fees wasn’t a good idea,” he said.

“But Tim Farron didn’t vote for it. It did a lot of damage, not just within the party but in politics on the whole.”

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He said it was important to get a “proper voting system where every vote will count” and that he was in favour of Proportional Representation.

Mr Long said that corporate taxation was “a game of cat and mouse”, but there are ways to deal with it.

He said: “When companies don’t pay a living wage, the government have to top it up, which means money is being wasted.”

The Liberal Democrats have not put a cap on immigration in their manifesto.

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Mr Long said: “We believe immigration is a positive thing, but those communities (affected by it) need to see the benefits, which means the money that comes with immigration is redirected towards those communities.”

He said that investment in flood defences is needed, as the flooding we saw in December 2015 will increase as the climate changes and “we need to be ready”.

Mr Long said fox hunting is “a horrible thing” and does not support it, and that fracking is a “bad idea” in Lancashire and anywhere else in the country.

On the proposed Bailrigg Garden Village scheme in south Lancaster, he said: “I have questions about the development, and about the figures for the number of new houses in the district. I want to see more affordable, low energy homes built properly, not just cheaply made homes built for a quick profit.”