antoniabance.org.uk

What Antonia believes (FAQs)

I've had a lot of questions about what I believe about various issues. Here are a few of the most commonly asked ones. If you want to ask me a question about what I stand for or my opinion on a local or national issue, please email me on antonia@antoniabance.org.uk

What’s your position on the war in Iraq?

Like 139 Labour MPs, many Labour Party members and millions of people all over the world, I opposed taking military action in Iraq. I did not (and still do not) believe that invading Iraq reduced the threat of terrorism in this country or around the world. I believed that the Iraq Survey Group should have been allowed to complete their investigations into whether Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. I’d like to make clear that opposing the war did not mean that I supported Saddam Hussein’s murderous Ba’ath regime.

I do not believe that there was sufficient planning for the reconstruction of Iraq after the war, and that British and American troops went in without a clear idea of what they had to achieve and how they were going to achieve it, leading to the situation that we have now where Iraq is unstable, unsafe for both Iraqi citizens and UK soldiers and a haven for terrorist activity. Unlike many people that opposed the war, I don’t support pulling UK troops out of Iraq immediately - I think that, having gone in and helped to create the chaotic situation there, we have a responsibility to remain in Iraq and be part of the process that rebuilds the infrastructure and begins the process of ensuring security, human rights, democracy and self-determination for all the peoples of Iraq.

A few months ago, Abdullah Muhsin, a representative of the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions, came to speak in Oxford. He talked about their work trying to rebuild free trade unions and a functioning civil society in Iraq, and about why Iraqi trade unionists oppose the immediate withdrawal of troops. I believe the way forward for those of us who opposed the war is to concentrate on supporting the Iraqi people to gain employment and trade union rights as part of a functioning democracy. For more information about IFTU and the TUC appeal for Iraqi trade unions, see www.iraqitradeunions.org

Do you oppose top-up fees for students?

Yes. As a student at Oxford from 1998 to 2001, I was very involved in the campaign for free education. My year was the first to pay fees and to have to survive wholly on student loans with no grant, not even for the poorest students. Student debt is a deterrent, and it has the biggest impact on students from low-income backgrounds and those with no family history of higher education - just the type of people we’re trying to encourage to consider going to university. Variable fees (“top-up fees”) will not only increase the burden of debt faced by students when they graduate, but will also force students to choose their course and university based on what they can afford rather than what and where they want to study.

I support the target of getting 50% of young people into higher education; reintroducing a maintenance grant for poor students will help us achieve this, but my worry is that fees and top-up fees will work against this, not for this.

What’s your position on a ban on fox-hunting?

Banning fox-hunting has been a part of the last two Labour manifestos. Unlike my Liberal opponent in Oxford West and Abingdon, Evan Harris, I support a total ban as soon as possible. I believe that fox-hunting is cruel and outmoded, and I completely reject the calls of the “countryside lobby” that the ban is a result of city-dwellers not understanding rural ways.

Do you support building houses on the green belt?

The question of building houses on the green belt is one that is particularly pertinent here in Oxfordshire. As a relatively prosperous area in the south-east, there is a real shortage of affordable housing, meaning that young families, public service employees and low-paid workers can’t afford to stay in the area or have real difficulties finding accommodation. Obviously the first priority is to build housing on brownfield sites throughout the city, but this still would not provide enough housing. Therefore, I believe that some limited and carefully-controlled development of the green belt would be a good idea - for example, I support the proposed development of the land south of Grenoble Road, unlike Greens, Liberals and Tories in Oxfordshire, who refuse to support development and seem to believe that local families should have to move away to find affordable housing.

Don't forget - if you want to know Antonia's opinion on a local or national issue, please contact her on antonia@antoniabance.org.uk