Policy Responses
Guy receives a large amount of correspondence on matters relating to government policy, particularly on current issues and when a Bill is going through Parliament. Whilst Guy and his small team always try to respond as quickly as possible, urgent individual casework must be prioritised. In order to maintain a good service for all constituents and to manage the sheer volume of campaign correspondence, we will post a response to campaign emails in this section of Guy's website as soon as possible. You can view each of these using the menu on the left-hand side of this page.
Free votes
A new Parliament also often brings a number of conscience issues; such matters are often decided by free votes. In addition, there were specific single issue free vote queries which were raised during the election campaign. I have set out below my views on some of these issues, many of which I have previously blogged about.
Same-sex Marriage - I campaigned for and voted for this legislation and always will support it. Click here to read my blog post from the day we passed the Bill in Parliament.
Abortion Laws - I would not support any changes to the present law, to restrict abortion.
Mitochondrial Donation - I have campaigned for, and voted for, and remain supportive of Mitochondrial Donation. Click here to read more from the vote at the time.
Assisted Dying - I am in favour of an Assisted Dying Bill, as a safe evolution of the law, with stringent safeguards. Click here to read my blogpost on the most recent attempt to pass a bill on this issue.
Human Fertilisation and Embryology: I am in favour, subject to suitable legislation.
Fox Hunting - I would not support a repeal of the Hunting Act.
The Paris Agreement - I support + voted for the Paris Agreement. I acknowledge man-made climate change exists and I support action to tackle it. Click here to read my blog post discussing climate change with constituents.
Stem cell research: I am in favour of stem cell research to cure the diseases / illnesses we face.
House of Lords: I am personally in favour of an elected second chamber and I supported the House of Lords reform bill when it came before parliament in the Coalition government's time.
Early Day Motions
Guy often receives requests from constituents to sign Early Day Motions (EDMs), but like many MPs does not sign these, no matter how worthy the cause.
I realise this is a source of disappointment to some of those who contact Guy and I would like to make it clear that not signing an EDM does not mean that Guy does not care about the issue at hand, Guy just does not believe that EDMs are an effective way to achieve a solution.
Whilst Guy recognises that, at the time of their conception, EDMs were an important way in which to draw attention to particular causes, EDMs today have no chance of changing the law and serve as petitions that only MPs can sign.
They have now been superseded by the No. 10 e-petitions; which serve as a more efficient and cost effective democratic tool that can be signed by everyone. Today’s social media also allows for many ways in which people’s attention can be brought to issues without using public funds.
EDMs cost a huge amount to administer each year and Guy does not think they are good value for money, costing the taxpayer around £300 per motion to print.
I hope you can appreciate our stance on EDMs.