Sutton & Cheam: Martin Cullip election Q&A

Q.What are your views on the MPs' expenses issue?

A.Parliament and the Inland Revenue have imposed on businesses a very tight definition of what is and is not allowed as a legitimate expense, it is therefore appalling that they have not only seen fit to ignore such standards themselves, but also calls into question the efficiency of the House of Commons.

Q.If you had to pick the single biggest issue you will campaign on as MP for the borough, what would that be?

A.Ensuring that St Helier not only remains as the borough’s hospital, but also that it is streamlined to inject more funds into healthcare and less into bureaucracy. My partner, sister and son were all born at St Helier so I have nothing but extreme admiration for the frontline staff.

Q.What is your biggest regret?

A.Picking numbers in 1994 which have never won me more than a few tenners on the national lottery.

Q.What was your biggest achievement at school/university?

A.The many great lifetime friends (now scattered worldwide) I gained during my education.

Q.Do you believe in euthanasia?

A Not euthanasia as it is wholly different, and more sinister, to assisted suicide. The only right to end a life is that of the individual, which should be recorded in a witnessed living will if a person chooses to seek an assisted suicide. The witness should never be a beneficiary of that person’s death. However, such deaths should still involve a coroner and, potentially, a court case to fully establish that it truly was the will of the departed.

Q.Have you ever smoked cannabis?

A.Yes, and although I don’t like it personally (it just sends me to sleep), the Libertarian Party would seek to decriminalise it, as has been hugely successful in reducing related crime and abuse in Portugal.

Q.How did you get involved in politics?

A. joined the Libertarian Party after years of witnessing politicians unnecessarily interfering in the public’s liberty and freedoms.

Q.How long have you lived in the borough?

A.Apart from a couple of years when my parents worked outside of Sutton, I have lived here since 1970.

Q.Have you ever belonged to another political party?

A. No.

Q.What do you recycle?

A.Everything I can, I don’t like waste.

Q. If you have one item on a desert island, what would it be and why?

A. A very big box of matches so I could light a fire until hopefully rescued.

Q.Where would you least like to live in the borough and where would you most like to live in the borough?

A. I’d most like to live in Cheam village where I grew up, I’d least like to live somewhere where neighbours aren’t considered friends.

Q.What is the borough's best attribute?

A.Our parks and open spaces which are a match for any London borough.

Q.Do you agree with abortion or are you pro-life?

A.I would always consider decisions on time limits as a free vote, for there are many different interpretations of the freedoms and rights of the individual. Outside of that, the state should not have the conceit that it knows better than the mother IF an abortion should happen or not, or under what circumstances (outside of max term). No-one should coerce individuals one way or the other, only the mother should decide.

Q.What's your favourite biscuit?

A.Chocolate hobnob. Anything with chocolate, really.

Q.What happened when you first got drunk and did you learn your lesson?

A.On my 18th birthday, too many of my friends bought me drinks and I woke up the next morning with a craving for sugar. I learned that it’s always good to live near a sweet shop.

Q.What annoys you?

A.Rudeness and lack of manners.

Q.Do you do the washing up or do you get others to do it?

A.My partner and I both dislike washing up, so we bought a dishwasher last year.

Q.Apart from a house what is the most expensive item you have bought for yourself?

A.Our family 2004 Vauxhall Zafira.

Q.Facebook or Twitter?

A. Facebook.