JACK SWAN PLAY JEREMY PAXMAN: THE LABOUR PARTY

Labour currently hold all the seats that our Jack Swan magazine covers but they are all in close battles to keep hold of them. In Gower, it looks like being a very tight three horse race between Labour, the Brexit Party and The Conservatives. I spoke with the Labour candidate and MP Tonia Antoniazzi:-

What is your position on Brexit?

I have made my position very clear on Brexit, I am personally in favour of a people’s vote. In 2017, if Theresa May had not have called a general election, she had a working majority she would have been able to have put here plans through. I am absolutely appalled that the situation that we are in. We are here because Boris Johnson has called a general election. I voted against a general election because he is basically filling people’s heads through the media with this idea that Brexit will be done and he will deliver Brexit. The next date we have is the end of January, If you put that in context the first thing you have to do after the election is you have to swear in all the MPs, then there has to be a Queen’s speech that will last nearly 2 weeks. New MPs don’t have an office, don’t have any staff, don’t have a clue what’s going on, unless you have worked there as an MP before. It is like starting any new job, plus most people are away from home, they are living in a hotel etc so it is going to be a really tough time and my concerns are that he is going to push through his legislation without proper scrutiny, just like he wanted to before.

This is a man that cannot be trusted. I was in education for 20 years, you have to prove yourself and gain trust. My constituents are being taken for fools if they think he is going to get Brexit done. Because the only way to get Brexit done is to put a deal on the table and when people know how it is going to impact on them, ask them to decide. There may be benefits, but ok what are the benefits? There may be losses to your pensions, to your income and job prospects. There may be less, there may be more, but I want people to know what options there are. People deserve to have politicians who are transparent and tell the truth and don’t try to mislead people and sling mud at each other. I am getting people at the moment who say to me, when I knock on their door, ‘you are all the same’. I am not the same and I want people to know that I wear my heart on my sleeve and I am only doing what is in their best interest. They may agree with me, they may disagree with me, but once they have spoken to me they know I only care for the people that I have represented in parliament. And should I not be successful, I know that I can leave knowing I did everything with a good conscience. I would worry if someone else gets voted in, as the timescale that Boris Johnson is working on is unworkable.

Can you understand why people do not trust Labour with Brexit, the position has changed a lot?

The position hasn’t changed, it has clarified itself. We do recognise that Labour voters voted to leave and some voted to remain. It is the responsibility of the Government to supply all the information to the public that is needed to assess whether or not a deal is being put on the table is good enough for our constituency. I think the position that we are now in is very clear that we will get this done in six months, we will put a Brexit deal on the table which protects workers rights, environmental protection which will then go to a public vote. People argue about the public vote saying ‘you can have another one and then another one etc..’ but that isn’t the case, what we are saying is that the deal has to be confirmatory, it has to be final and it has to be voted on and I think that is clear.

Just to confirm, is this a legally binding one?

The last one was an advisory one, this will be a confirmatory one and that is the key to moving on. The difference is, is that the referendum was advisory, the leave campaign have been found guilty of misleading and they have been fined but they cannot be prosecuted because it was an advisory referendum and its not under the same rules as a confirmatory one or as a General Election is. That is really important because had it have been the case that it was under the same rules then somebody would have been prosecuted for giving out non-truths. That is why what labour are offering is going to be a fully transparent deal where you know how it is going to impact on you and your family.

Is Jeremy Corbyn a hindrance to your campaign?

Unfortunately, the press have done a really good job of painting him as somebody who is disliked. It has been a constant barrage of Tory mainstream media which is effecting peoples opinion on him. On the doorstep I would say that he can be a hindrance on the doorstep, but people need to see past that and look at the policies because the policies in our manifesto are absolutely brilliant.

Does Labour have a problem with ant-Semitism in the party?

We don’t see a problem with antisemitism in the Gower constituency. I think it is a case of standing up and apologising. Jeremy Corbyn as leader has apologised in the past and he continues to apologise and make sure that everybody is dealt with in a very strong manner. We don’t as a party tolerate any racism of any sort and that message needs to be stronger. We need to go through any allegations, and it needs to be transparent. As there needs to be within the Tory party regarding their issues with Islamophobia.

When did Labour decide to back-pay the WASPI women?

We knew that we were going to make a commitment to the 1950s women. We knew it wouldn’t be in the manifesto as it was a one-off payment. There is a pot in the treasury which is there because it has been taken from these women in the first place. It isn’t giving them everything, it is giving them a substantial amount of their money back to them. I have seen first hand how women are suffering in the consistency here. They can’t find jobs, they had to pay stamp until they retied, these are women who have worked since the age of maybe 15 or 16 in some cases, taken time off to have and look after children, maybe they are carers now. What I’m hearing is this Conservative government and its austerity has hit women disproportionality. It is always harder for women and it has to change and I think this is brilliant what Labour have put on the table for these 1950s women and that is why we need to have a labour government. 

Why should the people of Gower vote for you? 

The last 2 and a half years we have dealt with over 4,200 pieces of case work, I have been the most active MP That Gower has had for a very long time. I am very recognisable, I have a great team, I have been on national and local television raising the cases around immigration and also around the issues of Brexit because my views have been quite clear on these matters. I think that people deserve to have someone that recognises them regardless of how they have voted. I am very impartial, hard working and independent and I think people deserve to have that voice for them in parliament and to know that when I say something I will do it and I will stick to my guns. For  those who may not know you.

How did you get into politics?

I wasn’t particularly political up until we had a Tory and Lib Dem coalition, I became politicised because I was struggling with my own situation. I had recently separated from my husband, we had a period of time where my father was unwell and he passed away. I was a teacher, my pay did not increase, I was paying for a house by myself and basically the pension contributions went up, the child tax credits went away and I was finding it hard. I think I whinged so much and my brother who is a Labour member said stop whinging, and do something about it. So that is what I did, and I campaigned for Nia Griffiths in Llanelli, and I soon realised that for all my self pity, I was knocking on peoples doors and finding out how difficult their lives were. I saw first hand how government changed people’s lives and how much people were struggling. I also saw that in work. It wasn’t until Theresa May called a general election and I knew that Gower was the most marginal seat that I decided to take the leap over the Loughor bridge and put my name forward.

I’ve spoken to a few ‘wannabbee MP’s’ but you have been one and obviously hope to remain one. What are you most proud of in your time and what would be your main aims if you get re-elected?

I am most proud on a UK level of being co-chair of the APPG on medical cannabis, the work that we have done has changed the law, in November 2018. Whilst the law has changed, we are still campaigning really hard in order to get access through the NHS. We continue to campaign so that patients can have access to prescription cannabis under the NHS. It’s not been easy but we have changed Labour front bench’s position and we are pushing hard for children with epilepsy to have the option of a plant based medicine. Locally I am very proud of the work I have done on a number of immigration cases. Most recently in the case of Lynsey Dutton and her daughter Lucile who both live in Clydach. Lucile is only 2 years of age and her leave to remain was not granted by the UK government and we managed to have that reversed which has been really good. My personal aim should I get re-elected is to speak more in parliament. I want to get more involved on a number of issues particularly around Policing. I think South Wales police really are getting hard hit and getting the tough end of the cuts. Since 2010, they have been promised more police officers, I want to make sure that does happen and hold them to account. Rural crime is a real issue in the Gower constituency and there are still many concerns coming into me but how can the police locally crack down on crime if they do not have the staff numbers.

How is the mood talking to people on the doorstep and what is coming up most?

It is surprisingly not all about Brexit, people are very complimentary whether they voted for me last time or whatever their party colours. People that know me recognise me and know how hard my team and I work. I am the front person, but it’s the background team that gets stuff done and I am very, very proud of them. On the doorstep, a lot of people don’t like Boris but unfortunately with equal measure I think our media has done a good job on our leader Jeremy Corbyn. We have to have a Labour government if we are going to make our people’s lives any better. I hope that will be the case but to be brutally honest with you I don’t think that this general election is going to solve anything I think that it’s just going to confuse matters.

We are seeing more and more ‘fake news’ do you think the public are finding it hard to realise what is real and what isn’t in regards to politics?

People use a variety of media, and whether it is your newspaper of choice or what you tune in to on the radio or news channel you watch etc, people will come to their own conclusions. I am concerned with social media because on facebook and twitter people live in their echo chamber so if you have liked something on facebook which is particularly left wing or right wing then you get fed the same message all of the time. That concerns me because you are not getting a good spread of media. People need to have access to their politicians, I have opened my doors for many, many Brexit meetings. We have sent mail to the whole of Pontarddulais and Clydach and other smaller villages around Gower and I have spoken to people. But I want people to know how accessible I am. I did not realise how easily accessible politicians are until I wrote in as a teacher to the education minister and he came into the school about an issue I was worried about. We are there to be ranted at, I don’t mind people telling me my Brexit view is wrong but I want them to know where I am coming from and why I care for them.

Do you think the BBC Is impartial and on a similar sort of thing what is your feelings on John Bercow?

I think John Bercow did a brilliant job. I think he showed stability in the chair but he did talk too much! I gave him a bottle of Gower gin on his retirement. I think he has been great for parliament, he has been painted as someone who frustrates parliament but he has done it all by the rule book. Those that had issues with him was because it did not go the way they wanted which I think is natural. With regards to the BBC, I don’t accuse anyone of not being impartial, the only example I saw that I thought was a little disappointing was when the Conservative candidate apologised for something she had said, the headline was ‘Tory candidate apologises’ when no one really knew what she apologised for in the first place