Nicholas Wilson: Why you should vote for the independent anti-corruption candidate
HOT has invited all five parliamentary candidates for Hastings & Rye to send us an electoral statement saying why they should get your vote. Here is the statement from the independent anti-corruption candidate, Nicholas Wilson.
I am what some people might call a whistleblower. I moved to Hastings in 2008 after I was sacked from my job in the legal sector after exposing a huge corruption case involving HSBC Bank. My employers called me ‘Mr Ethical’ for refusing to defraud customers of the bank, and I have campaigned under that name against financial corruption ever since.
In January it was announced that HSBC will be repaying £4 million (out of £100 million) to thousands of customers. I am still fighting for HSBC to repay the full amount.
I got into the legal sector by accident, having studied at the Royal College of Music and the Royal College of Art and, like many creatives, I ended up working in a different field to pay the rent whilst writing music.
The result of my whistleblowing is that I have been unemployable. I have only been able to continue my anti-corruption campaigning for all these years due to the generosity of people making personal donations towards this work – just as they are for my election campaign. I understand from long personal experience the problems and indignities that people on low or no income in Hastings and Rye face every day.
I believe all the problems we face locally and in wider society are the result of either corruption within our financial system or the incompetence or fear of our elected representatives to tackle it. Debt – whether as mortgages, bank loans, student loans or credit cards – has become part of everyday life in order to get by. Our entire economy is based on debt, and the debt industry is riddled with fraud.
My core issues are:
- Expose and fight corruption, wherever it exists, regardless of the party or standing of the people involved;
- Introduce legislation for the proper protection of whistleblowers, who are essential in a functioning democracy;
- Introduce measures to improve services for people with mental health issues, particularly as a result of being in the benefits system.
All of these issues are matters of which I have direct experience. Of course there are many more issues on which the election campaign in Hastings and Rye and nationally is being fought:
Health
I will fight the corruption and destruction of the NHS for private profit and expose any MP who benefits directly from it. I will fight for better mental and physical health care locally, especially through ending the system of offshore ownership, where the money we are owed from taxes being avoided could immediately reverse the massive cuts to adult social care by East Sussex County Council.
Education
Most proponents of academy, free and grammar schools are Tories, because they ideologically prefer selective education run by private organisations over investing in a really high-quality publicly-run education system for all that would ensure children from deprived areas such as Hastings enjoy the same life chances as those from better-off backgrounds.
Transport
As MP for Hastings & Rye, I would support any plans brought forward to end the privately owned franchise system and return our railways to public ownership.
Housing
I believe that homes should be for living in and not just seen as yet another commodity to build, buy or sell for profit. I will fight for more affordable and social housing in Hastings and Rye.
Environment
I am proud to buy fish down at the Stade and as MP for Hastings & Rye will support the ongoing sustainability of our local fishing industry. In contrast, I will relentlessly oppose fracking, and instead work with those other MPs who support initiatives for renewable energy and are committed to proposals that put an end to the privatised energy companies ripping off consumers.
Banking
If elected I will fight for proper financial oversight; end the funding of the Financial Conduct Authority by the banks themselves; break up the “too big to fail” banks and separate casino banking from banking for the ordinary people.
My background in law and frequent appearances in court mean I have sound experience as an advocate. I will advocate for you to clear out the corruption and create a fairer society. I will fight on your behalf, as I have spent years doing for defrauded consumers.
I am the only parliamentary candidate standing on an anti-corruption platform. Voting for me will help to bring about a change to the system, as I will relentlessly challenge wrongdoing in Parliament just as I have been doing against HSBC.
Nicholas Wilson’s campaign website, Facebook page and Twitter account.
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4 Comments
Also in: Election 2017
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Thank goodness for Nicholas Wilson because without him there would be no-one for whom I could vote for with a clear conscience. The other candidates are just puppets of their parties and are controlled in what they think, say and do by their respective leaders. This is true of Amber Rudd and was true of her predecessor, Michael Foster. The cosy conspiracy between Conservative and Labour to keep themselves in power is anti-democratic. Tactical voting would reinforce that bankrupt duopoly. Time to vote for what you believe in and to bring the House of Commons into the 21st century along with the rest of the world.
Comment by David Stevenson — Friday, Jun 2, 2017 @ 14:54
I think it is rather reprehensible that you choose to make a supposed moral stand which will take votes away from Labour and possibly allow Rudd to be re-elected. This Tory government and its predecessor stand for evil, uncaring greed and their xenophobic posturing and distain for ordinary people, particularly the disabled and disadvantaged is in plain view.
Comment by Andrew — Friday, Jun 2, 2017 @ 14:39
For your information I offered to stand for Labour, they ignored me, as they have done for 10 years when I have tried to deal with massive fraud in the City.
I “stormed” out of that meeting because I was told by Compass it was non-partisan – it was not. I am standing against that kind of deception and fraud. This is a democracy – I am fighting for the only thing that really affects everybody, regardless of politics. Corruption.
Comment by Nicholas Wilson — Thursday, Jun 1, 2017 @ 21:38
Green Party candidate Julia Hilton stood down because of the absolute imperative to get every vote to be cast for the candidate with the best chance of unseating the Tory candidate Amber Rudd and attempting to win a Labour government. The Green Party’s generous action was because it knows it has far more important things in common with Labour than the issues that divide us, and Labour’s candidate Peter Chowney for his part felt that he was very happy to close the gap by adopting a number of issues of special concern to the Green party.
Nicholas Wilson on the other hand has stormed out of any meeting to set up an anti-Tory progressive alliance, denouncing it as “just supporting Labour”. So I was surprised to see that his main policy agenda adds nothing to the Labour Party’s manifesto nationally or locally, yet he is asking people to reduce Labour’s chances of winning in Hastings. With the tide turning against the Tories and narrowing their lead, any votes for him could turn out to be a lifesaver for Rudd.
Anyone who seriously cares about the social issues he claims to support would do better to vote for Peter Chowney.
Comment by Chicothecat — Wednesday, May 31, 2017 @ 22:51