Introduction

What we are looking for is good quality questions that the electorate in the constituency will be interested in and that the candidates can record a good response to. They must be phrased as a statement with which someone might reasonably agree or disagree.

Often poor quality issues can be made into brilliant issues with a quick check of the source URL or a Google search. Think why is this an issue, then track back up to find the place where there has been a policy failing or a change could be made. Often an issue will fit into a larger problem that might be more interesting to ask about (e.g. transport, schools).

Policy

A good quality issue statement is:

• A local issue (we'll cover national ones separately).
• A proper sentence with good spelling and grammar, with a leading capital and a full stop.
• Possible for somebody to record agreement/disagreement/no opinion.
• If forward looking, the statement should argue for a specific change to current or planned policy (e.g. "increase funding to provide a service", not simply "provide a service")
• If backward looking, the statement should not apportion blame, but simply describe an alternative decision.
• If the issue mentions a public body, check it is the right one (e.g. has the powers ascribed to it).
• Something that might reveal an attitude of the candidate is good.
• Try to avoid conflating several issues together - someone might disagree with the very fact of a problem rather than the proposed solution. This can often be quite tricky to do so apply it loosely and we'll leave it up to the candidates to respond appropriately.

You should rewrite any issues that fail to meet the above policy such that they do. If you feel that it's not possible (e.g. it's a ramble about some noisy neighbours) then you can decide to hide it, by pressing the appropriate button. The original issue will be kept separately, and moderation decisions can be reviewed later.

Examples

• The issue "the runway at London Southend Airport should not be extended" can be kept as it is, but should be capitalised properly as a sentence.

• The issue "The high street has become a lesser feature, attracting low budget shopping" might become "Aldridge High Street needs regeneration, with a local plan that emphasises independent, local shops over low budget chain shopping"

• The issue "The planned Conservative County Council cuts to social care are appalling, and that taking an axe to the services of the most vulnerable people in the county seems cruelly unnecessary", along with the link supplied by the original poster explaining Unison's suggested alteratives to cuts, could be become "Instead of cutting social care for the vulnerable, the County Council should make use of its reserves, scrap unnecessary cabinet posts, and raise council tax by 3%"

• The issue "Training and apprenticeships should be more encouraged for the unemployed." should be hidden as "not local"

• The issue "the City Council needs cleaning up" should be hidden as "too general"

• The issue "Although crime rates are low, a consistent fear that many residents have is about the possibility of being burgled" should be hidden as "no clear policy"