The construction industry employs over 1.5 million people. So the political parties fighting the general election on 7 June should be keen to get your vote. But do they really care? We quizzed candidates in three constituencies on three key election issues
Leeds Central – an urban constituency currently held by Labour MP Hilary Benn (son of Tony Benn) 
  On underspending On safety On cowboy builders Rating
Hilary Benn, Labour MP "In some cases the investment may have come through slower than expected, but I would say just watch the investment work its way through the system" "Safety clearly must be a top priority. The record has improved but there is still more to be done" "The problem is to do with effective regulation and prosecution. I would support schemes to register builders" because from a consumerit's not always easy to tell who are the cowboys." * * * *
Victoria richmond, Conservative "If you're relying on the money coming through it's not acceptable that you are forced to wait. This hits small businesses in particular" "The figures are alarming. Other industries have random inspections and safety in construction should not be exempt" "I empathise with consumers and business people on this. I would like to see the Trading Standards have the resources to act against cowboy builders" * *
Stewart Arnold, LibDem "It's a disaster. We desperately need public services and infrastructure improved.

The idea that things aren't being built because the money is not getting through is ridiculous. We would look to expand capital investment programmes"

"I would support a scheme of roving safety representatives in principle – it's ridiculous that lives are being lost because of poor practice" "Cowboy builders bring the whole industry into disrepute. Compulsory registration with a reduced or sliding scale of fees, and raised public awareness would help" * * *



West Lancashire – a rural constituency currently held by Labour MP Colin Pickthall
  On underspending On safety On cowboy builders Rating
Colin Pickthall, Labour MP "The underspend arose because the money was arriving too fast for the systems to be able to deal with it. In addition, long lead-in times in construction mean that the money is not spent at once" "My constituents are very concerned about safety issues. The HSE is grossly overstretched in all industries and the systems are not adequate to cope at the moment" "I have sent an account to the minister and the paymaster general over the tax-dodging by cowboy builders. Building is one area that will be looked at again" * * * *
Jeremy Myers, Conservative "Construction is not an area I specialise in. These are technical questions that require detailed technical answers. Without all the information to hand I can't give the subject the attention it deserves" "Without all the information to hand I can't give the subject the attention it deserves" "Without all the information to hand I can't give the subject the attention it deserves" * *
John Thornton, LibDem "The underspend is due to this business of staying within the Tory spending limits for the first two years of this parliament. The situation is improving now but I would like to see it moved along more quickly" "The HSE should pay more attention than they do to safety issues in the construction industry. You only need to look out of the window to see workers without safety harnesses" "I don't underestimate the difficulty of clamping down on these cowboy builders operating in the black market, but certainly the inland revenue needs to be doing more searching" * * *



Canterbury – a market town constituency currently held by Conservative MP Julian Brazier
  On underspending On safety On cowboy builders Rating
Julian Brazier, Conservative MP "The government has been very slack in meeting its own contractual arrangements, contributing to the underspend. The building industry needs a sensible balance on legislation" "On the whole I think that bigger companies tend to have better safety measures than smaller ones" "We need tougher legislation. My wife is a sales manager of a construction company and they can lose out to black-market builders" * * * *
Peter Wales, LibDem "There is a problem in Canterbury with the council underspending. We would like to see public-sector spending speeded up" "I would like to see high European standards on safety introduced here" "I'm not sure what can be done about the situation but it must be improved" * *
Emily Thornbury, Labour "My main concern at the moment is speaking to my constituents, so I don't think I can comment right now." Also asserted that there is "not a great deal of construction in my constituency" No comment No comment *