General Election candidates: South Shields

It is an honour and privilege to be running for Parliament in South Shields. This is the most important election in decades.

It is the choice between the strong and stable leadership of Theresa May OR the chaos of Labour under Jeremy Corbyn.

It is the choice between embracing the opportunities of Brexit OR returning to the debt-ridden, high taxation 1970s.

It is the choice between who negotiates Brexit - Theresa May OR Jeremy Corbyn.

Let me set out our policies:

Brexit:

We are committed to taking back control of our borders, our laws and our money. We will stop free movement of people. We will leave the Single Market, the Customs Union and the European Court of Justice. We believe no deal is better than a bad deal.

Jobs and the Economy:

We are committed to encouraging more investment in South Shields to create more jobs. We will achieve this by:
::Increasing investment in technical education and apprenticeships.
::Cutting corporation tax to encourage more international businesses to locate here.
::Working with the Council to encourage more retailers to locate in King Street and rejuvenate the town
::Protecting workers’ rights

NHS:

We are committed to a state-of-the-art, Seven-day NHS, free at the point of use. We are increasing spending on the NHS by £8billion more than a real terms increase.

In addition we will invest an additional £10 billion in NHS technology and buildings. I am committed to supporting South Tyneside District Hospital.

Education:

Since the Conservatives came into power in 2010, 1.8 million more children are in Good or Outstanding Schools. We are increasing education spending by £4bn by 2022.

In summary, A vote for the Conservatives is a vote for a successful Brexit deal and a strong economy.

I believe that public office is about public service. If elected, I promise to be the strong voice needed to promote South Shields.

I want to ensure we get the Brexit we voted for, taking back control of our borders and reclaiming our status as an independent democratic nation.

We must also take full control of our seas up to 200 miles from our coast (our right under international law, but the Tories are already talking about just 12 miles!).

This will mean we can begin rebuilding once flourishing fishing and associated industries and jobs around the Tyne that EU membership has destroyed.

Ensuring we receive our fair share of central government infrastructure investment for roads, railways and capital projects which has been absent for decades is a priority.
We must enhance our education system to provide adequate vocational and technical training to ensure our children have the right skills for the new jobs created by Brexit.

South Tyneside District Hospital must be saved and the transfer of acute services stopped.

Health and social care should be merged, enabling more integrated patient management and we must abolish hospital car parking charges.

As your MP, I will work hard to attract inward investment to our town centre so we can regenerate the King Street area and create a vibrant place where people want to shop, live and socialise.

If elected, I will be the MP for South Shields representing the people of South Shields first and foremost.

I hope you share my vision to make South Shields a vibrant, better connected and attractive place for businesses to invest in and for people to live, work and play in, ending once and for all the economic imbalance which is skewed towards London.

I am standing for real change for South Shields.

We deserve better health services, school funding and jobs. I will continue to campaign to save our hospital from having vital services closed and being moved to Sunderland.

Our stroke unit has already gone and the next services under threat include maternity – there could be no more babies born in our hospital – and a full A&E as we know it.

We must fund the NHS properly and stop privatisation and moves towards an American style insurance system, where people lose their homes to pay for treatment.

Our schools must have the funding they need.

We cannot have head teachers sending letters asking parents to pay a monthly direct debit to fill the gap. Teachers and other staff are already being made redundant.

We must stop the return of grammar schools, which would label the majority of our children failures at age 11, and stop the endless testing of our children and trust teachers to teach, by abolishing SATs and OFSTED.

Jobs that are secure, skilled and fairly paid must be created by restoring public services and investment in insulating homes – which also reduces energy bills – and industries like solar power, wind turbines and battery storage.

We have huge opportunities as we leave the EU, if we get the right deal, to build strong local industries here.

We must support local, small businesses through reducing costs like employers’ national insurance while increasing corporation tax for bigger companies.

We must end the scandal of many people who are in work having to rely on food banks and take steps to introduce a universal basic income, to increase security for all and reduce the poverty trap.
I will work hard to give a voice to local people who believe that South Shields deserves better!

My reason for standing as a Lib Dem is simple and can be summed up by my party’s constitution.

“The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a Fair, Free and Open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of Liberty, Equality and Community; and in which no one shall be enslaved by Poverty, Ignorance and Conformity."

I am proud that my party has pledged an extra £6 billion for NHS paid for by an increase of 1p on every pound on taxes.

I am proud that, far from cutting funding to schools, my party has promised an extra £7 billion for schools in the next parliament.
My party would hold a referendum on the terms of Brexit.
Odd that Tories allow a second vote on fox hunting but none on Brexit deal.

The EU referendum did not have an option to choose on vital issues including trade, travel and security. I will fight for residents to have a say in the final Brexit deal.

In 2010 we entered coalition government with the Tories.
Their priority was tax cuts for dead millionaires. We fought for free school meals, for the pupil premium, for income tax cuts and fairer pension system.

We paid the price for going into the government at the ballot box, but I am sure that history will judge us more kindly.

We will support the development of a North East tourism strategy and allocation of regional cultural and tourism funds, an additional £300m a year to local police forces and increased community policing.

We will press for a review of prison policy in North East given serious concerns about conditions in prison.

Unlike Tories’ manifesto for few and Labour manifesto as being for many, ours is for everyone.

It has been an honour to serve as an MP in the town in which I was born.

As a fellow resident I share your needs, worries and aspirations for Shields.

This election is vital – it will determine the kind of society we live in.
The choice is clear – do you want to endure another five years of futile austerity which has brought our public services to crisis point while the rich are given tax breaks as the Tories threaten?

Or do you share my vision under Labour of a fair society where schools and hospitals are properly funded where there are enough police officers to ensure we are safe and healthcare is available for all without having to sell the house to pay for it.

Now, more than ever, we need to invest in our police and public services.

That’s why Labour has promised 10,000 more police officers and set up a National Care Service for the elderly.

Labour’s minimum wage of £10 per hour will make a real difference to workers struggling to make ends meet.

Free school meals for all primary school children is our investment in the longer term health of our children.

We will protect pensions and help small businesses struggling to stay afloat because of late payments.

Labour will double apprenticeships and abolish university tuition fees so students aren’t saddled with debt.

We will support working parents by providing free childcare for 2-4 year olds and extend maternity pay to 12 months.

We will drive up standards in the private rented housing sector and invest in social housing by building 100,000 new homes for this purpose.

Right now our country is facing some of the biggest challenges for generations.

Only Labour is responding to these challenges in a way that will benefit the people of Shields.