The future of our country is in your hands at this election.

Full statement

With two old Parties rehashing tried and failed ideas and moving increasingly to the right and left. The Liberal Democrats offer a bold vision for our country, the party for business but with a conscience, creating a fair society for all.

We are the fifth largest economy in the world yet one in five live in poverty. I’m angry that schools can’t afford to pay their teachers and are asking parents to provide essentials like toilet roll. I’m angry that our NHS faces another winter crisis and people wait in ambulances because of a lack of beds.

We are facing a global climate emergency, and yet it has been largely ignored with mere lip service paid. We have a radical and credible plan to tackle the emergency and protect our future. Investing in Green technology will protect our planet for future generations and boost our economy locally and nationally.

Instead of addressing these serious problems we have wasted three years arguing about Brexit. We now know that Brexit will make us poorer, damage our economy and will be bad for Macclesfield, its families and its businesses. The Liberal Democrats are the strongest Party of Remain. We believe the way to end the chaos is to stop Brexit.

There is no simple way to get Brexit done, we face many years more of chaos, confusion and uncertainty. Uncertainty puts jobs at risk and stops us from focusing our efforts on fixing the big issues we are facing in the NHS, education and the climate.

Our people, our businesses and our country deserve better. We can build a brighter future for our country and our towns and rural communities here in Macclesfield.