Please allow me to introduce myself as your Reform UK candidate.

Full statement

I’m Thomas Patrick Smith, aka “Tom Smith”. I was born in Shropshire but moved with my family to Leicestershire as a young child. I grew up in the Leicestershire Charnwood area and always appreciated the beauty of the forest and surrounding area, which I used to observe travelling to school on the bus from Woodhouse Eaves to Hind Leys and Rawlins upper schools.

I first got into politics when I began work as a pharmacy porter at the Leicester Royal Infirmary in 1979 aged sixteen. At this time there were many strikes and disputes prevailing. At the age 17, I became a union rep. This helped me understand not only about politics and why all these disputes were going on, but it also gave me the opportunity to represent people and help them in disciplinaries and mediation.

Staying in the NHS, I did my nurse’s training at De Montfort University. In 1999 I was elected as a cohort rep, and worked as a charge nurse. Thereafter I was a senior prison nurse within the NHS, for 22 years.

There are lots of reasons why I want to see Reform UK succeed in the general election. I’ll highlight them as concisely as I can. For years, I have seen the NHS run down by misguided and single-minded management who think that pouring more money in and creating more managers will solve its endless problems. We need locally trained people in all areas of government employment, one being the NHS itself. We must support younger people, encouraging them to address school students to utilise more apprenticeships. There are many issues that Reform UK aims to rectify. The Reform UK ‘Our Contract with You’ highlights these; take a look. https://www.reformparty.uk/policies

On a more local level, I am standing in Mid Leicestershire - formerly Charnwood - constituency. This is the area I grew up in. On a personal note, I want to help the people of Leicestershire formally preserve and enjoy their environment and its rich heritage. Ever more uncontrolled immigration results in more housing, more housing costs, less land for farming, worse public services and fewer jobs for the local people.

Then there is the Net Zero issue that tells people what transport they should use. Try getting from home to work in the middle of winter in an electric car and not being able to charge it due to no charging points or being stuck in the city traffic as your battery runs out.

These things should have been properly considered by the current government. We also would like to support the farmers and keep the land for farming, not wind or solar farms which have added to your utility bills before they have even been installed. I have a passion to make Britain Great, keep Mid Leicestershire (Charnwood) constituency Great, and to free Britain from all EU imposed restrictions. Reform UK and our Mid Leicestershire team will not back down. The outgoing government and the UK opposition are one and the same. They have and would continue to let us down.

I feel it’s time for a Change to a positive future. Reform UK can bring that Change. Be part of that Change and vote for Reform UK; a local candidate with the people of Mid Leicestershire at heart.

I would like to mention my Mid Leicestershire election team. Without them, and people like them, Reform UK would not be so effective. Please lend them your support. “THANK YOU, team Mid Leicestershire”. Also, a huge thanks to all Reform UK supporters. I extend this invitation to you all, the voters of Mid Leicestershire.

Come and join us and “LET’S MAKE BRITAIN GREAT”.

If you want change, you need to vote for it.