Hi, I am Matt Lansley.

Full statement

I am honoured to have been selected to be Reform UK’s PPC and spokesperson for Bedford. I am thrilled at the prospect of being able to put forward fresh ideas and the option for real change after years of political mismanagement and dishonesty by both Labour and the Tories. I will speak up for the silent majority who have been so badly let down by successive governments.

I am proud to champion Reform UK’s exciting manifesto which will make an immediate impact on the working population.

The cost of living crisis is taking money straight out of your pocket and has been directly impacted by poor political decisions.

Reform UK will make the first £20,000 you earn free from income tax. We will also scrap VAT on energy bills and lower the fuel duty to save on energy bills. This will not only help every person in the UK directly but every business in the UK.

Bedford is a beautiful town, however the number of empty shops is growing rapidly. If we continue on this course of action, businesses will continue to close and there will be irrevocable damage done to the town centre and the community. Along with savings on energy bills, we will remove business rates for small high street businesses to give small independent retailers a chance to compete again. We will also reduce Corporation tax back to 20% to encourage investment and start the economy rolling again.

While our tax is at the highest it has been since WW2 our public services are crumbling. Record levels of immigration have put a strain on our housing, NHS and schooling. We need a sensible immigration plan to ensure that we have enough homes, school places and medical care for our population. We must put a halt on non-essential immigration to allow us to catch up.

Illegal immigration must stop. Zero illegal entry immigrants will be resettled in the UK. We will process the applications quickly and efficiently and when possible return the migrants to France and work with our French Counterparts to stop the criminal gangs making millions off these illegal journeys.

Nationally our streets feel unsafe and Bedford is no different. Knife crime especially, is a very real cause of concern in our community. Our streets need more police, we will recruit 40,000 new front life officers. We will also allow our police to do their jobs, we will bring back stop and search in high risk areas to directly combat drug dealing and knife crime.

Our NHS needs Reform. The frontline NHS staff are some of the greatest people our nation has to offer. However, our NHS spending is at record levels with the wait times and service being at an all time low. Our spending per person is in alignment with many other western countries the issues the NHS face are bloated management, bureaucracy and poor procurement. We will model our reforms on other European Countries modern Healthcare systems to bring you the best possible free at the point of use service.

We are ruled by an out of touch elite, to change this we will bring in; Proportionate Representation, reform the House of Lords to a much smaller second chamber and reform the Civil Service.

We need a common-sense shift to stop the decline and end the two party system. This is only possible with your vote! We are a rapidly growing movement, if you would like to help out or get involved please get in touch.