For me, this is personal, this is my home Years of hard austerity have ripped the heart out of our town.

Full statement

Prioritising investment in the South of England means communities like ours have been left to suffer. Crime is rising again after nine straight years of cuts to police funding, that our MP voted for each time. Homelessness now affects too many people, young and old. Nearly half of our children are growing up in poverty, and their schools have suffered years of cuts totalling millions of pounds. Recent stats show people in the North receive more than £2,300 less per person in transport spending than the South.

All of this has happened with the support of our outsider Conservative MP who, since arriving in our town in 2010, has shaped these horrific policies and more in Westminster, putting his career and party above the needs of us, local people. How can we trust a word he say’s when his record speaks for itself?

Growing up here taught me how, with investment and support, local people can thrive and prosper. I have a plan to energise our area, building an economy that works for everyone, not just a privileged few. A plan that will help to create new, full-time jobs locally so young people don’t have to move away to find opportunities. As your local MP I’ll fight to make sure our schools are properly funded, vital services have the cash they need, and local authorities have the resources to fix our broken roads and pavements. Having enough police on our streets and fighting to protect our NHS will be at the heart of everything I do as your local MP.

I want to restore that pride right across my home town. Our communities deserve it. We need to invest in local people, local communities and local businesses. We need to protect the livelihoods of those who are doing well whilst finding the ideas to help those who have been too long ignored and left behind. I have the ideas, strength and determination to take on what will not be an easy challenge or be an easy fix.

For me, this is personal. I was born here, and I want to see it flourish again. With your help we can make history and elect our first-ever locally-born MP, not an outsider with their own personal agenda.

All I ask is that you take this opportunity to help our town whenever a General Election is called. Together, we will change our home for the better.