A Fresh Start for Leeds Central & Headingley I'm delighted to be selected as your Conservative candidate in Leeds Central and Headingley.

Full statement

Thank you for your authenticity and warmth. From Weetwood to Kirkstall, Headingley & Hyde Park to Little London & Woodhouse, I’ll fight to protect our environment, improve access to public services and strengthen security in our community. The country is turning a corner despite the tough backdrop of war in Ukraine and Covid. We need to secure this progress for future generations. I hope that you’ll vote for me on the 4th of July, so that together we can give Leeds Central & Headingley a fresh start.

Below are some of my key issues in my campaign and more can be found here: www.jennyjacksonforleedscentralandheadingley.vote (http://www.jennyjacksonforleedscentralandheadingley.vote/)

Sustaining our NHS I want the NHS to succeed and deliver the best possible results for patients. I believe in reforming the NHS to make it less bureaucratic, more accountable, and more integrated, while investing £6.6 billion more to secure its future. I’m delighted that the Conservative Government chose Leeds to benefit from the £3.7bn extra investment in hospital buildings, specifically for the centralisation of children and adult services at LGI, with pathology services at St. James University Hospital. This is set to improve health outcomes in the city and beyond. I’ve worked across the healthcare sector, as a Director for Women and Children’s Health, in policy and for small healthcare businesses. My professional life is centred on improving health outcomes, especially for children in some of the most deprived areas of the country. I’ve also been on the receiving end of NHS care as an inpatient and outpatient and can vouch for the professionalism and dedication of our health professionals.

Boosting Innovation in Leeds Creativity is the engine that drives the economy and Leeds has a rich history of innovation, especially in technology and science. We should attract more investment into the UK and invest wisely from pension funds to support greater innovation here, especially in the SMEs, which are the lifeblood of our economy. My background is in healthcare and I’m optimistic about the ingenuity and ability of our doctors, scientists and entrepreneurs to develop new treatments and cures for diseases like cancer and MND. If selected as your MP, I’d support the entire pathway to success from boosting the number of children studying STEM subjects to providing the right tax incentives for small companies. The Conservatives are committed to accelerating the progress we’ve made in R&D and innovation in the UK by:

• Increasing public spending on R&D to £22 billion a year, up from £20 billion this year.

• Delivering our advanced Manufacturing Plan, providing a £4.5 billion commitment to secure strategic manufacturing sectors including automotive, aerospace, life sciences and clean energy.

• Investing over £1.5 billion in large-scale compute clusters, assembling the raw processing power so we can take advantage of the potential of AI and support research into its safe and responsible use.

Stop Pollution in the River Aire Catchment The Conservatives made it mandatory for water companies to monitor water quality and once the new data was published, we took tough action. That’s why £180m has been fast-tracked to stop 8,000+ sewage spills this year. The funding will be invested in AI to manage storm loads, invest in early intervention technologies & to train specialist staff. I’m a longstanding volunteer to protect biodiversity and water quality and if selected here, I'd use my experience to work closely with Yorkshire Water and local groups to improve the River Aire catchment.