Let me tell you a little bit about myself and also about my party.

Full statement

I have lived in this constituency (and its predecessor) for almost 14 years, since my wife and I moved here in 2010. We currently live in a rural village not far from Bourne with our three children.

I am a physics teacher and head of department at a local state secondary school. I did my teacher training in London and, after qualifying, worked in a comprehensive school on the outskirts of London for a number of years before moving to Lincolnshire.

I am not a career politician and I had no experience of electoral politics before I joined the SDP in 2022. At that time, I had become disconnected from politics as there didn't seem to be a party that represented the things that I believed. When I found the SDP (a party that I had assumed had ceased to exist) and started to read about its policies, I realised that was not the case.

The SDP is a patriotic, democratic party that is centre-left on economic matters whilst being culturally and socially traditional. We believe that the division of political ideas into the two opposing camps of 'left' and 'right' is unhelpful in deciding a sensible programme. Instead, we combine elements from each of these camps into a synthesis that makes us unique amongst the parties on offer to the British electorate today.

On the 'left' side of the ledger, we want the state to start a large-scale building programme for social housing, to solve the current, acute housing crisis that we face. This new housing will provide accommodation for British families on lower incomes and will not be sold off until our social housing stock has been replenished.

We also want to nationalise the railways and utility companies. In most other European countries, these things are viewed as natural monopolies and it is, frankly, embarrassing that in the UK they are often owned by foreign investors or, indeed, other countries' state-owned companies. In the cases of the privatised water and railway companies in the UK, we have become used to poor services delivered at high cost. This must end.

With regard to energy, the SDP will build a fleet of modern nuclear power plants to provide cheap, reliable, low-carbon electricity, ending our reliance on imported gas and giving us the energy security that the Ukraine war has shown us is so vital. These will be owned by the people of this country, not by foreign companies or governments.

On the 'right' side, the SDP proposes to reduce the rate of net immigration into the UK (which has reached record levels of 600-700,000 per year in the last two years under the Conservatives). People are often nervous to discuss the issue of immigration because they fear being accused of racism. In the SDP, however, our policy stems from practical concerns that are nothing whatsoever to do with race or nationality.

The housing crisis, mentioned above, can only get worse as increases to the population drive prices and rents higher and higher. At the same time, an increase in the supply of labour tends to drive down wages for lower-skilled workers, making it even harder for working people, including previous immigrants, to deal with the cost of living. It is very easy for those of us with secure and better-paid jobs to be dismissive of concerns about immigration, but it is an important issue for many.

Our proposal is to reduce net immigration to around 50,000 per year, approximately the level it was at in the mid-1990s. This will enable us still to recruit high skilled workers in areas where there are skills shortages. At the same time, we need to invest in ensuring that we train enough people here in the UK to meet those shortages in the future.

The SDP also believes that, in recent years, extreme political correctness (particularly the idea of 'identity politics' imported from the US) has become an impediment to the building of a cohesive, tolerant and happy society. We need to focus on the things that unite the diverse inhabitants of this great nation, rather than those that divide us. We can admit mistakes made in the past whilst still being proud of our nation, its culture and its history. And we can address the challenges of the future through honest and open debate, rather than seeking to suppress freedom of speech through 'cancellation'.

In short, the SDP wants to revitalise this country by building homes, reigniting our industry and healing social divisions. By giving me your vote on July 4th, we can make a start on getting these issues to the top of the political agenda.