My name is Edward Jones and I’m proud to be Labour’s candidate to be the next Member of Parliament for Old Bexley and Sidcup.

Full statement

After 14 years of decline under the Tories, it’s time for change – in Bexley and across Britain.

I live locally in South East London and have grown and spent most of my life in outer London. I know the challenges that residents here face, from the cost of living, crime and anti-social behaviour, to accessing NHS services when you need them and an education system that improves life chances for local children. Residents struggle with the cost of living after the Tories crashed the economy, leaving families to pay the price. Families across Britain are being hit hard by a mortgage and housing bombshell, costing homeowners and renters hundreds extra each month. With food and energy prices so high, this is the last thing families need. Labour will take tough decisions to restore economic stability.

I am proud to work for the NHS, but I see how it’s been let down by a decade of Tory decline. Despite the hard work of NHS staff, after 13 years of Tory neglect, our health and care system is too often not there when it’s needed. The longer the Conservatives are in power, the longer patients from Bexley, Sidcup, Blackfen, Welling and Falconwood will wait for care.

I will work tirelessly to support greater community care, improve outcomes for patients and help cut NHS waiting times. Labour’s saved the NHS before and we’ll do it again.

As the first in my family to go to university, I was lucky to benefit from the expansion of university education that Labour delivered in government, but today I meet so many local people who tell me they don’t think their children will have the same opportunities they had. If elected, I’ll help deliver Labour’s pledge to recruit 6,500 new teachers and to improve childcare to make sure that all of our children get the best possible start in life.

I’m asking residents in Old Bexley and Sidcup for your support and your vote on Thursday 4th July so we can have a Labour government which will lead a decade of renewal.

I would love to hear from you, please get in touch: Email: team@edwardjoneslabour.co.uk Phone: 020 8302 6843 Post: 31 Sidcup Hill, Sidcup DA14 6HJ