Don't let this election be just about Brexit

Lots of people have asked me why I’m standing as a Labour candidate, this General Election. My response is that I’m standing… because we are at a crossroads.

The current political climate frightens me; and the soundbites and personal experiences I hear when I’ve been out in the local community to chat to constituents, they frighten me even more. People are increasingly living in poverty; even those who are in work are often reliant on foodbanks to feed their families. Children are going to school starving. The number of homeless people sleeping on the streets has almost doubled since 2010.

We are not funding our essential public services correctly; despite the fact we could easily do so were we to crack down on tax evasion and avoidance, to tax the large corporates in proportion with their revenues. Our NHS; our education system; our police and fire services, these are all at crisis point.

I don’t want my children to grow up into a world where the quality of the care you are able to access and the public services you receive are dependent on what you are able to pay. I don’t want them to grow up thinking that the level of poverty we now see, thanks to austerity, is the norm. I don’t want them in tears every time they walk past a homeless person on the streets, because they don’t understand why the adults who are supposed to be in charge of running this country have allowed this to happen.

Something needs to change. Something needs to change, right now.

I'm standing on a manifesto that prioritises ending austerity, saving our planet, and ensuring a country with a thriving economy, which supports all people, from all backgrounds. A country which is fair, and compassionate, and kind. I believe that Labour’s manifesto does exactly that… and that’s why, this General Election, I’m standing as a Labour candidate.