Putting Our Area First – Canterbury has been my home for over twenty years.  I will always put it first.

Simply put, I love Canterbury. I’ve raised my two children here and over the 22 years that I’ve lived here our family have invested in all aspects of community life. I will always put the interests of this constituency first – over & above party politics in every case.

Fighting for our NHS – An extra £26 billion for the NHS and a properly funded hospital for Canterbury.

The 4-hour A&E treatment time target of 95% has not been met by our local NHS Trust for five years and last month we saw A&E waiting times nationally hit their worst levels on record.

Our NHS is at breaking point and it is due to the political decisions that have been made by successive Tory governments on how we fund our health services. Labour has a Rescue Plan which can rebuild our NHS with an investment of £26bn for day-to-day NHS spending over the next four years.

Our NHS is not for sale – I will defend our vital services in Canterbury to prevent further erosion and I will continue to fight for a fully funded hospital in Canterbury.

Reverse Conservative Cuts – To local schools and police, scrap tuition fees for students and free childcare for two to four year-olds.

Nothing upsets me more than the poverty and inequality I have seen caused by nearly ten years of Conservative Government.  Teachers paying for their own classroom supplies, over 500 police officers gone across Kent.

I have fought tirelessly for those whose lives have been impacted by cuts, PIP and the nightmare of Universal Credit – which must be scrapped.
A Labour government will put 10,000 police officers back on the streets, cut class sizes for 5, 6 and 7 year-olds, end tuition fees and introduce free childcare for all children aged 2-4 years old.

Tackling Climate Change – A Green New Deal to help create new clean jobs and meet the UK’s climate change targets.

Following continued calls for action from myself and our Canterbury Labour Group, we forced the City Council to declare a Climate Emergency this year – yet where’s the sense of urgency to get things done?

Canterbury, Whitstable and the villages are in a precarious position, much of the area is in danger of flooding and people of all ages are choking on air pollution caused by our congested roads. Our Climate Emergency means that it is not business as usual.  Labour’s Green New Deal will transform our local economy and protect all our futures.  I am campaigning to protect our green spaces, like Wincheap Water Meadows, from unnecessary development.  I will always challenge national and local government to do better and act swiftly in regards of reducing our carbon emissions – complacency is not an option when it comes to our planet.

A Final Say on Brexit – I will continue to lead the campaign to remain in the EU.

The constituency of Canterbury, Whitstable and the villages resoundingly voted Remain in 2016 and our local economy relies on our close links with Europe.  I have led the campaign for a final say on Brexit because Boris Johnson’s plans will sell out jobs, sell out the environment and sell out the NHS.  Labour will negotiate a new Brexit deal and put it back to the people in a public vote – with the option to remain on the ballot paper.  I will continue to lead in the campaign for us the remain in the EU.