Peterborough General Election candidates make final plea for your vote

The Peterborough Telegraph asked General Election candidates standing in Peterborough: What’s the last thing you would say to a Peterborough voter before they go to the polling station?
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Luke Ferguson (independent)

I’m Luke Ferguson - Independent. I’m here to offer you an alternative, a fresh approach, an everyday Peterborian who loves this city. I am NOT a politician.

I want to get away from old school politics - I won’t promise anything I can’t deliver, I will be honest, realistic, and I will listen.

A polling station at the by-election in Peterborough earlier this yearA polling station at the by-election in Peterborough earlier this year
A polling station at the by-election in Peterborough earlier this year
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I will concentrate on what is important and not what other parties can or can’t do. I am NOT a politician.

I am proud of this city and genuinely want the best for it.

I don’t have all the answers, so I will listen to constituents by creating The Peterborough People’s Assembly, if elected, along with local action groups on education, community safety, health, housing... this will give you a genuine voice.

An independent MP for Peterborough will mean having an MP who will only act in your interest - free from party politics. I will act as advised by you.

A vote for me is not wasted. By voting for me we can send a message to all the main parties, that we are fed up with the status quo and we think we deserve better.

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So vote for the local lad, the boy from Welland, the Independent.

Vote for our city, a fresh approach, and for a voice in Parliament.

Vote for the alternative, the newbie, for “none of the above”.

Vote for you - vote for Peterborough. Not Politics.

Joseph Wells (Green Party)

Our future will not get another chance. Vote with your heart. Vote Green.

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This election has been hard for many but it is about more than just Brexit. People yearn for change in our country. You now have an opportunity to create meaningful change and to vote for hope over fear.

The Green Party doesn’t make empty promises. We pledge to create an economy that works for all, an education system free from the pressures of early-age testing, a criminal justice system focused on rehabilitation and to take back control of our environment for the benefit of everyone.

In a Britain that is politically divided, I ask that you believe in us as much as we believe in you. In return I will give as much commitment to our local community as I intend to give to our country as a whole.

If one Green MP in Westminster has managed to deliver change and provide hope for many, just imagine what more Green MPs could do for the good of our society.

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That is why I am asking you to help us build on our successes at this year’s local and European elections and carry that success over into Westminster.

Whatever the result, you can wake up on Friday morning knowing that you have done the right thing to protect our future by voting Green.

Tom Rogers (Christian Peoples Alliance)

Britain is at a crossroads and we need to decide the direction of our nation. A vote for the Christian Peoples Alliance is a vote for the values and policies essential for a successful, just, caring, stable and safe society:

Respect for human life – if you don’t have the right to life nothing else matters. We’re the true party of equality and stand for the rights of unborn children, the sick, elderly, disabled and the most helpless and vulnerable in our society. We want a compassionate alternative to the 580 lives lost to abortion every single day in Britain.

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Supporting marriage and the family — they are the foundation of our society. Only CPA has the will and policies to tackle family breakdown, the effects of which cost the taxpayer £48bn per year.

Protecting our children – Schools should be places of education, not state indoctrination. We’ll restore the right of concerned parents to have the final say, including when it comes to relationships and sex education for their child.

Economic justice – strong British-based businesses are essential for our economy. We’ll support them through the tax system against the large tax-evading multi-nationals which are driving them out of business.

Helping the poor out of poverty – with the proceeds from our Turnover Tax we’ll restore the £12bn benefit cuts and guarantee a free night shelter for everyone sleeping rough

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Fighting crime – we’ll get police priorities right and tackle reoffending.

Brexit — we’ll honour democracy and the 2016 referendum result by leaving the EU completely.

Mike Greene (Brexit Party)

As you head to the polling stations I urge you to think about Putting Peterborough First.

For decades our politicians and council have let Peterborough, and indeed our United Kingdom, down. They’ve broken promise after promise with made up manifestos that they failed to deliver.

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They have presided over the financial crisis that Peterborough currently faces, they have allowed our education to slip to the bottom of UK league tables and looked away whilst more people have become homeless in Peterborough and mental health has soared to higher levels year after year.

They’ll tell you that ‘only the Conservative Party’ or ‘only the Labour Party’ can deliver a solution….

….but if that were true we wouldn’t be facing the problems in the city that we currently are.

I urge you to ask yourself how often you have heard it before, believed it before, and been let down before.

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Brexit is a key part of this election and I have been a staunch and unwavering Leaver since before the 2016 Referendum, but Peterborough needs and deserves more than Brexit from this election.

In the last eight years I have voluntarily supported hundreds of Peterborough businesses, supported over 100 Peterborough charities, and spoken at most of the local schools for which I was awarded an Honorary doctorate of Education.

Decades of past MPs seem to have used Peterborough as a stepping stone to a Westminster career.

Lend me your vote and as your MP I would use Westminster to Put Peterborough First for you, your families and your future.

Beki Sellick (Liberal Democrats - To Stop Brexit)

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In Peterborough we have a four-way split: with Brexit taking Conservative votes, it’s worth voting “Liberal Democrat - To Stop Brexit”, so you don’t have to suffer Corbyn, so you get honest politics.

Lib Dems are the only party with a properly costed manifesto: promises that are deliverable (checkout the Institute for Fiscal Studies’ analysis).

And Lib Dems will make the biggest difference to the most vulnerable people (checkout the Resolution Foundation’s report).

Democracy means we keep voting, especially after the lies we were told about Brexit: there’s a majority for Remain now.

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Lib Dems will #StopBoris, #StopBrexit and invest the #RemainBonus to make a difference for Peterborough:

1. Reversing unfairness: with properly funded welfare and services for everyone in need. Paying Universal Credit in five days not five weeks. Joining up NHS and social care, youth services and police, mental health support.

2. Tackling the climate emergency: with renewable electricity, home insulation (cuts fuel poverty too). Electric transport, quicker buses, better bike and walking routes, cheaper trains. Planting trees, banning fracking, abolishing single-use plastics.

3. Building-up community: with more money from central government for our city; for local services, schools and businesses. Skills wallets for lifelong learning and our university. Wellbeing for all.

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Your vote is your choice. If you vote for another candidate, chances are you won’t get the Peterborough MP you want. Be brave, choose the policies (and the person) you most want for our MP.

Lisa Forbes (Labour)

This election will define the future of our city for years to come.

For the last nine years we have seen spiralling poverty and homelessness, vicious cuts to our schools, our police force and our local hospital.

The reality of the situation is that a vote for the Conservatives means a vote for more of the same.

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A vote for the Labour Party means real change for Peterborough.

This is your opportunity to vote for proper investment in our public services, better schools for our children and a stronger NHS that won’t be crippled by financial pressure.

I’m not a career politician, I’m a local mum who wants to improve this city.

I’ve been representing people across Peterborough for years whether it be as a city councillor or as a trade union rep.

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With me as your MP you have somebody that understands what life is like for real people and how much of a struggle it can be.

I know that we’re being failed, but I also know that the only way to transform this city and improve the lives of the people in it is to vote Labour.

Our policies will put money back in the pockets of the hard-working people in this city, and improve public services for all.

If re-elected I’ll continue to fight tooth and nail for the people of Peterborough so that we get the investment we deserve.

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The choice is clear – more of the same with the Tories or real change with Labour.

Paul Bristow (Conservative)

This election matters. Parliament has been stuck in deadlock, refusing to move on.

We need to end the uncertainty. Three years ago, Peterborough voted to leave the European Union. Whether you voted to Leave or Remain, our country took a democratic decision.

It’s why we need change, with a new MP for our city. A Conservative majority would give the Prime Minister the votes to get Brexit done and pass his deal before Christmas. Then we can focus on the priorities we all share, including an extra £33.9 billion for the NHS.

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But another hung Parliament would risk putting Jeremy Corbyn into power, propped up by the SNP. That’s why your vote has never been more important.

Locally, there is so much we can achieve. I am proud to be from Peterborough. My parents moved here to work in our local NHS. I grew up in Whittlesey and live in the city centre.

My plan for our city is straightforward. We need our fair share of Cambridgeshire’s new police officers. We need to raise standards in our city’s schools. We need to stop our communities being used as dumping grounds.

We also need the ambition to dual the A47 and regenerate the Station Quarter and North Westgate.

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This time, let’s get it done. A vote for any other party is a vote for Corbyn. A vote for me allows us to move on, with a strong economy and a better MP.

Let’s get Brexit done and unleash Peterborough’s potential.