Nottinghamshire Decides: The key battlegrounds of the General Election 2024 – Ashfield
e e [Music] [Music] good morning and welcome to no sh lives hustings for the Ashfield constituency head of the general election on July the 4th my my name is Natalie Fay and I’m the editor of Nottingham share live and assisted newspaper the Nottingham post today we’re hoping to get under the skin of some local issues and find out what the candidates think I’m joined by our agenda editor Oliver pmore who’s been out in Ashfield finding out people’s views and he’ll be posing the questions to the candidates today so everyone on this call knows the rules of the debate but for the benefit of our audience will start with opening statements which will be no longer than one minute each and we’ll then move on to questions which candidates will also have a minute to answer and we will close our debate with statements from all again Ed at one minute so everyone has a fair chance to speak all statements and questions will be taken in alpab Bisal order by Siran and candidates will be given the right to reply during the debate if I deem it necessary so you the audience will be able to leave comments on this broadcast today but we’re not taking questions questions from the audience so just a reminder the candidates standing in Ashfield are in alphabetical order by surname Lee Anderson for reform UK Alexander coats for the green party Daniel Holmes for the liberal Democrats Ria Kean for the Labour party Debbie Solomon for the conservative party and Jason Z josy for the Ashfield Independence So today we’re joined by Ria Kean for the labor party Debbie Solomon for the conservatives and Jason zidny from the Ashfield Independence unfortunately the following candidates weren’t able to make it and that was Lee Anderson who is defending the seat he won in 2019 uh now for reform UK Alexander coat for the green party and Daniel Holmes for the liberal Democrats we did offer all these candidates the option of having a statement read out on their behalf today but none sent any over so now we’ll move on to the opening statements uh so Ria Kean would you like to go first please yeah thank you um hi I’m Ria Kean your labor parliamentary candidate for Ashfield now since moving to satton back in 2022 I’ve wasted no time in standing up for our community I’ve been challenging Asheville District Council uh to save our rumbles Cafe and stop their plans to kick the charity out and their plans to build on green playing field space on Hardwick Lane in lemington and to protect our community centers in carik I do this because I believe our government should be protecting our communities and that’s what we get with labor we can fix our roads and make them safer we can make our streets safer by getting more police uh and putting youth hubs in place for our young people and we can get more NHS dentist appointments and we can finally end the Injustice to the Mine Workers pension schemes this is the change we can get with a labor government and only with a labor MP in Ashfield so that is why I’m asking for your support so we can deliver the change and get a brighter future for Ashfield thank you Ria uh Debbie Solomon conservatives over to you hello I’m Debbie Solomon the Conservative candidate for Ashfield I understand people are frustrated unexpected more with an 880 seat majority a global pandemic and war in Europe has made things difficult but I get it delivering on immigration health and securing our food and energy so we’re a strong and proud British nation is vital I joined the conservative party three years ago to be part of a team to work to deliver it all 14 years ago labor left our NHS broke conservatives have always invested more in our NHS providing record funding and we’ve introduced the first long-term Workforce plan for more doctors and nurses we’ve started lowering taxes while labor will increase them to 37 a half% of GDP the highest burden ever our plan is working it’s working for Ashfield as ashfield’s next MP I can focus on delivering the things that really matter to the people I speak with in Ashfield thank you Debbie and uh Jason Str for the Ashfield Independence for 20 years I’ve put you first as your independent Council leader ashfield’s become the most successful Council in the UK and that’s because Independence put people before politics an independent MP working positively with an independent Council well the possibilities really are endless I’ve proved that I can work with Partners to deliver what’s best for Ashfield and Mansfield for example reopening Ashfield fire station full-time after Labor closed it at night my work will save lives so whether it’s transforming Parks Building Leisure centers or delivering transformational projects like The Shard Observatory that Lee Anderson tried to stop or the amazing things that are happening at Kingsmill Reservoir I am the person who delivers time and time again as your independent MP I will fight for laws to fix our broken roads I will fight for our NHS and I will cut crime I’m the only candidate who can deliver positive change the change that we need after being let down for a generation by the big political parties thank you Jason and now we will move on to our questions and Oliver will be asking these so just to reminder that we’ll go around in the same order again and you have a minute to answer if you want to debate that’s absolutely fine as well of course just go for it uh over to you thank you very much good morning everyone and thanks again for joining us so I wanted to pick up firstly on an issue that came up repeatedly when I was in Su and Ashfield last week speaking to people about their main con concerns in the area and many said it was Law and Order a recent Council run survey found 70% of women in Ashfield believed they had been followed with 60% saying they had been verbally abused in public so what would you do to make Ashfield safer uh Ria we’ll come to you first yeah thank you look um this isn’t the first time hearing this you know I’ve spoken to thousands of people and antisocial behavior and safety in our streets is one of the most common things that that come up um and I myself have had to um call the police several times when in the Town Center in Sutton because there are drug users openly being antisocial and violent uh in front of families who were just trying to shop um so listen uh what we would do is we would uh increase the number of police and pcsos that we have on our streets um we will also make sure uh we create youth hubs so that we can get the future back for a lot of young people who are missing with nothing else to do for example I was chatting to one resident who said um kids kept banging on his door late at night and he asked them why’ you keep doing it and they said just call the police because we need something to do the police will chase us around the fields and so the idea that people are committing crimes just so they have something to do is really sad so we can tackle that uh with our youth initiative and by getting more police on the streets um and then also making sure we can um do the more holistic approach by improving Mental Health Services and creating opportunities thanks thank you Ria over to you Debbie hi right so I have been out speaking to people and it is really clear that one of their top concerns is actually about crime and the most common thing they’re most concerned about is actually antisocial behavior from groups of young people um we need to engage with young people more and one of the things that I’ve said that I will do is set up um an antisocial behavior and crime Summit I know that they’ve been put in place in other constituencies and they work really really well it’s about giving local people that voice and that opportunity to engage with their local neighborhood policing directly so I was speaking to a lady yesterday and she said that you know there there’s drugs going on outside her home in a garage they go in they light a fire and they’re just hanging out doing drugs so the police need to be much more responsive to local people about that and that’s what I would put in place to do I also think focusing on on other really a minute now sorry thank you and uh Jason over to you thank you I think look both of the big political parties have their fingerprints all over crime Rising um over the last couple of years police and crime Commissioners from both of them have closed police stations when I inherited the district council here labor had slashed the number of community protection wardens so there’s a lot to do um and I think one of those things are people need to feel safe so getting Bobby’s back on the beat the previous police and crime commissioner cut the numbers um I’ve been working with them I’ve put wardens back on the street here we’ve increased CCTV tenfold we have gated off Alleyways but what we really need is bigger than safer streets funding we need people on the streets we need people doing the job particularly tackling the scourge of off-road bikes drug use um and uh Alleyways where people are C causing problems that’s been a real problem it needs tackling at a national level so that laws are easy for councils to do their jobs and I think one of the first things I would absolutely do is make sure that the police do what it says on the tin put people back on the street so our people feel safer thank you Jason back to you ol thank you very much um so we all know that there are a lot of great businesses to celebrates across Ashfield sorry can can I come back on that point because Jason something that is absolutely not true the police numbers have not been cut under the last police and crime commissioner there are in fact TW um 400 more police in Nottingham Shire and police there are you look at the Fig and the crime statistics for Nottingham sh have gone down under they might be wonderful statistics in rushcliffe but in Ashfield here they’re just not the same we need Poli under a PCC across Nottinghamshire crime has gone down you know what what I would say though the reality is is that when you talk to people and you listen to people they are not feeling safer on their streets and that’s a direct result of the decisions that nationally the conservative government have been doing and actually I agree with Jason it does need a national solution which is why we need a National Labor government in charge and only the government can make the change that’s needed to happen that’s why we need to have a labor MP who has a seat at the table in government to make those changes actually happen you can’t do it alone on your own it has to be a national joined up approach with the funding that labor are offering so we can actually deliver change and actually Ashfield we’ve just voted this year for a labor police and crime commissioner and I certainly look forward to working with the labor police and crime commissioner Gary gon so we can deliver the change in Ashfield that needs to be delivered Jason would to respond to that well yeah I I mean I just don’t think Ria or Debbie would be one MP just the same as I am and I have proven what one person can do I’ve already done that I do think I’ve already met with Gary Goden I know Ria said she’d like to do that yeah I’ve already done that too and campaigned J great good change MP one MP can do an awful lot look at what Richard Taylor did in why a forest as an independent saved their hospital this is about who has a track record of delivery and I’m the only person who does that I am the only person here who knows where these Alleyways needs gating I’m the only person who knows where the CCTV has been put up I’m the only person who knows where our safe spots have been put up or or the buzzers for women who feel unsafe because I live here I breathe it I’m the person who’s been implementing it and residents of Ashfield need to know that somebody has that at their heart not a career politician who’s just dropped in and thens National Debbie I just wondered if you wanted to come in at that point and then we’ll possibly move on to the next question is about local engagement and that’s what my plan will do about engaging with people with local um crime and antisocial Behavior orders uh so so people can talk directly with the police about the issues that are there those CCTV cameras that have been put in place they’re because of conservative government that has provided the funding for those to happen the labor approach to increase um pcc’s by 13,000 will actually reduce the budget that’s available to the police because what they haven’t factored in is that these people need to be trained and pcsos do not have the power of arrest that police officers do we are delivering real police officers with real powers and that’s have done right that’s clearly a very contentious issue we are going to move on to the next question though because there’s a lot to talk about in Ashfield over to you OE thank you yeah so as I was saying there are a lot of great businesses to celebrate across Ashfield but many also complain about the state of the area’s High streets and the number of empty shops that we now see so how would you restore a bit of Pride back to ashfield’s high streets Maria we’ll come to you first yeah so um I you know I think we really do need to celebrate um what Ashwood has to offer so we have a really proud history um in the coal mining history in the textile industry and I would love to see us celebrate that theme um through the way that we present our high streets even in just the visual effects um so you can tell that story but the biggest thing that we can do is have an economy that actually works for people and you can only get that if you’ve got good financial planning uh and good plans for investment and for growth because that then injects money into the area and only a labor government and a labor MP can make that happen so looking at um ashfield’s sorry Labour’s green Prosperity plan so we can get investment in Ashfield we had Ed millerand here um last week talking exactly about that on how we can make sure Ashfield gets its fair share of the growth that we’re anticipating through our investment that gets plowed into our streets and our communities and that will lift ashevi so we can take pride in our area once again thank you R Debbie the conservative government’s leveling up agenda is the first big big um proposal that’s been put in place to improve our high streets Ashfield has received 62.6 billion pounds of that money for regeneration of Kirkby and Sutton High streets and I know those plans are in place workers started on Fox Street I saw the Redevelopment that that’s just beginning on there but there is a lot more to do so the government has put in place um a number of other pots of money so um for towns regeneration and we’ve committed another uh huge pot of money towards that as well and Ashville deserves an MP that’s going to fight for that money and I will do that to make sure that it comes in and builds on what’s been started what’s been started is the result of a conservative level up leveling up agenda that is much more and I will I will fight for that thank you and Jason thank you I I think I I firstly I think Ria perhaps misspoke I don’t believe she meant to sort of suggest that if labor weren’t elected in Ashfield that a labor government would miss stuff out but look this is what we’re already doing I’m already the most successful Council leader in the country in terms of securing funding um I’ve secured 62 million pounds of towns fund six million pounds of future High streets fund we’ve had UK shared Prosperity funding we’ve had towns board fund um and that’s because we’re already doing this stuff so bringing people back into the Town centers through our spring clean initiatives through um the events that we’re creating for the public by regenerating our Leisure facilities and just done that in selston now just announced a new Leisure building but by bringing people back in and what that means is that the boards we created like the the Discover Ashfield board were incredibly successful nothing to do my I add with the current MP they they were in spite of that enormous engagement from um individuals from businesses from Charities from people in education to make this that’s why the the council and the area needs somebody who knows how to do this and finish the job of working together thank you thank you Jason um it’s been suggested to me just a full transparency while we’ve been on the call that I should rotate the order of uh the order that people are answering in which I’m more than happy to do um so we will go reverse order for the next two questions um thank you for that suggestion um olle next question yeah uh does yeah sorry yeah that’s right um so on to another um big local issue as well that came up when I was in suton um bosses at the Kings Mill Hospital are expecting to record a 14 million pound deficit across the coming year and its emergency Pathways remain under high pressure with patients waiting longer than they would like so how would you make Kings Mill Hospital fit for the future and improve outcomes for its patients and Jason we’ll start with you well thanks Natalie just as I said a few minutes ago Richard Taylor who was a fantastic independent mp uh was elected and saved the kidderminster hospital when he was elected to W Forest now here Ashfield we have the best local staff the best facilities at Kingsmill hospital and they’ve never been supported in the way they should have been they Kingsmill has been used as a political football pretty much since I was born there in 1980 now what happened was that the dying days of the Gordon Brown uh Administration he signed an enormous PFI debt off um to build Kings Mill Hospital great idea but a very bad deal and that’s never been resolved and even at the last election Boris Johnson came down and said he would write that debt off Lee Anderson and the Tories failed to do that so the crucial thing is it shouldn’t cost 800 PS to change a light fitting or a plug socket that money should be on Frontline care what shood Forest Hospital trust need is that debt written off so every penny goes into Frontline care and on our fantastic doctors and nurses it’s simple you uh over to you Debbie uh perhaps you’d like to respond to Jason’s criticism of the conservative party there so Kingsville hospital is a fantastic facility and everyone I have spoken to has spoken incredibly highly of the service that they’ve receiv received for their Health Care at that hospital and yes the PFI deal that was set up by the labor government for Kings Mill has been a milstone round its neck and we do need to do something about that and we have because we’ve invested millions and millions and millions of pounds into Kings Mill they’ve got an 860 bed acute unit they’ve got better operating theaters they’ve got a whole range of services that have improved and over the years Kings Mill standard has gone up and it’s now rated an outstanding hospital and that is a reflection of the commitment to our um Health Service that the cons conservative government has put in but also we’re creating 2 and a half million more GP appointments we’re investing in 160 more Community diagnostic dentists and I that continue um I don’t know if you really addressed the question how would you make Kingsmill Hospital fit for the future um if you if you wanted to address the actual question that we answered there so it’s all about continual investment and as a government we’re seeing the value of artificial intelligence and bringing that into speed up um uh analysis of scans and everything so it’s about investment and making sure that’s in place but also making kills Kings Mill future ready we’re the only government that’s put in a long-term Workforce plan to increase the numbers of doctors and nurses that are available so securing the future of about that technology and about the star place thanks okay Ria over to you yeah thank you look um first I would just say um from my experience and in my opinion the only thing that’s been holding our NHS Services together has been the Fantastic staff that are working tirelessly to make things happen and to deliver care for patients um what we need to do as a government is make sure we can support them uh for what’s to come and that means having better funding and investment um so that that we’re not putting so much strain on individual staff um and that means getting better um Savings in our procurement processes so we can plow that back into Frontline services but it’s also about ensuring that the whole chain of the health care service is joined up so it’s not just about saying the hospitals need to deliver everything so not putting more pressure on Kingsmill but actually making sure that people know how to use our Health Service more wisely um so actually is it an A&E um activity that you need or is it actually GP or is it a pharmacy um if we learn how to use our Health Service better um then we can find that we can prioritize where we invest better and get better outcomes um ultimately the only way we’re going to deliver the support that is needed is if we’ve got a labor MP with a seat at the table so that where we have a labor government next um then I can sit there and make sure that the detail is known about our experiences on the ground here in Ashfield thank you Ria uh over to you ollie for the next question thank you than you very much so anyone who has driven in Ashfield will know that many of its roads are not in good shape so quite simply what would you do to improve the state of ashfield’s Roads Jason well yeah I don’t think it’s just an Ashfield problem but it’s clearly a systemic problem it’s something we’ve been banging on about at the County Council for years because it’s getting worse and worse I think one of the things is systemic underfunding from the government to the county Council and then the County Council changing their priorities so there needs to be a real uh funding of infrastructure we were promis that when hs2 uh was disbanded in this area but that’s not happened most of our money has gone to London well crucially what I’d do is put down an early day motion to Parliament I would uh Lobby for a law straight away that said there has to be a minimum standard of Road repairs done across um the counties by councils I think it would get unanimous support I think it could work utilities so they’re not digging it up straight at after uh but there needs a law change the county councils can no longer Scrabble around with a bag of cold tar and not fix the roads they need properly structurally resurfacing and you know what I fight all the time to bring jobs to ashevi I’ve bring big businesses down here been successful actually 5,000 new jobs created but when you bring those businesses down and they’re driving their own cobblestones they want to know that we can get the basics right sorry thank um I have we’re on to Debbie now aren’t we yes yeah hi yeah so our roads are terrible um you know driving along you have to dodge some potholes um but fixing them is actually under the remit of the County Council and it is due to having a labor run County Council that there was years and years worth of underfunding to fix our roads when the conservatives took over the County Council um focus did change and there was a program put in place to fix our road and now the government’s putting 8.3 billion pounds worth of money to do that Nottingham Shire County council’s been given 270 million pounds extra to to fix our roads and there is a positive plan in place and a schedule of Road fixing throughout Ashfield but we have an extra opportunity here with the miral Devolution deal there is a specific 1.5 billion pounds worth of funding for roads that we have put in place allow that to come into the East Midlands directly and as the MP for Ashfield I will make sure that we get off B of that funding and have an ongoing maintenance program so it doesn’t get this bad again thank you Debbie and over to you Ria there was a bit of criticism of the previous Council there if you wanted to respond to that listen look this is the number one issue that comes up on the doors and uh it’s very frustrating to me the amount of people who go oh you know it’s the County’s responsibility well actually as your it’s my job to make sure that everybody is doing what they need to do to make sure our lives are easier uh and now as your labor MP um as part of a labor government we will actually deliver the funding that is needed so we can resurf our roads not just with these cheap fixes but proper long-term investment so that the county can then maintain them to a proper level but what I would say is this is that every um other candidate um in every local election has always pledged to fix our roads it’s something that the Ashwood independence party have always done and then when it comes down to it they go oh we can’t deliver that because we’re not in power because it absolutely makes a difference that you have somebody who is elected in the government to actually make the right decisions rather than just making promises that they know they can never fulfill so under labor we will fix our roads once and for all and raise the standards in Asheville so we can take pride in our roads and make them safer because quite frankly they are just dangerous and an embarrassment thank you Ria right we’re on to the last few questions now can we just chat about this a little bit Natalie really firstly I think this an interesting point that Debbie said that it’s previous um labor control um and but that was seven years ago and 14 years of a conservative government as well and but I did think it was interesting where you talked about the funding and the plan to fix roads in Ashfield and I thought you might elaborate which roads are being resurfaced and Debby in Ashfield thanks to the conservative County Council there are a whole range of different roads and you know quite well that’s happening I know exactly you are you are a county councelor counil name one Debbie name one road that’s being resed for that as debb you’ve been you’ve been asked a fair question Debbie if you wanted to provide an answer um oh well I was driving along hwe Road recently that is in the schedule to get resurfaced it’s not there are two roads scheduled to be resurfaced Sutton road in Kirkby and Diamond Avenue in Kirkby one’s already been done the rest has been left in a paress state everybody agrees we all agree this since the conservatives have took over we have been officially rated as the worst roads in uh the country 100,000 potholes and there’s no one else to blame now and and so that these have got to be systemic and I know R keep saying this thing about you know you need a labor MP and I know you don’t mean to suggest it but it does sound very much like if we don’t vote for labor MP Ashfield will get nothing and I know you don’t mean that but you need to be a bit careful with your language you need to understand how influence works and how Parliament works you have to understand what is going on in the ground so that when um a government makes its decisions it knows exactly what is happening in the in every area if there is no one with a seat at the table then Ashfield won’t be heard so they’ll just get whatever the answer government doing and actually Jason you are a county counsel Jason said you are a county counselor and you have said will fix the potholes so why have you not been able to do that is it because you are not the ruling party is that the reason I said if we won the election we would fix the potholes and in fact we have increased the budget but every year including this year we had a fully costed budget amendment to put 20 million pounds extra into roads across Nottinghamshire your party voted against it Ria there that there’s no excuse happened if You’ been eled and you said you would do it how have you not managed it if it was true that an independent couldn’t secure things for Ashfield how did I get six million pounds of future High streets funding how did I get 62 million pounds of towns funding how did I spend 22 million on job like Matt Ralph who worked incredibly hard to put that bid together it was the government funding that found it that uh all allowed you to be able to apply for it and it was Matt who is running that scheme not you but you’re there to take the credit but you can also take the responsibility you’re a county counselor so if you cannot deliver more investment and funding to fix more roads in Ashfield that’s on you and that actually demonstrate that as a lone voice not you don’t even know what streets are being resurfaced right I’m call an end this Poole debate here no one’s ever going to agree on this issue but well I agree we can get funding a labor government I agree we can fix the road under a labor government we’re moving on to the next question now so we’ve got two more questions to go and I’m going to mix up the orders again so we we’ll go Debbie Jason Ria and so over to you OE for the miners question yes thank you very much so Ashfield as we know is an area that’s home to countless ex Miners and their families and when we marked the 40th anniversary of the strike this year many were telling us that they have felt let down since the closure of the ceries so how would you improve the lives of X miners I think X miners have um have been part of the valuable history of Ashfield but times have changed a lot of our our coal mines have gone because we are transitioning to a Greener infrastructure and um it’s about reskilling and making sure that that funding and that um education programs are in place to support who people who did go into mining that they have alternative jobs but I think you know the mining Community is part of the very very proud history of Ashfield and I think we should celebrate that and remember it and it’s really nice to see when you go around Ashfield that there are the big miners uh wheels from from the ceries um dotted all over and I think we should remember it absolutely thank you Debbie Jason I think this is really important both of my grandfathers worked at benting cery in Kirkby for 30 or 40 years I mean we’ve put down motions to the County Council to support um changes to the Mind Workers pension I think that’s one of the real fundamental things where people really feel let down and I noticed the labor candidate mentioned it again in a opening aration but nobody’s done anything uh it’s all right saying you know uh we we need a new labor government we had labor for 15 years we’ve had the Tories for 15 years it miners are not a political football to be brought up at every election they want somebody who understands what they do who knows what it’s like to have cold dust in their veins to to Really Care About passionately improving their lives and being fair with them there is billions of pounds in the Mine Workers pension po that the government keep locked up it’s not new money that would have to be found it needs unlocking and giving to those people so that they can have some dignity in their retirement it’s absolutely the right thing to do thank you and Ria hi yes so um I have to say that um it’s great news that in our Manifesto we have pledged that we will end the Injustice uh to the m Workers pension scheme so that is a commitment that the labor government is making um so it can then increase the amount of pension um money that is being given uh back to miners uh and the reason this is important is because actually a lot of people now are retired so I know Debbie was saying that uh oh it’s about getting them a different job no no no we’ve moved on now they’re in retirement age and actually sadly um thousands of minors are ex and retired minors have been dying every year before they’ve even seen Justice uh for their pensions that they’ve been entitled to um so I’m really pleased to say that what we will do to help our ex and retired miners is increase their pension by ending the Injustice uh to the Mind Workers pension scheme um and then on top of that it’s also just about celebrating history and I will say uh if you get time go down to uh the exhibition uh at the mining Museum uh where they have got a wonderful exhibition on until October um looking at the lives of Miners and the women behind the mining strikes uh and telling their stories and bringing them to life thank you R and finalie may I just say I think and mind workers pensions are really really important I know my granddad suffers from uh this and so do many of other people but I also think pensions generally we must not forget people like the waspy women who are locked out pensions Justice not for one uh uh section of society this needs fixing root and branch and I think people like the wasby women deserve championing just as much as our miners do they’re just as proud yeah thank you for that comment uh we are going to move on to the final question now bit more of a light-hearted one to finish over to you wle thank you yes so every general election there does seem to be a greater desire among voters for candidates who are local so do you all live in Ashfield and either way what is your favorite thing about the area and Debbie we’ll start with you well I’m well I’m always going to be really upfront and honest with people I do not live with in Ashfield currently but I live really really close by just a few minutes driveway and I’ve lived in Nottingham Shire for over 30 years but being an MP is an utter privilege but it’s a job it is about having the best person who will deliver and work hard and as a small business owner I’m used to getting things done I’m a selfstarter and I will work incredibly hard for the people of Ashfield and the best thing about them is the people of Ashfield they’re really warm they’re down to earth they’re hard workers the salt of the earth and what they want is opportunity to improve their lives and that’s what I’m here to help deliver for them thank you uh Jason well yeah of course I’m probably the local candidate in that sense born at Kingsmill Hospital went to Greenwood primary school went to Ashfield comprehensive school and have never left I love this place um and I’m really proud to be a counselor here because we’ve managed to do so much personally my one favorite thing the green spaces I love being able to just walk out the door with the dogs and run off down the dumbles and have a long love long walk with them and run around I think we’ve got some fantastic Open Spaces particularly around our heritage zones in t and not cirt me um but I have to agree with Debbie for the first time Debbie put a pin in the map I the people are the best thing we are warm and friendly inviting brutally honest but loyal people and and I just love so many friends and family that I’ve made here over my lifetime in Ashfield so it is the people that make it a special place thank you and Ria hi yes so like thousands and thousands of other people I chose to make Ashwood my home um when I moved here back in 2022 too and for a number of reasons um but partly it’s because you know we have a really good Parks so I quite enjoy going to Bry Forest Park and taking a walk around the Lakes at Sutton lawn um but also like everyone else um I know it’s cheesy but um people are so warm here they are so friendly so whether it’s going to get um lunch in a cafe um and the fact that people will chat and talk to you and share their stories um or whether it’s how welcoming people have been when I volunteered at Food cycle or at the the charity shop down the road um people are open uh and that’s a real sense of community here and it would be a real privilege to serve uh as the MP here to represent those people and stand up for that Community thank you um so that’s all we’ve got time for in terms of the questions today thank you so much for your answers there and we will move on to closing statements now and I’ll go back to alphabetical if that’s okay with everybody um so Ria we will start with you thank you yes so listen um this is a is a close election but it really is an about change this is our opportunity to finally be heard and be represented properly in Parliament with a labor government we’ve got the right policies and fresh ideas um to bring about the change we need like we say about getting our NHS dentists making our streets safer um protecting the minor pension and giving Justice for them getting more teachers um to fill our vacancies in our schools and getting more send support for our children who need it there’s so much we can do if we have the right MP and the right government to support that um and that is the change I’m offering that is the brighter future we can deliver together uh and I will say that being your MP will be my only job I won’t have any other job or any other elected position because quite frankly this is an eight day a week role if we really want to bring about the change that we need in Ashfield so I hope I can count on your support thank you thank you Ria uh Debbie you’re next for a closing statement yes thank you past labor MPS neglected Ashfield leading voters to choose conservatives in the 2019 election due to the conservative leveling up agenda Asheville’s received over 62 million pound for the Regeneration of Sutton and Kirk B toown centers but it’s just the beginning I want to get to work to build on what has been started voting for anyone else risks splitting the vote and returning to Labor’s neglect and back to square one I have a positive plan for Ashfield more Health Care tackling crime investing in local schools and creating jobs and supporting apprenti ship nationally I support the conservative plan to do everything possible including leave the echr to control our borders reduce National Insurance for workers scrap it for small businesses and ensure State pensions are never taxed vote smart vote for me on the fourth of July to continue the conservative plans that have been put in place thank you and Jason thank you well look it’s not just red or Blues turn to run again um that is very different here in Ashfield and I think the current MP has been an uniga disaster uh but this time in Ashfield it’s only he or I who can win it’s me as your local independent or Lee Anderson for reform so residents have face a really Clear Choice somebody with a real record of action and delivery whether that be Parks Leisure centers Town Center regeneration making our community safer or more or an MP who has us hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons it’s me or Lee this time don’t waste your vote on one of the big political parties who are playing Punch and Judy with your vote this time support an independent who only will put you first and not answer to anybody else it’s time for the change we really need thank you Jason obviously you referenc Lee Anderson there a bit of criticism of him he’s not on the call to defend himself but Lee if you or your representatives are watching more than happy to talk to you um about anything in the run up to the election of course um so that brings us to a close for this hostings today I just want to give you a really big thank you for coming along today for your contributions uh we know our readers will appreciate hearing from you directly and we just want to wish you all the luck with all sorry all luck with the rest of the campaigning so thank you for your time today and that’s it thank you Natalie thank you thanks for everyone who’s been watching cheers