General election candidates in Kenilworth and Southam put forward their reasons for why you should vote for them

We asked each candidate to submit about 300 words covering the following questions: What local issues are important to you? What ideas do you have for the local area? Why should people vote for you?

Here are the replies we received.

Paul De'Ath (UK Independence Party (UKIP))

We tried to contact Paul De'ath on a number of occasions but we did not hear back from him.

However, we still wanted his views to be heard so here are some of his words from UKIP's local website.

I have lived in the constituency for all but five years of my early life, and attended the local schools. I left school in 1964 and in 1972 I started in business as an agricultural contractor which I still do today.

These are just some of the things I will stand for:

• I will highlight the inefficiencies, controls and lost opportunities of the last 25 years of governments.
• I will stand for a reduction in foreign aid and overseas development in order to spend 3% of GDP on defence.
• I will stand for resilience and self sufficiency in agriculture and food production.
• I will stand for individual freedom, fairness and justice for all in a United Kingdom of four nations.

Alix Dearing (Green Party)

I’m a long-term resident in the Kenilworth and Southam constituency who helped forge a Green Wave in local council elections and served as district councillor and Mayor.

I want to create well-planned, safe, active transport improvements for future generations as well as fixing our roads and traffic congestion. I want to revive our shabby town centres and enable them to thrive. I want to transform our housing quality, reducing our energy bills for good and addressing the cost of living at the same time. I want to establish much higher standards of insulation and construction, working toward Passivhaus standards in a mix of private and affordable housing. I want to protect nature in the Green Belt with a “brownfield first” approach by pushing local councils to change their policies on renewables to work for a rooftop revolution in solar. To this end, I will be questioning the housing targets produced in Whitehall as I believe they are too high, engaging with the new Local Plan for South Warwickshire which sets guidelines for future development. Many decisions should be more inclusive of local views. Therefore, as I have tried to do already, I want to engage with residents and our excellent community groups through citizens assemblies and residents’ panels. I want the best for the children and grandchildren of Warwickshire - now and in the future.

I urge you to vote with your heart and your head for a fairer, greener country. Send a message that you want better public services paid by redistributing wealth from the super-rich to the rest of us. Greens don’t rely on big donors and have no vested interests. Our ideas and policies are supported very widely but we are held back by the voting system. So, the most tactical vote is Green for real hope and real change.

Nicholas Robert Blunderbuss Green (The Official Monster Raving Loony Party)

Born and bred in Kenilworth, it’s a great privilege for me to once again stand for the OMRLP in my home constituency. Our party was formed in 1982 and have 22 candidates standing in this election.

Regarding local issues. I believe there are too many double yellow lines on our roads. I propose that these lines be painted where you can park – this would save local authorities millions in yellow paint.

My party proposes that anyone using a self-service till in a supermarket will be given a 10% discount off their shopping – as we’re now un-paid employees.

The MOT is as we know is an annual test to ensure that your car is roadworthy. I would like to introduce a ROT, an annual test to make sure all roads are car worthy.

I have stood in two previous General Elections. In 2015 I got 370 votes and 457 in 2019. So if this trend continues, I will become MP for Kenilworth and Southam in about 250 years-time!

General Elections for me are a ‘David v Goliath’ challenge. With this in mind my all-time heroes are ‘Eddie the Eagle’, ‘Eric the Eel’, ‘Screaming Lord Sutch’ and presently, Alan Bates – look what he has achieved.

So my final message to everybody is - if you don’t usually vote, then please vote unusually at this election – preferably for me!

Jacqui Harris (Reform UK)

In terms of local issues that are important to me - local government; they impact on everyday lives in many ways across the constituency. I want to build on my record as a district councillor of delivering and representing the community which I have the fortune to live in, to ensure their voice is heard locally and in Parliament.

I share the concerns of most people about the deteriorating road and rail network, I want to tackle those concerns to help improve the safety and sustainability of our infrastructure. I have delivered the traffic lights at Harbury Lane, Fosse Way crossroads. A campaign promise!

I will link with health organisations to support getting our services where they need to be. I was the district councillor who delivered the GP practice in Upper Lighthorne, working in partnership with all agencies. I was the Chair and project lead.

I want to be more established with local farmers, stand with them over their concerns. I will continue to grow my relationship with them. This means that I will engage with local people to enable them to share how they feel on large topics such as assisted dying and other major issues.

I do however feel that under successive governments the people of Kenilworth and Southam feel unrepresented and disillusioned by local and national politics. I want to be not only accessible but visible!

I will hold meetings with the police and criminal justice sector organisations to seek changes as a team to deliver the service the community desires.

Reform UK policies stand for themselves in Our Contract with you! Many people agree with our commonsense policies and how they help everyone!

The voter will select what suits them and I hope that I am the candidate they pick to deliver for this constituency and improve the lives of everyday people.

Cat Price (Labour)

I’ve spent my career in public service, primarily in the NHS but also local government and education. I’ve always been proud of the work my colleagues and I have done but since 2010 we’ve seen the gradual erosion of all these things that our families rely on. It breaks my heart to see services and staff at breaking point and it’s clear to me that this country needs change. I think this election will deliver that and, when it does, we will need people at the helm who truly understand how our public services should and can be run, professionally and in the public interest. I can deliver that change for Kenilworth and Southam on July 4 and then I can deliver for residents at the heart of the next government.

All Labour’s plans for the country are underpinned by our commitment to economic stability and growth. That will benefit everyone and allow us to make progress across all our other priorities.

With that firm foundation we’ll introduce Great British Energy, which will cut household costs while providing clean, green, well paid jobs. We’ll have a proactive approach to getting Britain building which focuses on the needs of local communities not just the developers and ensures that essential infrastructure always accompanies development.

As a member of SERA, Labour’s environment campaign, I’m really proud of our beautiful part of the county and I’m determined to protect it, and the wider environment, for future generations.

I’m asking residents to put their faith in me and I will repay it by always working cooperatively to achieve their goals. Like the Labour party, I’m committed to delivering change for the benefit of all our families and the polls and tactical voting sites agree that I’m the only candidate who can do that for Kenilworth and Southam on July 4.

Jenny Wilkinson (Liberal Democrats)

The key local issues for me are:

Local health services - we need ambition to fix this crisis through a joined-up approach to invest in and integrate health and social care.

Our precious environment - from HS2, to huge housing developments, to sewage dumping in our rivers, local nature is under siege. I’d press for policies to ensure our beautiful area is protected for generations to come.

Local businesses - through reform of business rates, investment in training, and breaking down trade barriers we can reduce the burden on local business and let them unleash their potential.

There is so much I want to address locally, but I’ll highlight just a couple of things.

Firstly, I want to ensure that local developments come with the infrastructure we need. We must tackle housing shortages, but this shouldn’t add to the burden on local schools, GPs and transport.

Secondly, I’m passionate about education. I will push for more local SEND provision to ensure every child can access the support they need. I also support tripling the pupil premium to provide direct funding to the schools that need it most, making sure that all children can access a first-class education.

Outside of politics, I'm a mum to three boys and have a record of community involvement, as a charity trustee, Scouts group chair, and school governor. Professionally, I come from a forensic accountancy career focused on tackling fraud and corruption. Honesty and integrity are core values for me.

Since my selection as the Lib Dem candidate for Kenilworth and Southam over two years ago, I have been out and about across the constituency, listening to your concerns. Every vote for me, is a vote for a local champion who will fight for a fair deal for residents across the constituency.

Jeremy Wright (Conservative)

Whichever party runs the country after 4th July, who you choose as your MP really matters. It matters who you send to Westminster to make the laws by which we all have to live and, if you or someone you love really need them, it matters that your MP has the skills and experience to help.

I am standing for re-election because I believe I have the necessary skills and experience, including as a Minister and Cabinet Minister, and that I have demonstrated over 19 years that I am an effective MP. Getting things done in politics requires working with others, including those from different parties, and being prepared to engage with the detail. That is what I do. My work in the constituency has helped to deliver a re-opened railway station in Kenilworth and a new secondary school for the town. Southam and Kineton secondary schools are also being substantially rebuilt with money I lobbied for, and I have played my part in delivering new GP facilities in Wellesbourne and to come in Upper Lighthorne. The next priorities are to get the railway line between Coventry and Leamington double-tracked to open up more destinations reachable from Kenilworth Station and to expand the network of active travel routes in our area. It is also important to continue defending the green belt around us – from inappropriate housing and from solar panels on agricultural land which would be better placed on rooftops. Getting those things done will also require the combination of skills and experience that only I offer among the candidates standing here.

I am also the only major party candidate who lives in this constituency. My children went to school in Kenilworth, my family and I use the local NHS and I pay Council Tax in Warwick District. So if you want an MP who is local, experienced and effective, I ask you to support me at this election.