General Election 2017: Laura Fisk - Green Party

I have worked hard in the NHS all my professional life – an experience that has shown me how absolutely vital it is to keep our public sector services out of private hands.

I am dedicated to making sure our health and social care services function as one adequately resourced, publicly owned, properly valued NHS.

I believe that if successive Labour and Conservative governments had chosen to they could have easily found the funds to keep the NHS publicly owned, but instead we have an NHS in crisis.

In 2016 it fell to the Green Party’s sole MP, Caroline Lucas, to introduce the NHS Reinstatement Bill, calling for an end to creeping privatisation and brining the NHS back into public hands.

The Bill was defeated (talked out) by the Tories.

With more Green MPs, the story could have been very different and the crisis we now face, averted.

This, more than anything else has given me the determination to be Burnley and Padiham’s MP.

Another key motivation for me is education. I have benefitted hugely from my state education and university – but our politicians are letting down those who want to pursue a vocational education. Seven years of coalition and Conservative rule have succeeded only in giving us a closed technical college, unfit for purpose, this is a disgraceful outcome created by poor central government planning.

Luckily Burnley has a fantastic University and college, unfortunately too many young people won’t access it for fear of being lumbered with huge student debts. I believe all education should be free and accessible to anyone who needs it. It is simply not fair for a generation of MPs who benefitted from a free education, to deny it to others.

Burnley’s next MP must focus on housing. Its the 21st Century and we are the 6th richest country in the world. We should be able to find safe, secure and affordable homes for everyone and we should be able to do it without leaving perfectly good buildings to rot while at the same time destroying the countryside with unsustainable development.

I love Burnley and I love Britain. But we urgently need representatives who will prioritise climate change, clean air, fairer voting systems (where all voices are heard) and a relationship with Europe that doesn’t throw away all the great things about the union when we leave it. And when we know the terms of a Brexit deal, I believe the public should have the final say on it - they voted to take back control, not hand it to the establishment in Westminster. If it’s a good deal, I trust the people to back it.

As your MP I will follow our “Green Guarantee”, the 10 pledges to make Britain a better, fairer, confident and caring Britain. I truly believe that there is a better way and a better choice for ourselves and for the future.