Lib Dem, Green and Labour candidates for Hereford and South Herefordshire named ahead of June general election
THE Lib Dem, Labour and Green parties have named their candidates for the Hereford and South Herefordshire seat ahead of June’s general election.
Lucy Hurds has been confirmed as the Lib Dem candidate following a meeting of the party in Hereford.
She said: “This election is about our future as a country. It is about our NHS, funding for local services, school budgets and our children’s futures.
“The austerity cuts of this government have caused real hardship for Herefordshire residents.
“More and more local people have been coming into our office seeking help and information. We also need to consider the impact on jobs and our economy if we leave the Single Market. We need to have a say on the final deal with Europe. ”
She added: “The choice is quite clear and I urge voters to remember one simple fact. This constituency has only ever elected an MP from the Conservative or Liberal Democrat parties.”
Meanwhile, Green Party candidate Diana Toynbee said her party will challenge an austerity agenda which ‘continues to hurt Herefordshire’.
Diana is an adult trainer and teacher who has worked overseas, including for Oxfam.
Her three children went to Kingstone High School and Hereford Sixth Form College, and she now lives in Hereford city after several years in Eaton Bishop.
Launching her campaign, she said: “This election was called to further the interests of the Conservative party, to gain more power before voters realise what a deep mess they are getting us into.
“I believe Theresa May intends to use Brexit to tear up EU protections for nature and human rights and bulldoze through the ‘great repeal bill’, rewriting our laws in the image of the Tories.
“Locally, we can all see the effects of savage cuts to public services and benefits for vulnerable people.
“On social care for example, Herefordshire Council, like many others across the country is going to really struggle to deliver a service worthy of the name in a few years time.
“I am challenging Jesse Norman’s claim to be ‘putting the case for Hereford’, when he has voted for every single cut.”
“The country (and Herefordshire) simply can’t afford another Tory government – real wages growth in the UK since 2010 has been the lowest of all the G7 countries, and the national debt increased by around a quarter under the last two Conservative chancellors.”
The Labour party has also announced that its candidate will be Anna Coda. The party will be holding a street stall in Hereford High Town this Saturday between 10am and 4pm.