Kettering General Election candidates at hustings

Northants Telegraph

Candidates standing in General Election for Kettering seat Emily Fedorowycz (Green)  Jim Hakewill (Independent) Philip Hollobone (Conservative) Rosie Wrighting (Labour)

Transcript

00:00I want to fundamentally change how we do politics in Kettering.

00:04I've been embedded in our community for a long time really.

00:09I've had the opportunity to be mayor this last year.

00:12The last three years I've been working on local issues as much as I can as a local councillor,

00:17but I was, frankly, doing some in our town before then as well.

00:20But being elected allowed me to do so much more for people here and allowed me to help a lot of people.

00:27Being our MP, I'd be able to make an even bigger impact.

00:32And being a strong, independent voice, green voice in Parliament,

00:37will allow me to hold our new Labour government to account to help us secure what we need locally.

00:42Because of being in our community, I have a plan for our area,

00:48with tangible steps based on what you have said, what others have said we need.

00:54My plan is to regenerate the town, to boost local businesses,

00:57to make sure that we have school places, doctors, dentists, and a healthcare system that works.

01:03I want to bring people together and strengthen our community,

01:07look after every part of our borough,

01:10and creating forums so you can have your say all the time, not just at election time.

01:17Because democracy involves all of us, and that feels like it's been eroded.

01:22People do not feel listened to, and I'm here to change that. Thank you.

01:28I will continue to represent everyone as your MP, as I have for nearly 40 years as a local councillor.

01:36Whoever you are, whatever your beliefs, whatever your chosen lifestyles, and whatever concerns you,

01:43I will be here to help as your MP.

01:45I'll be visible in our communities, listening and acting on issues that matter.

01:51I will have an office space in town.

01:53I will not hide behind an email wall.

01:56I have so much experience that I want to use for the benefit of our communities.

02:01I'm a farmer's son, born in Braidbrook.

02:04I care about our places, our domestic and our wild animals, and our biodiversity.

02:11It's in my DNA.

02:13We can't stop crucial road building.

02:16Projects like the Wheatley Walk and Bypass, the Isham Bypass and Junction 10A on the A14 must be delivered.

02:24We have been promised a hospital rebuild for far too long.

02:28Why hasn't it happened?

02:30Shockingly, we're now being told to wait until 2030.

02:34The rebuild will be a logistical nightmare.

02:37We need to completely rethink and to decide what needs to be done on site at the general hospital,

02:44and what could be delivered elsewhere around town.

02:47It's been a huge privilege to be Kettering's MP for the last 19 years,

02:52and whoever is elected from amongst us at this election will soon realise that when you go into that building,

02:59you are just one of 650 MPs from around the country.

03:04You are the only person from Kettering who can stand up and speak for Kettering.

03:10So the challenge is to avoid all the noise at Westminster,

03:14and to be laser-focused on getting things done for here in the Kettering constituency.

03:20I'll give you just four examples of what I have managed to get done and been done for Kettering.

03:26One is the rebuild of the hospital.

03:28A 10-year commitment announced at the last election for completion by 2030,

03:34on track, with a budget 10 times bigger than when we were here in 2019.

03:40New wards, new carpark, new power plant, a bigger and better hospital.

03:45The train service. It was halved under the last Labour government.

03:49I've got back half-hourly services from Kettering to the north,

03:52and you can now travel non-stop from Kettering to London.

03:56That hadn't happened after the last government.

03:59Junction 10A on the A14.

04:02The government was going to get rid of all major road junction projects.

04:05I kicked up a huge fuss, and I've now got a huge government commitment

04:09for £50 million to build that vital junction.

04:13And the new secondary school for Kettering at Hanley Park,

04:16the first in Kettering for a generation.

04:18Bizarrely, the government decided it was going to be for boys only.

04:22I led a rearguard action together with local residents,

04:25and in an unprecedented move, managed to change the government's mind

04:30on a major secondary school.

04:32Four pieces of direct action that I was able to achieve as your MP.

04:37Forget all the noise at Westminster.

04:39It's getting the job done as a local champion.

04:42I didn't grow up privileged, and I know what it's like

04:45when the money just won't go to the end of the month.

04:49But what I did grow up with in Kettering was a Labour government

04:54and a local Labour MP.

04:57And I saw the change that that made.

05:00I saw the introduction of a fair minimum wage.

05:03I felt trust in our public services.

05:07And I grew up thinking that you could work hard and build a happy life.

05:13Now I want to circle back to a conversation I had just last week

05:17with a woman on a ranger's date.

05:19An elderly woman who told me that the winter had just gone,

05:23she couldn't afford to put on her heating,

05:26so she sat every evening in the cold.

05:30And that is the legacy of 14 years of the Conservatives.

05:35But we can have better.

05:38With a Labour government, we can have economic stability,

05:41an NHS fit for purpose, and lower car rates.

05:45And with a Labour MP in Kettering,

05:48we can get the redevelopment of Kettering General done.

05:51We can rejuvenate our high street.

05:53And we can have a visible MP here.

05:56An MP that we can trust.

05:58But between Labour and Conservatives,

06:01it's set to be one of the closest in the country here.

06:04And it's only Labour that can see that change.

06:07And it's only Labour that have that chance here.

06:10Thank you.

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