Candidates vying to be Lichfield’s next MP have gone head-to-head at a hustings event at Lichfield Cathedral.

It meant independent duo John Madden and Pete Longman joined Conservative Sir Michael Fabricant, Labour’s Dave Robertson, Reform UK’s Richard Howard and Paul Ray from the Lib Dems for the event.

Q1. A shortage of GP appointments, missed cancer targets, huge waiting lists, no NHS dentists – what will you do to fix the crisis in our NHS?

Dave Robertson (Labour): “There are two major issues – the absolute crisis we currently have and the long term changes the NHS is not set up to deal with.

“You can’t remodel a house while it’s on fire, you have to deal with one crisis at a time.

“Labour’s plan is very clear. The non-dom tax loophole is immoral and unfair to taxpayers who don’t get that option. We will close that.

“The last Labour government got waiting times down to their lowest level in history. We’ve done it before and we intend to do it again.

“Once we have a handle on the waiting list crisis, we’ll be able to talk with doctors, nurses, patient groups, local authorities and anyone else we can get around the table about what the 21st century model of the NHS looks like.

Sir Michael Fabricant (Conservatives): “It’s not going to be easy to fix.

“Doctors and GPs don’t work five-and-a-half days a week as they did when I was a student – and I don’t blame them.

“One GP I know works three days as a GP and one day in A&E, and that’s what he chooses to do. It’s tough being a GP so I have sympathy.

“But things have moved on. There have been 50million extra GP appointments available in the last year. That’s 44 more per practice, per working day.

“There’s a real crisis in dentistry in Lichfield and Burntwood. We would make all dental students have to work in NHS for five years when they graduate.

“Wes Streeting, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, says it’s not just about money and that there has to be a fundamental reform. Taking it over as some sort of Communist regime or whatever isn’t going to work. It needs a root and branch change and we need to see more appointments.

“There are now more doctors and nurses than there have ever been, but people are more demanding and quite rightly so. That’s one of the reasons we’ve made it so pharmacists can prescribe basic prescriptions. There are changes – but it ain’t easy.”

Richard Howard (Reform UK): Six out of every 10 new GPs don’t get a job. The establishment won’t tell you that because the NHS is not an attractive place to work. GPs don’t want to go into a practice where they’ll eventually have to be a partner.

“Another problem you see with 40,000 new appointments is that having read the assessment of the Labour budget, they want people to work extra hours and weekends. This is nurses and doctors already suffering and dropping out because of the workload. Now Labour want them to work extra and weekends.

“It’s not going to work and more people will leave. People will get their qualification and work abroad or privately. We have to rebuild the NHS to make it an attractive place to work.

“The amount of immigration is a burden on the NHS, which again they won’t tell you. Hundreds of thousands coming into the system every year – they are a burden.

“The population is less active, people are putting on weight and not living a healthy lifestyle. Diabestes is a massive problem. It’s all a burden on the NHS.

“It’s not difficult task, but it’s impossible if we carry on as we are.”

Pete Longman (Independent): It’s not my specialist area, but I used to run a social care IT business and I do believe we should have a national care service. It should not be the responsibility of local authorities and it means they can’t do a lot of what they should do because of it.

“The National Insurance premium is the correct way of funding both the NHS and social care. Having lived and worked abroad in Australia, there’s a system for those who can afford it to make a notional paymen. In Australia you can get appointments any day of the week and it just means for those who can afford it you get a better service. We pay for prescriptions in England and nobody complains, so it’s an extension of that.

“We could slso make more use of virtual appointments and we should enable the less qualified workforce to look after lesser issues to be much more involved in the care process. It doesn’t have to be a GP.”

John Madden (Independent): I’d like to see the Samuel Johnson Hospital be a bigger walk in centre and a dental facility.

“I’d like to see mental health addressed and more help out there for carers especially so they get pay rises. They’re poorly paid.

“On dentistry, I broke two teeth on a crumpet recently and I’m still waiting to see a dentist, so it shows it needs addressing.

“The Samuel Johnson should be made more of a walk-in centre that you can go in and see a GP and get your teeth sorted if you’re willing to wait.”

Paul Ray (Liberal Democrats): “We’d make it a legal right to see a GP in a week or 24 hours if it’s urgent. Yes, it’s easy to say, but we have a plan to train 8,000 more GPs.

“NHS dentistry is in crisis and the contract under which it is delivered needs to be reviewed.

“But we can’t fix NHS without fixing care system. There are hundreds of thousands of people who need to be discharged and relieve the pressure, but because care system isn’t operating it puts pressure on the NHS.

“We need to invest in care system. We have policies on free personal care. We’d also introduce a higher national minimum wage for carers who work in the industry.

“It’s not just money though, it’s about reform. We need to improve the health of our nation. We need to bring care closer to our community. We need to give GPs and pharmacies much more of a role in helping rather than the default being hospital. We have to be honest about diet.

“A Liberal Democrat value is about collaborating – we can only solve the care system issue if all parties come together and come up with a long-term sustainable solution.”

Q2. Following Brexit, how close to Europe do you hope to get?

Paul Ray (Liberal Democrats): “Our economy is struggling and not performing – it has shrunk by 4% since we left the EU.

“We are pro-European party. We cannot fix the economy until we face the reality that we’ve got to fix our relationship with Europe, but that doesn’t mean rejoining. We believe it was the wrong decision, but we’ve got to put a plan in place to rebuild that relationship.

“There are measures we can take to break down barriers that are preventing businesses trading into Europe. As an example of a barrier, in the chemicals industry you have to register with the European regulator and now we have one in the UK you have to register with as well. It shows that myth that Brexit would reduce regulation has actually been the opposite.

“We have to make it easier to trade into Europe. And it’s mutual – we are a large economy and Europe wants to trade with us.

“We need to break down barriers and take measures to join the single market. It means if you have a business and product here and want to sell in Lisbon, Paris or Berlin that there are no restrictions.”

Dave Robertson (Labour): “Whenever you have a discussion about Europe it becomes an emotionally-charged atmosphere for a lot of people. At the elections in 2019 I remember how aggressive people got – someone was screaming at me that a I was a traitor to democracy and how dare I come to their door to talk to them about their bin collection.

“The whole idea of Brexit became really toxic. It split families, friendship groups and communities. It was really bad for our society.

“It was also terrible for the economy because of the inaction and difficulties caused by the time between the vote and leaving created so much uncertainty.

“It was a really challenging time. I believe we don’t need to go picking at that scab.

“There is a huge amount we need to do to work with neighbours and trade partners in the EU and across the world. But we need to make certain we are not trying to go back on what was a democratic decision.

“There is renegotiation we need to do on Boris Johnson’s bad deal.

“We want to look at how we can reduce friction at the borders, support the economy and give people more rights to travel freely.

“But we have to do that without going into customs union and single market because we do not need to go back to a situation where Brexit is destroying our society.”

Sir Michael Fabricant (Conservatives): “If we go into the single market it we have to abide by their rules, but not being in the EU means we won’t have any say in those rules so we’ll get the worst of every world.

“I used to set up radio and TV stations and build the equipment in the UK before it went out to 48 countries, so I do know about exporting and what’s practical and what isn’t.

“Those years between the vote and leaving weren’t wasted years. We got what everyone said was impossible, and that was a free trade agreement with the EU.

“There are not trade barriers as far as import or export duties are concerned when it comes to trading with Europe.

“We do want to get closer, but they’ve made it clear that unless we join the single market we won’t get any closer.

“The EU is in decline economically compared to the USA and the Pacific Rim. One of the great joys of Brexit is that we have other free trade agreements we didn’t have before.

“This country was the first in the world to have a major public vaccine scheme for Covid. That was not possible in the EU.”

Richard Howard (Reform UK): “Brexit is one of those emotive issues, but is a low-hanging fruit and is talked about by people who don’t know what they are talking about.

“I do all of my work outside of the UK so I have a global picture of Brexit. We are unlike other European countries as we are a Commonwealth. During my travels over last 20 years in Asia and Africa they were crying out for free trade agreements with the UK that we could not have.

“Take the fastest growing economy in the world in India – the EU stifled that for 16 years because it threatens them.

“The world has changed. We now have e-commerce we can now trade with over 200 countries on demand, but that’s a threat to the EU.

“The powers that be are stopping it because they know other countries are watching us. We have to be seen to fail because Italy is ready to go, along with France and Hungary. The EU might collapse very soon as right-wing parties are standing up and getting traction. Where’s the benefit in Brexit for them.

“There’s no Brexit for us because governments have not pursued it. We need to have an iron fist and make demands and not just use it for soundbites.

“We are the only party who are going to get Brexit as you wanted it done.”

Pete Longman (Independent): “I remember 31st January 2021 because our MP was cutting the tape on our new office at Stowe House.

“I was surprised about was how little fuss was made of Brexit on that day. There were no riots or celebrations. It was just very quiet and dignified.

“In this election Brexit has hardly come up.

“I love Europe and have come back from Germany where I had a great time at the Euros and everyone was happy.

“We’ve always had a trade deficit with Europe so I was never nervous or afraid of a direct impact on trade.

“I agree we need strong borders and to do something about immigration. But Brexit has run its course. We need to be strong and see who we are as a nation in our own right.”

John Madden (Independent): “We’re better out and we’ve got to stay out. Whoever gets in will try to get us back in.”

Q3. What are you going to do about the climate crisis?

John Madden (Independent): “I wouldn’t buy a lot of umbrellas, but I’d adapt to the way climate is changing. We’ve seen it this year with the rain.

“We’re changing so much ourselves, but the emphasis should be starting with other countries doing more and not just us with our little bit that we’ve already done.”

Paul Ray (Liberal Democrats): “The climate crisis is a real crisis. We haven’t taken it seriously enough and we need to take it more seriously.

“Under the Conservatives the commitment to net zero has gone backwards. We need proper policies to make a fundamental change. The Conservatives and Reform want to row back from a cleaner, greener economy. They want to reduce levies you pay through energy bills which are invested in our new energy systems for the future.

“But we must continue to invest in them. We need to be generating 90% from renewables by 2030. It is urgent and we need to invest. It also makes sense because it’s good for our environment and it creates energy security. We’ve been through an horrendous shock following the Ukraine war.

“It creates quality jobs if we invest in the new industries including green technologies – and green energy in the long run is cheaper which sends a clear message that we can help to solve long term the cost of living crisis millions in this country are facing.”

Dave Robertson (Labour): “The climate crisis is real and here. We’ve seen it in the last few years where we have a generational weather event every other year.

“It needs to be dealt with. The only way is by cutting amount of carbon dioxide that human activity is putting into the atmosphere.

“I’m proud to be able to stand and talk about GB Energy which will turbocharge investment in renewables. It will not only help us meet obligations, but it will drive down bills meaning we can solve two crises at the same time.

“It’s essential we get on top of his, not just for immediate crisis or because it’s the right thing to do, but because this is the industry of the future. We are lucky in Britain to be so wealthy and have such great history because we were the first adopters of coal. It enabled us to industrialise and to do wonderful things.

“The technology to replace fossil fuels is now here. We need to adopt it, be first and get ahead of this. By doing so we will create the economy of the future and create the good, well-paid jobs we need to drive economic growth.”

Sir Michael Fabricant (Conservatives): “The climate crisis is very real and we see it all the time.

“One of the problems with being MP for the Government in power is that you have to defend your record, which is harder than just making promises. Our record is actually very good.

“In 2010 when we took over from Labour, 86% of electricity generation was by coal – that has now reduced to just 4.4% which is an incredible reduction and something we can all be proud of.

“We have an incredible record from onshore and offshore wind too which has strengthened our energy security while also cutting our emissions. In 2022, offshore wind generation accounted for a third of all renewable energy production, so we’ve got nothing to be ashamed of on this.

“We’ve also done more simple things such as getting rid of plastics which are so dangerous to sea animals and killing birds. We’ve brought in legislation so supermarkets are now penalised if they sell too many plastic bags.”

Richard Howard (Reform UK): “We want to do away with the net zero climate issue because we are environmentally-aware in this country, but we don’t want to be told by people outside this country what she would do and what we should spend, because what they’re asking for monetarily is massive.

“We can still maintain our own environment in this country. We can be efficient and reduce our waste. As a Government that’s what we’d want to do, but we just don’t want external influences saying ‘you need to pay us £30billion for the privilege’ while China is building coal power stations every months and the industrial might of places like Japan, Russia, China and America are polluting this earth.

“We are one of the cleanest countries on this planet, so our margins are smaller and we’re being squeezed more to make a difference. We are a clean country, but they don’t tell you this.

“Labour’s manifesto is going to cost £4.7billion a year for green solutions. We have people eating out of foods banks and out of work, but we’re going to put money for environmental concerns into a pot we won’t see the benefit of.

“While foreign influence is still polluting this atmosphere what can we do as a small country? What we’re doing now is the right thing – reduce your waste, go electric etc. We’re not against that, but we can set our own targets.”

Pete Longman (Independent): “Hyperloop transport is an incredibly environmentally-friendly form of transport technology as it uses solar power over the tubes that provide propulsion for the passenger pods. It’s low power and much more sustainable, as well as having a far lower cost of construction.

“I’m involved in a renewable energy business which produces net zero hydrogen. Sadly, it looks like that business will go overseas because it needs to raise £200million and no British investors want to invest. So much of our innovation does not get the support it needs from government.

“I do believe passionately that we should do everything we can to tackle climate change. There is something that we can do, but it shouldn’t be at the cost of the most vulnerable people in society – it should be the energy companies who are funding some of the changes that are needed.”

Q4. How will candidates tackle the issue of child poverty?

Pete Longman (Independent): “Child poverty is a real issue in certain areas, but it shouldn’t happen. The government has a duty of care to make sure children in the UK do not live in poverty.

“But there has to be a question of where that money comes from. I worked in procurement and my job was to make sure every penny we spent was wisely spent and with due care and attention to best value and products. When it comes to matters of public funding of child poverty issues we need to address them where they align most.

“The thing I would want to see is a raise on the threshold of the minimum tax level to £20,000. I do think we can take people out of poverty by increasing thresholds and increasing willingness to work. I’d be quite happy to put in a top rate of tax of 50% for people earning 150,000 or more. People earning that much can afford it.”

John Madden (Independent): With the benefits system for some paying monthly, it means they can’t manage their household bills, so I’d like to see Universal Credit paid weekly and that landlords be paid directly rather than people receiving the full amount on a monthly basis.

“There is a lot of poverty day in day out and I see it round here. We need to do something about it. Not enough has been done to address people who are hitting bad times.

“The Universal Credit is causing the problem as they aren’t getting the correct timing on it, so they should get it weekly.”

Paul Ray (Liberal Democrats): “This is a really serious issue. It’s a scandal really.

“Having a fair taxation system means you reduce the burden on those families on lower incomes and make their lives easier.

“Our benefits system is cruel. We have the two child cap, the total benefit cap – they should be scrapped as they directly impact child poverty. We are a country that can afford it and we should be compassionate.

“We believe fundamentally in education, but we have a real passion for primary education. If a young person comes out of primary school with poor skills and a poor education what life chances and opportunity have they got?

“The pupil premium is something we would triple to give youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds a real start in life so we can take some serious measures to reduce child poverty.”

Dave Robertson (Labour): “I am furious by something said by another candidate – child poverty is not caused by the inability of parents to budget. It is caused by low pay to parents. It is an inexcusable thing to say.

“I had the immense privilege of being a teacher for almost ten years and I count those years as the most fortunate in my life as I got to work with thousands of amazing young people. But I saw too many let down who were coming to school hungry, not able to get a lunch and going home hungry. I saw the impact that had on their lives and their futures.

“It is something which should always be at the top of the agenda.

“I’m proud to stand and talk about my record on this issue locally. Lichfield Back to School Bank was created by me and the Labour Party in Lichfield two years ago. More than one child in every class in this city went to school this year with uniform they’d picked up from us.

“I have always been and advocate and always will be for a minimum wage to match the actual cost of living. Lichfield District Council is the only council of its type in the region which is an accredited living wage employer because of my arguing. Lichfield City Council is also going down that road.

“It is an issue the needs urgent attention. There’s not a magic wand, but it should be at the heart of government because it ruins futures.”

Sir Michael Fabricant (Conservatives): “I share the anger when we are one of the wealthiest countries in the world, yet we still have children in poverty. You can be angry but what do you do in practice?

“Between 2022 and 2024 the Government has committed a cost of living support package worth approximately £3,700 per family. This includes two separate cost of living payments for low income families.

“It is about how we get money to households and down to children. We are cutting taxes for parents as well to end the unfairness of child benefit by moving to a household system.

Perhaps the most important thing for young children is to roll out the biggest ever expansion of childcare. Working parents will get 30 hours of free childcare a week from when their child is nine months of age. It is saving eligible families £6,900 a year. These are some of the practical things we are doing.

“But we all have a duty as society. If we have neighbours in trouble we need to help them and also report them to the council and those who are in a position to help.”

Richard Howard (Reform UK): “If parents can’t provide it’s not normally their choice, it’s societal issues that have driven them to it. We need to support families.

“We’re only party trying to bind families together. Family break ups are increasing, more single parents are struggling and we need to support married parents.

“We’ll give a tax break to parents who won’t be taxed on the first £25,000 if they’re married. That’s on top of the tax threshold for earnings being £20,000. That will take a lot of people out of poverty.

“But there are also simple things like the removal of VAT from energy bills that could be the difference between feeding a child or not when every pound matters.

“We’ve got to fix family breakdowns and support young mothers -and we have a policy to load some of the benefits to focus on children aged one to four and to encourage young mothers to work from home. Lots of these mothers can be entrepreneurial but they can’t work because of childcare.

“There’s lots we can implement to focus on parents and by default then support their children.”

Q5. Approximately 4.4million people have been drawn into paying tax due to the freeze in personal allowances. What do candidates propose to do to alleviate the financial pressures on low income taxpayers as a result of this freeze?

Richard Howard (Reform UK): “Everyone knows about the increase in the tax threshold to 20,000 that will save a lot people a lot of money. We have savings elsewhere too as there will be no VAT on energy bills and we are will bring down the duty on fuel.

“We also want to fix the system where a lot of our money is wasted. If we can fix issues at the top of the tree everything that filters down will be to your pockets.

“We want to review the benefits scheme. We want people to go to the workplace so they earn more than being on benefits. We also want efficiencies in councils which support you so money goes to people and that you can have a quality of life worth living.

“A lot of your tax is being wasted. Around £1,300 of your tax disappears each year. If we can fix the problem at the top you’ll get the money in your pocket.

“Fish rots at the head first, so we need to fix losses at the head so we can pass savings down through benefits, tax breaks and initiatives that will help you. You will see you are a victim of mismanagement by major parties and the system.”

Pete Longman (Independent): The figure of 4.4million people sounds like a huge number to be drawn into paying taxes, so one presumes that must relate to a large amount of money.

“So where does that money have to come from? I agree with a £20,000 minimum threshold before you pay tax, but the money has to come from somewhere.

“There are ways we can make government and public sector much more efficient. In my business we made savings of 10% just with a better automated system.

“We need to look at care workers getting a better wage and recognition of what they do. I think we have to find ways of raising taxes, not in a way that imposes unncessary burdens on those who can least afford it.

“I think particularly of shopkeepers. I was saddened when I was out campaigning by how many were thinking of closing or had closed already. Part of it is unfair burden of business rates that get put on them and unfair competition from global multinationals such as Amazon who pay very little in tax. We should be getting far more tax from those people.

“We should also be reducing VAT on people who are operating small outlets or only taxing on profits if they make any. We need to do much more to encourage that sector of our society.”

John Madden (Independent): I’d reduce VAT to 17.5% to make everyday goods more affordable.

Paul Ray (Liberal Democrats): We need a fair taxation system in this country where it doesn’t fall disproportionately on those with lower incomes.

“We need a proper windfall tax on oil and gas companies. The Conservative government reduced the levy banks pay by way of tax. Why was that done? It needs to be restored.

“If you have savings and get income of that, then the amount of tax you pay is less than the tax you pay on your job. We say they should be aligned.

“We need to have stable mortgage rates. We know what happens when Conservatives mismanage the economy. We need a responsible government that will manage the economy responsibly, which is not what has happened recently.

“We need to address those on lower pay. If you’re an apprentice on the lower rate it’s below the national minimum wage.

“In our care system the pay they receive needs to be raised. We need a specific national minimum wage at a higher rate for those who work in our care industry.”

Dave Robertson (Labour): “We are in a situation where public finances are in tatters after 14 years of mismanagement, so the ability for anyone to come in and cut tax immediately is very challenging without having to ride roughshod over public services.

“There are tax increases in the Labour manifesto, but we stand behind them because we need to fund public services because they support the families we are talking about.

“We need to reestablish the link between work and getting on because for too many people in this country that link has been broken for far too long.

“I’m really proud I’m standing on behalf of the party that created the minimum wage. I’m really glad that it has increased over time but I’m disappointed that we have legislation which sets a minimum wage lower than it costs to live in the UK. That’s just not right and I’m proud that within our manifesto we are saying we are going to link the living wage, the actual living wage – to link it to the cost of living.

“It is immoral to say to employers they can continue to pay people less than they need to live on and rely on the state to fill in the gaps. We need to change that. It is something that is transformational and will get to the heart of supporting those families.”

Sir Michael Fabricant (Conservatives): “The living wage is linked to cost of living, so join the real world.

“The government has actually doubled the personal allowance since 2010. We currently have lowest effective tax rate in this country since 1975, so I just want to put to bed the lie which is constantly repeated that the British economy is doing badly compared to other countries – it is not.

“The UK was the fastest growing economy in the G7 – faster than Canada, the US, Italy Germany, France and Japan.

“Instead of talking this country down simply to make a political point, let’s actually talk the truth. Inflation in this country, which hits poor people who are on the living wage, is now lower in this country than France or Germany and, dare I say to those who love the European Union, lower than the Eurozone.

“We’ve got a lot to be proud of in this country.

“Of course a Conservative government wants to lower taxes – the one thing you can’t accuse us of is being a party which likes people paying taxes, but the reality is we went through the same shocks that have effected Europe and the US such as Putin’s war and Covid.”

Q6. The country has lost faith in MPs. How can we rebuild trust?

Sir Michael Fabricant (Conservatives) “By behaving decently and properly. I wasn’t involved in any of the scandal 14 years ago over fiddling expenses – I was one of the few who didn’t. I’m proud of that and you should be proud that Lichfield has an MP who didn’t fiddle his expenses.

“I’m not against betting – I’m not a betting man – but you don’t bet if you have insider knowledge. That goes for whether you know the date of the election or are betting against yourself when you could have influence over that.

“It’s all about having moral integrity.

“People all think MPs are in it for themselves. They are not. I had a well paid job setting up radio and TV stations and left it because I wanted to help in Lichfield.

“I decided to leave the government because I couldn’t agree with them on HS2. I was unpopular with David Cameron because I was determined people should have a say on whether this country remained in the EU or not.

“It’s called integrity. Only through that can we rebuild trust in our Members of Parliament and in our society.”

Richard Howard (Reform UK): “One of the reasons I stand for Reform is to prevent this kind of question in the future.

“We tend to not like our politicians as we believe they are telling lies all the time – and if I’m a politician in training I should divert and talk about something else. You’ve seen it in the debates.

“Whether you like him or loathe him, when it comes ot my leader Nigel [Farage] at least he answers the bloody question. You might not like the answer and that’s part of the problem.

“We’re fighting against a system here and what you don’t know behind the scenes is that there’s a system fighting against us because it does not want Nigel or Richard Tice and others standing in Westminster in opposition.

“You might not like what we say but we back it up with facts. Many of you don’t have a voice and we are just like you, but we have volunteered to put our head above the parapet and take the shots.

“For someone who three months ago was just like you drinking in a pub talking politics, I know politics is not for everybody because people are out to get you even if you’ve done nothing wrong. But that’s the system.

“You want people you can work with without being berated. You don’t need politicians who will ignore your questions and emails and divert. You want politicians who are accountable so in Reform we’re going to have an anti-corruption unit in Westminster which will have legal powers to investigate future and past scandals.

“We represent you, so we should be accountable to you. We are going to fix it because we speak the same language as you and are tired of politics in its current form.”

Pete Longman (Independent): “It’s a tough job being a politician and they get a lot of stick.

“It’s a really important and tough job and it’s a sad thing in our society how few people turn out in our elections. In Australia you don’t get a choice – you vote or get a fine and most people vote.

“Being an independent I’m not beholden to party policies or politics. As an independent it’s difficult to have any direct influence. But I’m passionate about the future of our country.

“When I was in Australia I was always drawn back to the UK because I love our country so much. My great great grandfather was a member of the privy council who served when Queen Victoria was on the throne, so maybe there’s something in my DNA that makes me feel so passionate about it.

“f I was elected I’d make it my business to form a party and have people standing around the country so we could make a real difference.

“I believe a lot of people are undecided and have had enough of 14 years of Tory rule and are sceptical of putting faith in Keir Starmer and Labour. Maybe they’ll go forReform and churn it up a bit, but I believe in a fairer and better society. I believe in one where we should be looking after those less well off as well as stimulating growth and our economy. I would do that as your candidate.

“If you vote for me and we get our HS2 station, I will make sure everyone in Lichfield gets a free ride on that train once a year!”

John Madden (Independent): “I’d like to see the election term reduced to three years.”

Paul Ray (Liberal Democrats): “One reason the public have lost faith is because of this government. Partygate, PPE Contracts – it’s been a scandal.

“The Government is not working for things that matter on a day-to-day basis. The economy mismanaged, mortgage rates through the roof, you can’t see a GP, school buildings are crumbling – people rely on Government to deliver core public services and this government is not delivering.

“Children in poverty increasing is not right. We need change badly. I hope the next government will be ambitious and bold to deliver that.

“The other reason why they aren’t respected is because our Parliament does not reflect our country. We need proportional representation in this country with fair votes so every vote counts.

“But it’s not just democracy and fair votes – it leads to better government. We know for the last 20 years we needed to solve crisis in our care system. If you had proportional representation where parties work together then they would not just be looking at a five year programme and then it all changes. Instead, you’d have a mix of parties working on long term sustainable solutions like solving the care crisis.”

Dave Robertson (Labour) “It can’t have escaped the notice of anyone that trust in politicians isn’t there at the minute. People are angry with politics.

“The only way you rebuild that trust and start to rebuild that relationship is to stop breaking promises. There have been far too many for 14 years. We need a government that will come in and stick to what they say and deliver on what they promise.

“There was a wonderful guy who taught me how to teach many moons ago. One of his favourite thing to say was ‘you have two ears and one mouth and that should tell you something’. If you’re seeking to be a representative it has to start by listening, being present and being involved in a conversation.

“That’s why me and my team have been out over the last five weeks speaking to as many people as possible. Tomorrow we will just about clear knocking a quarter of doors in the constituency. I’d like it to be higher, but it’s been five weeks and we are trying to get around.

“But it’s not the only way of listening. You go to events, so I’ve been to see the NFU, Citizens Advice and the food bank where I’m a volunteer.

“There’s a wonderful community across this constituency, but we need to listen to their concerns and issues and make sure politics offers them a solution.

“If we can’t offer a solution to the problems people tell us about what is the point of us?”