The candidates for the Romsey & Southampton North seat make their pledges

“WHEN voters in Romsey and Southampton North go to the polls on May 7, a vote for me will be a vote for Labour’s better vision to balance the books more fairly while building a more just country.

“People tell me they’re worried about the NHS – waiting times are up, and more than one in five people here can’t see their GP in the same week.

We’d strengthen the NHS with 33,000 more frontline staff.

“Working people are over £1,000 a year worse off, while the richest get huge tax breaks. Labour will deliver fairer taxes, a higher minimum wage, and expand free childcare.

“Students here have had their fees trebled; many will never pay them off and that simply adds to the national debt. So Labour will reduce fees by £3,000.

“The current Conservative MP has voted for this Government’s damaging policies at every stage, supported by Liberal Democrats in coalition. Only Labour can govern in the interests of the many, not just the privileged few.

“So, just as I’ve worked hard as a councillor to represent constituents who have put their trust in me, I’d work hard in Westminster to get a better deal for Romsey and Southampton North.”

Ian Callaghan - Green

“HAVING lived in this constituency for over ten years, around both Andover and Romsey, I’m aware that, while it has some of the most beautiful scenery in our country, it’s also a place where many of the problems of “austerity Britain” still hit people very hard.

“Unemployment and low pay, cuts in the NHS, lack of housing, lack of public transport – and consequent lack of access to services unless you can afford a car – all these are issues that people face daily, either themselves or in their families.

“At the same time, the damaging floods last year were a stark warning of what “climate change Britain” might look like unless real leadership emerges that is prepared to invest in reducing our use of energy and changing how we produce it.

“The Green Party is a party of hope, trust, equality and inclusiveness.

“Our policies would create a million secure and properly paid jobs, free up the committed staff in our public services to do their jobs, not satisfy bureaucracies, make education free at every level, provide decent and affordable housing, make sure that fair taxes are paid by all, and protect our environment and planet for this and future generations.”

Sandra James - UKIP

“UKIP’s fully audited 2015 manifesto (Independent auditors: CEBR Ltd) determines £25 billion of annual savings, generated from a reduction in ‘funding per head’ in Scotland to the level of England, (we are the only party prepared to replace the Barnett Formula), an EU exit, the scrapping of HS2 and a phasing down of UK Foreign Aid to 0.2 per cent of the UK’s GNI.

“As your MP I will seek to bolster employment opportunities and push for a lowering of personal taxation.

I support our obligation to NATO for a two per cent GDP defence expenditure.

“I support the extra £12 billion to our NHS. I want the end of income tax on the minimum wage. I will push for a personal allowance increase to at least £13,000, the scrapping of inheritance tax and the raising of the 40 per cent tax threshold to £55,000. I want our UK manufacturing base extended – with a projected need for 800,000 engineers to 2020 I support free tuition fees for STEMM (science, technology, engineering, medicine and mathematics) students.

“I want new housing to serve the needs of the local community, with a focus on brownfield sites supported by tax incentives. I value the benefits of limited and controlled immigration. I want to regain our sovereignty, free to determine our laws and free to trade globally without EU restrictions.

“I believe this fuels a genuine economic recovery.”

Caroline Nokes - Conservative

“I HAVE always been able to call the Romsey area home, and for the last 16 years I have represented it, either as a borough councillor or as MP. The issues affecting local residents also affect me.

“Whether it is the challenge of protecting our green spaces from intrusive development, finding the funding to protect us from flooding or working with local authorities and Government to secure faster broadband, I have been determined to get the best outcomes for local people.

“Last year I was independently assessed to be the most responsive MP, and also judged to be in the top 20 best value for money. I have not been afraid to speak out against the Government, such as on the sale of the public forestry estate and calling for a referendum on the European Union before it was party policy. Some may call that rebelliousness, I regard it as putting constituents first.

“We have worked hard and taken tough decisions to put right the financial mess left by the last Government.

“Employment is at an all-time high and hard-working people are paying considerably less tax. A Labour-led Government, propped up by the SNP, would risk all of this.”

Ben Nicholls - Liberal Democrats

“POLITICIANS just don’t get it” – I hear this a lot on the doorstep, and it’s the reason I’m standing.

Through my work with young people, I’ve seen how remote politics is to most of our lives. I decided it was time to stop shouting at the TV and try to fix the things that make me – and so many of us – angry.

“I remember realising, as a child, how unfair the world could be, and how so many kids don’t have the happy childhood I had. For me, politics is about helping to fix that.

“Experience matters in politics, but experience of the real world, rather than of the political establishment. I want MPs who’ve struggled to pay the rent, who remember getting that first job without their parents’ help, who live in the real world. Fresh perspectives also matter, especially when the system is as stale and indifferent as most of us find it.

“I would be energetic, accessible and in touch as our next MP, and a small part of making our political system work better for us and for our area. Lots of us rant about this, but unless we vote for something new, we won’t get it.”