If you live in Winterbourne, Winterbourne Down or Hambrook you will be voting in the Filton & Bradley Stoke constituency in Thursday’s general election.
The Voice has contacted the candidates standing to be the constituency’s next MP, offering them up to 250 words to tell you something about themselves and their priorities if they are elected.
All five of them responded.
They appear here in the order they will be on the ballot paper on Thursday:
Benet Allen (Liberal Democrats)
I’M campaigning for our community on both a local and national stage for action to tackle the housing crisis, cost of living crisis, the NHS crisis and the ongoing sewage scandal.
I’m a former local councillor and deputy leader of the successful Somerset West and Taunton council and remain a dedicated community campaigner. During my tenure, the council began work on the first council houses to be planned and built in west Somerset for more than 30 years.
For years our area has been taken for granted by an out-of-touch Conservative Government that has failed to get the basics right and lurched from crisis to crisis – now it’s time for a change.
We need to see a return to politics that not only works for the country, but for our local communities.
Local health services have been brought to their knees, people’s mortgages and rent have skyrocketed and water companies have been allowed to pump their filthy sewage into our rivers and beaches.
All this by a Conservative government more interested in fighting between themselves than standing up for the country.
People are at breaking point and the simple fact is that we need change at the very top.
This government is the first in almost a century to make the average person poorer. Every vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote for a fair deal. It’s a vote for a party and a candidate that will stand up for our community and our health services.
Stephen Burge (Reform UK)
My name is Stephen Burge. I have lived in and around Filton and Bradley Stoke most of my life, my father worked for Rolls-Royce, my children grew up and still live here, my friends live here, and I care about this community.
I’m an ordinary person, someone just like you, and I’m standing because I feel this constituency has been let down.
Issues like the Hambrook Lights which cause traffic chaos, the link road bridge to Winterbourne, the asylum seekers in the local hotels, the talk of 30,000 new houses on the Woodlands Golf Course; how would the infrastructure cope that’s already jammed at peak times?
I want to be your voice.
That’s the reason I’m standing: we have been let down locally.
Of course we also need to look at the national issues, but locally is what is important to you, this is what impacts your lives.
Enough is enough, this is why I have decided to stand, to try and make a difference for this community.
Vote Reform UK.
Claire Hazelgrove (Labour)
I LIVE in Stoke Gifford and am from a family of teachers, NHS workers and RAF service members – their sense of public service runs deep in me.
I’ve worked in leadership roles for trusted national charities and in politics on big issues, including the housing and environmental crises. I knock on doors all year round and share your concerns.
We live in great communities but our potential is being held back.
As your strong voice in parliament, I’ll act to:
*Reduce the cost of living. Getting energy bills down with a proper windfall tax on oil and gas giants. Keeping bills down by switching on Great British Energy.
*Get our public services back on their feet. More doctors, dentists, teachers and police where needed most, and service reform. Funded by closing tax loopholes and exemptions.
*Build good and affordable homes, with infrastructure. Support local people to stay, while protecting the character of our growing communities.
*Public transport that works. Speed up bus franchising and give communities the opportunity to take back control of local bus services.
*Action on climate and good, local green jobs. Protect nature for future generations and back the skills we need, in aerospace and beyond.
This will take time, but I’ll work every day to deliver for you, serving as a visible, impactful and approachable MP you can be proud of.
Labour’s always been the strong second here. I hope I can earn your trust in the most important election in a generation.
Jack Lopresti (Conservative)
IT’S been an honour to represent you as your Member of Parliament for the last 14 years.
Over that time, we have achieved so much together for our area, but there’s still more to do.
Our country is at a crossroads. We have all faced very difficult years: a global pandemic – the first in over a century, and the first full-scale invasion on the continent of Europe in 70 years. We have had to make difficult decisions to steer our country through these dark times.
Locally, I have been working hard to improve connectivity in Downend and surrounding areas like Frenchay and Emersons Green. I presented a petition to Parliament restore Hambrook Junction so traffic can cross the junction in both directions.
I’ll continue to push to reinstate bus services which have been cut by Labour’s West of England Mayor Dan Norris who, despite receiving £105 million to improve buses, prefers to waste money on gimmicks like a birthday bus pass, and adverts of himself and his dog.
When it comes to public services like health and education, I secured £49.9 million for Southmead Hospital and I’m working to improve access to local GP surgeries.
As for education, 93% of South Gloucestershire schools are rated good or outstanding by Ofsted. Moreover, having already delivered a new school in Winterbourne, we must look to build another in Emersons Green.
We’ve turned a corner – we have a plan. We seek the opportunity, honour and privilege to continue to serve the British people.
James Nelson (Green)
WE need to see a step change in how we fund our public services. As someone not far out of school and as the brother of a soon-to-be children’s nurse, I have seen the devastation of austerity on our public services.
As a Green MP, I would fight to ensure those with the broadest shoulders paid for public services that are fit for the future.
We need to protect our waters, air and land. I have grown up appreciating our local nature and seeing the failure of the government to address the climate crisis.
As a Green MP, I would fight for sewage-polluting water companies to come under public ownership and for real ambition from the government to provide a green future for the next generation.
We need to deal with the cost of living with more than a sticking plaster.
I have met with many people feeling the squeeze while some large companies post record profits.
As a Green MP, I would fight for the tax on income from shares in companies to be raised to equal what you pay on your salaries from work, so that we can pay for a fairer, greener society for all.
I have lived in this area since I was two years old, I have seen promises made and then broken.
I believe in real hope and change for our communities. That’s why I’m asking you to vote for me on July 4th.
Read more about the Green Party in our manifesto: greenparty.org.uk/about/our-manifesto
About Filton & Bradley Stoke
Conservative Jack Lopresti is defending a majority of 5,646 from the 2019 election.
He has held the seat since it was created in 2010: Labour has been second in all four previous votes.
This year Filton & Bradley Stoke’s boundaries have moved east.
Emersons Green and Lyde Green have been added. Almondsbury, Easter Compton and Pilning are now in Thornbury & Yate; Staple Hill has become part of the new Bristol North East seat.
Filton & Bradley Stoke includes the following council wards: Patchway Coniston, Bradley Stoke North, Bradley Stoke South, Charlton & Cribbs, Filton, Stoke Gifford, Stoke Park & Cheswick, Winterbourne, and Frenchay & Downend.
In last year’s council elections the Tories won nine of the seats in the area covered by the constituency, with Labour winning six, the Lib Dems two and independents one.
In May’s Police & Crime Commissioner elections the Conservatives were first and Labour second across South Gloucestershire.
Voting
Voting will take place from 7am until 10pm on July 4, with the votes being counted immediately afterwards and results expected to be declared early on July 5.
This will be the first general election where voters are required to present photo ID at polling stations.
An estimated 4% of voters are registered to vote but lack the necessary ID, according to a recent survey.
Voters can use passports, driving licences, Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) cards, blue badges, Defence Identity Cards and some concessionary travel cards as proof – for a full list visit the Electoral Commission website.