General Election 2015: ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE and Failsworth CANDIDATES

Carly Hicks

(Lib-Dem)

THE Ashton-under-Lyne constituency has been represented in Parliament by one party since the reign of King George V.

I am standing as your candidate here because in politics as in life there shouldn’t be any such thing as inevitability, and every vote, even in a “safe” seat, encourages change.

After attending my local comprehensive I was the first in my family to go to university.

I am passionate that such opportunity should be available to all, and believe that only by seriously investing in our public education system can we ensure all children get a fair start in life.

This desire to bring about fairness underpins the Liberal Democrat Pupil Premium policy, which we have implemented in government. A recent report found that this was bringing “dramatic” changes for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, and in Tameside it has been used for things that schools — not politicians — think will make a difference, such as one-to-one learning and guided reading.

I want to make sure that whichever parties form the next government, the Pupil Premium, which is worth £13.5 million to the Ashton-under-Lyne constituency, is protected.

More does need to be done however and it’s important to me that the next government continues to help all children reach their full potential.

As Liberal Democrats we have pledged to protect the education budget from nursery to age 19, extend free childcare to all two-year olds, with free hours from nine months for working families, and put qualified teachers in every school.

We know that the Conservatives will cut too much, and Labour borrow too much. Neither option is best for Ashton or for Britain.

As the Liberal Democrat candidate in Ashton-under-Lyne I believe that a stronger economy and a fairer society can, and should, go hand-in-hand.

Every vote — safe seat or not — makes a difference to delivering that change.



Charlotte Hughes

(Green)

CHARLOTTE is a well known local activist and campaigner, who has shown herself willing to stand up and be counted for social justice and the environment.

Charlotte has taken part in several marches in Manchester against the government cuts and has appeared on television debating with Junior Minister Brandon Lewis about the council tax supplement.

She campaigns weekly outside the Job Centre in Ashton against sanctions and issues relating to benefit reforms.

The Job Centre in Ashton has one of the highest rates of sanctioning in Greater Manchester and Charlotte provides individual advice to people affected by job centre decisions.







Maurice Jackson

(UKIP)

AT 21 I left the company I worked for and then spent four years travelling all over England and Scotland installing machinery for the ministry of transport HGV testing stations.

When this contract ended an option to go self employed arose which goes on up to today my interest in politics was awoken in mid 1988 during a meeting with Bob Sheldon MP who helped me with issues concerning the care of my mother who had become paraplegic in 1984. In 2002 disillusionment with local politics caused me to resign.

Fast forward to June 1, 2013, when I read UKIP’s manifesto online. I was impressed by UKIP so much I decided to join immediately.



Angela Rayner

(Lab)

BORN in a deprived area of Stockport, Angela grew up on a local council estate, went to the local comprehensive school and left at 16 when she was pregnant after being told she would “never amount to anything.”

She started work as a care assistant for the elderly where she got her first taste of trade unionism in fighting low pay and poor working conditions.

Her fellow care workers pushed her forward to represent them and soon she was being talent-spotted by senior officials in her union, UNISON, for her no-nonsense, straight-talking style and her shrewd approach to negotiating.

As a mother-of-three, she has had to juggle childcare with low-paid shift work and been forced to count the pennies at the end of every week.

Angela has risen through the ranks of UNISON, serving at the grass roots as branch secretary for Stockport Council before being elected to represent 200,000 public sector workers across the North-West, including school support staff, refuse workers, cleaners and hospital technicians.

She has also served on Labour’s National Policy Forum and helped ensure the Labour Government’s go-ahead for capitalisation funding to deliver equal pay for women working in the public sector.

Low pay, the impact of austerity on working people and the future of the National Health Service are among her key political priorities. She is a gifted organiser and campaigner and extremely experienced at dealing with the media.

Angela is 35-years-old and is married to Mark, who is a full-time trade union official.

Two of her children have disabilities and she is the main carer for her mother, who is bi-polar.

Angela is also a keen runner and, three days after the General Election, will take part in a 10K run to raise funds for a local group of women who supply specialist knitwear for premature babies at St Mary’s Hospital where one of her sons was born.

She is a member of the Labour Women’s Network, the Fawcett Society and Fabian Society.



Tracy Sutton

(Con)

Tracy cut her campaigning teeth in Manchester and Staffordshire Moorlands.

In 2006, she moved to Lewisham to study for a PGCE at Goldsmiths, teaching for three years in a local primary school and serving as a governor.

In 2010 she moved into politics, working at the Department of Health. She currently works in public affairs.

Tracy was the Conservative Candidate for Lewisham Central ward in the 2014 Lewisham Council elections.