General Election 2015: OLDHAM WEST & ROYTON CANDIDATES

Michael Meacher

(Lab)

There are three central issues at this election.

First, the NHS is being hammered by the Tory £20 billion cuts. Labour will repeal the Tory Health Act which has privatised our health service.

We will inject £2.5bn extra finance, fully funded, into the NHS to pay for 8,000 new GPs and 20,000 more nurses. We will ensure the right to see your GP within 48 hours and to have a test for cancer where necessary within one week. We will integrate health and social care.

Second, Osborne’s five austerity budgets have led to wages still 8 per cent below 2008-09 levels, productivity flat, private investment still weak, unprecedented trade deficits, household debt now exceeding £2 trillion, and unemployment still nearly two million.

Osborne justified this by the need to cut the deficit. But the deficit is still £92bn and not being cut this year at all because government tax receipts have also declined. So why do Tories carry on with austerity? Because their real aim is to shrink the state, squeeze the public sector and transfer public services to a fully-privatised market system.

Labour will use public investment to expand the economy, increase jobs, raise household incomes, and thus grow tax receipts to pay off the deficit faster.

We will begin to deal with gross inequality by lowering the tax rate at the base to 10p and raising it at the top to 50p. We will introduce a mansion tax, cap private rents, and build 200,000 homes a year.



Garth Harkness

(Lib-Dem)

I AM a councillor on Oldham Council and Saddleworth Parish Council. I studied mathematics at UMIST and then a post-graduate certificate in secondary mathematics education at the University of Manchester. I now work with students with autism.

It has been a very difficult few years while the country has recovered from the financial disaster. The country is in a better state now than five years ago with more people in work.

The Lib-Dems have pushed to ensure that apprenticeships are a key part of the recovery enabling young people to get skills in growing industries.

It is clear to see that there is much still to be done to balance the books and do it fairly.

You will get that commitment from me that I will always fight for fairness and protecting the most vulnerable.

Lib-Dems would cut less than the Conservatives and spend less than Labour. Lib-Dems would protect budgets for education and are the only party to commit to a fully-funded £8billion investment in the NHS and raise the amount at which you pay income tax to £12,500.

I would fight for more decisions to be made locally and trusting local people to know what is right for the area. Our plan strikes the right balance. Get our public finances back in order but protect public services and ensure that we can invest to get a stronger economy and a fairer society which will enable opportunity for everyone.



Kamran Ghafoor

(Con)

I am 36 years of age, and I am a married father of three. I was born in Oldham and have settled here after studying at local schools and colleges.

I graduated from the University of Salford with a first class degree in Information Technology and received a Masters in Information Systems.

Having lived and worked locally I understand the needs of our community and feel I will be a strong voice for hard working families in Oldham, families who have aspirations and want what is best for them and our town. I have also been a local councillor for the Werneth ward.

The people of Oldham West & Royton matter and I am passionate about fighting for causes that they believe in.

If elected I promise to be a local MP who will give 100 per cent and who will spend a great deal of time in the constituency and promise that people will be able to access me at any time.

My top priorities for Oldham West & Royton are to ensure that the area attracts investment from businesses so we can grow the economy locally, create more jobs for local people, have a firm but fair controlled immigration policy and cut taxes for the lowest paid.

I will aim to cut crime in the area so people feel safe and will campaign for more police out on our streets.



Francis Arbour

(UKIP)

MY candidacy is motivated by a deep concern for the future direction of the UK and a need to address the erosion of sovereignty caused by the EU’s lack of democratic accountability.

The current political party elites are self replicating. MPs are London centred in their approach to developments and more importantly disconnected from the lives of ordinary working people.



Simeon Hart

(Green)

I believe that I am the best candidate for Oldham West and Royton with regards to meeting the needs of local people, because I am fully committed to listening and helping.

I have a clear understanding of empathy developed over years of working with disadvantaged communities, and I want to help improve the quality of life for the people in the constituency.