Yahoo News General Election 2024: Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes Lib Dem, Green and TUSC candidate platforms
Find out about the policy platforms for the Liberal Democrat, Green Party and Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) candidates standing in Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes.
In the run-up to polling day, Grimsby Live has been speaking to Grimsby and Cleethorpes candidates, putting to them set questions, mostly prompted by reader feedback, to find out their priorities and stances. There are seven candidates standing in the constituency.
For the first time at a general election, Grimsby and Cleethorpes are together in one constituency with the exception of the Scartho ward, which is in Brigg and Immingham. This edition rounds up some of the stances of the Lib Dems, Green Party and TUSC, who are all standing candidates in the constituency.
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Grimsby Live was not able to arrange interviews with the parties' candidates in the same format as set questions put to others.
Liberal Democrat - John Lawson
John Lawson is a councillor in Kirklees Council and has previously stood at general elections in Batley and Spen. After the intended questions were put to him, he provided a statement to answer those, together with a 'First 100 days' plan if elected. The questions, as can be viewed in other Grimsby and Cleethorpes interviews here, covered priorities for candidates, immigration, cost of living, climate and the environment, crime, HMOs, and jobs locally, including the renewables sector.
"We are in dire need of a workable regeneration plan. We need to address the issues of housing and business using brownfield land as the first resort and green fields as the last. Farmers now, more than ever, need our support to provide food security but we also need to boost jobs and housing throughout our urban and tourism centres. We must do both.
"The NHS needs our help. It’s right and proper that a country like ours should have a health service that is free at the point of use. Liberal Democrat measures, costed in our manifesto, have been welcomed by professionals. We want to turn the tide so everyone is guaranteed a doctors or dentists appointment in a timely way, so people can expect reasonable ambulance waiting times and the unsung carers here are given the respect and support they deserve.
"Our rivers and coasts are priceless natural assets. They will be key to constituency’s future. We cannot allow the water companies to charge us for the investment that should have been taking place for decades. The 'license to foul' our coasts and rivers for profit must end. Policing has been systematically de-funded over recent years.
"We would reverse that trend by properly funding extra police manpower to work with our communities by giving them the not just the staffing but the resources and systems to work to the standard that they themselves aspire to. It’s absolutely right that the public should expect improved performance in key issues like responses to burglary, fraud and online scams and youth involvement in gang crime. We have plans to address these and to address the backlog in the courts system.
"Our manifesto recognises the need for a legal, fair and dignified pathways to immigration and asylum seeking to the UK, it is not an open doors policy. The Conservatives have arrived at the unworkable Rwanda scheme which must be binned as soon as possible. Immigration handled properly is a net tax gain to this country and provides the workforce desperately needed by the NHS.
"First 100 days – If elected I will visit as many local businesses and volunteer/community groups in the constituency, no matter how small. I firmly believe that the answers to many issues are often found through local voices. Groups from food banks to community crafts have a valuable insight that we ignore at our peril. Our local business often have the vision needed for growth in the local economy."
Green Party - Ed Fraser
Ed Fraser is a councillor in Bristol City Council, elected in May. He runs a small business helping people with conditions such as autism and ADHD at work. An interview was not possible to arrange in time with Mr Fraser, but he did highlight his party's manifesto, available to view here.
The party wants to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, scrap university tuition fees, invest £5bn in community sports, art and culture in England over five years, and introduce rent controls. To help fund its commitments, it proposes to raise up to £151bn a year in new taxes by 2029.
It would replace the Home Office with a Department for Immigration, separate from the criminal justice system, and end immigration detention for all migrants unless a threat to public safety. The party will also campaign to end violence against women and girls.
TUSC - Mark Gee
Attempts to make contact with the TUSC candidate in time were unsuccessful. Mark Gee may be a name familiar to some North East Lincolnshire voters, as he has previously stood for TUSC in council elections.
A TUSC social media video during the general election campaign has featured their Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes candidate. "There's a lot of hate in this country at the moment, and I like to think that where there's hate, we can bring hope," he states in the video.
"We need to fight for socialist change," he says later on. TUSC's core policies, available to view here, include a minimum wage at £15 an hour, invest in publicly owned renewable energy, and defend the right to asylum. The party is also opposed to council estate sell-offs, and wants eco-friendly, affordable public housing built.
