Hinckley and Bosworth General Election candidates tell you why they think they deserve your vote

General Election candidates in Hinckley and Bosworth have set out why you should vote for them when the polling booths open on Thursday, July 4. LeicestershireLive invited the candidates to tell you what they wanted you to know about them when you went to the polling booths.

Six candidates are fighting for your vote in Hinckley and Bosworth, including current MP Dr Luke Evans, of the Conservative Party. The constituency has previously been known as simply Bosworth, but has had a rename, as well as a boundary change which will see parts of the area move across to the newly created Mid-Leicestershire seat.

Polling predicts the Tory Party will hold the seat, with YouGov saying Dr Evans could take 40 per cent of the vote.

Here's what your candidates have to say:

Dr Luke Evans – Conservative Party

"We’ve spoken a lot about what ‘levelling-up’ means for our country. Here’s a few examples of what it means for people across Hinckley and Bosworth.

"A new £24m Community Diagnostic Centre under construction at Hinckley & District Hospital, meaning local people won’t have to travel far for scans, X-rays, ultrasounds and blood tests. Millions of pounds for local schools and expansion projects, including the Hinckley School, Hastings Academy and Redmoor Academy, with the number of schools in our area receiving 'Good' or above Ofsted ratings increasing from 66% in 2010, to 88% now.

"Work is underway on a £19.9m National Science and Conservation Centre at Twycross Zoo bringing educational opportunities, jobs and tourism. We have a further 332 police officers across Leicestershire and welcomed the formation of a Rural Crime Team which has recovered over £1.3m worth of stolen equipment and cut rural and wildlife crime by 24%.

"Regarding infrastructure, I helped secure £238m towards improving roads across Leicestershire. And in 2019 only 0.2% of homes and businesses across Hinckley and Bosworth had access to superfast gigabit-capable broadband, now it is over 70%!

"We've received funding for towns and community facilities from £1.8m for Castle Street in Hinckley to £150,000 for a new 3G pitch at Hinckley Rugby Football Club, £120,000 to improve energy efficiency at Hinckley Leisure Centre and £156,000 for the Oddies pub in Higham-in-the-Hill.

"Vote Conservative on Thursday July 4th and together we can continue the good work."

Michael Mullaney – Liberal Democrats

"I live locally in Hinckley. My family use local services so I understand how vital it is that we get the quality public services our community needs and deserves.

"In the new Hinckley and Bosworth constituency I am the clear challenger to the Conservatives. I have a track record of energetic campaigning and of fighting for Hinckley and Bosworth as candidate for 16 years.

"The election experts who are used by the BBC, Sky TV, ITV and the other major broadcasters say the Lib Dems start as the main challenger to the Conservatives in Hinckley and Bosworth.

"Fighting for the NHS is my top priority. I have a strong track record of fighting for local NHS services. I have led successful campaigns to save Hinckley’s Ambulance Station and to reinstate X-ray facilities in Hinckley. Under the Conservatives people are facing unacceptable waits for GP appointments, long waits in A&E and long waits for operations. People are finding it almost impossible to find an NHS dentist locally.

"I’ve been campaigning against the scandal of sewage dumping in our local and national waterways which the Conservatives have allowed to continue. I’m fighting for free personal care for elderly and disabled people and for restoring bus services locally that have been cut back.

"I live locally and will always put fighting for local people and their services above the demands of party bosses."

Rebecca Pawley – Labour Party

"It is a privilege to be the Labour Party Parliamentary Candidate for Hinckley and Bosworth. I’m proud to call Leicestershire my home – it’s where I grew up. I have built a career in the charitable sector in housing and homelessness, where I have seen firsthand what 14 years of cuts have done to our public services. Making things better and helping others is what drives me every day – and it’s what I want to do for you in Westminster.

"After 14 years of the Conservatives, living standards are down, crime goes unpunished, ambulances never come, while our schools crumble over our children’s heads. Sewage floods our waters; mortgages and food prices are through the roof. If the Tories get five more years, nothing will change. There’s a clear choice at this election: more chaos with the Tories, or stability with Labour. More decline and division. Or hope and unity with a changed Labour Party.

"Labour will support families through the cost of living crisis by prioritising economic stability, keeping taxes, inflation and mortgages low. We will protect our borders with a Border Security Command and smash the criminal boat gangs. The Labour Party created the NHS and we will get it fit for the future with 40,000 extra appointments every week. Polls show only Labour can beat the Tories in Hinckley and Bosworth.

"I have been out speaking to people across the constituency and I hear an overwhelming desire for change. Vote for that change on July 4th. Vote Labour."

Cassie Wells – Green Party

"As I follow the Election coverage, I can't help but think it’s like groundhog day. Glib promises for change and a panacea to rid this country of its myriad problems. The same old, same old over and over again.

"Short-term thinking from parties and politicians unable, or more likely, unwilling to look long-term and plan now for the decades ahead. Make no mistake our world will be a very different place in five years let alone 10 or 20. Global warming will only accelerate unless more urgent action is taken to counter it now.

"And how to help those whose jobs are lost to the unrelenting march of AI as they most surely will be? A Universal Basic Income would be one measure in case you were wondering.

"As your MP I will fight tirelessly to "Green up Bos”, and with elbows sharpened, lobby passionately in parliament for a long term rather than a short term take on the problems and opportunities heading our way.

"For 200 years, our political classes have muddled through from one crisis to another. Surely it's about time that as a nation we decided what "good looked like" and put it in place.

"I’ve lived in Bosworth since I was a child and have bought up a family here. I know the people and understand their hopes, fears and aspirations. I will always fight their corner.

"I'm a local candidate for local people!"

Also standing in the constituency are Peter Alan Cheshire, for Reform, and Harry Masters, who is running as an independent candidate. We invited Peter Cheshire to submit a statement for this article. We did not receive a response by the publication deadline. We were not able to contact Harry Masters.