Mid Buckinghamshire election guide: Q and A with candidates

WELCOME to your general election guide. Below, you will find interviews with all candidates standing for the seat of Mid Buckinghamshire.

Over the last few weeks, the Bucks Free Press team have been hard at work trying to track down all 38 candidates standing in the seats that we cover.

Here, you will be reading the pitches from the seven people hoping to get your vote for the seat of Mid Buckinghamshire. Before you dive into reading the interviews, let’s have a look at the history of the seats.

The history of Mid Buckinghamshire – a new seat at this election – is limited, having been created largely from 32 per cent of the old Aylesbury seat and from 38 per cent of Buckingham.

With healthy Conservative majorities in the two seats that mostly make up Mid Buckinghamshire, the new seat’s electorate of 75,707 are forecast to vote for the Tories at the 2024 election.

Tory incumbent Greg Smith, who moves across to represent the seat from Buckingham, will hope to turn the seat blue on July 4.

Conservative: Greg Smith

Age: 45

Occupation: Member of Parliament 2019 to the dissolution of Parliament in May 2024; before that I ran my own business for 15 years.

Constituency you are standing for: Mid Buckinghamshire

Claim to area: I live in Chearsley in the Mid Bucks constituency, having previously lived in Wendover. My three boys go to local schools and pre-schools in the constituency and to bridge the generations my parents also live here in Worminghall.

1. What are the three biggest challenges facing the people of your constituency?

  1) HS2 - the impact on farmers and landowners facing crippling bureaucracy, unpaid legal bills and huge revenue losses from HS2 having acquired their land, as well as local residents and businesses facing the daily nightmare of endless road closures and HS2’s HGV tearing up those they haven’t closed. I have fought them daily for 4.5 years and will never give up.
    2) Poor road conditions - potholes, damaged verges and increased traffic through villages are causing safety concerns for both road users and pedestrians, especially in villages and     hamlets where cars are the only mode of transport available. I am constantly on the council’s back getting them to use their £110 million road repair budget as quickly as possible.
    3) Cost of Living - ensuring we continue to have a growing economy, with job security and lower taxes for all - leaving more money in people’s pockets. Vital this goes hand in hand with a strong safety net, ensuring everyone who can’t work or temporarily finds themselves out of work or in difficulty gets the help they need.

2. What causes will you be championing?

I will always put the constituency first. So protecting our countryside has been and continues to be my top priority. This sits alongside working to get new GP surgeries built, pushing our council to resurface and fix our local roads, improve access to fibre broadband and better rural mobile signal and fighting HS2’s contractors to treat us with respect.
There are multiple other causes I will continue to champion - including childcare, my work on improving access to minimally invasive cancer therapies, research into treatment for dementia and brain tumours and pushing Chiltern Railways to replace their aging trains to stop overcrowding and return to their former service standards.  

3. How will you protect the area’s green spaces?

My top priority as an MP in the last Parliament and going forward is to protect our countryside and rural identity.  I secured a positive change to the National Planning Policy Framework changing old woolly language that lawyers could pick apart to a new power for planning authorities to turn down applications for development on the grounds of its impact on food security. I am also fighting multiple planning proposals for commercial, residential and solar developments that rural counties like Buckinghamshire cannot support or sustain. My view is simply - we need to build homes on brownfield and only brownfield sites and the place for solar is on rooftops.

4. How will you ease the effects of the cost-of-living crisis on residents and alleviate food and energy poverty?

The past few years have been tough on everyone, from the pandemic to the invasion of Ukraine which caused the energy cost spike. On energy it is vital we both decarbonise and get the cost to the consumer down. I am focused on ensuring energy security and food security go hand in glove by championing off shore wind and small modular reactors for our energy. Through the construction of small modular reactors, which can produce enough energy to power a million homes and require just two football fields, we can be self sufficient and produce cheaper electricity, obviating the need for unwanted and hugely inefficient solar farms. Thus protecting food-producing land to help strengthen our farming sector, putting more British food at fair prices on supermarket shelves.
With 4 million people in work since 2010 and unemployment at a near record low, we must ensure job security for everyone - by growing our economy in all sectors - such as through our enterprise zones.
The very best way to ensure everyone has enough money to pay the bills is to tax less, which is why I support reductions in National Insurance and will continue to argue for personal allowances to increase, taking more people out of tax altogether when it comes to the basic rate and significantly raising the point at which people are asked to pay 40% income tax.
For pensioners, the Triple Lock has seen an 8.5% increase in the State pension this year. That must continue with tax thresholds rising, as my party promises, to ensure the state pension is never taxed.
Schemes like the Household Support Fund - known as Helping Hand - here in Bucks, must also continue so those who are struggling have somewhere additional to turn to get the help they need.

5. How will you help reduce crime?

By continuing to work closely with Thames Valley Police to ensure police coverage across the area, as well as working with neighbourhood watch groups and others. I meet regularly with senior officers to ensure local priorities are heard, and have successfully lobbied our Police and Crime Commissioner to double the size of the Rural Crime Taskforce. As an MP in the last Parliament, I also secured a new law to tackle rural crime by preventing organised criminal gangs from stealing valuable farm equipment and power tools from tradespeople.

6. What car do you drive?

Land Rover Discovery Sport

7. What's your favourite film or TV show?

TV show - Coronation Street - a household favourite since I was 6!
Film - Senna

8. When was the last time you cried?

When my grandparents died during the pandemic.

9. Have you ever taken illegal drugs and if so, what?

No, never.

10. What hobbies do you do in your free time?

As an MP you have to spend the free time to get wisely. The job is - rightly - all encompassing and done properly means you get very little free time (and there is no complaint from me on that!) So I focus as much time as I can with my three young boys. On top of that Motorsport, particularly Formula 1 has been a passion of mine - so getting to circuits to watch all tiers of motorsport, especially now my 7 year old has found the same love for the sport, is always happy time for me.

Labour: Carissma Griffiths

(Image: Carissma Griffiths)

Age: 34

Occupation: Previously a National Account Manager in the construction industry

Constituency you are standing for: Mid Buckinghamshire

Claim to the area: I covered the area for work, so when the opportunity to stand became available I put myself forward and was delighted to be selected! 

1. What are the three biggest challenges facing the people of your constituency? 

NHS waiting times - getting a GP appointment or having access to an NHS dentist! 
Cost of living crisis - the people of Mid Bucks are still facing the ramifications of the Liz Truss ‘mini budget’ and with the tax burden at its highest level since WWII, people here are seriously struggling to make ends meet. 
Roads - from potholes to traffic works as a result of HS2 and infrastructure developments. People across the constituency have expressed their dismay at the state of our roads which are symbolic of Tory chaos in Westminster.

2. What causes will you be championing? 

Labour has a plan to tackle the backlog of NHS waiting lists, as Mid Buckinghamshire’s local MP I will fight to ensure our constituency gets it’s fair share, increasing capacity locally. I want to fight for local businesses, ensuring our high streets thrive not just survive. Above all else I will be a champion for local people ensuring your concerns are listened to and acted upon where possible.

3. How will you protect the area’s green spaces?

Our green spaces are so important to not only our health but the health of the country. Our plans are to expand nature-rich habitats as well as planting millions of trees and creating new woodlands. I plan to protect our green spaces by working in concert with local authorities to mitigate environmental damage from major infrastructure projects.

4. How will you ease the effects of the cost-of-living crisis on residents and alleviate food and energy poverty?

We have committed to tackling the underlying causes which have created the cost of living crisis. Bringing down the cost of energy, reducing food prices by removing barriers that inhibit and cause costly trading, more affordable housing, access to childcare are just some of the steps outlined in the manifesto. For the residents of Mid Buckinghamshire, I will be actively championing those initiatives within the constituency, identifying opportunities and schemes that can help those who are struggling.

5. How will you help reduce crime?

Visibility is key, prevention is better than cure. Labour will introduce a New Neighbourhood Guarantee which will restore patrols to our towns by recruiting 1000's of new police officers, police & community support officers and special constables.

6.What car do you drive?

I have what my boss used to call a "hairdressers car" since I worked in construction and it was very different from everyone else- BMW 2 series convertible

7. What's your favourite film or TV show?

Dare I say it - "Robin Hood Men in Tights" I'm a sucker for Mel Brooks films

8. When was the last time you cried?

At my step mothers funeral earlier this year, she will be missed.

9. Have you ever taken illegal drugs and if so, what?

Nope! I am even wary of drinking too much alcohol, (emphasis on too) I don't like anything that interferes with the normal functionalities of my brain.

10. What hobbies do you do in your free time?

I am a Green Belt in Karate and love playing mystery games as I am a massive fan of the detective genre. I can also play the flute and the harp.

Lib Dems: Anja Schaefer

(Image: Lib Dems)

Age: 60

Occupation: Senior Lecturer in Management at the Open University

Constituency you are standing for: Mid Buckinghamshire

Claim to the area: I have lived in Buckinghamshire for over 30 years and I gained my doctorate from the University of Buckingham. I am a Buckinghamshire unitary councillor, as well as a town councillor.
 
1. What are the three biggest challenges facing the people of your constituency?

Access to healthcare services (e.g. GPs, hospital waiting times and NHS dentists), 2. The cost of living crisis (e.g. food prices, mortgage and rental costs, energy etc) and 3. Basic Infrastructure (e.g. affordable housing, public transport, road conditions, access to local schools etc).

2. What causes will you be championing?

I will focus on improving healthcare services, supporting those affected by the cost of living crisis and the protection of our natural environment.

3. How will you protect the area’s green spaces?

Strengthening community say over green spaces, reform of planning laws so that people have access to affordable housing in functioning communities rather than extensive and expensive new greenfield developments in often unsuitable locations, for example where there are issues with flooding. I will support Liberal Democrat manifesto pledges to double natural spaces and to create three new national parks in England, one of which could be the Chilterns.

4. How will you ease the effects of the cost-of-living crisis on residents and alleviate food and energy poverty?

Impose a proper windfall tax on the abnormal profits made by energy companies because of the war in Ukraine and use some of that money for targeted support to help people with heating, home insulation. To put forward a holistic and comprehensive food strategy that supports farmers and helps to reduce the cost of food.

5. How will you help reduce crime?

By supporting the recruitment of more police officers and PCSOs, and implementing measures to return to proper community policing, including regular police patrols in rural areas.

6. What car do you drive?

A Ford Fiesta.

7. What's your favourite film or TV show?

I have eclectic tastes in this are but am a great fan of David Attenborough’s nature documentaries. I have also enjoyed Ghosts and am currently watching the new series of Dr Who, as well as the Great British Sewing Bee.

8. When was the last time you cried?

That’s private.

9. Have you ever taken illegal drugs and if so, what?

No.

10. What hobbies do you do in your free time?

I enjoy countryside walks and visiting historic places when I can, as well as spending time with my retired mare, Flo. When I have time, I like cooking and baking. My chocolate chip cake is always very popular.

Green: Greg Smith

(Image: Buckinghamshire Council)

Age: 62

Occupation:  Freelance consultant and Councillor, Buckinghamshire Council

Constituency you are standing for: Mid Buckinghamshire

Claim to the area: I have lived in Buckinghamshire for the last 27 years and have either worked locally or with National organisations and charities.

1. What are the three biggest challenges facing the people of your constituency?
a.    Climate change is our biggest challenge, and with it comes the need to ensure we meet the challenge together and do not fracture into the more wealthy who can afford to adapt and benefit from the opportunities and the most disadvantaged who so often carry the greatest burden.
b.    Proper funding for essential public services and especially the NHS and Social Care
c.    Housing - too many of the wrong type in the wrong place, young people finding it impossible to get a start in life

2. What causes will you be championing?
a.    Apart from the obvious, above, I want to support local business as the lifeblood of local communities - thriving neighbourhoods mean people interacting with each other. I am also passionate about protection of the local countryside, nature recovery and especially keeping sewage out of our rivers

3. How will you protect the area’s green spaces?
a.    We need to empower local people and listen to local farmers as the custodians of the Countryside.  We need to be led by groups like BBOWT and call for a nature recovery network - everything works better when its connected.

4. How will you ease the effects of the cost-of-living crisis on residents and alleviate food and energy poverty?
a.    Ensure that people are paid a fair wage for the work they do, increasing the minimum wage. Invest in a huge scheme to better insulate homes and reduce energy costs by using less. Support local farmers so that good quality locally produced food is accessible to all.

5. How will you help reduce crime?
a.    We need to support local policing and confidence in the police.  We must invest in youth provision for troubled young people.  It takes too long to get from arrest to prosecution - we need to fix the crumbling court system and ensure that prisons and non-custodial sentences reduce the likelihood of reoffending.  We need to stop letting people out of prison just because the prison system is too full!

6. What car do you drive?
a.    Electric Renault Megane, but I use public transport whenever I can - there are too many cars on the roads.

7. What's your favourite film or TV show?
a.    Slightly embarrassed to admit that my favourite film is probably still - Pulp Fiction.  TV show - probably the Sewing Bee.

8. When was the last time you cried?
a.    As you get older you cry a lot more.  The last time was when watching 'The Great Escaper' at a charity film night at Pinewood Studios (not a good look for an old bloke!).

9. Have you ever taken illegal drugs and if so, what?
a.    Never... but I support the Green Party policy to decriminalise cannabis use. Harm reduction, community safety and an opposition to profiteering should be at the heart of drug policy, not criminalising young people. But, I do drink a lot of coffee and sometimes wonder if caffeine should be on the list!

10. What hobbies do you do in your free time?
I am a keen cyclist and enjoy films at the local independent cinema... But I suppose my main hobby is politics, and that's what got me a place in this guide 🙂

Reform UK: Stephanie Harwood

(Image: Stephanie Harwood)

Age: 59

Occupation: Retired, however, I have worked in the Sports and Arts marketing business for well over 30 years.  I had my own business in the industry for 17 years, working for clients including Johnson & Johnson, Danone, The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Notting Hill Carnival Trust.

Constituency you are standing for: Mid Buckinghamshire

Claim to the area: I have lived in North Buckinghamshire for over 17 years and love the countryside and sense of community the villages offer…Buckinghamshire people are kind, friendly and down to earth…I love Buckinghamshire just the way it is!!
 
1. What are the three biggest challenges facing the people of your constituency?
1) HS2 has sliced through the countryside and many of the farms.  I have friends who have lost their farms and homes and watched as the diggers have moved in to demolish them…some historic properties!  
2) Now that the dust has settling on the Tories white elephant HS2, the solar farms are starting to pop up.  The Claydon’s are threatened with over 2000 acres of solar parks.  Even our small village with just over sixty houses will be surrounded with seven large solar farms.  Whilst I’m all for renewable energy, this is not how to do it.  Covering the countryside with silicone stops food production and damages important ecosystems.  There are plenty of other ways, such as tidal and nuclear and these will leave our green and pleasant land for food production.  
3) Over development.  We all agree that we need more housing.  But developers are building big 4/5-bedroom homes on the green belt.  This is madness, what we really require is starter housing stock and this can be done on brownfield sites and redeveloping vacant high streets buildings.

2. What causes will you be championing?  
Farming and home-grown food production, Energy self-sufficiency using sensible energy options using our own technology (not Chinese imports covering land that we require for food) and prioritise housing/public services for our own local people first and foremost.

3. How will you protect the area’s green spaces?  
I will investigate why we are approving more solar parks and windfarms on the Buckinghamshire Countryside than we require for UK needs.  I will fight to stop foreign ownership of the solar parks and investigate the planning processes that are allowing the sites to spread across wholly inappropriate locations.

4. How will you ease the effects of the cost-of-living crisis on residents and alleviate food and energy poverty?  
Reform UK will push for the starting point for tax to be raised to £20,000 which will take 7 million people out of paying tax and save them £1500 per year.  We will also save households £500 per year by scrapping VAT on energy bills.  Reform will also lower fuel duty by 20p per litre which will have a positive impact across the board on the cost of living and help both individuals and businesses.

5. How will you help reduce crime?  
Reform UK will put more bobbies on the beat by encouraging ex-military to join the police force.   We will make sure there’s more common-sense policing, less woke..more action on serious crime.  We will increase charging rates and reduce paperwork by relying more on modern technology.

6. What car do you drive?  
A battered old Range Rover (used to pull a trailer and farm equipment) and a 13 year old Vauxhall Corsa for short journeys to the shops.

7. What's your favourite film or TV show?
Anything that features our heritage and countryside or crime dramas…The Gentleman Series on Amazon, Clarkson’s Farm, Peaky Blinders, even White Lotus.  Otherwise football is usually on all of the time!

8. When was the last time you cried?
I can’t remember the last time I cried…nope…not even when I broke my ankle last November.  On second thoughts, I did well up a little when I was told that I was clear of skin cancer (again) a couple of months ago.

9. Have you ever taken illegal drugs and if so, what?
Absolutely not!  I don’t drink much either.  Only the odd glass of wine if out for dinner at a BBQ or village event.

10. What hobbies do you do in your free time?
I have dogs and horses, I’m the clerk of the parish council, and have a busy family life with husband and two adult sons, which means that I have absolutely no spare time whatsoever!

Social Democratic Party: Yvonne Wilding

(Image: Yvonne Wilding)

Age: 63

Occupation: Drug Development consultant and Project Manager

Constituency you are standing for: Mid Buckinghamshire

Claim to the area: Lived here since 1987

1. What are the three biggest challenges facing the people of your constituency?
Affordable housing – lack of social housing
Cost of Living crisis
Water pollution of our rivers
Loneliness
Community cohesion needs to be developed and fostered

2.    What causes will you be championing?
Supporting families with tax breaks and housing prioritisation 
Build more social housing
Tackle the causes of water pollution
Community cohesion 
Nature conservation and restoration efforts

3. How will you protect the area’s green spaces?
Make sure all environmental groups in the constituency and joined up and prepare a road map for nature conservation and reestablishment
Work with Hughenden Council to get the 44 acres of open spaces that they own actively managed and accessible to the public to enjoy
Make sure that there in no loss of green belt to housing or business development
Ensure that productive farmland is not lost to non food producing uses
Employ an environmental biologist to monitor and report back to the public on the state of our green spaces

4. How will you ease the effects of the cost-of-living crisis on residents and alleviate food and energy poverty?
Need to make housing more affordable 
Mandate solar panels on all new properties
Need to make energy and water bills cheaper
Ensure the availability of quality jobs
Ensure support groups in the community are able to access and support those in most need

5. How will you help reduce crime?
More community policing
Reduction in drug dealing in Bucks – especially those dealing cannabis to school children
Zero tolerance of graffiti and anti-social crime
Increase police powers for stop and search to reduce knife crime
Protect supermarkets from gang organised and individual shoplifting

6. What car do you drive? 
A 21 year old Toyota Yaris

7. What's your favourite film or TV show?
Favourite Film - Gladiator

8. When was the last time you cried?
Last week at the Royal Mail depot in High Wycombe when the men taking my candidate postal leaflets were so kind and supportive of my efforts to try and offer people an alternate voting option

9. Have you ever taken illegal drugs and if so, what?
Never have, never would

10. What hobbies do you do in your free time?
Very interested in nature and wildlife – particularly birds. Walk a lot with our 2 dogs

Climate Party: Wisdom Methodious Da Costa

(Image: Wisdom Methodious Da Costa)

Age: 62

Occupation: Accountant - I run my own Practice

Constituency you are standing for: Mid Buckinghamshire

Claim to the area: I once worked for Thames Water in High Wycombe but the key issue is challenging the ardent Climate Denier and former MP, Greg Smith (Conservative)
 
1. What are the three biggest challenges facing the people of your constituency?
Cost of living, polluted rivers and watercourses, mental health issues, and the impact of HS2.

2. What causes will you be championing?
Thames Water cleaning up our rivers, fair compensation for those affected by HS2, Great Britain leading the Climate Change revolution.

3. How will you protect the area’s green spaces?
Pushing for changes in planning regulations and planning inspectorate emphasis to restore and create wide areas of habitats and ecosystems.

4. How will you ease the effects of the cost-of-living crisis on residents and alleviate food and energy poverty?
Uphold the Household Support Fund, release funds for houses to be better insulated (lower energy bills), drive for (renewable) energy security in the UK to keep prices low and not subject to volatile international prices, better fund local authorities to deliver key services to the vulnerable.

5. How will you help reduce crime?
Energy efficiency will help reduce policing costs which can be reinvested in measures to tackle local crime both urban and rural. When taken with a new, purpose for the nation (to beat climate change and lead the world on solutions and so income from it, to  to reduce the trap of purposelessness, poor mental health and the need for crime.

6. What car do you drive?
Tesla Y

7. What's your favourite film or TV show?
Blues Brothers, Pirates of the Caribbean, John Wick, Toy Story, Shawshank Redemption, Race across the world, Robot Wars

8. When was the last time you cried?
This morning, reading about Jacob/Israel being united with his beloved son Joseph after thinking him dead. And hearing about the many UK babies without parents to adopt them.

9. Have you ever taken illegal drugs and if so, what?
No, never.

10. What hobbies do you do in your free time?
Bee keeping, jewellery making and design