Plymouth Moor View General Election candidates hoping to become the next MP

Plymouth Moor View is one of the areas that many people will have their eyes on this General Election, as two candidates, Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer and Labour challenger Fred Thomas, have been embroiled in a bitter campaign.

There are five candidates in total hoping to secure your vote on July 4, and become the next MP for the area. The seat was previously held by Johnny Mercer (Con) who has been elected three times, the last time with a 12,897 majority.

Take a look at the candidates for Plymouth Moor View below.

Shaun Hooper (Reform UK)

Shaun Hooper was born and bred in Plymouth and lives in the Moor View constituency, which he says "has always been close to my heart".

Mr Hooper said: "I was in the Army Royal electrical and mechanical engineers, but unfortunately was medically discharged due to a condition I was born with. I was married for 22 years, have two grown up boys, both doing well in life.

"I am angry at the way our country is headed, and fear for the young people, with no access to homes and job security.

Reform UK is the only party to share my views and beliefs. I want to represent the people of this great city, put it on the map, and help the people to fulfil their aspirations."

Sarah Martin (Liberal Democrat)

Sarah Martin is no stranger to the campaign trail, having stood for election in 2019, coming third with 2,301 votes, but has said she is standing again as she "feels strongly that Plymouth has been let down by the Tories."

She is now standing again as the Liberal Democrat's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate and believes change is needed with "great swathes of the population" now having to rely on foodbanks.

Born and raised in South Devon, Sarah lived abroad for ten years before returning to live in Plymouth. She lives on the other side of the River Tamar in Saltash with her two children. She is currently on her second term as a Saltash Town Councillor.

She said: "We are all dealing with a cost of living crisis and energy prices hikes unlike any we’ve seen over a very long period of time.

"The NHS and its workforce is depleted and many are demoralised, lacking in funding and any prospect of change. Residents on both sides of the Tamar are being failed as waiting lists match the long queues of ambulances that sit outside A&E. The patients are given 'corridor care' - a term invented for the most undignified level of care you can get in hospitals that don’t have enough beds or wards, or staff to man them. Fifteen years of Tory rule has depleted the country.

"It's time for a different approach; the Liberal Democrats can offer one that is focused on restoring services that have been failed by Conservative rule, and putting people, not profits, back at the heart of everything they do."

Johnny Mercer (Conservative)

Johnny Mercer, who is the Minister of State for Veterans' Affairs, has been elected three times in Plymouth Moor View. In 2019 he won the seat with a 12,897 majority.

Mr Mercer has now decided that, win or lose, he will be fighting his last election on Thursday. He told PlymouthLive that if he wins in Moor View he will spend his time fighting for the revamp of Derriford Hospital and then, when that is complete, call it a day.

He said: “I have always said I want to rebuild the hospital. That’s my legacy project. I want to get it done and give someone else a go.”

The 42-year-old, who served three tours of Afghanistan in the British Army, said: “The question we need to put to voters ahead of the next election is this - who do you want to represent you locally? The choice is clear. I have proven that I will always put country before party. I have given up my seat at the Cabinet table twice out of principle. It is a concept which local Labour politicians simply can’t grasp – they are little more than a megaphone for Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner.”

Mr Mercer said he has pride in almost a 'decade of delivery for Plymouth,' working on projects across health care, dentistry, education, housebuilding and transport. Despite this, Mr Mercer has spoken candidly about the government’s performance.

He said: "My only ambition is to serve you, to serve Plymouth. I don’t mind calling a spade a spade. The government has not always got it right, no government does. However, I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved locally. If you aren’t feeling this difference yet, I want to find out what more I can be doing to serve you.”

Georgia Nelson (Green)

Georgia Nelson is a dedicated Green Party member and campaigner and has been since 2019. She has expressed her enthusiasm for her candidacy.

She said: “For 14 years, this country has been led by a Conservative government marred by sleaze and corruption, and defined by destruction of public services, lack of action on climate breakdown, and huge social and economic inequality.

"Labour has the opportunity to change the direction of politics in the UK, but is instead engaging in a race to the bottom, peddling old and tired policies and refusing to take principled stances. The Green Party is the solution to this political stagnation, and in the upcoming General Election, I’m honoured to have been selected as the Green Party candidate in Plymouth Moor View.”

She added: “In hearts and minds across the country, people are yearning for change and for an alternative to the status quo. With the effects of the climate crisis closing in, the cost of living sky-high, and the NHS on its knees, voters in every corner of the UK deserve the chance to vote Green for real hope and real change.

“In this election there is no need to vote tactically - who will lead the next government is in no doubt. A Green vote in Moor View will hold fire to Labour’s feet, pushing them to scrap the cruel two-child benefit cap that’s keeping hundreds of children in Plymouth in poverty, save our NHS from creeping privatisation, ensure safe and warm homes for all and be ambitious in tackling the climate and nature emergencies.”

Nelson’s political journey began as a first-year student at the University of Bristol, where she was actively involved in Carla Denyer’s MP campaign in Bristol West.

Fred Thomas (Labour)

Fred Thomas says he "left the Armed Forces to help Labour win back our country and to fight for a fairer future". Mr Thomas said: "As a Captain in the Royal Marines, I led teams around the world fighting for the values we share and serving our country. But over the last decade it became clear that those values weren’t shared by the Conservative government I served.

"Like so many who serve, I chose to make Plymouth my home, and I'm immensely proud to live in the constituency I want to represent in Westminster. In my free time I love playing football, surfing and climbing."

He added: "Labour will hard wire economic growth into the budget and spending reviews, with a reformed and strengthened Enterprise and Growth Unit.

"There are over 22,000 patients on an NHS dentist waiting list in Plymouth and it’s nearly impossible to see your GP, Rishi Sunak has broken our NHS.

"The last Labour government achieved the highest patient satisfaction in the history of the NHS. We did it before and we will do it again. Together we can change Moor View for the better."