They want your vote!
STOCKPORT and the rest of the country go to the polls tomorrow after Prime Minister Theresa May called a snap general election.
Voters in the three constituencies - Stockport, Hazel Grove and Cheadle - must decide which candidate and party to chose.
But it can be hard to know who are the options and exactly what they stand for as you make your democratic choice.
So we have put together a guide where each candidate of the 12 standing has the chance to convince you that they are worth putting a cross in the box for. ●●STOCKPORT
Ann Coffey (Labour): I have been very proud to represent Stockport in Parliament for the last 25 years.
I originally moved to the town in 1976 to work as a social worker with children and families.
In my work I saw that children were being denied opportunities in life because of government policies on housing, health and education.
I wanted to represent Stockport as an MP so that I could help to bring about the changes in laws that were needed to give opportunities to all.
In Parliament I have made it my priority to help Stockport children, families and older people. I have led many successful campaigns, including changing laws on child protection and to help the families of dementia sufferers.
I was pleased that recommendations from two reports I wrote for the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, which revealed the true extent of child sexual exploitation in Greater Manchester, have improved services for some of our most vulnerable children.
I would be grateful if you would vote for me so that I can continue my work in Parliament on your behalf.
Daniel Hamilton (Conservative): I am proud to be the Conservative candidate for Stockport. Like so many people locally, my family rely on local schools and NHS services.
As your MP, I will work tirelessly to expose Labour’s mismanagement on Stockport Council and fight for the high quality services people in Stockport deserve.
I have experience of leading campaigns to regenerate town centre areas that suffer from empty retail units and a lack of investment and helping local residents resolve problems with local and national government bodies.
Professionally, I advise businesses in a range of sectors – from leisure to manufacturing – on how to get the best deal from government. I have worked with businesses to attract millions of pounds of investment to the UK.
I’ll use this experience to make the case for continued investment in local jobs and infrastructure locally.
We need to negotiate the best deal for Britain in leaving the EU and to forge a new role for ourselves in the world. Brexit means Brexit and we’re going to make a success of it.
The choice on Thursday is between strong and stable leadership in the national interest with Theresa May and the Conservatives – or weak unstable coalition government led by Jeremy Corbyn.
Daniel Hawthorne (Liberal Democrats): My name is Daniel Hawthorne and I’m the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Stockport Constituency.
I’m 30 years old and live with my son and partner Victoria. I’ve lived in Stockport all of my life, I was born at Stepping Hill Hospital, educated at Stockport schools, went to college in Stockport and then went on to study at The University of Liverpool and then on to the University of Manchester for a Masters Degree.
I’m standing for election so that I can get the best for the people of Stockport. I’m a serving councillor on Stockport Council and have been on the council since 2010.
Ann Coffey has been our MP for 25 years now and it’s time for a change.
If elected to Parliament I would campaign on the following: proportional representation, corporate tax fraud, equality for all in society, housing and climate change.
John Kelly (UKIP): I am John Kelly UKIP candidate for Stockport. I want to leave the EU. It would have been my choice to repeal the European Union act and just go.
However we are in ‘Yes Minister land’ with article 50 threatening our liberty. So many things are important, starting with A at animal welfare and including health, education social care and transport.
We must tackle them all and never neglect the poor and helpless among us. We
can only do that be being the number one country in the world where business wants to be.
To trade and trade fairly with the whole world not just a failed communist project. Unconstrained by EU law, environmental restrictions subsidising waste and a financial services industry no longer threatened by Brussels, we can open our doors to trade, open our borders to the brightest and the best from everywhere, not just the EU.
This will earn us the growth we need to be a fairer society, with young people given opportunities for social mobility and financial success.
This in a free nation with as little nanny state as its possible to have. That is my dream, for our society and I want it to start here in Stockport.
Gary Lawson (Green): I am from a working class, single parent family, yet went to Manchester University and had a fulfilling career here as a Church of England vicar and I want young people today to have the same opportunities.
I would bring back student grants, build houses to rent and to buy, and end the cuts in benefits, the NHS, schools and public services.
As technology replaces jobs, the remaining ones should be shared by introducing a shorter working week and a universal basic income for people not in paid work.
For the sake of younger generations I want a low carbon economy to limit climate change and air pollution, with renewable energy, electric cars and better public transport.
I opposed building in Reddish Vale and am against fox hunting and mistreatment of animals.
Stockport, where I now live, voted to remain in the EU and the Green Party is pressing for a second referendum when Brexit terms have been negotiated, before we make this crucial decision.
Brighton has had a Green MP but the north also needs a Green voice. Please help me to speak for you by voting for me on Thursday. ●●HAZEL GROVE
Robbie Lee (Green): Westminster has failed young people. Austerity has disproportionately affected the youngest in society.
When we question why young people are less likely to vote, the answer lies with the fact they are not welcomed as a part of the franchise. If we are to be a representative democracy, we need more young people at the forefront of political decisions.
Therefore, I will call for votes at sixteen. My campaign will prove that young people can stand up, voice their opinion and fight to make changes for the common good.
I will champion the Green Party’s commitment to eradicating tuition fees and restoring university grants. Our education system is facing a crisis. We will end the cuts to education and bring all academies and free schools under local authority control.
Our policies stand up for social and environmental justice. The Green Party will strive to end further pervasive privatisation and cuts to our NHS.
We will also call for a full re-nationalisation of our railways, investment in secure, affordable housing, and a fairer economy that works for all. It is our policies such as a Robin Hood tax on banks and a closure of tax loopholes that will help to close the widening gaps of inequality between the rich and the poor.
It will be my generation and the next that will suffer the consequences of climate inaction. We would create millions of jobs through a transition to a zero-carbon sustainable society.
Nav Mishra (Labour): I am 27 years old, live locally, and am proud to be the Labour candidate for Hazel Grove constituency.
By day, I work at John Lewis Partnership. I love my work but my real passion is politics. Wanting a fairer country and improved public services is the reason I got into politics several years ago and bridging the country’s inequality gap continues to drive me on politically.
Most of my time outside work is devoted to politics and I have raised donations for the local food banks, and do my best to get the Labour voice heard at every available public forum.
The Labour Party’s values of a fairer society, investment in public services, an education system accessible to all, gives me my moral compass.
The Tories’ failure to address inequality can be seen first-hand at the rising numbers of food banks in Hazel Grove constituency.
Some of the policies that are important include improving the services at Stepping Hill hospital, more affordable homes in the borough, a specific investment strategy for the north and ending the discrimination against workers under the age of 25 which will make lives better for all Hazel Grove constituents.
I am the best placed candidate to work handin-glove with my Labour colleague and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to ensure Hazel Grove has a voice in the important housing, transport and education decisions across Greater Manchester.
Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrats): This election is about choosing the best person to stand up for you and the strongest voice for our area. Someone who listens and is in touch.
Here in Hazel Grove constituency it is a choice
between me and the Conservative. Labour can’t win here and a vote for them will just help the Conservatives.
I’m a local councillor in Bredbury Green and Romiley. I live in Romiley with my partner Ed. I run an office in Romiley to help local people with their problems.
We’re lucky across this area to have great communities, groups and charities who work tirelessly. There are things that need to change here though.
We’ve recently seen cuts to Stepping Hill Hospital with the loss of a ward and over 400 posts. With your help I have already taken the fight for Stepping Hill Hospital to Downing Street.
We’re also seeing £15million in real terms cut from Stockport schools. Enormous police cuts have pushed up crime, giving criminals an easy ride.
Our area needs a tough, independent minded MP who is not afraid to challenge the government on cuts to our NHS and to pupil funding. Someone who will fight for more bobbies on the beat so the police have the resources to stop crime before it happens.
William Wragg (Conservative): It was the greatest honour of my life to be elected in 2015 as the MP for the Hazel Grove constituency, the area where I was born and bred, and am proud to call home.
Over the last two years I am pleased to have been able to work on behalf of local people and to have helped many hundreds of constituents with their casework and through my surgeries.
I am determined to get a better deal for our area. Over the next five years my priorities will be to fight for increased education funding, with no local schools having their budgets cut, to continue to oppose mass housing developments being forced on our local greenbelt land by the Greater Manchester Authority and pushing for the delivery of the long promised A6-M60 link road to ease the terrible local traffic congestion.
Additionally, I shall support the Brexit negotiations to get the best deal for Britain rather than try to undermine or overturn the people’s decision to leave the EU and I will work actively and constructively with the government to get a better deal for our area, not simply moan from the sidelines.
Elections can be divisive at times, but it is important to remember that, whatever our differences, in the end we should all be seeking a better future on behalf of our local residents.
At this election I am focused on fighting for our area, not on attacking other candidates. If you choose me to be your voice in Parliament again, I shall continue to work on behalf of all local residents, regardless of who they chose to vote for. ●●CHEADLE
Mark Hunter (Liberal Democrats): Cheadle constituency deserves a strong local champion who will fight for our area and campaign on the issues that matter to local people.
As MP for Cheadle I will fight for proper funding for our NHS and social care paid for with a penny on income tax. I believe we can have the best healthcare system in the world, but only if we are honest about how it will be paid for.
With Stepping Hill and Wythenshawe hospitals under increasing pressure to make cuts, this is now urgent.
I will fight for fair funding for our schools. The Conservatives propose cutting more than £15 million from schools in Stockport.
That will mean hundreds of teachers losing their jobs. They propose scrapping free school lunches and spending just 7p per pupil on breakfast. That’s not right.
I will campaign to save our greenbelt. The Government is forcing Stockport to build thousands of new houses on greenbelt land. There is an alternative.
I live locally in the heart of the constituency. I have always campaigned to get the best for our area. Vote for me on June 8 and I will continue that fight.
Martin Miller (Labour): I have lived in Stockport since 1992 and Cheadle Constituency since 2002. I am passionately committed to social justice and am lucky that both my job and my political activity have allowed me to work to deliver that justice.
I am the chief executive of the Diocese of Manchester of the Church of England. Before this, I managed a team specialising in community development and community projects, economic development and regeneration.
I was a Stockport Councillor for 9 years.
I have had key roles in strategic Greater Manchester initiatives and was seconded to establish and run the GM Poverty Commission. I now chair a panel advising the Greater Manchester Mayor, and GMP, on the policing of demonstrations and protests.
I am standing in this election because I believe Labour’s programme puts people at the heart of policy. In our country our wealth is not shared equally, and too many ordinary families have seen a contraction in their living standards, are saddled with debt, facing job insecurity and low wage jobs.
We need to change that with a Labour government that will deliver economic stability with shared prosperity and new opportunities for all.
I have been married to Judith for 22 years and have five young daughters.
Mary Robinson (Conservative): Living in Bramhall, your issues are my issues – what happens to our communities across Cheadle affects us all – that is why we need to make sure we have an MP that stands up for Cheadle and stands with Theresa May.
Re-electing me makes sure Cheadle is represented at the Brexit negotiations to get the best deal for us.
It’s been wonderful to meet so many great people from all our communities at the hundreds of local events I have attended and to campaign on the issues which matter to you.
I have raised your concerns at every level of government, and always stood up for local people by fighting to protect our precious green belt and local jobs and services, successfully campaigning to lower the bills of our local schools, and making the case for further investment in our local transport and infrastructure by raising issues such as the Gatley junction with ministers and transport bosses.
Cheadle needs a local champion, backing Theresa May to get the best deal from Brexit for you, your family, and our area.
A vote for anyone else here is a vote for Jeremy Corbyn and the coalition of chaos he would lead.