Why Peterborough's MP should do more

Do we want our MP to campaign for individuals? Yes, of course: but we demand more (writes Beki Sellick, the LibDem candidate for Peterborough).Great to help individuals fighting for justice, but better to fix the Tory's 'hostile environment', so asylum seekers are allowed to work to support themselves. Better still to fix immigration and scrap the targets the government keeps plucking out of thin air, but never meets, writes Beki Sellick, Peterborough Liberal Democrat MP candidate. Especially in Peterborough, where EU migrants are 11% of our workforce, we must value our generous welcoming culture, and enrich our economy. It's LibDem policy to match skilled and unskilled people to job vacancies we need filling; and match international students to courses where we have places. LibDems don't play a numbers game with people, we take a humane and practical approach; our approach is fair and workable, and in everyone's best interests.
Beki SellickBeki Sellick
Beki Sellick

Make safe and decent homes

Do we want our MP to highlight the need for better housing? Yes of course: but we demand more. Great to say never again to homeless families having to commute back to Peterborough from B&Bs miles away, but better to address the root causes. Better to reverse decades of Tory and Labour selling off council houses - and being soft on rogue landlords at the expense of tenants. We demand better: to ensure all landlords provide homes fit to live in by expanding landlord licensing (which helps landlords to understand and fulfil their legal requirements), by rolling out the system that already works in central Peterborough. Better still, landlord licensing makes all our homes safer, with more than 10 times the normal number of Gas Safety Certificates being issued in the final month before Peterborough’s licenses came in.

Stand up for Peterborough

Speaker's Corner columnists -  Peterborough Telegraph - peterboroughtoday.co.uk/opinion, @peterboroughtel on Twitter, Facebook.com/peterboroughtodaySpeaker's Corner columnists -  Peterborough Telegraph - peterboroughtoday.co.uk/opinion, @peterboroughtel on Twitter, Facebook.com/peterboroughtoday
Speaker's Corner columnists - Peterborough Telegraph - peterboroughtoday.co.uk/opinion, @peterboroughtel on Twitter, Facebook.com/peterboroughtoday

Do we want our MP to stick up for us? Yes of course: but we demand more. Great to back the council’s “Stand up for Peterborough” to get our money back for local education, health and social care; but we demand that national government delivers for everyone. Better to fix our growing city so we can accommodate everyone who lives here, so we all have decent services to support us from birth to old age, whatever our abilities or needs. LibDems will add 1p to income tax specially for the NHS, then work across political parties to agree a long-term plan joining up the NHS, with carers and communities.

Improve all our lives

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Do we want clean air to breathe, so our lives aren’t cut short by pollution? Do we want big corporations to pay a fair rate of tax wherever they operate? On issues from the environment to terrorism and cyber security, we can’t just act locally in Peterborough or the UK, we need to join-up internationally.

The more we find out, the more Peterborians tell me we want an Exit from Theresa May’s Brexit. The damage to the economy matters: because it means more expensive food and medicine, less money for our vital services. Like it or not, ours is an increasingly global world: no-deal Brexists can’t resurrect the British Empire; Corbynites can’t solve everything by mindless re-nationalisation. Liberal Democrats demand better: a People’s Vote on what May’s Brexit would really mean.

I want to be our next MP. Get in touch at [email protected] if you want to help me deliver real hope.