Castle Point news from the Echo

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		Rebecca Harris - Conservative I have stood shoulder to shoulder with residents fighting for the things that mean the most to them and their families, fighting for jobs, fighting for a better deal for pensioners, fighting to improve flood defences, fighting for our Green Belt, to Save the Deanes School and many other issues. Before politics I had a 20 year business career and I have worked hard to champion small businesses in everything I do. In Parliament I supported the Conservative Long Term Economic plan that brought our economy away the brink of disaster. If I am re-elected all I can promise is that I will continue to work hard for the people of our borough and continue to support the policies that have put our economy on the road to recovery. I am not in politics to climb the greasy pole, I am in politics to represent the people where I live.
		Jamie Huntman - UKIP I am proud to be your UKIP parliamentary candidate for Castle Point. I, like you, have had enough. It’s a clear choice on May 7th, do you want five more years of Tory broken promises being led by career politicians who don’t live in the real world or have you had enough too? We believe our borders should be controlled by an Australian points-based system. We would fight cuts to armed forces and police, your safety should be a priority. UKIP also believe in cutting the foreign aid budget, people of this country should come first. The savings we make would invest three billion into the NHS. Leaving the EU would save us £55 million a day. It is not about a career in Westminster for me, it’s about putting the hope and glory back into Britain. The people of Castle Point deserve to be heard and it’s time someone from Essex represented Essex.
		Joe Cooke - Labour A strong economic foundation: Balance the books and cut the deficit every year while securing the future of the NHS. No manifesto commitment requires additional borrowing. Higher living standards for working families: Freeze or cut energy bills until 2017, ban exploitative zero-hours contracts , increase minimum wage to £8 and free childcare to 25hrs/week. An NHS with the time to care: 20,000 more nurses and 8,000 more GPs. Joined up services from home to hospital, guaranteeing GP appointments within 48 hours and cancer tests within one week. Controls on immigration: No benefits for at least two years. Introduce fair rules making it illegal for employers to undercut wages by exploiting workers. A country where the next generation can do better than the last: Reduced tuition fees, an apprenticeship for every school leaver with basic grades, and smaller class sizes for 5, 6 & 7 year-olds.
		Dominic Ellis - Green Dominic was raised in Hadleigh and is extremely proud to be the Green Party Candidate for Castle Point. Dominic said “I joined the Green Party because I was tired of the way British people were being treated by their government. "Constant public sector cuts, the privatisation of public services and deepening austerity measures have plagued our nation and targeted the most vulnerable in our society. "All the while stories of tax avoidance and corporate corruption run endlessly in our news.” Dominic will campaign to provide a referendum on the EU, close tax loopholes, increase minimum wage to £10 an hour by 2020, abolish prescription charges, increase the rate of state pensions and abolish Bedroom Tax. He will also introduce rent caps and longer tenancies, build 500,000 new social rented homes, free personal care for the elderly, end the growing privatisation of NHS services and bring empty homes back into use.
		Sereena Davey - Liberal Democrat My parents worked long hours and taught me the value of education, so I’ve always studied hard and became the first in my family to go to University. I was born in Chelmsford so I chose to return to my home county to study for a Degree and Masters at Essex University. I went on to have a successful professional career in public affairs, but I paid my way through my education with jobs as a chamber-maid, and serving burger ‘n’ fries. Now my husband and I continue to work hard to provide for our two young daughters. As a parent, and someone who has worked in jobs at all levels, I’m proud of Lib Dem policies to cut income tax for low and middle earners, protect spending on nurseries and schools, and give the NHS a fully costed extra £8 billion of funding.