WITH the General Election less than a week away, each of the candidates running for Newport East have explained why they think you should vote for them.

Mark Brown (Conservative):

I live in Gwent and own a small business here. I am proud of our area’s history, but I also believe there are many opportunities ahead if we can tackle the challenges we face together. I will fight for the best deal from Cardiff and London and focus on practical plans and solutions.

I will champion more jobs and investment in Newport East and Severnside that benefit local people, but I will also do all I can to support businesses already here, including our high streets. Crime is unacceptably high, let’s give our police the resources and powers they need to keep us safe.

We need housing and transport plans that protect our economy, environment and health, and take full advantage of our strategic location. I will put politics aside and work with all our councillors and AMs to not to do what's easy, but to do what's right.

But first, we need to remove the current roadblock and get Brexit done. As your MP I would vote for Boris’s deal and implement a realistic manifesto so that I can get on with everything else we need.

Labour takes us for granted with their empty promises and slogans. Labour wasted £100 million on the M4 Relief Road proposal. With half that we could save our Orb Steel. We can keep voting for more of the same or we can vote for change we can believe in.

Vote for me to get Brexit done and unlock the potential of Newport East and Severnside.

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Mike Hamilton (Liberal Democrat):

This election is about Brexit. Yes, the country has bigger issues, like: climate change, declining public services and increasing poverty. Until the Brexit debate ends, nothing is going to get the consideration it deserves.

We have 30 years of agreements with Europe, it is embodied in our laws, and if you think voting for a party supporting Brexit (Tory, Labour, or Farage Ltd) means all talk of Brexit stops then you are mistaken.

It is estimated that it will take us 20 years to sort out the mess, time our parliament should be focusing on other important things. A vote against Brexit gets our politicians back discussing the real issues.

It is claimed that Brexit has already cost the UK 250,000 jobs, though one job would still be too many. Should the Tories, Labour or Farage Ltd get elected and push through Brexit then you can expect many more job losses. Why should any global company base itself in the UK if it cannot export to Europe (eg Airbus, Tata)? South Wales has many financial sector jobs, these are also vulnerable: Some of the big banks are already cutting back.

I really want an election about: Housing (shortage of, more social rents, in the right place), NHS, police, safeguarding our climate, improving our transport, and ending child poverty. Instead both Tories and Labour are trying to buy votes by promising to spend absurd amounts of money. An independent assessment of both spending plans described them as not credible.”

Jessica Morden (Labour):

In these turbulent times, it’s more important than ever to have a strong, experienced voice speaking up for Newport East in Westminster. It’s been my privilege to represent our community in Parliament, and your support in this election will enable me to continue my work for you. Since 2017, I have dealt with over 6,400 cases and enquiries on behalf of people across the constituency, from Newport, Magor, Undy, Rogiet, Caldicot and the villages.

With your support, in Parliament I have:

• Challenged the UK Government on their cuts to Gwent Police;

• Voted for Labour’s motion to declare a climate emergency;

• Fought to protect local jobs and rights in Brexit debates;

• Campaigned against the scrapping of free TV licences for over-75s;

• Continued to fight and campaign for more support for our steel industry including Orb;

• Spoken up for armed forces veterans;

• Supported the call for a railway station at Magor;

• Highlighted the continuing problems with Universal Credit and PIP;

• Supported campaigns for animal welfare;

• Raised the issue of increased rail fares and ongoing problems with cross-border rail services;

• Supported those campaigning about the changes to the state pension age for 1950s women.

The Labour manifesto offers real change on these and other issues, including investing in a green industrial revolution. Nearly a decade of punishing Tory austerity has taken its toll. This election is our chance to put that right. Vote for a Labour Government for the many, not a Tory Government for the few.

Julie Price (Brexit Party):

I voted to leave the EU in 2016. I was asked to give my opinion and I did. And the majority felt the same.

Our Labour Party MPs have completely disregarded our opinion on Brexit while being completely incoherent about their own.

Parliamentarians have shown themselves up and reduced the ‘Mother of all Parliaments’ to a laughing stock. But it’s not funny.

The two-party stranglehold on politics is no longer fit for purpose, tribal politics needs to stop.

I want BREXIT to happen, that was my motivation for getting involved in politics, but now, I also want major reform of some of the institutions and processes in this country - the House of Lords, the BBC licence fee, the Electoral Commission and our voting system. Business as usual is not an option and the Brexit Party gets that.

I love living in Newport - we have history, architecture, talent and scenery, but I think we lack leadership from the council, the Welsh Government and our MPs.

I don’t pretend that I’ve got all the answers, I haven’t. But I bring fresh perspective and a willingness to stop political tribalism in the interests of Newport. And that includes working with and listening to you. All of you.

I know how it feels when your voice hasn’t been heard. It’s time to change that.

Peter Varley (Green Party):

The approaching climate catastrophe threatens all of us. But it brings with it the opportunity for a Green New Deal which works both for people and for the environment. What part will Newport play in this?

A sustainable economy must make things. Rather than just move wealth from one person to another, someone has to create it in the first place.

Newport has a long tradition of manufacturing industry. When my family moved here in 1971, Newport was a manufacturing town. We also have something unique: Newport is the city with the highest tidal range in the world.

We have to make the most of this. Tidal lagoons on either side of the Usk could supply more than half of Wales's electricity needs. They would create a demand for industrial components, which in turn would create a demand for steel. All of this could be manufactured in Newport: We have factory capacity, we have a skilled workforce, and we have the docks to export our products around the world.

All we lack is vision.

We need scientists in Parliament who understand the problems we face. We need engineers in Parliament with the vision to solve them. Yet fewer than one in seven MPs has any background in science or engineering. We are saddled with a Parliament of lawyers, accountants and professional politicians.

So I ask you to vote for me. I am a chartered engineer, with a doctorate in computer science. I have worked in manufacturing industry, and I know something about how British industry works, and why it so often doesn't.

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Cameron Wixcey (Plaid Cymru):

We all want to see a Wales with a better sustainable future. Newport must directly benefit from the green energy revolution, with its deep water port and highly skilled and experienced workers - our city should be at the forefront of the development of offshore wind, tidal lagoons, tidal turbines and a revisited Usk river barrage.

We need decent affordable public transport for Newport. The Metro is the only realistic option that will save our environment, our time, and our money. We need new railway stations at Llanwern and Magor and better local rail services to Cardiff and Bristol.

Wales needs major investment in environmentally sustainable affordable homes and to bring in rent relief for people who pay more than 30 per cent of their income on rent.

We must reverse the tide on rough sleeping in our city, not by punishing the vulnerable as Labour and the Tories wish to continue to do, but by providing safe, accessible, and supportive services for everyone in need of them.

Plaid aims to create a Welsh justice system, devolve policing and create a new crime prevention fund to recruit 1,600 extra police officers, that being at least two for every community in Wales, to keep us safer.

We face a double problem, a Labour dominated National Assembly that's bereft of ambition, ideas and the tools to do the job. We also have an increasingly dysfunctional Westminster that is simply not interested in Wales and Newport - its time to change Newport and change Wales.