Candidates standing in General Election for Kettering seat
Emily Fedorowycz (Green)
Jim Hakewill (Independent)
Philip Hollobone (Conservative)
Rosie Wrighting (Labour)
Emily Fedorowycz (Green)
Jim Hakewill (Independent)
Philip Hollobone (Conservative)
Rosie Wrighting (Labour)
Category
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NewsTranscript
00:00I want to fundamentally change how we do politics in Kettering.
00:04I've been embedded in our community for a long time really.
00:09I've had the opportunity to be mayor this last year.
00:12The last three years I've been working on local issues as much as I can as a local councillor,
00:17but I was, frankly, doing some in our town before then as well.
00:20But being elected allowed me to do so much more for people here and allowed me to help a lot of people.
00:27Being our MP, I'd be able to make an even bigger impact.
00:32And being a strong, independent voice, green voice in Parliament,
00:37will allow me to hold our new Labour government to account to help us secure what we need locally.
00:42Because of being in our community, I have a plan for our area,
00:48with tangible steps based on what you have said, what others have said we need.
00:54My plan is to regenerate the town, to boost local businesses,
00:57to make sure that we have school places, doctors, dentists, and a healthcare system that works.
01:03I want to bring people together and strengthen our community,
01:07look after every part of our borough,
01:10and creating forums so you can have your say all the time, not just at election time.
01:17Because democracy involves all of us, and that feels like it's been eroded.
01:22People do not feel listened to, and I'm here to change that. Thank you.
01:28I will continue to represent everyone as your MP, as I have for nearly 40 years as a local councillor.
01:36Whoever you are, whatever your beliefs, whatever your chosen lifestyles, and whatever concerns you,
01:43I will be here to help as your MP.
01:45I'll be visible in our communities, listening and acting on issues that matter.
01:51I will have an office space in town.
01:53I will not hide behind an email wall.
01:56I have so much experience that I want to use for the benefit of our communities.
02:01I'm a farmer's son, born in Braidbrook.
02:04I care about our places, our domestic and our wild animals, and our biodiversity.
02:11It's in my DNA.
02:13We can't stop crucial road building.
02:16Projects like the Wheatley Walk and Bypass, the Isham Bypass and Junction 10A on the A14 must be delivered.
02:24We have been promised a hospital rebuild for far too long.
02:28Why hasn't it happened?
02:30Shockingly, we're now being told to wait until 2030.
02:34The rebuild will be a logistical nightmare.
02:37We need to completely rethink and to decide what needs to be done on site at the general hospital,
02:44and what could be delivered elsewhere around town.
02:47It's been a huge privilege to be Kettering's MP for the last 19 years,
02:52and whoever is elected from amongst us at this election will soon realise that when you go into that building,
02:59you are just one of 650 MPs from around the country.
03:04You are the only person from Kettering who can stand up and speak for Kettering.
03:10So the challenge is to avoid all the noise at Westminster,
03:14and to be laser-focused on getting things done for here in the Kettering constituency.
03:20I'll give you just four examples of what I have managed to get done and been done for Kettering.
03:26One is the rebuild of the hospital.
03:28A 10-year commitment announced at the last election for completion by 2030,
03:34on track, with a budget 10 times bigger than when we were here in 2019.
03:40New wards, new carpark, new power plant, a bigger and better hospital.
03:45The train service. It was halved under the last Labour government.
03:49I've got back half-hourly services from Kettering to the north,
03:52and you can now travel non-stop from Kettering to London.
03:56That hadn't happened after the last government.
03:59Junction 10A on the A14.
04:02The government was going to get rid of all major road junction projects.
04:05I kicked up a huge fuss, and I've now got a huge government commitment
04:09for £50 million to build that vital junction.
04:13And the new secondary school for Kettering at Hanley Park,
04:16the first in Kettering for a generation.
04:18Bizarrely, the government decided it was going to be for boys only.
04:22I led a rearguard action together with local residents,
04:25and in an unprecedented move, managed to change the government's mind
04:30on a major secondary school.
04:32Four pieces of direct action that I was able to achieve as your MP.
04:37Forget all the noise at Westminster.
04:39It's getting the job done as a local champion.
04:42I didn't grow up privileged, and I know what it's like
04:45when the money just won't go to the end of the month.
04:49But what I did grow up with in Kettering was a Labour government
04:54and a local Labour MP.
04:57And I saw the change that that made.
05:00I saw the introduction of a fair minimum wage.
05:03I felt trust in our public services.
05:07And I grew up thinking that you could work hard and build a happy life.
05:13Now I want to circle back to a conversation I had just last week
05:17with a woman on a ranger's date.
05:19An elderly woman who told me that the winter had just gone,
05:23she couldn't afford to put on her heating,
05:26so she sat every evening in the cold.
05:30And that is the legacy of 14 years of the Conservatives.
05:35But we can have better.
05:38With a Labour government, we can have economic stability,
05:41an NHS fit for purpose, and lower car rates.
05:45And with a Labour MP in Kettering,
05:48we can get the redevelopment of Kettering General done.
05:51We can rejuvenate our high street.
05:53And we can have a visible MP here.
05:56An MP that we can trust.
05:58But between Labour and Conservatives,
06:01it's set to be one of the closest in the country here.
06:04And it's only Labour that can see that change.
06:07And it's only Labour that have that chance here.
06:10Thank you.