GENERAL ELECTION: Meet the candidates fighting for the Wycombe seat

Conservative – Steve Baker

My goal for Wycombe is to enable everyone to flourish to their full potential.

I want local people to be better off, with stronger bonds of friendship and community and greater control over political power and public services.

That is why I am proud to stand with Theresa May as your local Conservative candidate in the most important election in our lifetimes.

Just 11 days after this election, negotiations with the EU will begin which will determine our place in the world and the basis of our prosperity for generations to come.

At this time, we need a government with the strength, stability and clarity to get the best deal for our country and to make the most of the opportunities before us.

We can and should emerge from this period of change both stronger and more prosperous than ever before, taking a new lead on today’s major issues.

We will create a strong economy that works for everyone. We will achieve a new place in our changing world, building a society in which we can all advance as far as our talents allow.

We will ensure fairness to people of all ages as we prepare our country to be prosperous and secure in the digital age.

Theresa May is not offering easy answers to complex problems.

Conservatives are offering unity of purpose as we set about making this a better country where everyone has the economic security they need and the chance to live a secure and happy life.

Liberal Democrats  - Steve Guy

If you elect me on June 8th, I will relentlessly focus on our local area and on your priorities.

I will continue to live in Wycombe and commute to London by train, just like many of you do. I will take no second job and will focus on delivering what you deserve.

Many people in Wycombe have worked hard to buy their own homes, and nearly every one of them would be liable to the Conservatives’ heartless Dementia Tax which has outraged many families.

I care deeply about our schools. Nothing is more important than our children’s education. I want a proper level of per pupil funding for all our schools.

I am disgusted that the Tories want to take away free school lunches from primary school kids.

Like you, I think it’s a scandal that we have seen essential services stripped out of Wycombe Hospital. I’m tired of hearing excuses, I want action.

I will work tirelessly to return A&E and a full range of maternity services to Wycombe.

Never forget that Wycombe A&E was closed by the last Labour government, and successive Conservative MPs failed to reverse it.

I am deeply saddened by the level of homelessness in Wycombe.

I will make it a priority to ensure that homeless people in Wycombe are offered a home, not a hostel, and that they have support workers who will help them.

Finally, I will vigorously oppose the attempt to overturn the ban on the barbaric sport of fox hunting.

Help me to change Wycombe’s future.

UKIP– Richard Phoenix

Stop The loss of Green Belt land for proposed housing developments which will affect Tylers Green, Terriers, Hazlemere, Marlow Bottom, Bourne End and Wooburn.

Cancel HS2 and fund Social Care instead.

Return A&E services to Wycombe General Hospital.

There is no doubt that we are so needed for the future of this country.

Yes we are not going to form the next Government, but we need to maximise our vote and continue to be the largest pressure group in the UK.

We need to be clearly identified as a radical, forward thinking and reformist party, reflecting the culture of the British people as we are today.

The Guardians of Brexit is for today, the Champions of true democracy is for tomorrow.

We need to champion the reforms of the Commons, Lords and Voting system to reflect the society we are and put power in to the hands of the individual, not the corporates and the entitled.

The Wycombe Constituency is a microcosm of this, with the complacency of the Conservatives on both a Parliamentary and council level, they feel secure and entitled to govern.

The more votes we garner, the louder our voice becomes, the greater pressure we bring to bear to secure these reforms.

UKIP is the only party that is able and willing to forge this path, UKIP can only have the energy and drive to achieve this with our continued belief and support the future together.

Labour – Rafiq Raja

The Tories are systematically creating a two-tier system between those who can and those who cannot afford social care, healthcare, and education.

Labour believes in high standards for all.

 We are fortunate living in Wycombe, with a high quality of life.

Yet even here, life is hard for many: the continuing expansion of the food bank, and the growing problem of homelessness shows this. This is scandalous in the fifth richest economy in the world.

 For too long, ordinary folk have had to bear the brunt of a failed economic policy that has capped the pay of essential workers, like nurses, reduced disability benefits, that hasn’t reduced the national debt, and for the first time in living memory has created a situation where children will be worse off than their parents.

The removal of protections on pensions, the ‘dementia tax’, opening the NHS to a trade deal with US companies, and cuts forcing schools to sack teachers are just some of the measures a Tory Government would bring in.

 Labour has a vision in which public services are run for public benefit, and that means investing in our future.

I have campaigned for fairness and equality in education all of my adult life. 

I have worked as a school governor for over 30 years and am proud of Labour’s proposals for education, focusing on making education a right and not a privilege, of training a workforce fit for the challenges ahead, and enabling small businesses to compete with multinationals.

Green – Peter Sims

As the Green Party candidate for Wycombe, I believe we need more diversity among those representing us, both in terms of gender and ethnicity, but also in terms of age.

Electoral reform is urgently needed so all candidates in all seats have to work to get elected, and all votes count.

We should focus on the underlying causes not consequences when looking to resolve issues. For example, ‘GDP’ or ‘Growth’ is deemed the end goal, which neglects what really matters to society as a whole.

Improving the quality of life for people today as well as future generations should be the ultimate target, with the following as intermediate goals:

- Reducing inequality

- Increasing social mobility

- Avoiding dangerous climate change & ecosystem collapse

Political power in Britain is too centralised. England has one of the most centralised governance systems in Europe with local and county councils in holding far less power than their equivalents abroad.

This makes it harder to create effective local transport systems, support local businesses and meet sustainable housing demand, but also stifles innovation, local economies and diversity.

The Green Party strongly believes that local authorities need more power over their own funding.

I live in Lane End, and have a master’s degree in electronic engineering. Previously I have carried out research into the transition required to make Europe’s energy systems compatible with the 2 degrees climate change target.

I have co-authored a Green House think tank report on the job creation potential of such a transition.