To help Chesham and Amersham residents decide who to vote for in Thursday's by-election, we asked each candidate to sum up what they stand for. 

Below is each candidate's own words to help you make that all-important decision. 

Sarah Green - Liberal Democrats 

Bucks Free Press: Sarah Green - Liberal DemocratsSarah Green - Liberal Democrats

In this special election, I can’t count the times I have spoken to someone on the doorstep who is fed up of being taken for granted.

It has gone on for too long and we need change; this election is our opportunity to make those who have taken our area for granted to listen.

Our area has been badly let down; whether it’s the Conservative council letting our roads go to ruin or the Conservative Party in Westminster allowing developers to tarmac over the Chilterns, we need change.

If you elect me as your next MP, I will be a strong, independent voice standing up for you in Westminster. I will listen to you and I will ensure that your views are heard. I will be a thorn in the side of the people who need it most, be it the government, the local council or HS2 Ltd.

I will work every day to stop this Conservative government’s new planning laws. The alternative is allowing the Conservatives to give developers a free hand to throw-up whatever they like with no regard to local community feelings.

After years of being ignored, we must send a message that our communities and environment will no longer be taken for granted.

Only I can beat the Conservative party next week - let’s make them sit up and listen. 

Natasa Pantelic - Labour 

Bucks Free Press: Natasa Pantelic - LabourNatasa Pantelic - Labour

This is an opportunity for change – a fresh start – for Chesham and Amersham. Under Keir Starmer’s new leadership Labour is listening.

I’m speaking to hundreds of people a day across the constituency and will continue to be an active MP if you elect me. 

I’ll bring all my experience in local government, as a teacher and working in Parliament to make the changes that you want to see in your street, village and neighbourhood.

I’ll be living in the constituency and holding advice sessions to keep in touch and help where I can.

The Liberal Democrats want you to believe they’re a progressive option – but they’ve just formed a deal with the Conservatives on the London Assembly and the Greens have done the same. They don’t care about progressive politics; they just care about power.

You have told me the Conservatives are not listening and they have failed to deliver on their promises. Now is the time for change with Labour. 

I’ll be different. I will act on what you’ve told me; to fix the potholes in Waterside, gain more buses for Chalfont St Peter, bring funding in for our high streets and villages like Hyde Heath, make sure everyone has access to a good job and our young people attend the best schools and plant more trees in the communities affected by the HS2 development in Great Missenden and beyond.

I’ll be on your side and be your champion. Vote Labour. 

Alex Wilson - Reform UK 

Bucks Free Press: Alex Wilson - Reform UK Alex Wilson - Reform UK

This by-election on its own won’t change the government overnight, but it can send a powerful message to Westminster that all the main parties have got so much wrong.

For too long, residents in Chesham and Amersham have been ignored over HS2 – which is unwanted, unnecessary and unaffordable. It’s yesterday’s vanity project for yesterday’s politicians.

Reform UK has been consistently and unequivocally opposed to HS2 both in principle and in practice, and we want it scrapped once and for all.

We’re campaigning for all our freedoms to be restored in full – the vaccine is working and there’s no excuse for maintaining Covid restrictions. 21st June must not be delayed in any shape or form, and we must get back to normal, not “new normal”.

Lockdown has been a catastrophe for our society and economy, and must never be allowed to happen again.

Going forwards, we want to cut tax rates to help businesses expand, create jobs and grow the economy more quickly – so in future we can generate more revenues to fund the public services we need.

Our low tax high growth plan would raise the income tax threshold to £20,000 pa and free up 6 million people from income tax.

We’d also take 1.2 million small businesses out of corporation tax by raising the threshold to £100,000.Instead of voting for more of the same with the same old parties, let’s choose an alternative voice with Reform UK.

Let’s use this by-election to change politics for good.

Brendan Donnelly - Rejoin EU 

Bucks Free Press: Brendan Donnelly - Rejoin EUBrendan Donnelly - Rejoin EU

Brexit is broken and it is breaking our country as well. The promises made about Brexit in 2016 are now shown to be fantasy.

Far from bringing about the promised reduction in red tape and bureaucracy, Brexit makes trading with our crucial European market more complex, difficult and expensive.
Worse, Brexit has put the constitutional stability of the United Kingdom at risk.

Without Brexit, the British government would not be facing calls for a new referendum on Scottish independence.

Without Brexit, Northern Ireland would not be at of risk of losing the hard-won benefits of the Good Friday Agreement.

Since the 2016 vote, Brexit ideology has divided Britain. It has driven honesty, consistency, and logic out of our political life. The damage done to our political culture extends well beyond issues directly related to Brexit itself.

In normal times the opposition parties would be holding the government to account for the destabilising impact of Brexit. Fear of offending some of their supporters and attracting criticism from the mass media has prevented them from doing so.

None of the major parties in the House of Commons is campaigning for the UK to rejoin the European Union.

REJOIN EU believes that the only way to counter the spectrum of threats posed to our country by Brexit is to abandon Brexit.

Rejoining the EU will be a long process, but it is one on which the first steps can be taken now. Please vote REJOIN EU on 17th June.

Peter Fleet - Conservative 

Bucks Free Press: Peter Fleet - ConservativePeter Fleet - Conservative

I moved to our constituency with my family nearly a decade ago – we live in Ashley Green, Chesham.

I’m not a career politician, enjoying a 30-year career at Ford – working my way up to become a Vice President. So I’ve got real world experience. And I’m a local candidate who genuinely shares the same local concerns as you.

Whilst the Lib Dem candidate only moved here just in time for the by-election! With your support, we can secure my local plan for a local recovery:

1 - Using my business experience to help our area recover from the pandemic and attract new investment into our high streets. I brought the High Streets Minister to visit Chesham last week.

2 - As a local resident, I’ll fight tooth and nail to protect our precious green spaces, making sure new developments are on brownfield sites which are derelict or abandoned.

3 - Protecting our special character. I’ll continue Dame Cheryl’s work to minimise the disruption of HS2. And I’m campaigning to elevate the Chilterns AONB into a Chilterns National Park - I raised this directly with the Prime Minister when he visited this week.

4 - Tackling anti-social behaviour – I’ll fight for our fair share of the 245 additional Thames Valley police officers recruited by the government – I’ve already met with our Police and Crime Commissioner to discuss.

Next Thursday, vote for me to secure a local MP who can work with the Conservative government and get things done for our area.

Carolyne Culver - Green Party 

Bucks Free Press: Carolyne Culver - Green Party (photo by Matt Writtle)Carolyne Culver - Green Party (photo by Matt Writtle)

As your MP I will campaign hard for investment in the NHS, creating local jobs, and improving local public transport.

I will oppose government plans that will make it easier for developers to get planning permission and more difficult for locals to object. 

These Conservative plans are an attack on our land, and our democratic rights. We need decisions to be made at local level, with politicians serving their constituents, not the interests of corporations, donors and corrupt contracts.

I will work hard to address the concerns and needs of every generation, particularly as we recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

We need to create a more equitable society that eliminates food poverty and homelessness, ensures all children have access to high quality education, and properly funds the NHS and adult social care.

Our government must take action to tackle climate change, pollution and the ecological crisis.

We need investment in green jobs to insulate homes and transfer our society to renewable energy.

HS2 is the single biggest issue in this constituency.

The results of this election will not alter the balance of power in Westminster, but if you elect me it will send a clear message to the government that you do not want HS2 and are not prepared to stand by while your water supply is threatened and your countryside is torn apart.

I have been on the ground campaigning against HS2 for a long time; regardless of the result of this election, I will continue to support local people here in campaigning against the destruction of this beautiful part of the world.

Carla Gregory - Breakthrough Party 

Bucks Free Press: Carla Gregory - Breakthrough PartyCarla Gregory - Breakthrough Party

Unlike other candidates standing in this by-election, I was born and raised here. I know what makes Chesham & Amersham a great place to live, but also the challenges people face and what could be done to make things better for people here.

Being able to earn a good income and live in a decent home are human rights everyone deserves.

A £15 living wage, rent controls and building green and affordable social housing will help make these happen for people who are being priced out of living in the area.

We will also campaign for free childcare from 12 months to four-years-old to stop people having to calculate if they can afford to go back to work.

Our children’s education has suffered so much throughout the pandemic, so we will fight for smaller class sizes to enable teachers to help children to flourish now they are back at school.

The sewage being dumped into the River Chess and the destruction caused along the River Misbourne by HS2 need to be challenged and pushed back on and more opposition to HS2 needs to be made to parliament from the constituency. I will be a strong voice against these environmental harms to our local area.

The money which is being wasted on HS2 can help improve our local bus links and fix our roads, which are in desperate need of repair.

And I can’t finish this without talking about the NHS. Its frontline workers have been heroes during this pandemic and they should be treated as such, which is why I not only support a 15% pay rise for our health care workers, but also more investment in the NHS to deal with the mental health crisis.

A vote for me and the Breakthrough Party on June 17th is a vote for a fairer and more equal Chesham and Amersham.

Adrian Oliver - Freedom Alliance 

Bucks Free Press: Adrian Oliver - Freedom AllianceAdrian Oliver - Freedom Alliance

The Freedom Alliance did not respond to the request from the Bucks Free Press for a comment, so this information has been taken from their website: 

Adrian was born in High Wycombe and now lives in Downley after many years away. In that time away Adrian was elected as a Green councillor in London in 2006.

“I am an advocate for our individual rights and freedoms and will oppose vaccine passports, unnecessary vaccines for children, mask mandates, the closure of businesses and schools, and any future lockdowns.

“I am standing in this by-election in honour of my grandfathers. Will you honour those who fought for freedom and vote for me and for freedom on 17 June 2021?”

Adrian is an experienced practitioner and teacher of Life Alignment healing and a courier. 

“This Conservative Government’s restrictive policies over the last year have been disastrous for the physical, mental and economic wellbeing of local people and the nation. Labour, Liberal Democrats and Greens in Parliament have all supported the Government’s agenda and are also culpable for the suffering and damage done.

"The policies are deliberate, ongoing and constitute psychological, biological and economic warfare against the people of this country. It would be foolish to think they will reverse course – this is tyranny and tyrants don’t suddenly decide to stop being tyrannical, they have to be stopped.

“Both my grandfathers fought for our freedom in WWII. Now, less than a generation since that war, we need to recognise the freedoms they fought for are slipping away. We must peacefully renew the fight for our freedoms. Together we are powerful.

“I am intent on saving as many lives as possible in Chesham and Amersham and reducing the suffering of local people and local businesses. I will speak the truth about what is happening to counter the relentless propaganda and lies form our Government.

"I will signpost the crucial information that is being kept from us, including how we can keep ourselves healthy and highlight what informed consent should look like for Covid-19 vaccinations.”