Conservative: Danny Kruger

I WAS brought up on a farm in the West Country and I am thrilled to be standing for election in this constituency. I adore the landscape and I am inspired by the people I know here. There is a great sense of community, of people coming together to make things better.

For instance, every Saturday morning in winter on the roads coming out of Pewsey, you can see a hardy gang of volunteers with spades and saplings, giving their time to replant the hedgerows and restore the environment in their neighbourhood.

That spirit is everywhere across the Devizes constituency: the community shop I have visited in Urchfont and Avebury; the pubs in Ham and Winterbourne saved from developers by local people; the Sunflower Nursery in Grafton resurrected by the community and the wonderful Link service run by Community First, which connects volunteer drivers with people, mainly elderly, who need to get to medical and other appointments.

I want to work with central and local government to get the right level of resources into our health service, our schools, our police and our transport system, so that our brilliant area, with all its volunteers and community spirit, can prosper and so that opportunity is spread more evenly everywhere - including in those areas where life is toughest. Our soldiers and military families need all the support we can provide, and the rural economy needs major support through the changes that Brexit will bring.

I have spent most of my career working in difficult communities, including with prisoners and ex-offenders, with young people and children at risk, and I am determined, if elected, to be the MP for everyone in our area.

Finally, I want to support the Prime Minister’s Deal with the EU so we can finally ‘get Brexit done’ and move on from the political agony of the last few years, bring together our divided communities and liberate the amazing potential of our country.

Green: Emma Dawnay

EMMA, a scientist with a degree from Cambridge University and a PhD, has a passion for economics. She feels that a poor understanding of economics has caused real hardship for some people and is unnecessarily constraining our transition to a low carbon economy.

“We are told that on average we are three times richer than when I was a child, but we don’t have enough money for basic public services like the NHS or for taking the steps necessary to tackle the climate emergency. The good news is the government can easily raise money, for example by selling Green Bonds, and public investment will be good for creating meaningful well-paid jobs all around the country. This will result not only in reversing the terrible cuts to our public services but also better insulated homes thereby reducing our energy bills, and better and cheaper public transport which will reduce car journeys.”

Emma is also co-chair of the local Green party which has been active in campaigning for local issues such as the 20 mile an hour speed limit in Marlborough and opposing a planned incinerator from being built at Westbury, which, if built, cause bad air pollution and will commit us to putting 160 thousand tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere for the next 25 years.

Emma grew up in the Devizes constituency and moved back here to her childhood home to care for her elderly mother. She is married and has a daughter at St Johns School in Marlborough.

Labour: Rachael Schneider Ross

RACHAEL has lived and worked in the Devizes area for over 25 years. She is a working Mum and runs a small business specialising in equality and leadership. She is a trustee of local charity Opendoors.

Rachael came to politics through local campaigning, working with parents and the community to challenge the closure of Oxenwood and Braeside outdoor education centres.

She believes the country needs clear leadership to tackle the climate crisis and the inequality we face as a country and locally. She believes Labour’s position on Brexit is the only sensible and democratic approach; to bring the decision to leave or remain in the EU back to the people for a final say.

She would start her work as our MP by making sure there is investment in key local public services, bringing home Labour’s plans for schools, our military personnel, policing and youth services.

Our NHS and social care is broken and the most vulnerable in our communities are unprotected. Ten years of austerity caused this. Labour will repair it.

Her aim is to help overcome fractured national divisions, whilst bringing Labour’s bold vision for change and our ‘green new deal’ to everyone throughout our constituency.

Liberal Democrat: Jo Waltham

AS a small business owner, web developer, wife and mother, I’m not what you’d call a typical politician, but I understand the local issues that matter most to you.

I live and work in Marlborough, my two children go to the local secondary school, as a family we use all the same public services as you. It is my belief that our government will only make the best decisions for all when we have normal working people in Parliament, not just career politicians stuck in the Westminster bubble.

In the last nine years, we have endured massive cuts to all of our public services. It seems that working hard is no longer a guarantee of a warm home to live in, food on the table, health, and social care when you need them, and a good education for your children. No matter what Johnson or Farage claims, Brexit will not fix any of this. It will only make matters worse, remove environmental and worker protections and deliver a more divided nation. They won’t ‘get Brexit done’, there will be many more years of uncertainty and wrangling.

We need to stop Brexit and invest in our future instead.

Stopping Brexit will boost our economy and give us the money to deliver the public services we need. Demand Better. Vote Liberal Democrat.