We gave each candidate in the Bradford East constituency an equal amount of space to set out their election message. Here is what they wrote. Photographs were also provided by the candidates.
Jonathan Barras (Ukip)
I am a local man, growing up in Holmewood, having also lived in Thornbury and Barkerend. I now live in Ravenscliffe, within the Bradford East constituency, and have done so for the past six years.
I am a family man, married for ten years to my wife, who is also a Bradfordian, and we have three children.
As for why I am standing in this election; there is a simple answer – I want to help people. Being in UKIP I’m obviously pro-Brexit which is important in this election given that Bradford East voted 55.2 per cent in favour of the UK leaving the EU. But Brexit is far from the only reason I am standing.
I want the constituency’s education standards and essential services improve with better funding and support. I want to see an end to austerity; I want to see the Conservative cuts that have affected so many people and services, in such a negative way, come to an end.
The Conservative Government must be held to account for its actions over the past seven years and Bradford East needs an MP willing to stand up for the concerns of residents. If elected, I will be that MP.
Imran Hussain (Labour)
This election is about your choice. It is about who you choose to represent you and the people of Bradford East. And it is about who you choose to stand up for the interests of our city.
Ultimately, it is about who will best deliver for Bradford and who will stand on your side. In the two years since I became your representative and MP, I have stood against the Tories in their attacks on the city where I was born, where I grew up, and where I am raising my family.
That is what Bradford needs. I have fought long and hard to bring about the change that we need in Bradford, and I have been unrelenting in seeking the best for our city. Delivering £23 million for education, voting against cruel cuts, fighting for local jobs as the Government lets them leave, battling injustice at home and abroad, and standing up for our NHS are just a few points from my two-year record. Yet there is still much more that must be done. We need to carry on and fight for it, and it will not be easy, but together, we can build the better Bradford that we all want to see - a healthy, prosperous, thriving city. I hope that I can count on your support on Thursday 8 June.
Mark Jewell (Liberal Democrat)
I have lived in Preston for most of my life and work in the local aerospace industry.
I joined the LibDems in 2001 and became politically active following the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the introduction of topup fees. I have been an active campaigner with a strong record ever since.
As a Preston City Councillor and Lancashire County Councillor, I always spoke up for local residents. Within months of being elected in 2006 I tried to prevent the Council using the government’s ID card to access Council services. I have also tried to limit the Council’s powers to snoop on residents. Both the other two major parties voted against these measures.
More recently I have campaigned for a better joined up NHS and social care plan and welcome the Lib Dems’ policy to add a penny to the pound on income tax to properly fund these services.
Paul Parkins (Better For Bradford)
Politics has changed. The EU referendum has shown that our voices matter and our votes count.
But we’ve been let down by the major parties. They are divided and weak, and cannot be trusted with Brexit, the economy, the NHS and other public services. We need a new approach.
My experience in IT and running a business gives me insight into the real world that career politicians simply don’t have. As a dad, I care deeply about our NHS and Education and security - they need more money, and not just for higher pay, but for more staff and better facilities too.
I want to see an end to poverty, and start building Bradford into a creative capital. I will push for tax to be simplified and made fairer, and I will make sure Bradford’s not forgotten in the Brexit negotiations.
Although I can work with any party, I can’t be controlled by any party leader down in London. I won’t waste time chasing career-enhancing cabinet roles or internal party politics. I’m free to focus entirely on the best interests of our home, Bradford East.
Choose Better for Bradford and vote for me, Paul Parkins.
Andy Stanford (Green Party)
Bradford has been let down time and again by a Labour council who approve measures that actively harm local residents, and successive governments who have consistently cut funding for essential services while overseeing the largest recorded increase in poverty the UK has ever seen. This has to stop.
The people of Bradford need a voice that will raise the issues that really matter. I will be that voice. Vote Andy Stanford, Green Party, for Bradford East.
Mark Trafford (Conservative)
For too long Bradford East has not been heard. In Parliament and in the Council there has been talk and no action. I want to change that.
I have been all around the country recently for work. I have seen what changes have been made to schools, businesses and people everywhere under the Conservative Government.
Despite Labour’s predictions, many cities are booming; many schools are now outstanding; many of our students are going onto great things and we have the highest employment in recent memory.
But in Bradford, after years of Lib Dem and Labour neglect, this is less true. I passionately believe that Bradford can do a lot better and I want to help the city and Bradford East achieve what they deserve.
What Bradford needs is to be heard. My professional life has been built on making people heard. I am not a professional politician, but listening to people and making sure that they are heard, is what I do. It is what I want to do for Bradford East.
Bradford was a great city and can be again. Its people are aspirational. As I meet people here they say they want to see change.
David Ward (Independent)
Sometimes you just have to do what you think is the right thing.
People may not always agree with everything I say but I would hope that in our democracy people would support my right to free speech. I am standing as an Independent candidate so that I can once again represent the people in the community that I and my family live in.
No other candidate can match my knowledge of Bradford East or my 30 year record of working for the area. As an Independent MP I can consider every single issue in Parliament and vote in the best interests of Bradford – free from Party control.
I will continue to fight against injustice across the world and I will not be bullied into silence but my main focus will always be local issues.
Car insurance, crime, anti-social behaviour, reckless driving, bad landlords, underperforming schools, costs of social care, creating jobs, a health service buckling at the knees – these are the local issues that I am better placed than any other candidate to campaign on.
Please give me your support on June 8th so I can get back to work for you.
MORE ELECTION NEWS FROM BRADFORD EAST
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