Olivia Bell Scottish Labour's Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross GE candidate

2nd June 2017

"I see myself as the 'ordinary' candidate in this election; a grandmother with two grown up sons, a first-time candidate, married and living in the Highlands for 37 years.

I currently work as a Parliamentary Assistant to Highlands and Islands Labour MSPs Rhoda Grant and David Stewart. As a former journalist, I am used to campaigning on local issues and listening to local people and my feet would be firmly planted in this constituency if elected as your MP.

What makes me angry is that there are four million children still in poverty in the UK, education is failing our young people and families are still in need of food banks.

On the doorstep people are concerned about cutbacks to rural health services, lack of Patient Transport, a road and rail transport system which desperately needs upgrading, poor broadband connectivity and the shortage of good, quality jobs.

They are sick of the austerity policies made by the Tories and passed on by the SNP. This is brought into sharp focus when it comes to the health service - here NHS Highland is facing £100 million in cuts to its budget in the next three years.

But this doesn't need to be the case. The Scottish Parliament would receive a huge increase in funding from Labour's national strategy, set out in its progressive manifesto, which would tax the very rich and corporations. Labour would set up a Scottish Investment Bank with £20 billion of funds available to local projects and small businesses. Labour would invest in health, education and public services.

The SNP is driving home its push for a second, divisive independence referendum which Labour is definitely against. I voted 'No' last time and will vote 'No' again. And the Tories' push for a hard Brexit would really hit our local economy.

When it comes to the Lib-Dems, could you trust them after being in a coalition with the Tories last time around?

Labour has set out that it would bring in a £10 an hour real Living Wage, keep the triple lock protecting pensions, get rid of Zero Hour contracts and scrap the punitive benefits sanctions regime. It would renationalise the rail service and return Royal Mail to public ownership.

Britain is the fifth richest country in the world, but that wealth isn't being shared around.

You have a choice on June 8th. Vote Labour for the many and not the few!"