Jon Trickett

Labour Party

1. We have an approaching demographic that will require additional social care on top of our already strained system. What changes will you advocate to meet this need?

One day, when I went to visit my dad who had heart problems and was in St James hospital, a Nurse came up to me and said “you do know that your Father is dying and can’t recover don't you? So we need his bed for someone who we can try and cure.” In fact I didn't know, but I took him home and he died three months later at our house. Every day we had 5 visits by carers to help look after him. We were lucky to get help and were able to release a bed for someone else in need.

Because of my experience with my dad I am passionate about providing more care. Too many people are falling between the cracks. The government has cut the care service to the bone but Labour will create a National Care Service, with locally delivered services, a principle of ‘home first’ that supports people to live independently for as long as possible, with partnerships across employers, workers, trade unions and government with Fair Pay Agreements to retain staff and solve the staffing shortage.

2. What do you think is the biggest issue our nation faces at this time?

The cost of living. Prices are going up faster than wages and salaries.

In the last two years workers in our country have endured the biggest fall in living standards since records began. For many people this means they have less money available for holidays, football at the weekend, going out for a bite to eat or to save for a car or house. For others it means they have sadly fallen into poverty or even deeper into destitution.

More than one in five people (22%) in the UK are now living in poverty. That is 14.4 million people. Shockingly, 29% of children in the UK are living in poverty and most of these are in families who are in work. The Conservatives have created an economy that makes working people worse off. I refuse to accept that this is unavoidable or tolerable. We desperately need a reset.

3. Normanton Foodbank continues to get busier and busier. What policy are you backing that will make the most difference to this situation?

I have visited Normanton food bank, along with many others in our area. The volunteers and staff do a wonderful job. Before the Conservatives took office in 2010, there were hardly any food banks around. Now they outnumber McDonalds restaurants by two to one.

The policy of austerity (cuts to public services) has led to a significant rise in poverty and 14 years of low economic growth. In modern Britain, a job simply does not pay millions of people enough to make ends meet.

Here are just three Labour pledges that I believe will make a difference.

Labour will introduce free breakfast clubs in every primary school so that all kids can start their day with a healthy meal.
Labour will review Universal Credit so that it makes work pay and supports claimants to escape poverty.
Labour will overhaul employment rights with a ‘New Deal for Working People’. This will include banning exploitative zero hours contracts; ending fire and rehire; introducing basic rights from day one; parental leave, sick pay, and protection from unfair dismissal; strengthening the collective voice of workers, including through their trade unions; and creating a Single Enforcement Body to ensure employment rights are upheld.

4. What will be the biggest noticeable change to Normanton in 5yrs time if your party gets into power?

I believe the biggest change a Labour government will make to our area will be making life that little bit easier for families. I have pledged to fight for working people if I am lucky enough to be elected to parliament on July 4th.. A Labour government must provide working people with greater security and freedom to live their lives the way they want. By investing in our country’s future, we can prevent economic decline, create good jobs and make our area more prosperous for everyone.

5. Tell us something surprising about yourself…

When I was 15 my head teacher told me that I would never make anything of myself and said that I should leave school. I felt that I had let down my family. I went to work on building sites with my granddad.

But then I got really annoyed with the whole system because it was obvious that large numbers of people are not well served by the system. I went to college and studied. Little by little I found myself doing well. Eventually I became a Member of Parliament and then I was asked to work in No 10 Downing Street with the Prime Minister.

I have tried to live my whole life with two central thoughts in my mind. First, too many people who don’t deserve it get held back and even left behind. And second, we need to change the way the system works so every single person gets a proper start in life. Every single day that I walked up Downing Street to work I tried to not let it go to my head, to remember who I am, and what I stand for. In an unjust world, we must never forget to fight for fairness for all.