Claire Hazelgrove: ‘My vision for Filton and Bradley Stoke’

Claire Hazelgrove is the parlimentary candidate for Filton & Bradley Stoke, after winning the selection in November 2022 with the likes of Bristol North West MP Darren Jones and metro mayor Dan Norris providing endorsements.

Hazelgrove is a former member of the senior leadership team at Friends of the Earth and the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.

Filton & Bradley Stoke is a seat which is currently represented by Conservative MP Jack Lopresti but with a majority of less than 6,000 it is firmly on the Labour target list for the next general election.

What got you involved in politics, family, experience or something else?

“My family aren’t in politics at all. None of them have been a member of a political party, let alone involved. They were all teachers, NHS workers and RAF service members. It was all about public service and I think those values that I grew up with have stuck. They’re very meaningful to me. I am the first generation of my family to not serve in some way. I suppose I’m trying to – just a bit differently – and serve our community and country in the way that I hope to be able to: to make life fairer for people.

“I got involved through the Make Poverty History Campaign, signing people up to my first petition when I was still in sixth form, back in 2005. I went to Edinburgh on the night bus with a friend I roped in from school. We joined that big march around the city, which was made up of thousands of people from different backgrounds showing up with a common cause: make life fairer for people living in extreme poverty around the world. I felt really passionate about that and I always have and always will do.

“That’s kind of when I met the Labour Party. I suppose that’s sort of how I see it. Seeing the Labour government get up on stage there in Edinburgh and save and change lives because these are values the party has was incredibly impactful…

“I remember standing there in this field and thinking, hang on, I don’t quite know what this is but I know it’s what I want to do. Where the groundswell of public will meets political will, that’s where significant and lasting change can happen. That’s what I’ve focused on ever since, whether that’s working for national charities on big issues like affordable housing or climate change, training people across communities in effective campaigning and advocacy for the things that matter to them, or in politics to help make change happen at scale.”

Clare Hazelgrove in November 2022 when she was officially announced as Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Filton & Bradley Stoke – photo: Labour Party

If elected to the House of Commons, what will be your focus as MP for Filton & Bradley Stoke?

“If I’m fortunate enough to be elected, I’m under no illusions that for a long period of time, the country has been let down so badly by this out of touch Conservative government that there will be an awful lot of issues that simply require attention. I would expect to be, and want to be, focusing on those issues. I’m out with our great team listening on the doorstep, with eight campaign sessions a week, and I know people are hurting.

“I know that the cost of living crisis is the biggest issue for many  – we hear that from local people day in and day out – and that’s impacting different people in different ways, and forcing some to make impossible decisions, including whether they can put the heating on as it gets colder, delaying their long-held dreams of buying a home, and even whether they need to come back out of retirement. This isn’t right.

“I would say though, specifically, that the issue there that I have touched on in terms of inequality of opportunity is something that I would absolutely focus on tirelessly in parliament, and I think that means a few different things. I think it means making sure that everybody genuinely has the best opportunities, the best start in life. That your destination, what you go on to do in life, your opportunities are determined by your efforts, not who you are or where you were born.”

Will you protect the green belt in Filton & Bradley Stoke or push for more housing?

“Striking a balance between the fact we need more housing and ensuring we’ve got this stunning nature around us here is important. We all know costs are getting driven up because of a lack of housing supply. I want to make sure that people who call this their home and want to stay here can have the chance to do that, and in good homes with the infrastructure needed – like schools, GPs, dentists – which are already being stretched in places.

“We also don’t want to be losing those views we’re so fortunate to have in South Gloucestershire, the ability to go for wonderful walks with family here, and support our environment. I grew up in the countryside myself; it’s something that is  really important to me. I don’t think it’s right that our current Conservative MP has voted to allow sewage dumping. I’m completely against that and I know local people are too, because I know our area. It’s my home too and I’m out listening all year round.”

Transport is a huge issue in Filton & Bradley Stoke. Other regions are looking at franchising. Is this something that you would support?

“The UK is one of the only places in the developed world in which bus companies dictate whether they will run services or cut them and how much people will pay. That’s not right, so if the Labour Party were to get into power, we will undertake the largest reform to public public transport – particularly of the buses – in the last 40 years.

“We have a great Labour metro mayor here, Dan Norris, who is trying to do what he can with limited powers and pockets of funds from central government. Hopefully, we’ll get in at the next general election, because a Labour government would devolve more powers to communities when it comes to decisions like bus routes. These are not decisions that belong in London, or just with bus companies.”

The aerospace industry is one of the most important employers in Filton & Bradley Stoke, but after Brexit it seems like that may be in decline with Rolls Royce announcing 2,500 job cuts. Will you be pushing for closer relations with the European Union?

“When I speak with our brilliant aerospace companies here, what we hear again and again is that there are real challenges. Things can be harder in terms of trading now, since Brexit, and there is more red tape, not less, and things are taking longer to do. That’s not what I think anybody voted for. Our position in the Labour Party is very clear: we are not going back into the EU and we are not joining the single market. It is about renegotiating that deal because it’s a bad deal that the Conservative government negotiated and we need to look at that so that our people and businesses can have the stability and security they need.”

Main photo: Claire Hazelgrove

Read next:

• Claire Hazelgrove is Labour candidate for Filton & Bradley Stoke
• Damien Egan beats Marvin Rees to become Labour’s Bristol North East candidate
• All four Bristol MPs abstain on ceasefire vote

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