News / Politics
Green Party announce candidate for Kingswood by-election
A councillor and social worker will stand as the Greens’ parliamentary hopeful in the upcoming Kingswood by-election.
Lorraine Francis is the fourth candidate to throw her hat into the ring for the seat following the resignation of Tory Chris Skidmore.
The social worker who works in Kingswood and is a councillor for Eastville says she is standing as she feels “politics must change” and wants to offer people the opportunity to “elect somebody different”.
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Francis will stand against Tory Sam Bromiley, Labour’s Damien Egan and Reform candidate Rupert Lowe in the by-election taking place on February 15, with the Lib Dem’s yet to announce a candidate.
The elected MP will be in place for a matter of months before the general election will see the existing constituency demolished. It will be split between the new Bristol North East constituency and Somerset North East & Hanham, in what is currently Tory Jacob Rees Mogg’s constituency.
Speaking about her reasons for standing, Francis, who was born and lives in Bristol, says: “My love of Bristol and Bristol East has led me to stand in the seat which Mr Skidmore has held for the past ten years. Labour held the seat previously, so what will be different this time? I am standing as I feel that politics must change. Too many of our MPs have changed the way that Great Britain is being managed, this includes how our taxes are spent and our involvement in international affairs.”
The Green candidate criticised licences for deep sea oil contracts – the reason Skidmore dramatically resigned – and said she is passionate about keeping the NHS as a public and accessible service, and tackling the housing crisis.
She continued: “In the Kingswood constituency, there are a variety of different issues which affect residents. You want to protect your green spaces and improve air quality as well as maintaining your heritage including buildings.
“If you want a hard-working MP, who understands the area, then this is your opportunity to elect someone different who will work alongside residents and listen and support your range of community needs.”
Main photo: Ellie Pipe
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