Kingswood by-election: Meet the Candidates
Residents will go to the polls on Thursday
Residents in Kingswood will go to the polls on Thursday to elect a new MP.
A by-election was called at the start of this year following the resignation of Conservative Chris Skidmore, who said he could not support the government's decision to offer new licences for oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.
Polling stations will open tomorrow (15 February) with six candidates on the ballot.
Below you will find an introduction to each of them and their thoughts on some of the area's big issues.
Sam Bromiley: Conservative Party
Sam Bromiley is a Kingswood local, having grown up in the area.
He is also currently an elected member of South Gloucestershire Council, where he leads the Conservative group.
He aims to keep the Kingswood seat blue, which it has been since 2010.
"My number one priority if I am elected is to see greater protection for our green belt," he said.
"What we're finding is the Labour run council want to build 6,000 homes all across the green belt* from Emersons Green down through Hanham and Bitton, and we've got Keir Starmer also saying that the green belt is open to developers and he's going to ignore local opinion.
"So I think this by-election presents a unique opportunity for the public to send a message to Labour, which says, 'no, our green belt is off limits,' and we need to increase the protection, not concrete over it."
Mr Bromiley also says he wants to champion other local issues including noise on the ring road.
Andrew Brown: Liberal Democrats
Andrew Brown who is standing for the Lib Dems, is currently an elected member of Bristol City Council and the deputy leader of his party's group on the council.
He is aiming to win the Kingswood seat for the Liberal Democrats for the first time, the seat always having been either red or blue in the past.
"People have real concerns about cost of living and we need to address that and ensure that people on the lower end of the income spectrum particularly, have what they need to survive," he said.
"The NHS I think is another pressing issue...ensuring people can get GP appointments when they want, and climate change.
"Whoever is elected as MP is going to have to face all of these things and more."
On housing and the green belt he said: "They, (the local council) got a figure that is based on an assessment of need but also a government target, that they have to find places for.
"That can't be met within South Gloucestershire just from the brownfield sites that are available to them...
"My take on it is...we need to find solutions that can create sustainable homes in locations where people want them and need them, but also where they've got adequate infrastructure to support those homes..."
Damien Egan: Labour Party
Damien Egan was until last month the elected Mayor of the London Borough of Lewisham, but he resigned from the position in order to stand in this election.
Originally from Kingswood, Mr Egan says he wants to represent residents in the area where he grew up.
He said: "It's about voting for change.
"We've had 14 years of Conservative government.
"Our area, our part of Bristol is being left in decline.
"People can't get a dentist, we've got no dentist in Kingswood accepting new NHS appointments.
"(It's) really hard to get a doctors appointment (and) cost of living is coming up time and time again."
Mr Egan says he also wants to see more action targeting shoplifting.
On the greenbelt he said: "Building on the greenbelt has gone up 10 fold under the Conservative government.
"We've had 3,000 homes in South Gloucestershire built under the Conservative council on the greenbelt, but how it's being done is in a very unplanned way.
"It's completely developer led and that's what needs to change...
"It needs to be brownfield sites first, and then there needs to be balance."
Lorraine Francis: Green Party
Like Andrew Brown, Lorraine Francis is also a sitting member of Bristol City Council.
She grew up in Bristol and says she is standing because she feels "politics must change".
She said: "There's something really fundamentally wrong with the system that we have...
"(If elected) I would then be able to be pushing some of the issues that I feel the other parties are not doing, so areas around social justice, tackling poverty, wanting to look at the bigger issues around the climate emergency and so on and so forth.
"There's things that we would do that the other parties won't do.
"Both the Conservatives and Labour have reneged on their promises about reducing our carbon footprint and making this Earth a safer place for all of us to be...
"We're not changing the face of politics if we keep voting for the same people."
Ms Francis says her priorities would be "what the residents say".
"We know that some residents in Kingswood are really concerned about the greenbelt.
"I strongly object to us building on green land.
"There's just no reason for it."
Rupert Lowe: Reform Party
Rupert Lowe is a farmer from Gloucestershire and says were he elected, he would donate his entire MP salary to local Kingswood charities.
He says Kingswood residents should vote for him as a protest to say the political system must change.
"Kingswood as a constituency will not exist at the next election so this is a unique opportunity to send rotten Westminster a seismic message that they cannot ignore and begin the process of radical change," he said.
Mr Lowe says the Conservative Party has pushed the country "to the brink" and that a Labour government under Sir Keir Starmer would do no better.
On the greenbelt, Mr Lowe told a recent BBC election debate that it had been overdeveloped.
"To be building on greenbelt is unforgivable when there are many brownfield sites that because of planning complexities, because of inefficiencies in the planning system, are not being developed."
He pinned the need for more housing on "unmanaged immigration".
"We need to control legal and illegal immigration," he said.
Nicholas Wood: UKIP
Nicholas Wood is standing for the United Kingdom Independence Party, otherwise known as UKIP.
He says residents should vote for him because the "mainstream political parties have consistently let you down," and given the chance, would do so again.
"And the worst thing about this, it’s ALWAYS at your expense," he said.
"USE THIS ELECTION AND YOUR VOTE TO PUNISH THEM," (his capitals).
"Forget tactical voting or voting for the lesser of two evils.
"Vote for a party that best represents your views and send a message to the political class."
Mr Wood lists several reasons for voting UKIP as follows:
- UKIP supports the NHS and are opposed to privatisation, "however reforms are needed."
- Better social care for children and the elderly.
- More police on the streets, not in patrol cars. Full funding for police and fire services.
- UKIP wants a referendum on capital and corporal punishment.
- The Civil Service exists to serve "the people who pay its wages, not to subvert elected government."
- Tax cuts and cuts to public expenditure.
- "No more squandering of money overseas. Taxpayers' money to be spent in Britain."
Why should I vote?
Many people have been asking this question as when the next general election comes around, the Kingswood constituency will cease to exist.
That means that whoever wins this by-election will only be in office for, at most, 11 months.
We asked the candidates why people should care who wins.
Lorraine Francis for the Greens said: "If you have a vote you should use your vote.
"There's so many people that will sit at home and say I really object to that...but then they don't go and vote."
*The local Conservative and Labour groups in South Gloucestershire are each blaming each other for plans to build on the greenbelt.
The Tories ran the council until May 2023, when Labour won control in the local elections.