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Andy Terry (British National Party) and Sarah Merrill (Labour) were asked to contribute but had not at the time of going to press.
Candidates are presented in alphabetical order by party. They were asked to write a maximum of 300 words and articles have been cut off to reflect this.
Click here for election news and here for articles by the Meriden candidates.
Maggie Throup (The Conservative Party):
I have lived in Solihull for 23 years and I know that it is a special place to live and work. I first became involved in politics in 2001 when I set up and led a campaign to protect acres of Green Belt from a motorway service station – this was an 8-year battle which I eventually won in January 2009.
Ever since then I have been fighting hard for the people of Solihull. I acted swiftly to mount a campaign to ‘Save Solihull Maternity Services’ as soon as I heard about the plans to lose consultant cover at Solihull Hospital. I have been leading the way on this issue, holding a high profile town centre rally as well as lobbying key stake holders.
In March 2009, in response to the doubling of unemployment in Solihull, I set up a Job Club which, over the first 12 weeks, helped to get over 90% of those attending back into work or decide on a change in career. Solihull Job Club now runs in conjunction with the faith community, offering practical advice on CVs, interview technique as well as the much needed friendship and community spirit.
I will always continue to stand up for Solihull and be the strong voice in Westminster Solihull really needs as its next MP. With only 279 votes between the Conservatives and victory here in Solihull every vote counts and will make a huge difference to this countries future. We can have five more years of Gordon Brown, or a Conservative Government with new ideas that will deliver the change that this country so urgently deserves.
Lorely Burt (Lib Dem):
Change. If there is one word that could sum of the desire of the British electorate for 2010 it would be change. A desire to get away and never return to the politics of old which has let so many British people down. A need to throw out a governing Labour Party that had offered us so much hope yet has failed to deliver on so many of their promises. The desire for change is running so deep in the electorate that the two main opposition parties have tried to capitalise the mood and feature it prominently in their slogans.
In 2005, Silhillians took a gamble and opted for something different by voting for me to represent them in Westminster. They now know that change can be a great thing. Everyday I knock on the doorsteps I am told by so many of you how for the first time you have an MP who has not just went down to London to enjoy the atmosphere and vote strictly how their party wants them to. I am stopped everywhere in Solihull with people thanking me for sticking up for their values and the matters that mean the most to them in Westminster.
Should Silhillians grant me the honour of representing Solihull in parliament for a second time I will once again promise to give them the service they have now come to expect. I will never blindly follow the party line and vote against their interests because big business have given massive donations to my political party. I will continue to present bills to parliament on issues which matter to Solihull. I will stand up and ask the tough questions when I feel that your interests are not being met. And finally, I will continue to have an open door policy.
This article has been edited.
Neill Watts (Solihull and Meriden Residents Association):
Following the disgraceful way our MP’s and the main Political Parties have behaved over the last few years, with
scandal after scandal. I am standing this year as your SAMRA INDEPENDENT Candidate, because I strongly believe that it is time for us all in Solihull to ‘Try Something Different’. The Liberal Democrats and Conservatives are currently fighting each other with constant insults without really addressing the Issues affecting us all. We need to have trust in our representatives. Our next MP
needs to be Open, Honest, Accountable and Hard Working. They need to look after our interests rather than that of a Party.
With a hung parliament looking more and more likely, an Independent MP would have an extremely powerful voice and with issues here in Solihull like Jobs at Landrover, the closure of Solihull’s Maternity unit and the procrastination over the Shirley Shopping Centre. We really do need a change away from Party Politics to someone who really cares about what we want rather than that of the Party line.
•I will always represent your views in the House of Commons and will always work with our Local Council to ensure that I am ‘Putting local people first’ not the views of a Party!
•I will fight to protect Solihull Pensioners £250 winter fuel allowance, (which the Liberal Democrats want to cut!)
•I will fight to keep the Landrover Plant in Solihull.
•I will fight for all Children in Nursery and Primary Education to have a free School Meal.
•I will fight to ensure that the tax we pay nationally and locally is fully Accountable.
•I will fight to restore full Maternity Services in Solihull Hospital.
•I will fight for a proper action plan to regenerate the Shirley Shopping Area.
•I will always fight to ‘Keep the Pound’.
This article has been edited.
John Ison (UK Independence Party):
The UK Independence Party is perhaps best known for our commitment to leaving the undemocratic European Union, but at this election we are fighting on a range of issues that matter to the average person.
With a population increasing by 400,000 annually (70% of which is due to immigration) it is time to take firm action on immigration. UKIP believes in fair play, and would issue work permits and help those genuinely in need. But Labour, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats – all shackled to the European Union – can do nothing to stop unlimited immigration from Eastern Europe.
Crime is out of control; only UKIP will build the prisons necessary to enforce sentences that mean what they say.
Only by raising the tax threshold (“No Tax on Minimum Wage”) can we ensure that everyone is better off working than they would be on benefits. And we’d expect healthy long-term benefit claimants to do some community work in exchange for those benefits.
How will we pay for this? There’s a £16.4 billion a year start from leaving the EU – and that’s before we start slashing spending on non-essential bureaucracy and quangos.
But what about changing the system to give people a reason to believe that they can make a difference to our future? In UKIP, we believe that people matter more than politicians. Therefore you should be able to force a vote on key issues. If enough people call a petition on a key local or national issue (perhaps euthanasia, Afghanistan, animal rights, the death penalty or even a local planning issue) then a binding referendum should be held. The public have little say on such matters at the moment because they don't really fit into political manifestos; they are matters of conscience.
Give people real power and voter apathy will reduce overnight.
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