“Jo Barton, South Ribble’s Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate has today pledged that if her party are elected with a majority in December’s election, she will reverse Article 50 and push for a better deal in Europe. Both the Conservative and Labour Candidate’s parties would see the United Kingdom broken up in a rush to leave the EU, something that must be avoided at all costs.
She said, “I am a proud European and I believe that the best deal we can offer for South Ribble residents is to remain in the EU and work towards strengthening the bonds that our grandparents fought and died for in two world wars. Our local business, farmers and growers depend on links with the EU for their businesses to prosper. Severing those links would be disastrous to the economy of South Ribble”.
As a local girl born in Chorley Hospital, she is also committed to improving services such as mental health, children’s and maternity provision, and making sure that the hospital retains its A&E department. Under a Tory majority, Jo is concerned that the NHS will be decimated and sold to the highest bidder after Brexit and feels that the NHS is one of our highest priorities as a country which must be protected from the vultures that are circling.
Jo is an Environmentalist and absolutely supports initiatives for planting trees across the constituency in order to improve air quality in the region. This issue is at the top of Jo’s agenda locally and the Liberal Democrats have just backed radical action to cut carbon emissions by 75% in the next ten years. Jo says, “We are the last generation that can stop irreversible damage to our planet, we must, for the sake of our children, commit to fighting the climate emergency”.
Jo supports investment in our schools and doing more to encourage and support our beleaguered teachers, doctors, nurses, ambulance, police and firefighting staff, all of whom play vital roles in keeping us safe, secure and educated. Budgets across the board have been slashed while money has been needlessly wasted on trying to deliver Brexit, this government needs to be held to account for its frivolous waste of public funds.
As a mother, Jo is appalled that families across South Ribble are being forced to use food banks. She is angry that children are forced to go to school on empty stomachs as parents cannot afford to feed them. Jo is appalled that, as the fifth-largest economy in the world, we are not doing more to protect the most vulnerable in society from the effects of extreme poverty.
As the only, clearly Remain Candidate in South Ribble Jo is asking voters to place their trust in her to deliver a better future for South Ribble within the European Union.
Jo can be contacted on jo_is@talk21.com.
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