STUART ROBERTS
Opportunity and Fairness for All
Stuart believes in order to address the values, aspirations and ambitions of modern Britain we must create a society that is fairer and more caring. A society that gives everyone access to the resources and experiences they need to ensure we can become the best version of ourselves. To achieve this Stuart would focus on a number of key areas.
Education
The beating heart of any community that values future generations is education. No child should face the future without having been given the best possible start at school. We have some incredible schools in the area. However our brilliant teachers deserve for pupils not to go to school hungry or cold and to have proper access to modern IT.
If we do not prioritise the education of the next generation the gap between rich and poor will grow ever wider and entire generations of young people will loose out on the big opportunities of the future
Stuart is passionate about education and has always enjoyed engaging with schools, universities and colleges
Poverty
One of the cruellest images of the current Tory party is when we see cheering elected officials celebrating the opening of a food bank. Food banks should only ever be a sign of political failure and celebration should only be used when the last food bank becomes surplus to requirement. For nurses and teachers to have to rely on a food bank is shocking and highlights how the current Government have failed to address the real issue which is not food poverty, fuel poverty or housing poverty BUT is income poverty. Inflation and current financial pressures are pouring ever greater pressure on to those who are already at breaking point.
Physical and Mental Health
The NHS is one of the UK's crown jewels. The way the current Government have starved it of resources, stretched its staff beyond breaking point and ignored the ever worsening social care crises is a national embarrassment. Ignoring a near decade long pay freeze for nurses when negotiating this years nursing strikes shows a Government that has little or no understanding about the workload of nurses or the pressure the NHS is under. We need an urgent national solution not only to the current NHS pressures but also to the long term funding of social care.
Stuart has been a strong advocate for mental health amongst farmers and rural communities, where the number of young men who take their own lives is shockingly high. In the leadership positions he has held Stuart has campaigned for more NHS resources to be put into mental health provision and he has worked hard to remove the stigma association with mental health and farming. As a local MP he would continue to campaign for mental health to be treated with parity to physical health.
Stuart will often use his farm to organise events to help others