Candidates fighting to represent Woodhouse Park in the May local elections will be facing voters at a hustings session on Wednesday (20th April 2022).
The hustings will begin at 7.30pm at William Temple Church, (Robinswood Road, Wythenshawe, Manchester, M22 0BU).
The candidates fighting the seat are Anna Hablak for the Liberal Democrats, Astrid Johnson for the Green Party, Sarah Judge for Labour, and Stephen McHugh for the Conservatives.
Labour are defending the seat and will be hoping to fend of a challenge from the Greens looking to secure their second seat in the ward.
Last year the Greens pulled off a shock victory, unseating Labour’s Brian O’Neil, securing their first seat on Manchester City Council in 13 years.
Anyone attending the the event can submit questions ahead of the hustings by email: hustingswhp@gmail.com
As part of our general election coverage The Reporter aims to publish statements from each of the candidates standing in Wythenshawe and Sale East. Today it is the turn of Liberal Democrat candidate, William Jones.
William joined the Liberal Democrats in 2005 as identified with their core beliefs and policies for a fairer democracy, and is determined to help change Britain’s future. Chair of the Trafford Liberal Democrats, he is an experienced candidate having stood in multiple local council elections
An active volunteer around Trafford he established the Sale Wombles litter picking group in 2012 and is also chair of the Friends of Pickering Lodge Park in Timperley. William has also sat as a school governor and chair of governors at Manor High Secondary School for special needs children between 2011 and 2016.
William has worked in the Information Technology sector since graduating from university in 1994 is currently a lead architect working at DXC Technology to design clinical and administrative software to health care providers worldwide including the NHS.
William believes democracy needs more people from diverse backgrounds in parliament, so voters can be confident that their elected representative understands their needs and can apply this understanding to helping people in their day-to-day lives.
Issues fighting on in the election:
1) Giving Wythenshawe and Sale East the opportunity to control our destiny and change the direction of the country on Brexit by negotiating a deal with the remaining members of the EU. Then that deal would be put to a referendum of accept it and leave or reject it and rejoin our European partners in the EU. The country did not vote for hard brexit on 23 June 2016 that meant leaving the single market and customs union endangering the living standards of every voter in Wythenshawe and Sale East.
2) The NHS is in crisis and we see this crisis day to day in Wythenshawe and Sale East in adult social care and in Wythenshawe hospital with extreme pressure on A&E. We need to be realistic and pay more for our NHS with some increase in taxation necessary to support it through this difficult period. Details on this will be available at our manifesto launch.
3) Standards of Living – the Tories believe they have this election ‘in the bag’ and plan to have a post election budget in late June. After 2015 they had some nasty surprises for voters. In 2017 those nasty surprises are likely to be in the form of removal of the pensions triple lock (brought in by Lib Dem minister Steve Webb) hitting pensioners incomes for many years to come and the self employed are likely to be hit too with rises in national insurance that the chancellor tried to introduce in his March budget but had to u-turn. There is also the Brexit elephant in the room, we just don’t know how much taxes may have to rise to get the UK through the stormy waters of Brexit. Lib Dems will be keeping the triple lock, after all we introduced it and its a good policy, protecting pensioners incomes and we will be the friend of the self employed by helping them and not taxing them.
With four weeks to go to the general election, Wythenshawe’s candidates have been announced today.
As expected, Mike Kane will defend the seat we first won in a by-election in 2013 for Labour. The party launched it’s election campaign earlier this week.
Fiona Green, who contested the seat in the 2015 general election has been chosen again as the candidate for the Conservative Party and William Jones, from Timperley will represent the Liberal Democrats.
Dan Jerome is the candidate for the Green Party and UKIP will be represented by Mike Bayley-Sanderson. There will also be an independent candidate, Luckson Francis Augustine.
Manchester City Council has warned that people will not be able to vote on 8 June unless they have registered by Monday 22 May, and anyone who has moved recently should ensure their address details are correct.
Anyone who is on the electoral register can also register to vote by post or choose to appoint a proxy to vote on their behalf – particularly as the upcoming General Election falls during the holiday season.
Applications for a postal vote must be received by 5pm on 23 May.
Joanne Roney OBE, Returning Officer for Manchester, said: “It is important that everyone in this city has a voice and that they have their voice heard, but to do this it is vital that you are registered to vote. Anyone who is not registered is urged to do so as soon as possible to make sure you can use your vote on 8 June.”
Northenden councillor Mary di Mauro has been selected to represent the Liberal Democrats in the Wythenshawe and Sale East by-election.
Cllr Di Mauro currently serves on on Manchester City Council’s executive consultative committee and personnel committee. She is also a member of the Mersey Valley Joint Committee.
Cllr Di Mauro is the only woman candidate declared so far to fight the election which will be held on February 13.
Other candidates who have been selected are Mike Kane for Labour, Rev Daniel Critchlow for the Tories, John Bickley for UKIP, Ciaron Goggins for the East Sale Liberation Front, Captain Chaplington-Smythe for the Monster Raving Loony Party and Eddy O’Sullivan for the British National Party.