John Shaw: Why I'm standing as Lib Dem candidate for MP for Basingstoke

I've lived in Basingstoke for over two decades. It's a great place and I'm proud to call it home, but I know it could be better.

I'm passionate about education, health and housing, and will join the many Basingstoke residents who disagree with Theresa May's hard Brexit.

Our local schools are facing funding cuts while billions are being spent on divisive Conservative plans to expand grammar and free schools. We'll invest £7 billion in the education system to ensure that no school and no child loses out, and all of our children have the opportunity to shape the future they deserve.

We need to build more homes so that young people, as well as teachers, nurses, carers and the police, can afford to live in the area.

Our health system is in crisis. 10,000 bed days were lost in hospitals in and around Basingstoke last year because patients couldn't be discharged into under-funded, under-staffed social care. We'll put that right by investing £6 billion nationally in health and social care.

And we need more Liberal Democrats MPs across the country to prevent a disastrous hard Brexit that will damage our economy, starve essential services of funding and make us all worse off.

Only the Liberal Democrats can prevent a Conservative majority. The Labour Party is in a mess, fighting amongst themselves rather than acting as the effective opposition this country so urgently needs. UKIP doesn't know what it stands for any more now that the Conservatives have adopted many of their policies.

I have a long track record of campaigning for local people, having served as Councillor for Brookvale and Kings Furlong on Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council between 1998 and 2014 (during which time I held a number of senior posts including Cabinet Member for Recreation and Culture) and represented Basingstoke North West on Hampshire County Council. I have also been a partner governor of an NHS hospital trust and board member of a local involvement network representing the needs of patients.

On 8 June, we have chance to make our country more open, more tolerant and more successful. Voting Lib Dem will help change Britain's future.

That's why I'm standing as Liberal Democrat candidate for MP for Basingstoke.

For more information, go to my Facebook page or sign up for regular email updates.