Here's why North West Leicestershire's election candidates want your vote on Thursday
The country goes to the polls on Thursday for the General Election - but who are the candidates asking for your vote in North West Leicestershire?
Polling stations will be open in the Coalville and Ashby area between 7am-10pm with the count being held at the Whitwick & Coalville Leisure Centre.
The result is expected to be announced at around 3.30am.
North West Leicestershire was won by Andrew Bridgen as a Conservative MP in 2019.
Mr Bridgen has represented the constituency since 2010.
He originally served the area as a Conservative MP, but was ousted by the party for a tweet in which he said Covid vaccines were the " biggest crime against humanity since the holocaust" . He then briefly represented Laurence Fox's Reclaim Party before switching to sit – and stand in this election – as an independent.
But the opinion polls suggest the seat will be a close-run contest between Conservative and Labour.
Amanda Hack is the Labour candidate, with Craig Smith representing the Conservatives.
We asked the candidates to pitch reasons as to why you should vote for them.
They are listed here in alphabetical order.
Carl Benfield is the Green Party candidate for North West Leicestershire
As the Green Party candidate for the second time, I am driven by a profound belief that our electoral system is broken, our climate is in crisis, and our society is failing. Yet, there's a silver lining: more Green votes can significantly influence the direction of the new Labour Government.
Throughout this campaign, my inbox has been flooded with requests, with 95 per cent of them focusing on better health and social care, education, animal welfare, and the environment. These are the real issues that affect ordinary people daily, unlike the divisive "wedge" issues other parties emphasise.
Locally, I am committed to reopening the Ivanhoe Line, integrating better bus services, opposing the Freeport, and ensuring more transparent decisions on housing and industrial developments.
On a national level, I aim to expose the financial influences in politics that are leading to increased polarisation, similar to what we see in America. I will continue to campaign for proportional representation and hold the Government accountable for its promises and ethical practices.
Thank you for your support.
Independent candidate Andrew Bridgen
"This election is not about Conservative and Labour; or right and left. It's about right and wrong. I've been on the right side since 2010.
"On HS2, the Horizon scandal, Brexit and so many other issues I have been fighting party whips for fourteen years – because on those issues the will of the party conflicted with the will of the people of North West Leicestershire.
"If you elect one of my opponents this is the fight they will be in. I am certain they do not have the stomach for it.
"These fights have borne fruit: 1.2 jobs for every person, eight hundred new houses a year, economic growth amongst the highest in the country. You don't have these things by mistake. You have them because I am a fighter.
"If you elect a party yes-man (or woman) these prizes will disappear. Labour and the Conservatives bicker about how to spend the proceeds of your ever increasing tax burden. On the big issues that affect the destiny of this country you never hear a debate.
"Net Zero is a sham based on pseudo science. Immigration should be brought down and the men in small boats prosecuted. Children should not be taught that gender is not binary. Covid lockdowns caused great harm. The vaccines killed and hurt people.
"Nobody else on your ballot is allowed to talk about these things. Only me. If you want an Independent voice in Parliament you must stand with me on July 4th."
Liberal Democrat candidate Alice Delemare
"I'm proud to stand as the Liberal Democrat candidate for North West Leicestershire so people can vote for someone who's a strong advocate for the environment, puts local communities first and makes sure everyone is given a voice.
"After listening to people across the constituency, I have three priority issues in this election. I stand for greater protection of local green fields from unwanted and destructive development.
"Housing is needed but it must be in the right location. Housing should be affordable for local young people who are struggling to buy their first property. Top-down interference and building expensive housing on green fields will only lead to chaos.
"I will fight for more resources to regenerate our towns; bringing empty and iconic buildings like the Rex back into use for the community. I will push for better transport links for NW Leicestershire, including backing the Ivanhoe line proposal to provide a passenger train line from Coalville and Ashby through to Leicester.
"I want to ensure any new stations on the proposed line are fully step-free and accessible for people with disabilities and families with young children. I will advocate for a better deal for people who need care, ensuring that no one has to sell their home to pay for personal care.
"With my lifelong experience as a social justice campaigner, I am familiar with helping people stand up against broken and unfair systems."
Independent candidate Siobhan Dillon
"I have lived contentedly for 18 years in Coleorton, Leicestershire. Jolted by the events of 2020, our democracy appeared totalitarian overnight, and the British character got upended. A natural questioner/researcher with a bent for science, I looked at how our governance was changed.
"Authority, in the hands of one or many, can be used for good or for ill. There needs to be checks and balances within a system to keep authorities working within their jurisdiction.
"I believe the role of governance is to facilitate people to lead their lives in peace. Humanity, a creative force for good, is endowed with inalienable rights which should be protected. Democracy, with trial by jury as set within our constitution should be upheld, with the doctrine of the lesser magistrate.
"As a new parish councillor (and once a union rep) I have seen rules and protocols provide mechanisms for working in a fair and just way. MPs should be scrutinising government to ensure this. Some of the abuses of power come from giving away this ability by permitting too much secondary legislation.
"Technocratic and stakeholder capitalist influences need to be curbed. Our Common Law heritage needs to be upheld. Freedom of thought and speech is essential – truth does not mind questioning. Underpinned by these democratic principles, I will endeavour to give voice to the people of NW Leicestershire."
Labour candidate Amanda Hack
"I've been listening to people all over North West Leicestershire. Unsurprisingly, many people are fed up with politics. Nonetheless, this general election matters. Not just to you, but to your children and grandchildren. Let me explain.
"I moved to Leicestershire 30 years ago. I studied here, worked hard, built a career, bought a home, and raised a family. It's been a privilege to lead the Labour group at County Hall. Standing to be the MP for North West Leicestershire is one of my proudest achievements.
"But the last 14 years have been tough. Everywhere I look, things aren't working – bills rising, food banks, crumbling schools, waiting on hold for a doctor, potholes, rivers full of sewage, our armed forces weakened, the list keeps growing.
"This is the Britain that our children will inherit unless we vote for change. We can cut energy bills for good. We can get the NHS back on its feet. We can take back our streets from the criminals. We can kick-start growth. Most importantly, we can break down the barriers to opportunity created by the Conservatives.
"This is just the start. Everything is fully funded. There will be no return to the economic chaos of the last few years. Only a Labour government can make this happen; a protest vote elsewhere could result in another Tory MP.
"With your support, I will ensure North West Leicestershire shares the fruits of a return to stability with a Labour government. Vote for change. Vote for Labour."
Noel Matthews is the Reform candidate for North West Leicestershire.
Mr Matthews posted the following on social media: At the next general election the people of North West Leicestershire have a simple choice. Do they vote for change or do they vote for more of the same? Change is long overdue but that needn't mean choosing from the same old stagnant pool of career politicians and party place-men and women. There is little difference between Labour and Conservative any longer, they have finally, and inevitably, met in the centre which is precisely where they want to be. Indeed, Keir Starmer's only appeal to conservatives, from the platform at the Labour party conference, was vote for us because we won't be quite as ineffectual as them. Not much of a choice is it?
Reform does what it says on the tin. It means real change. Common sense. It means saving Britain from crackpot wokeism, out of control spending, swingeing taxation, Net Zero madness, uncontrolled mass immigration, both legal and illegal, the interfering European Court of Human Rights and the cosy consensus on all of this which we see at Westminster today and which has cost us the real Brexit the majority of people voted for in this constituency
I have already made my home in North West Leicestershire and my young daughter is getting a fantastic education at a great state school in Coalville. I work in Ashby-De-La Zouch and so every day I am seeing the challenges facing local people and they have also been telling me about the issues that concern them. North West Leicestershire needs an MP who follows through on those issues rather than using their platform to campaign prolifically on a single issue. Outside of the incumbent, the rest of us have experience in local government as sitting or former councillors, in business or in public service. I have been a school governor and a Town Councillor. I am a trained nurse who spent 12 years in the NHS and world-travelling IT Consultant. I have worked in Nigeria, Thailand, The USA, The Philippines and, of course, here in the UK.
North West Leicestershire needs a bold representative who is returned to parliament to get results. Rishi Sunak has made promises around the restoration of the Ivanhoe line but there has been zero progress on it. Who is there demanding that progress be made? Who is there to protect our rural and agricultural areas from rampant over-development? People are tellng me that they have been let-down and have little confidence in any of the main parties. There is an alternative
If you really want a determined representative who believes in getting results, then put your cross next to Noel Matthews, Reform UK on polling day.
Conservative Candidate Craig Smith
When you are asked what are the things you care about most, what do you answer?
It's something I've thought about for a long time, and I know my answer. I care about my family, I care about my community, North West Leicestershire, and I care about my country, England. That's it. That's the things that matter to me.
Having grown up alongside you I believe that's what matters to you too. I am so proud to be one of our own – born at Ashby Cottage Hospital, raised in Whitwick, the village where I still live and have raised my own family.
How amazing would it be to have an ordinary lad who went to school in Coalville representing us in parliament?
I want to do that as your Conservative MP. I want the best schools in our area, better medical facilities and more NHS dentists too. I want better public transport and – at last – the return of the Ivanhoe Line. I want more, well-paid jobs for our children to do and I want them to be able to afford a house. I want our older people to be looked after with the security of a good pension, and tighter controls on immigration.
I also don't want to be the party's parrot, just repeating party line after party line. Yes, I am a member of a political party, but I want to be a strong voice within that party not just sitting at the sidelines cheering on the leadership. I want to put forward new ideas, fresh out-of-the-box ideas that really matter to ordinary people.
I want all of these things because these are the things that matter to me.
I think that's what you, my neighbours, want too.
If elected I will always do my absolute best for NWL, give everything my 100 per cent. I am acutely aware that when my political journey ends, this will still be my home, still be the home of my friends and family, people I went to school with and grew up with. I want to leave it in a better place than where I found it, I'd like people to say: "Yeah that Craig, he was a fantastic local constituency MP who fought for his residents".
It's quite a responsibility, a responsibility I do not take lightly.
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