Chris Nicholson, Liberal Democrat, Streatham

Name: Chris Nicholson

Candidate for: Streatham

Party: Liberal Democrat

Votes: 16,778

Profile:

Environment

The Liberal Democrats have put environment at the heart of their manifesto. We will work towards a global deal on climate change, set firm targets to reduce carbon emissions including ensuring 40 per cent of electricity is from non-carbon emitting sources by 2020. We will divert £3.1bn of spending to create 100,000 new jobs producing green technology. We will cancel the third Heathrow runway and reject expansion of nuclear energy.

Transport

South London has been neglected by TFL and I will back an extension of the Northern Line south into Streatham. I will press for maintenance works to take place in bursts rather than the planned prolonged weekend Tube closures. Rail operators like First Capital Connect will be held to account for poor services. Cycling provision will be improved.

Crime

Local police services are key to fighting crime in our community. I successfully campaigned to keep Streatham police station open and restore the vice squad. We want to see 3,000 extra police officers on the beat and will remove bureaucracy. Reoffending rates are a national scandal so where possible, we will increase prisoner training and implement neighbourhood justice programmes to deter repeat petty crime.

Education

I want to make sure every child has a fair start in life. We would invest £2.5bn to cut class sizes and to provide extra tuition for struggling pupils. We want to make sure everyone has an equal opportunity to study at university, and the only way to achieve this is to scrap tuition fees.

Economy/Jobs

Vince Cable and the Liberal Democrats have made all the right calls on the economy. We are the only party being honest about the hard choices to be made on public spending . We need a fairer tax system: Nobody would pay tax on the first £10,000 of income putting £700 back into the pockets of people on low and average incomes.We would act to reduce the number of empty shops in Streatham High Road.

Health

The Liberal Democrats would prioritise protecting frontline services, such as maternity units and accident and emergency clinics. I will fight any plans to close Mayday A&E and Maternity units. We will cut out wasteful bureaucracy and remove centralised targets replacing them with patient entitlements to get diagnosis and treatment on time.

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