'We just need a Government with the vision to back us' - says Hartlepool Labour Parliamentary candidate Jonathan Brash

"Growing up in Hartlepool, meeting my wife here and raising our family here, I am fiercely proud of our heritage and deeply invested in our future.

“Securing a prosperous future for our town is personal to me and for too long we have been let down by politicians who over-promise and under-deliver.

“The Conservative rhetoric of ‘levelling up’ has never met the reality of our ambitions for Hartlepool. This has to change.

“Renovating hotels, building rail platforms, buying up parts of our shopping centre may, perhaps, provide short-term, superficial improvements. But will they

resolve the underlying, long-term challenges we face?

“Will they provide the new skills, new jobs and new industries we need to grow our economy?

“Will they improve the lives and livelihoods of Hartlepool people and those of our children? The answer is obviously no.

“The Government’s agenda seems entirely focussed on funding eye-catching, but ultimately limited, capital projects that make for a nice photocall and a headline, but which fail to

address our real needs.

“Consider our iconic FE College, built by the last Labour Government and home to world class education and training, which has had its funding cut (along with our other schools and colleges) every year for over a decade. Superficial changes, not long term solutions.

“This backward approach has now morphed into the madness of Liz Truss and her budget.

“In an act of economic self-harm they are squandering billions on tax cuts for the rich, paid for by us, while doing nothing for ordinary people. The Conservatives have abandoned the centre ground of British politics, abandoned economic credibility and abandoned the people of Hartlepool in the process.

“There is an alternative, one that can rebuild Britain, one that recognises that our country’s wealth and prosperity has always been built on the innovation of working people and the industry that is proudly part of Hartlepool’s heritage.

“The energy crisis is a case in point. New technology, such as heat pumps, can help end our addiction to foreign and often highly volatile gas markets. Lowering bills, while helping to make our country independent in its energy supply, is win-win. Yet there are only 3,000 trained heat pump engineers in the UK and we need at least 27,000 to meet our goals.

“Hartlepool’s FE College has the know-how to train them, but not the funding to do it. This is just one example of many. Hartlepool can become a nerve centre for these new technologies and industries, backed by a skilled workforce trained right here in our town.

“We just need a Government with the vision to back us.

“I recently took my two young children to see the Angel of the North. Standing there at the foot of this iconic structure I was reminded of five simple words: ‘It was built in Hartlepool.’

“Our heritage is a proud one, we built great things and we can do it again. The next Labour Government will rebuild Britain; our industry, our economy, our public services. As MP, it will be my mission to ensure that Hartlepool, as it has been in the past, is at the heart of that future.”