More police, teachers and scrapping business rates - how the Liberal Democrats say they would help Hartlepool

Andy Hagon is the party’s candidate standing in the General Election called for Thursday, December 12.

He says, the town could benefit from extra police officers, teachers and help the high street by freeing businesses from expensive building rates under policies of the Liberal Democrats.

They are proposing to scrap business rates altogether and replace them with a commercial landowner levy, based on the value of the land only.

Mr Hagon said the proposals would cut taxes for businesses in Hartlepool by 31%.

“The Liberal Democrats will shift the tax burden from tenants to landlords, so we can breathe new life back into our high streets,” he said.

“We will stop Brexit and build a brighter future, giving local businesses the certainty and support they need to thrive.”

The Lib Dems also say they would invest £1 billion to restore community policing, enough for two new police officers for every Hartlepool ward giving 22 for the town.

Mr Hagon added: “We will ensure that there are enough officers to gather the intelligence that is vital for both preventing and solving crimes, to forge relationships with individuals in the community, and to work in partnership with schools, youth services, community groups and other local organisations.”

The party also say they would recruit 2,000 more prison officers nationally to transform prisons into places of rehabilitation and recovery.

And the Lib Dems say they would spend £10 billion a year more on schools and hire 20,000 more teachers by the end of the next Parliament.

Mr Hagon claims that by 2020/21, schools in Hartlepool will have seen their budgets cut by over £4.2 million in real terms since 2015, the equivalent of £313 per pupil.

He said: “As someone who used to teach in a Hartlepool secondary school, I know that young people across the town deserve world-class schools and colleges so they can get the best start in life.

“As the next MP for Hartlepool, I will fight to reverse school cuts so that our children can get the resources they need to learn.”

Also standing for election in Hartlepool are Joe Bousfield (Independent), Kevin Cranney (Socialist Labour Party), Mike Hill (Labour), Stefan Richard Houghton (Conservative) and Richard Tice (The Brexit Party).