General Election 2019: Congleton Conservative Fiona Bruce

Here, Conservative Party candidate for Congleton and incumbent MP Fiona Bruce explains why she believes she should be given a second term in office.

You have had nine years as MP, how would you assess that time?

It has been a privilege to serve the people of this constituency for more than nine years and I am as keen as ever to do so again.

I would like to thank all the residents for their support – but I don’t take it for granted and I am determined to work as hard as ever if re-elected because I thoroughly enjoy this job and representing the people of this lovely constituency.

The last election was in 2017, are you disappointed you have to fight another one so soon?

The opposite actually. When I first became MP here there was a handful of really key issues that people wanted sorting out in this constituency, and I am very pleased that within the last couple of years or so every one of them has progressed well.

The funding for the Middlewich eastern bypass – that is huge. The initial funding for the business case for Middlewich rail station – that is a very exciting development.

There is also the Congleton link road – another bypass that you can see on the ground now. Between those there is £100 million of Government money that I believe I have played a key part in obtaining.

In Alsager, the number one issue for the whole of my time as MP was to get the Alsager Support Centre up and running and I was proud to open that about four weeks ago.

And for Sandbach, people wanted junction 17 of the M6 made safer. When you came off southbound, the traffic was backing up to the motorway, but I worked with Highways England and sorted that.

Those were the key issues when I became MP. Another was getting rid of the incinerator plans in Middlewich.

So I really feel I can stand up with my record of delivery for this constituency on the key issues, and that is the main plank of my campaign this time. I have worked hard, listened to people’s concerns. I have been a strong voice in Parliament and I have made a positive difference.

And I am really enthusiastic about this job. I know that I helped secure better funding for every school pupil in this constituency because of the work I did on school funding – taking headteachers down to meet the schools minister.

He said to us ‘tell me what you think every pupil should have’. We went away and said every pupil should have £4,800 in senior schools and that was the figure the schools minister adopted nationally. It was a big increase for our schools in this area.

What would you say to voters who might say the progress on those infrastructure projects has been slow?

My former colleagues in Parliament have said to me ‘how on earth did you get two bypasses for one constituency?’ Most of them would love one.

And as for the railway station, when I first met the group of rail enthusiasts in the Boars Head 10 years ago, it was a dream that we would get Middlewich railway station up and running.

But sometimes you have to run with your dreams. We have pushed away, I have raised it in Parliament, I have pressed the Local Enterprise Partnership to prioritise it, we made sure it is in the Cheshire East Council local plan.

And these things take time – but we are making progress. I believe I am contributing to putting Middlewich on the map.

Not only will this provide the town with a railway station but it will open Middlewich up for new jobs. The land alongside the link road will be opened up for employment land for many, many hundreds of new jobs.

That is what people wanted – to bring economic prosperity to the area and for Middlewich to not feel, like it has been for some decades, like a forgotten town. It has never been forgotten by me.

You mention school funding – schools are still under pressure for cash, so what should happen in the next Parliament to support them?

There has been year on year increases in funding and I am told that the Government has already committed to raising that figure to £5,000 per pupil.

I will keep the pressure on to ensure that education resources are provided for this area and it is not just the annual increase for pupils, it is also capital projects.

For example, where we have got an increase in population, I am pushing the Government for more money for school extensions because we need to extend these schools.

This constituency has seen many new homes built in recent years, but infrastructure is stretched, particularly at GP practices…

I agree and the Government is investing – there is a commitment to invest £33 billion extra into the NHS and we are training thousands of new GPs.

We recognise that it is only by stabilising the economy over the last nine years that we can now make this investment. When we came into power in 2010 there was a note left by a Labour minister that said there was no money left.

Labour had spent up, but we have stabilised the economy. I accept that everybody has made sacrifices but they were necessary because otherwise the country could have been in real financial difficulty. But now we are going to invest.

This is an area were there is an exceptional level of older people and therefore that adds potential pressure to the health service. I have lobbied health ministers to ensure that we have our fair share of funding to recognise this age demographic.

Holmes Chapel is one area in particular that needs more GP support and I am pleased that is having an extension.

Aren’t the other parties promising more to boost public services though?

The Conservatives will not be doing what some of the other parties are doing – which is making unprecedented and unaffordable spending promises which risk, not just destabilising, but ruining our economic stability.

We are now on a sound financial track and if we keep on this track we will be able to continue to add funding incrementally to our public services.

But to adopt the kind of crash and burn approach that Labour are doing with their manifest promises would be deeply irresponsible, and there is no way that only the top five per cent earners could possibly afford to pay for Labour’s promises. Everybody will pay.

Anti-social behaviour has been a major issue in Middlewich this year – what should be done to tackle it?

Obviously our investment in 20,000 more police officers will make a difference. I met recently with a very senior Cheshire Police officer and this was one of the issues that we discussed.

I made him aware that this is a local concern. They are aware of it, they are going to ensure there are appropriate resources.

I have to say, I am also delighted that in the manifesto the Prime Minister has included a policy I asked to be put in for the rollout of family hubs.

Family hubs are a place in each community where families can get support. It is not just a Sure Start centre for children aged up to five, but for people at any age and stage of family life.

If you think your relationship is not where it ought to be, before you head to the divorce courts you can get support. If you have got challenges with your teenager, if you are caring for an elderly person and you are trying to get respite care.

These family hubs I have been working on for two years in Parliament. If you can get this embedded in communities across the country then there will be more support for families to engage with and help for youngsters to avoid getting into trouble.

Congleton is usually a safe Conservative seat, but do you think Brexit might change that?

I don’t take a single vote for granted. I work hard all year round, I am campaigning hard, I am out every day delivering leaflets and talking to residents – I have been since the election was called.

As far as Brexit is concerned, the central Conservative message is that we must deliver on the democratic result of the 2016 EU referendum.

We must leave the EU – that is what people voted for. I voted for it and I fully support Boris Johnson in his promise to leave by January 31 if re-elected as Prime Minister.

There was a democratic decision and we must honour it. That was to leave. Otherwise, why should people bother voting ever again?

That is why we need a strong Conservative majority in this election so that we can get Brexit done to honour that decision. I have never felt so passionately in an election as I do now about this message.

What is your stance on HS2?

I have opposed HS2 from the start. I have never voted for it, I don’t believe the business case has been met for the benefits for our constituency.

I also believed from the outset that the money would be better spent on local infrastructure, local rail services, bus services – and I am now more convinced of that than ever as the price has risen to around £100 billion.

I don’t think anybody here would benefits, only the few that travel to London. You cannot argue it is worth it for speed – I go down to London for my job, and 20 to 30 minutes extra does not make a difference.

And it won’t benefit Middlewich unless we get rail services from Crewe. We need to make sure the services are there coming from Crewe, out to Sandbach, Alsager, Congleton and Middlewich.

What benefit will it be to get from London to Crewe faster, if you end up stuck at Crewe?

There has been a lot of opposition to the badger cull as a way of tackling Bovine TB in this constituency. Where do you stand on it?

Farmers in this constituency are experiencing the worst difficulties with TB in their cattle anywhere in Cheshire.

Cheshire has been badly hit – 2,331 cows were slaughtered last year and when a family loses a cow it is not only difficult to replace but they never get the compensation for their loss. But these stats can never fully describe the emotional toll on farmers and farms from the impact of Bovine TB. It cannot be overstated.

I have sat down with farmers that say they live in trepidation. I sat at one farmer’s home and his wife sobbed at the table.

There is a choice. Either we deal with badgers that are carrying this disease from farm to farm or more cows will be slaughtered. It is a cow or a badger.

People say we need to have more vaccinations, but there is no vaccination that will heal an infected badger – once they have got it they have got it.

People say that it is not badgers that are causing the disease to spread, but there is a new report from Defra showing that the majority of cases of Bovint TB are down to badger movement.

No one has successfully dealt with Bovine TB without having some form of cull in wildlife to stop the spreading of disease.

Defra has just produced a new report showing that where TB occurs in Gloucestershire – and they have had culling for a longer time than Cheshire – there has been a two-thirds reduction in Bovine TB rates.

It is working. I absolutely support our farmers when they say that.

I don’t want to see animals killed – but it is a badger or a cow, and these farmers in our countryside are out in all weathers, working hard to feed us. The cows are part of their family, some have had their herds for generations.

I know I have an opposite view on this from at least three – probably four of the other candidates in this constituency but I am quite clear on it. I support our farmers.

Finally, you have a day off – no work or campaigning to do. How would you spend your ideal day in Cheshire?

I would go out walking with my lovely husband around the Cheshire Ring.