WITH the polls set to open on Thursday, the candidates for Cunninghame South have this week revealed the local issues they pledge to champion in the Scottish Parliament.
The statements are presented in alphabeltical order:
Joe Cullinane (Scottish Labour Party):
"I will go into that Parliament with one overarching aim - to stand up for and deliver for our area.
"I will go in with a clear objective of trying to save the Red Cross House facility and retain a Citizens Advice in Irvine.
"I will continue to work to secure a new service for those who relied upon Hazeldene Horticulture.
"I will do everything I can to bring jobs with decent pay and terms and conditions to the area whilst trying to protect existing jobs as I have done in recent months with jobs at AMP Control, HOWCO and i-Tek.
"I want to tackle our housing crisis which leaves too many families with no housing choices and forces them into the private rented sector. I will support rent controls, ambitious plans to build 12,000 new affordable homes a year and more support for first time buyers. I will also look to improve the availability of accessible housing for the disabled and vulnerable.
"I want big changes in mental health services. If you break a bone you will be treated straight away. Why then do we expect people with mental health problems to wait 18 weeks and even then the waiting time targets aren't being met?
"I will campaign to ensure people get the support they need when they need it. I want to continue working with local community groups and Ayrshire College Students Association to develop a community based approach to mental health services.
"And I will oppose austerity and campaign against local cuts. I will use the powers of the Scottish Parliament to end the cuts which have seen hundreds of jobs at North Ayrshire Council lost, saw vital services such as Speech and Language Therpay cut, has reduced the number of college places by 152,000 across Scotland and has saw student debt in Cunninghame South increase by 400% in four years after the SNP cut bursaries for students from the poorest backgrounds.
"We need change and my record shows that i can and will deliver it through my campaigning."
Ruby Kirkwood (Scottish Liberal Democrats):
"This area is my home. I have lived here 30 years - a huge part of my life. I know the people, having been a councillor, and I know the area.
"This is our First Minister's familial back yard and we have fallen behind the rest of Scotland in too many areas. Investment in Cunninghame South has not been what we should expect.
"We MUST narrow the attainment gap as this situation is morally wrong so I want to see a Pupil Premium allowing our headmasters and headmistresses to pinpoint the allocation of money to help those children who need it and to get more of our students from poorer backgrounds to higher and further education.
I will work with businesses to get them into our local schools to tell all relevant parties what they need from our schools and pupils to support our area's business - but I also need to bring the business into Cunninghame South.
"Our local police stations are all losing their 24/7 opening hours and we have fewer police on the streets. These men and women work very hard, but are not supported as they should be. I want to support our police locally and ensure the safety and security of our residents.
"Cunninghame South is not all urban: our farmers have not been getting a fair deal recently. I want to ensure our local farmers get the money they are due from the central government - and without high interest loans. They have been let down very badly.
"I would also like to see our farmers in our town centres as I would love to see our town centres become bigger community hubs for trade, business and socialising.
"Our local businesses should have more of a say in the way pour town centres are run, and what I would love to see are Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) made up of representatives from all sectors of the business community in our town centres.
"I want the place I call home to be a success, to be attractive, to be helpful for business, to be a great place for us to live, learn and work and to work locally for it's own best interests with everything I can do to promote this.
Ruth Maguire (Scottish National Party):
"Our SNP vision is for a fair, equal and prosperous nation with opportunity for us all to grow and thrive.
"If I am elected as MSP I will do all I can to bring that vision closer to reality for all of us here in Cunninghame South.
"Locally, my number one priority is jobs. The best route out of poverty is a well-paid job, growing the economy here in North Ayrshire and bringing more jobs to the area is essential.
"I don’t want people, particularly our young folk to have to leave the area to get a job, I want them to be able to work here and help us make it a stronger and more prosperous region.
"I will work positively and constructively with local and national government, partners and business to enhance opportunities for businesses and communities to develop to grow the number of quality employment opportunities, fair work that pays a decent wage and provides stable, regular hours for those who need that."
Billy McClure (Scottish Conservatives):
If I were fortunate enough to be elected as your representative to Holyrood on the Thursday 5th May then my attention would be focused on the following issues:
- Increase the number of apprenticeships in the area proportional to the Conservative target of 10,000 per annum across Scotland.
- Secure one of the ten Skills Academies for the area as proposed in the Conservative manifesto.
- Develop a modern digital infrastructure for the area and align skills development with business demand
- Freeze Business Rates and Allow companies to invest directly in recruitment for the area.
- A clear presumption that power should lie at the level of the school with key budget and recruitment policy responsibilities.
- Greater focus on improving numeracy and literacy rates, with an ambitious target for the next two Parliaments - we want every child to read well by age 11.
- Support the decision to re-introduce national testing in primary schools.
- Work with local bodies to develop and fund a local drug rehabilitation unit.
- Push for a review of purposeful activity in prisons to ensure that they offer the best rehabilitation opportunities alongside protection of the public.
- Drive a long-term thought process to what elderly residents need and want
- Provide safe, warm and comfortable living conditions for all elderly residents as standard
- Support and introduce “swift and certain” schemes where those breaching community sentences are sent to prison for 24 or 48 hours.
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