With the General Election less than a week away, News Shopper has put some pressing questions to candidates in Bromley's three constituencies.

Read on to see how candidates in Bromley and Chislehurst responded:

Bromley and Chislehurst - Conservative - 9,590 majority

Conservative - Bob Neill

News Shopper:

Quick blurb: Who are you and what is your connection to the constituency?

I’m Bob Neill. I live in Chislehurst and have had the honour of representing the constituency as its Member of Parliament for the last thirteen years.

BrexitHow will voting for you guarantee the best resolution to the Brexit impasse?

I voted to remain but accept the result of the referendum.

We now have a sensible, business-friendly deal that protects jobs and maintains close economic and security links with our EU partners, but we need a Conservative majority at this election to make sure it is delivered.

That will allow us to press on with the domestic priorities that matter to all of us: better schools, more funding for our NHS, and a clamp down on crime. 

NHS – What will you do to ensure residents in your constituency have the best access to healthcare possible?

The Conservatives are giving the NHS the biggest cash boost in its history, providing it with an extra £33.9 billion by 2023/24.

We’ve recently secured new CT and MRI scanners, as well as new breast screening imaging and assessment equipment, for our local NHS Trust, and after a long campaign, £9 million is being made available for a new health centre in Bromley Town, reducing the pressures that exist at our local facilities and making it easier for residents to see a doctor.

Environment – Does your position on the climate crisis take the issue with the seriousness it deserves? How?

Absolutely. My Party has shown that it can deliver on this most important of issues, reducing greenhouse gases by 25% since 2010 and decarbonising our economy faster than any other G20 nation.

Going forward, we’ve set out an ambitious but realistic plan that, unlike other parties’ proposals, is actually achievable.

Economy – One in five British workers live in poverty. What would you do to ensure working people in your constituency have a better standard of living?

Overall, household incomes have never been higher and income inequality has fallen.

We’ve cut taxes for 32 million working people, allowing them to keep more of what they earn, with £50 billion in benefits being spent this year alone to support those who need a helping hand.

Crime – What is the best approach to dealing with crime in your constituency?

I want everyone who lives and works in Bromley and Chislehurst to feel safe in their own home.

That is why I have been campaigning for more officers and a greater police presence locally, tougher sentences for burglars, a clampdown on anti-social behaviour and increased CCTV in our town centres.

Labour - Angela Wilkins

News Shopper:

Brexit

After 3.5 years of failure, the Tories offer only Boris’ deal, one that will damage our economy and won’t satisfy those who just want to have no more to do with the EU.

The 2016 referendum did not offer options on what type of Brexit, and no one mentioned the Irish border. Only a further public vote can resolve this, and only Labour offers that vote.

I am Remain, but I totally respect all those who voted Leave.

NHS

This problem isn’t just about how Tory austerity has starved our NHS of funding, it is also about making sure that Brexit doesn’t lead to Trump and his cronies having access to NHS markets and bleeding our NHS dry.

And it’s about restoring the trainee nurses’ bursary so that we can actually recruit the staff we need to run the NHS properly.

We must also train and recruit more GPs and simplify the points at which patients can correctly access appropriate levels of healthcare.

Environment

The EU will be irrelevant if we do not reverse Tory complacency on climate.

Labour has dynamic and imaginative policies which will deliver real change and reductions in emissions – the Tories offer nothing substantial and their record proves they don’t take this issue seriously.

Doing this by 2030 would be ideal, but when you look at the scale of the task, a few more years is much more realistic.

Economy

Poverty has complex causes, including low pay, the impact of Universal Credit and benefit cuts, high housing & transport costs, lack of training and job opportunities, poor physical and mental health, to name a few.

Austerity was a major cause, but there are a lot of Tories who think poverty is self-induced, and even more who don’t see it as something they need to address.

Fundamentally, the major issue to be resolved is the ever-increasing inequality gap; Labour’s policies will start to address this.

Crime

Crime has two sides – the consequences and the causes.

The Tories have repeatedly cut police funding, so we just don’t have the number of police we need, and too many cases are not getting to court because the CPS won’t give more time for evidence to be collected.

At the same time, funding for the courts has been cut and many are closing.

Julie Ireland - Liberal Democrats

News Shopper:

Blurb

I have lived in Bromley for over 30 years, ran my own business here, raised my children here.

I know the issues we face in our day to day lives, and the issues our businesses face.

There is nothing I believe in more than that our community, the one I have spent most of my life in, deserves better.

Brexit

If the Liberal Democrats become the majority party in this election then we will take that as a democratic mandate to stop Brexit and we will revoke Article 50 immediately.

If we are not the majority party we will work with other parties who support a People’s Vote and campaign for the remain option.

Health

We are committed to securing the future of the NHS. With our bold plan to invest urgently in the NHS and social care services and deliver equality for mental and physical health, we will transform health services for the future.

We have a bold plan to urgently invest in the workforce and facilities and to deliver equality for mental and physical health. A Liberal Democrat government will build a better health and care system.

Our first priorities will be raising £7 billion a year in additional revenue by putting 1p on Income Tax, transforming mental health by treating it with the same urgency as physical health and reforming the Health and Social Care Act.

Climate

We have a pragmatic, realistic and deliverable plan to reduce emissions by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2045.

Economy

We will make work pay and ensure that there are good and well-paid jobs available for people to do. We will establish an independent review to consult on how to set a genuine Living Wage across all sectors.

We will pay this Living Wage in all central government departments and their agencies, and encourage other public sector employers to do likewise.

Crime

We will invest £1 billion to restore community policing, enough for two new police officers for every ward.

We will restore youth services and bring police, teachers, health professionals, youth workers and social services together to prevent young people falling prey to gangs and violence.

Instead of wasting money locking people up on short sentences that don’t work, we will spend it on the things that actually prevent crime.

Mary Ion - Green Party

News Shopper:

Blurb

I’m Mary Ion the Green Party Candidate for Bromley and Chislehurst. I’ve lived in Bromley for 30 years and I’m raising my two boys here with my husband.

I work for the NHS as a Mental Health Nurse and Psychotherapist.

Brexit

The Green Party believe people must have a final say on any Brexit deal, with Remain on the ballot paper. I will campaign for Britain to Remain in the EU whilst transforming the UK to address the reasons that people voted for Brexit.

NHS

An additional £6 billion per year to increase funding levels to those of other Northern European countries, will ensure that services for local people are enhanced, with more localcontrol and new community health centres.

Nursing bursaries will be reinstated and there will be improvements to truly put mental health care on an equal footing with physical health care.

Evidence based mental health therapies will be accessed within 28 days.

Environment

The Green Party has the most ambitious plan of all the parties to tackle the climate emergency with the urgency and scale that the science demands.

Our Green New Deal sets out a comprehensive 10 year plan to transform our economy by meeting our energy needs through renewable energy, reducing energy demand from our homes and radically changing industry, transport and land use.

This will create millions of new jobs and will reduce our climate emissions to net zero by 2030.

Economy


An integral part of our Green New Deal is the introduction of a Universal Basic Income for
everyone which replaces the benefits system and lifts standards of living for those in work
too.

The adult rate of UBI of £89 per week will result in a 6% increase in income for
someone on an average salary.

The living wage would also be increased to £12 an hour and would be extended to workers aged between 16 and 21.

Crime 

I believe the best way to tackle crime is with community based policing and investment in education, youth services and employment.

Evidence shows that the cuts in youth services
have increased crime, especially knife crime.

We need to invest in evidenced based interventions to reduce re-offending, and a harm reduction approach to drug use, treating it as a health issue, not a crime.

Jyoti Dialani - Renew Party

News Shopper:

Blurb

I am a solicitor by profession and a resident of Bromley. I moved here a few years ago, when I fell in love with the green spaces and the countryside feel to it and now it’s my home.

Brexit

The only fair, democratic way to break this impasse is to have a second referendum, a People’s Vote.

Renew and I would campaign hard to remain - we believe that we’re far better off inside the EU. Johnson’s deal leaves us vulnerable and isolated as a nation, not to mention that it threatens to break up the United Kingdom.

NHS

We need to protect the NHS as a service that is both free and fully accessible to all.

The NHS needs to be protected from further privatisation and unfettered access to American pharmaceutical, tech and insurance conglomerates.

We need to prioritise investments to those parts of the NHS that have suffered from funding cuts over the last ten years and towards better pay and working conditions for NHS staff, who remain dedicated and selfless despite deteriorating working conditions.

Environment

Renew puts tackling the climate crisis at the top of its agenda.

Our target is to cut carbon emissions to zero by 2035.

We support investments in renewable energy and green technologies, and a new Clean Air Act which will be aimed at cutting down air pollution.

Locally, we need to improve access to public transport, and infrastructure such as electric car charging ports and bike racks.

Economy

I will back policies that strengthen employment laws to provide a better safety net for workers whose rights and protections have been taken away and diluted by this government.

Universal Credit has been disastrous for people who have been living on the breadline and rely on their benefits to get by - the rollout of UC should be halted until the issues with it are tackled.

In addition, we need to lower income taxes for people in low paid jobs and provide affordable decent quality housing for all.

Crime

We need to support our youth by funding schools, apprenticeships and community groups.

Greater investment in police is imperative, as the cuts in police numbers brought about by the Conservative government have visible and direct impact on the crime levels on our streets.