Reform UK’s parliamentary candidate for the Herne Bay and Sandwich constituency – which includes Westbrook, Birchington, Garlinge, Thanet villages wards and Westgate – is Amelia Randall.
She says she feels Reform UK offers the change the country needs.
She said: “As a single mum of two, not so young, boys, I worry constantly about what kind of future they have ahead of them. We have struggled many times over the years, almost became homeless and with the way that the current government and councils are handling things, there is little hope of positive change.
“When it comes to local politics, Reform UK do not have us under a whip. This means that we can do what is right for our own constituency. I know that I will never be able to please everybody all of the time, but I promise that I will always listen to both sides of an opinion, be open minded and where possible attempt to even find a mutual middle ground that could benefit as many people as possible.
“There are definitely a few things that I am passionate about on a local level and will strive to get on top of:
Affordable Housing – I know what it is like to not be able to afford a decent home and to worry about homelessness.
Saving our agricultural land – It is basic common sense that we need farmland as much as we need houses. There is no point in building more and more houses and then not being able to feed the population, because we have built on our agricultural land.
Support Networks – I have spoken to residents who would like more support within the community and especially if there was some new form of pandemic.
Sewage In Our Seas – We cannot say we are proud of our beaches while there is sewage being pumped into the seas. As a coastal town, our beaches attract tourism so we rely on them and what they have to offer.
There are many more issues that we need to look into including potholes, rubbish, job opportunities, safety on our streets and of course our event venues.
Having lived in Thanet since I was 13 years old and bringing my boys up here, I have seen first-hand how much things have changed. Leaving school at a young age myself, I have had many jobs locally in restaurants and cafes, insurance, office management and I currently work from home.
I am known as a bit of a workaholic and I like to push myself and those around me to achieve what they have set out to do. Nothing is ever impossible in life and you can achieve so much if you are willing to put your all in to it, even if you never quite get the results that you wanted, you will still get a sense of achievement from trying.
Being quite a spiritual person, I am very open minded, non-judgemental and I love motivating people with quotes or creativity.
The best thing to ever happen to me in my life was becoming a mum. I was 18 years old when I had my eldest and 22 by the time I had my second. They have taught me so much about what is important within life, how different we all can be and helped me to look deeper within myself. It is a blessing to be a mum and although at this moment in time, I feel almost powerless to provide them with a better future, it inspires me to push forward within politics so that I can instil hope and power to families and help them, as well as myself, to see a better future.
On a national level, Reform UK inspired me because they care about our freedoms, saving the NHS, the level of immigration and achieving a high growth, high wages yet low tax economy.
There are so many benefits that reforming our country can do for us and the two main parties have failed us time and time again. When you sit back and you look at the UK as a whole, when you look at what is going on in other countries as well, you really start to see why change is needed.
I have never before felt, like a party has cared enough about listening to what we as British citizens need. Now I feel as though I am standing for a party who will go all out and fight for a better future for us all and that is something that I am proud to be a part of.
If you have any questions that you would like to ask me, then please do. Thanet Villages, Garlinge, Birchington, Westgate-On-Sea and Westbrook are all a part of the newly formed constituency Herne Bay and Sandwich.”
Other candidates for the Herne Bay and Sandwich constituency are Sir Roger Gale (Conservative), Helen Whitehead (Labour) and Thea Barrett (Green).Liberal Democrats are yet to put forward a candidate.
For East Thanet candidates are, so far, Polly Billington (Labour) and Steve Roberts (Green). Conservatives are yet to announce a candidate following the stepping down of Craig Mackinlay and Reform UK and Liberal Democrats are also yet to put forward a candidate.
The dissolution of Parliament comes into effect after midnight tonight (May 29). The country will go to the polls on July 4.
