Graham Cartmell- Common Sense Party

Well it seems our message is gaining ground. 

The more you hear all the politicians talking about the NHS the more we must be right.

Frankly the politicians do not know what is actually going on! You may as well believe in Father Christmas as believe in all those promises. Let me give you just one figure to remember. £20 billion per year.

That’s what politics is costing us now to our NHS. That’s the cost of the waste and damage politicians of all parties have already done.

We must stop this. Take all politics out of the NHS (and our Schools) and control the politicians Now for the Campaign.

Thanks to the Royal Mail team. Should be distributing leaflets by the end of this week. I’m trying to get out and about on the streets and at railway stations. I’m finding a great reaction when I get to talk to people direct.

So many share our view that all our politicians are letting us down and we have to change.

A big thank you to the organisers and the audience at the hustings at Tring and Rickmansworth. A great chance for me and I learnt a lot.

I’ll be at the Berkhamsted hustings on the 22nd and Oxhey the following week (date to be confirmed) Please do not hesitate to contact me. I’d be delighted to meet you. Social groups? Neighbours? As you wish. I can be contacted via graham@trustjo.org or via Twitter @GrahamCartmell or on 07934 06005.

David Gauke- Conservative Party

The most important issue facing the country is the economy.

As a Treasury Minister for five years, I have been part of the team that has turned round our economy.

Under the last government, we had one of the biggest recessions in Europe but in the last five years we have been the fastest growing major economy in Europe. More people are in work than ever before - in South West Hertfordshire, unemployment has fallen by 59%.

This hasn’t happened by accident. We have reformed welfare and cut income taxes on the low paid – making work pay.

We have cut business taxes, helping businesses of all sizes to expand and take on staff. And we have reduced the deficit, providing greater economic stability and security.

Locally, I have campaigned for more good school places. Thanks to the Government’s free school policy, we already have one new secondary school – the Reach Free School – and another opening in 2017 in Croxley Green.

I am also backing plans to improve our transport infrastructure.

The completion of the Croxley Rail Link (as a consequence of the support of a Conservative Mayor of London, a Conservative Chancellor and Transport Secretary and local Conservative MPs) will be a big boost to the area.

I am also leading the campaign for a new Amersham to Watford branch of the Metropolitan Line to link up Chorleywood, Rickmansworth, Croxley and the Watford stations.

Our part of the world is on the up. We need to keep it that way.

Simon Diggins- Labour Party

The campaign starts this week with an evening hustings in Berkhamsted; the third in the series so far.

Issues will inevitably include: the NHS; housing and development; and the economy.

Labour will ensure that we are building-up to 200 000 new homes a year by 2020 across the country; with a significant number of them being available to rent in the social sector.

Housing and good schools are also an issue in Croxley Green, where we will be on Sat 25 Apr. We will also be supporting a presentation by the lobby group, 38 Degrees, on opposition to the planned Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which threatens the NHS.

That afternoon, our parliamentary candidate, Col Simon Diggins OBE, will take time out from the campaign to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Gallipoli.

Throughout the last 10 days of the campaign, the Labour Party will be active in all parts of the constituency but we are particularly hoping that a planned hustings in South Oxhey on 29 Apr will happen.

In the final stages of planning, it will be in All Saints Church at 7.30 pm. South Oxhey often feels unjustly neglected, compared to other parts of the constituency, but some of the rawest issues of the election, especially immigration and the EU, are often raised there and need to be discussed and aired.

Nigel Quinton- Liberal Democrats

Nigel Quinton was brought up in a Liberal family, his mother being a Councillor for many years in Bristol and Lancaster.

After graduating as a geologist, Nigel has had a successful career in the tough world of oil exploration in a mix of large and small companies which included Hertfordshire-based start-ups Dragon Oil and Sterling Energy.

He is a keen advocate for green policies, and has installed solar energy at home and drives an electric car.

Nigel’s campaign priorities are:

• Continuing Britain’s Green Industrial Renaissance and a Stronger Economy

• Tackling tax avoidance and creating a Fairer Society

• Greater accessibility to GP appointments and the delivery of the long promised upgrades to both Watford and Hemel Hospitals.

• Preserving and improving local bus services which are severely threatened by the Tory-run County Council

• Increasing social and affordable housing both in towns and villages

Nigel says: “The issues facing the people of SW Hertfordshire are ones I have been campaigning on for the last 10 years - a vibrant sustainable economy, the NHS, our environment, and improving our political system.

"I hope to fight a positive campaign and highlight the achievements of Liberal Democrats in government and set out progressive new policies.

“The country needs a strong liberal voice and by electing me as your MP you can be sure that I will work to further the interests of our local communities and to prevent the Conservatives lurching rightwards, or a Labour spending spree, and to deliver our priority of opportunity for everyone.”

Mark Anderson- UK Independence Party

On Thursday the first of the SW Hertfordshire hustings kicked off in Tring.

It was the first chance for all the candidates to meet each other and the first time to take questions from the voters in an open forum.

Questions covered a diverse range of subjects, and it was great to have the opportunity put UKIP policies across. Re-prioritising the British people seemed to be the main difference between UKIP and the other parties.

Saturday was spent on Rickmansworth high street with local Three Rivers District Council Candidates, where we received a positive reception from shoppers.

There is nothing better than getting out and meeting the people who might vote for you, after all, you are asking them to give you a job. It helps to seek them out for an interview.

Sunday was door knocking as part of our team of canvassers. It was a friendly experience with many people being highly receptive as we approach the election.

Other parties were conspicuous by their absence and UKIP support was healthy. Housing, the NHS and immigration are major issues we kept hearing. Monday was the Rickmansworth hustings.

I am hugely grateful to the organisers of both Tring and Rickmansworth hustings for organising the events and ensuring democracy can work.

As postal votes start to come in we will still be active. Voters want to see who they have to choose from, and I will make every effort over the next two weeks to come to meet you too.