The future of Epsom Hospital, affordable housing, and school funding and places are among Epsom and Ewell’s four General Election candidates’ top priorities at local level.

The Conservatives’ Chris Grayling, Labour’s Ed Mayne, the Liberal Democrats’ Steve Gee, and the Greens’ Janice Baker have all shared their views on health, education, the economy, the environment and Brexit.

Each candidates’ views on key policy areas have been published on the Epsom Guardian throughout the week, ahead of the General Election on June 8.

Now, Ms Baker and Messrs Grayling, Mayne and Gee reveal their top three priorities for Epsom and Ewell.

Chris Grayling, Conservative

Your Local Guardian:

“I will continue to work to protect services at Epsom Hospital, something I have done consistently for seventeen years. The hospital is performing well, and taking an innovative approach to working alongside social and community services, and I want to see that continue. It's the best way of meeting the NHS's current challenges.

“I will continue to fight to protect the character of our area, opposing inappropriate development and seeking new housing construction in the right places, not in places where they will damage that character. There is a need for new housing locally, but this can be achieved by schemes like completing the development of West Park.

“We will need more school places locally in the coming years, particularly in the secondary sector. I will work to make sure our area gets the investment it needs to provide those places.”

Ed Mayne, Labour

Your Local Guardian:

Transport

“Thousands of local people commute into and out of the area every day and the travelling public need to know that they can get to work and return home at a reasonable hour. Rail fares rise but services get worse.

“If I was MP for Epsom & Ewell I wouldn’t stand idly while the travelling public are inconvenienced.”

Health and Social Care

“The NHS is our greatest and most loved institution. All the evidence shows that the system is cost effective for the country and provides good care for people at the lowest cost.

“Local services are under pressure with waiting lists growing and it is getting harder to see your local GP.

“Our Adult Social Care system is also under severe pressure – if even Surrey County Council threatened to increase council tax by 15 per cent, you know that the government has got it wrong.

“Labour’s policy is to integrate the social care system with the NHS - streamlining the system taking out layers of NHS and local authority bureaucracy.”

Housing

“Housing in the South East is in crisis. In Epsom, local families need homes to live in, to feel safe and secure and to raise their children.

“Wage growth has fallen far behind the rise in house prices and sky high rents are placing increasing strains on family budgets.

“If I was MP for Epsom & Ewell I would work with the local councils, local building firms and pension funds to enable the building of genuinely affordable homes to buy and rent within the constituency.

“Housing needs to be at the top of the agenda. I have seen how councils working innovatively within areas of the South East can start building houses and I will work in partnership with local consortiums to once again build houses that people can afford to live in.”

Steve Gee, Liberal Democrats

Your Local Guardian:

“The three issues that constituents in Epsom and Ewell raise with me consistently are Brexit, school funding and the NHS and Social Care. In addition, transport is a growing issue.

“Chris Grayling promised at the last election to extend Oyster Card Zone 6 to Epsom station and has failed to deliver even though he has been transport secretary.

“His mismanagement of the Southern Rail contract has prolonged the long running dispute, causing misery to commuters.

“I had been Transport Secretary I would have extended Oyster to Epsom. I would have intervened to deal with the Southern Rail dispute – not paid £20million compensation to the company instead.”

Janice Baker, Green

Your Local Guardian:

Housing

- secure affordable housing for first-time buyers as part of any new build; affordable being indexed to local key-worker pay rates

- build social rented homes that offer affordable rents for over 2,000 people on E&E council house waiting list

- Cap rent and introduce longer tenancies to provide greater protection for renters.

Mental health care services

- Ensure that no one waits more than 28 days for access to talking therapies

- Ensure that everyone experiencing a mental health crisis, including children and young people, should have safe and speedy access to quality care, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

- End the use of police cells as ‘places of safety’

- Engage mental health adviser as part of police response

- Ensure that everyone who requires a mental health bed should be able to access one in their local NHS Trust area, unless they need specialist care and treatment.

- Implement a campaign to end the discrimination and stigma associated with mental health through supporting the Time to Change programme

- Offering employment support to those with mental health problems.

- Pay special attention to any mental health issues of mothers during and after pregnancy, children and adolescents, Black and Minority Ethnic people, refugees, the LGBTIQ communities and ex-service people and their families.

- Give higher priority to the physical healthcare of those with mental health problems.

- Consider offering more personalised job-seeking support for people with mental health problems

Investing in green energy, divesting from fossil fuels

- through incentives and awards, encourage private sector and public institutions to divest from fossil fuels and transfer their investments towards more climate-friendly organisations.

What do you think? Comment below, or get in touch at craig.richard@london.newsquest.co.uk