Who's contesting South West Beds? Candidates reveal why they're standing and what they will do for you

CONSERVATIVES - ANDREW SELOUS

"I commit to end the paralysis in Parliament and honour the referendum result of the South West Bedfordshire constituency and get Brexit done in a sensible way that protects jobs, by the end of January.

"I have campaigned long and hard for more police officers and 334 are being recruited this year and next year and I want to see more of them based locally around the clock. I campaigned successfully for the £100 million expansion of the Luton and Dunstable hospital and will work hard to improve access to GP services locally. As a local school governor I strongly welcome the extra £14 billion for schools.

"I get the climate challenge, the threat to nature and the danger from plastics... Conservatives have created 1,000 new jobs every day over the last nine years and grown the economy by 19%. The number of unemployed claimants has fallen by 62% in South West Bedfordshire since May 2013."

LABOUR - CALLUM ANDERSON

"South West Bedfordshire is my home. It’s where I was born, brought up and went to school. Well-resourced public services like our schools and libraries gave kids like me the hand up I needed to reach my full potential. I want that for every person in this constituency.

"Yet for nearly a decade, I’ve seen the increasing neglect and decay of our schools, health services and police. Our communities deserve so much better.

"I’m standing to be your MP to offer a fresh approach. Having grown up in this constituency, I’m deeply committed to extending opportunity and prosperity to the communities I grew up in.

"If elected, I’d combine local knowledge with my record as a successful campaigner at national charities, delivering better access to affordable financial services for low-income communities, as well as supporting job creation and business growth in local government, to be your champion in Westminster."

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS - EMMA MATANLE

“As a former aid worker in Afghanistan for the United Nations I know that health and education provision are key pillars for a country to thrive and at the moment both in the UK are suffering hugely after years of the Tory austerity policy.

"Our NHS is on its knees, adult social care is crumbling and our schools are barely meeting the standards expected of them by government due to the chronic lack of funding. There is currently a shortfall of just under £7bn needed for our schools to be at the funding level they had in 2010.

"Special educational needs provision is also chronically underfunded and beset by other administrative failings as described in the recent report by the Education Select Committee.

"We have very little time left to halt the rapid warming of our planet and we all have a part to play in contributing to the cessation of global warming."

GREEN - ANDREW WATERS

"I live just outside Leighton Buzzard with my family and am passionate about taking real action on the climate emergency, protecting the environment and making society work for everyone.

"Climate change is the biggest issue facing us and our children, with increasing impact on lives in the UK (most recently the flooding in Yorkshire). No other party faces up to the scale of the challenge.

"In SW Beds, reducing carbon use means policies which will improve quality of life for all; better community planning and vastly improved (and cheaper) local transport so that people don't need to bring their cars into our towns (improving traffic and air quality), cancelling road building (including the proposed Oxford-Cambridge Expressway, possibly passing close to Leighton Buzzard and bringing more new housing) and warmer, more energy efficient homes.

"We would also reverse austerity and properly fund our public services, not push them further into privatisation."