Sophy Gardner, Labour's parliamentary candidate for Gloucester, on her vision for the city in 2015.
Any vision for the future of our City must be a shared one that works for us all. I'm appalled that the Tory-led coalition government has pursued an unnecessary and punishing experiment on people across this country including here in Gloucester.
We live in one of the richest countries in the world, yet families here rely on food banks to feed their children. Unemployment is going down for most (though not for long term unemployed in Gloucester) but only because many jobs are part-time, low paid and zero hour contracts.
Yet the government has failed to meet its targets on the economy and the debt they will leave next May will be half as great again as it was in 2010.
I want, instead, to see a future that ensures the benefits of economic growth are shared fairly and a government which stands up to vested interests that want to concentrate power and wealth in the hands of a few.
In Gloucester I want to see a thriving city centre, which can only come about if small shopkeepers are not asked to pay the same rates as big chain stores.
Our city is perfectly placed to attract more tech industries and I want to see future jobs that are not lower skilled and lower paid, but highly valued. I want our young people to be educated on relationships so that we help them to avoid domestic violence and abuse.
I want to see our schools supported to put education of our children first, rather than being forced to channel increasing amounts into the pockets of Trusts who run for the hills when times are hard.
At the last election, the Tories did not ask us to vote to sell off large parts of the NHS, nor to sanction huge tax give-aways to the richest paid for by the rest of us. But that's exactly what they did.
Our NHS is precious and in serious danger.
Here in Gloucester, services are creaking and charities are shouldering an increasing burden. I want to see more nurses, doctors and care workers trained and working in Gloucester - and I'll fight to ensure mental health services are given the priority they deserve.
Our rights - to a job that pays a decent wage, to an affordable home, to respect and dignity when times are tough, and to a fairer future for our children - are being stolen from us. We want them back and I want to be there on the side of Gloucester people, fighting our corner in Parliament and standing up for the interests of Gloucester.
The future of Gloucester is not just about regeneration, though that is important, but about a stronger, thriving city within a better, fairer Britain.
