LAST week, Labour outlined the first crucial steps it will take in government to positively impact people's lives immediately: delivering economic stability, cutting NHS waiting times, launching a new Border Security Command, setting up Great British Energy, cracking down on antisocial behaviour, and recruiting 6,500 new teachers across the UK. 

Under Conservative leadership, communities across South East Cornwall have been left behind and felt the financial pressure increase, especially towards the end of the month due to continuing Tory failure. We’ve seen rent and mortgage payments soar and household budgets squeezed by ever-growing bills and food prices. This cannot continue.

If elected, one of my top priorities will be ensuring that Labour’s new energy company - Great British Energy - lowers bills and provides the opportunity for new stable jobs that you can raise a family on, right here at home. Great British Energy will work on behalf of us all to move away from a dependence on dirty fossil fuels. By investing in our renewable energy potential, we can achieve energy security and independence, removing our vulnerability from foreign powers like Putin’s Russia.  

I’m determined to make a positive change for South East Cornwall by backing Labour’s plan to tax the excessive profits of oil and gas companies and use that money to directly support families in our community.

I grew up in a home where there was always slightly too much month left at the end of the money, so I understand the importance of economic stability. This might be part of the reason I went on to study economics and why I am so committed to policies that are reflective of our community’s needs and deliver sustainable economic growth and inclusive opportunities

The Conservatives have proven they cannot be trusted to provide this. I want to ensure we never again face the mess we were left with under Liz Truss’ disastrous time as PM, which sent the economy into freefall and mortgage payments sky-high. In stark contrast, Labour’s steps towards economic stability mean that we will keep taxes, inflation and mortgage repayments as low as possible.

I am determined to ensure we get our fair share of what a Labour government will deliver nationally, here at home. We need to see good jobs and productivity growth in every part of the country and I would use my experience to ensure that we benefit from a new national economic outlook that, under Labour, would see the highest sustained growth in the group of large developed economies known as the G7. 

However, my fundamental priority will always be you, the people of South East Cornwall.

Anna Gelderd, the Labour Party’s parliamentary candidate for South East Cornwall