The Labour General Election candidates for Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset

Here is what your local Labour candidates had to say ahead of the 2019 election in the UK

The nation will head to the polls on Thursday, December 12 for the 2019 General Election.

Here are all the Labour Party candidates standing in Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset.

Bristol South - Karin Smyth

Karin Smyth was first elected as Labour MP for Bristol South in May 2015.

Until then Karin worked as an NHS manager, most recently with the NHS Bristol Clinical Commissioning Group. Previously she has run an MP’s office and been non-Executive director of an NHS Trust.

Born in London to Irish parents who came to Britain in the 1950s, seeking work, Karin moved to Bristol in the 1990s.

She had graduated with a degree in Economics and Social Studies from the University of East Anglia in 1988, and subsequently studied a MBA at the University of Bath in 1995.

Karin is married with three young sons and counts family time not only as being precious but important too. “I’m sure it also keeps me grounded’” she says.

“Before becoming a Member of Parliament, my most important experience and contribution to society had been starting and raising my family.

“Developing deep community links, supportive networks, experiencing the ups and downs of family life has taught me more about public representation and politics than studying for a politics degree or 30 years of activism,” she adds.

Bristol East - Kerry McCarthy

Kerry was first elected as MP for Bristol East in 2005. She was the first vegan MP in the House of Commons and has been a vegan for more than 25 years. Kerry’s main policy areas of interest are: sustainability and the environment, food policy, the economy, tackling poverty, international aid and trade, transport, and animal welfare.

Before being elected to Parliament Kerry worked as a lawyer and on political campaigns.

Kerry co-founded Feeding Bristol, which recently registered as a charity and works with stakeholders across the city to alleviate hunger in our community. She is a patron of the Music Venue Trust and FoodCycle and is a Vice-Chair of a number of APPGs including Agriculture and Food for Development, Fruit and Vegetable Farmers, Music, Protect Our Waves (supported by Surfers Against Sewage) and Sport, Modern Slavery and Human Rights.

Bristol West - Thangam Debbonaire

Thangam Debbonaire became the Labour Member of Parliament for Bristol West in May 2015, winning the seat from the Liberal Democrats.

A passionate Remainer and Opposition Whip, she has played a significant role in defeating the government’s Brexit plans. Her work coordinating votes with other MPs from across Parliament has helped to keep the UK within the European Union. She wants a second referendum on EU membership with Remain on the ballot paper. In any future referendum, she would campaign for Remain.

In Parliament and in Bristol, Thangam has long campaigned for strong action on the environment. Her first speech in Parliament made this a priority. Earlier this year she called for Parliament to declare a climate emergency, which MPs eventually voted to support. She was also instrumental in securing funding for the city’s Clean Air Zone.

She has long campaigned for fairer treatment for refugees. In Parliament she has a leading role in changing refugee policy as chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Refugees.

As founder of the APPG on Childhood Cancer, Thangam is also campaigning for earlier diagnosis of cancers and better patient experience for children and young people with cancer.

Thangam has lived in Bristol West since 1991. Before becoming an MP, she worked to end domestic violence. She has also worked as a professional musician.

Bristol North West - Darren Jones

I was thrilled to be elected as your MP in 2017. Bristol North West is my home – it’s where I was born and grew up. That makes being the local MP extra special.

I was born at Southmead Hospital in the 1980s, and grew up in Lawrence Weston and Shirehampton. After going to Avon Primary and Portway Schools (now Nova and Oasis Brightstowe) I went off to university. I then worked in the NHS for a few years, including at Southmead and Henbury GP surgeries, before going to law school at UWE. Before becoming your MP, I was working as a consumer rights lawyer.

Kingswood - Nicola Bowden-Jones

Nicola Bowden-Jones lives near Cossham hospital with her family and is a parent of a child who attends a South Gloucestershire school. Nicola works for the NHS as a Mental Health Specialist.

Nicola would bring real world experience to the role of MP having worked in youth, family and health services in this country and abroad.

Nicola was elected as a councillor in 2016 and soon won a place on the first Jo Cox Women in Leadership programme where she was encouraged to stand for Parliament.

She was elected as the Labour candidate for Kingswood with 86% support. Nicola campaigns on local issues, most recently supporting local residents to overturn a Council decision to shut a children’s resource centre in Emerson’s Green.

Nicola’s main interests focus on children’s education, health and wellbeing, supporting families to thrive and ensuring adequate care facilities for all family members. Nicola has a very hands-on approach to supporting communities and will work hard for improvements locally and nationally.

Recently Nicola proactively supported Bristol and Kingswood Labour to develop policies for the Labour Party’s Green New Deal, currently the most progressive policy of all the political parties for tackling climate change and creating new green industries.

Filton and Bradley Stoke - Mhairi Threlfall

Mhairi was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and studied Chemistry at the University of Bristol, before becoming self-employed, and working as the entrepreneur-in-residence at the University of Bristol.

​She currently works at the University of the West of England as an enterprise educator, transforming student futures through curriculum development, and empowering students and recent graduates to become work-ready and resilient. Through her role, she has also been engaged in a number of projects with the British Council, sharing local best practice internationally.

​Mhairi was elected as the Labour Councillor for Eastville in 2013 by just one vote. In 2016, she was re-elected by a increased majority of 1,266. She has been involved with and supported a number of local community campaigns, and was the Cabinet member for Transport and Connectivity for Bristol City Council from 2017-2018.

She currently sits on resources scrutiny committee and the West of England Combined Authority scrutiny committee.

Thornbury and Yate - Rob Logan

Married with two daughters, Rob lives in Bristol and is director of procurement at the University of Bristol.

He is currently a school governor, and member of the public body which appoints and regulates magistrates and has experience of criminal justice work. He has extensive experience of supporting people in the community and of working in housing, local government and higher education.

North Somerset - Hannah Young

Hannah Young has lived in North Somerset for over 14 years and also worked locally at senior levels of police, health and mental health services. 

She is a Clevedon Town Councillor and chairs the council’s finance committee.

With a degree and doctorate in law, and almost 20 years’ experience working in the public sector, Hannah has held numerous roles focused on increasing the accessibility, quality and efficiency of services to meet the needs of people and communities. 

Hannah now runs her own business, supporting not-for-profit organisations to grow their services and sustainability.

She is a non-executive director of North Somerset Community Partnership and director of Babbasa Youth Empowerment Projects.

“I’m standing for election because I’ve spent many years working to ensure that people continue to have access to good local services through austerity.

“People in North Somerset give so much of their time and energy to strengthening our communities, but I am saddened that we still see big inequalities in access to housing, education, health and care.

“We now need stronger national action to help us to address the huge challenge of climate breakdown, and to invest in the core services that enable people to build happy and fulfilled lives.”

Weston-super-Mare - Tim Taylor

Tim has lived in Weston since 2001 and has been married for 15 years to Jess. He has two daughters which attend Hutton Primary School.

He has been a member of Weston Town Council for eight years and leads the Labour group and serves on the policy and finance and personnel committees.

Tim is a member of St Paul’s Church in Weston and says his faith informs his politics through concern for marginalised people and wanting to create opportunities for them.

Professionally, he is a HR manager and has led award-winning programmes which have brought disabled people into work.

North East Somerset - Mark Huband

“First it was the despair of the West Harptree teacher who could not bear to see her pupils denied the quality education they deserve. 

“Then it was the Keynsham carer who did not know whether she will keep the job on which her vulnerable patients depend. 

“Most recently it was the Writhlington mum who barely has the money to feed her kids during school holidays.

“The experiences of families, teachers, health professionals and pensioners across North East Somerset, have for me been as heartbreaking as they have been inspiring for the courage they reveal. 

“As our communities endure economic stagnation, political uncertainty and inadequate public services, the most important role of a parliamentary candidate and MP is to listen, learn and act quickly to bring relief and hope.

“I have spent my entire working life listening. As a war correspondent I listened to people’s stories, and brought their suffering to the attention of the world. 

“As a businessman I listen to my employees, and help them through challenging times. 

“As a parent I listen to and advise my children as they take on the challenge of setting off into the world.

“As MP for North East Somerset I will be the servant of all the people – by listening, learning, and working tirelessly to make life better.”

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