Meet the Mid Sussex candidates vying for your vote in the General Election

Below are statements from each candidate. The nomination period closed at 4pm on Thursday, November 14. The deadline to register to vote in the General Election was Tuesday, November 26.

Gemma Bolton – Labour

I was born and raised in Mid Sussex. Growing up here I have seen the rise of food banks and low paid insecure work, and the devastating effects of extreme cuts to essential services.

As your MP I will fight to stop this. I want to see education and health and social care services properly funded, as they should be.

I will make tackling the climate emergency a top priority, investing in renewables with the target of being carbon neutral by 2030.

I will fight to end the creeping privatisation of our NHS and increase the number of genuinely affordable homes in Mid Sussex.

We will fund investment in our public services, the green economy and ordinary people through implementing a fairer tax system.

I’m standing to be your Labour MP because I want to see real change. We don’t need more establishment politicians and multi-millionaires working for the privileged few, whilst ordinary people struggle.

Mid Sussex needs an authentic, local voice, someone who cares passionately about the area they’ve grown up in.

Only Labour can beat the Tories here. Labour’s vote share was double that of the Lib Dems in the 2017 general election in Mid Sussex.

We are also the only party that will give you the final say on the terms of Brexit, with the option to remain.

On December 12, it is a choice between more of the same from the Tories or a fairer, better Britain from Labour. It’s a once in a generation opportunity to vote for real change. Vote Labour.

Mims Davies – Conservative

As a former local councillor here, I’ve a strong local connection to the area and I’m delighted to have the chance to represent my home seat.

I’m the founder of the Mid Sussex Marathon Weekend & Haywards Heath Sports Forum, so I know how vibrant the community is.

As a single mum of two girls, who attend school locally, with wider family and many friends here, it’s a huge honour to be selected and be able to stay in frontline politics, something I never expected to be able to do.

I studied politics and international relations at Swansea University and was the first person in my family to go and succeed as a result of the opportunity.

I worked in road safety at the Sussex Safer Partnership alongside Sussex Police and local councils.

Prior to this I was a BBC Sussex & Surrey radio presenter, producer and travel reporter also working at other stations.

I was MP for Eastleigh from 2015-2019, winning unexpectedly this 20-year Lib Dem seat as a new candidate by 9,000+ votes in 2015 and then 14,000+ votes in 2017 which I am very proud of.

I bring community understanding after serving for almost six years in Mid Sussex at parish, town and district level and four+ years of useful government experience.

During my time as an MP, I was the whip at DEFRA, served as Wales minister, DCMS minister for sport, civil society and loneliness and most recently as DWP employment minister.

Robert Eggleston – Liberal Democrats

I’ve lived in Mid Sussex for over 30 years and know the area well. My two grown daughters were both educated at local state schools.

I am a senior business professional helping companies expand their businesses by investing in assets and jobs.

Creating the right environment for businesses to flourish is vital for our prosperity as a nation.

I’m the leader of Burgess Hill Town Council and a Mid Sussex district councillor. I also run my own not-for-profit live arts company putting on shows across Mid Sussex.

My three priorities for Mid Sussex are:-

1. An exit from Brexit: A hard Brexit would be damaging for the Mid Sussex economy and must be avoided. All independent studies show we are better off if we stay in the EU and some of the £50bn remain bonus will be invested in our cash strapped public services in Mid Sussex;

2. Fixing the public sector in Mid Sussex by investing in social care, the NHS and education. Nationally, we have promised a £7bn a year increase in funding for the NHS and social care and an extra £10bn a year investment in schools, including special needs and further education. Mid Sussex will get its fair share of this investment;

3. Fighting climate change, plastic waste and improving biodiversity: Move to a net zero carbon economy by investing in renewable energy and phasing out fossil fuels. Urgent action is needed to tackle plastic waste and avert the risk of species extinction.

Mid Sussex needs a progressive campaigning voice in parliament and will get that by voting Liberal Democrat in this election.

Deanna Nicholson – Green Party

I have lived in Mid Sussex for 25 years, raised my three daughters here, and have taught maths in local state sixth forms for the past 14 years.

Previous to teaching, I worked in the IT industry as a systems manager, and know the many obstacles working parents face.

It was during this time in the late 80s that climate change really hit the public conscience. Even then, the science spoke clearly to anyone who would listen honestly, but the Green Party alone has consistently treated the need to care for our environment as more than just a vote winner.

How we respond to the challenge of climate change in this late hour will define the way history judges our actions – this is not just another election gimmick to be forgotten when the hustings are over.

A current issue of particular concern to Mid Sussex is the need to keep hold of its young people by building environmentally sound affordable housing, ensuring families can settle here and communities can thrive.

We also desperately need a better work life balance to allow the time for volunteering that I personally have gained so much from, and enjoying the wonderful Sussex countryside that is under constant threat from inappropriate development.

Voting for the Green Party sends a clear message that the people of Mid Sussex want change, and directly challenges the complacency and broken promises we have faced until now.

Baron Von Thunderclap Official Monster Raving Loony Party

I’ve lived in Mid Sussex for most of my life, much of it working for the NHS as a hospital engineer, but for the last 18 years as a self-employed handyman and more recently running a sanctuary to protect and breed dodos, the saving of which is coincidentally one of the main party policies.

Other policies are to reduce the voting age to 16, which is only fair as between 16-18 you, can be married, have children, work and pay taxes to a government that you’re not allowed to vote for. Anyone who reaches the age of 100 will receive an extra vote.

We have a workable brexit policy.

We will demand full reparations from Germany for all cases if German measles, and from Spain for all cases of Spanish flu.

We will build a row of toll booths across the English channel to charge Europeans for the use of it, and we will re-route the channel tunnel to Jersey, thereby making the entire UK a tax haven.

On a personal note, when I’m elected my first action will be to ensure that Sir Nicholas Soames is given a peerage in recognition for his service as an excellent constituency MP.

Hopefully my policies will raise a smile. Please vote for me as I need the money !

Failing that, please exercise your rights and vote for one of the other candidates.

Also standing

Brett David Mortensen (Advance Together Candidate), who declined to take part in this feature.