A candidate to serve us all…
Meet Gary Jackson
- Gary Jackson is the Liberal Democrat candidate to be the Member of Parliament for North Dorset at the next General Election.
- Gary lives in Shaftesbury, moving here with his family in 2011 to settle after a first career in the British Army, rising to Colonel in the Royal Engineers.
- Since 2015, Gary has been a civil engineer, working on critical national infrastructure projects in the UK. Gary and his wife both work here and his now adult children attended schools in North Dorset. The Jackson family now feels firmly rooted in the area.
- Motivated by the poor performance of the present government and resolved to do better for North Dorset and our country, Gary is standing for election to Parliament for the first time.
- He is energised by the need to protect and enhance people’s quality of life. He will speak out for our interests, striving to attract investment, growing incomes and building a stronger and more successful economy.
- He is driven to help people to feel secure and to be supported by excellent services throughout their lives.
- Gary is a passionate, knowledgeable advocate for repairing and renewing the environment for a sustainable future.
Gary’s beliefs
- “I am standing because I can’t bear to see the current political failures go on failing us all.”
- “There are so many reasons to be disillusioned with politics. Those making the decisions that affect our lives are too often concerned with blaming others and dividing society so that they can cling on to power. I firmly believe it doesn't have to be this way.”
- “Politics should be working for you and your community. Politicians should listen to your concerns: your health care, your family's education, your financial security, your safety, your High Street’s future. We need a reset and a refocus that places you and your community at the heart of the decision-making that directly affects your lives.”
Campaigns - Rivers
- My background as a civil engineer and work with the water industry gives me insight into how to clean up our rivers.
- I was an engineer on the Thames Tideway project to clean up the Thames. I want to see similar investment into Dorset's rivers and cost-effective flood prevention.
- I am a volunteer Dorset Wildlife Trust Water Guardian, helping to monitor the health of our rivers and pressing Wessex Water and the Environment Agency to do better for all of us.
- Frankly, I want to see early reform to, or replacement of OFWAT and to see Wessex Water accelerate work to stop sewage dumping into our rivers.
- I advocate strongly that we all look to play our part across agriculture, transport and in our daily habits to protect and improve the environment.
The big issues in North Dorset
Health and social care
- Access to GPs and dentists is poor and getting worse and Hospital waiting lists are too long.
- Social care will become a much greater problem in future with an ageing population and increasing problems with workforce recruitment and retention.
- At core, we have an under-invested national sickness service; we need to move to a modern system based on through-life health.
Cost of living and the need for better jobs and opportunity
- Low pay and high costs, especially in rural areas.
- Lack of inward investment in the area, leaving us too reliant on the public sector, hospitality and retail for employment.
- Consequentially poor transport network to reach better paying jobs in towns and cities as well as attracting employers to the area
Built and natural environment
- Patchy broadband, lack of trains, buses and road maintenance
- Electricity, water, sewage, drainage and flooding, all under pressure. Nature itself under pressure.
- The state of our High Streets and the quality of planning and development.
What can be done to improve life in North Dorset?
Health and social care
- I will support national and regional initiatives towards a fully integrated health and social care system. I will promote improving health, not just treating sickness.
- I will support more strategic measures such as transformational change in health care that enables people to own their own patient records and to have more quality in their treatment and greater choice about how it is delivered.
- I will support integrated social care provision and a long-term social care model that doesn’t leave people with disastrous bills in late retirement
Cost of living and the need for better jobs and opportunity
- Key to all improvements in North Dorset will be in securing the broadband and other communication coverage and capacity that will enable businesses and public services to invest and thrive here.
- I will support an increased minimum wage of around £14/hour in the life of the next parliament while focusing on reducing taxes for small and new businesses to enable them to grow and achieve their full potential.
- I will support better access to childcare, greater connection to higher education establishments and on measures to improve technical training through apprenticeships and through-life skills updates and adaptation.
Built and natural environment
- I will press for joined up action across all of the agencies involved in improving and sustaining infrastructure and transport. We need to be better connected to the cities: London, Bristol, Southampton, and Exeter
- My long-term proposals will include greater connection to mainline trains, buses and better maintained roads. We also need to resist and adapt to climate change, be more self-reliant and better insulated.
- In the irreplaceable landscape of North Dorset, we must look after our rivers better and do more to replenish nature and the land.
