Chris Coghlan MP:  Dorking and Horley

Chris stood to be Dorking and Horley’s Lib Dem MP because this is where he lives with his wife and three little girls, and where he grew up.

Chris spent a decade working in finance, in New York for Deloitte and a hedge fund in London, before pursuing a career in public service. He joined the Foreign Office’s counter-terrorism department, founded the international development charity Grow Movement, and served as an officer in the army reserve. In 2020 Chris was called up by the army and embedded as a military advisor with Iraqi forces fighting ISIS.

Chris’s top priorities for Dorking and Horley are urgent action to cut the cost of living, more NHS dentists and stopping sewage dumping in our rivers.

Chris says “I love this area, but I realise how very different things are from when I was young. Our NHS is on its knees. It’s a disgrace that the top reason for children being admitted to hospitals is tooth decay because they can’t make an appointment with a dentist.

We have a Conservative government that’s allowed our rivers to be polluted with record levels of raw sewage. A government that has condemned local taxpayers to pay spiralling mortgages and rent in a cost-of-living crisis.”

Twitter: @_chris_coghlan

Olly Glover MP: Didcot and Wantage

Olly Glover lives in Milton. He has spent all his working life on the railways, having held a range of senior operational management positions in Network Rail and train operating companies. These have involved leading large teams of train drivers, responsibility for major control centres, working in partnership with trade unions, and hands-on roles managing disruption, on the tracks and on station concourses. Olly now works as a consultant, using his knowledge to help railway companies in the UK and abroad to improve their operations.

Olly is a parish councillor in his village, a town councillor in Didcot, and volunteers as a visitor to people living with motor neurone disease.

Through his work and volunteering, Olly has a long record of serving the public and understanding people’s needs and frustrations.

Olly’s priorities for the constituency are campaigning for the NHS facilities that the area’s growing population need, continuing his work pressing for a new railway station in Grove, and supporting the Lib Dem plan to end sewage dumping and reform the water industry.

Twitter: @ollygloerld

Josh Babarinde MP: Eastbourne

Josh is an Eastbourne lad, born and bred, and is a proud resident of his hometown.

Born in Eastbourne’s District General Hospital (DGH), Josh is determined to protect his local hospital and is fighting to stop even more services and staff from being moved to Hastings.

A keen paddleboarder along Eastbourne’s 94 beaches, Josh is campaigning to hold water companies to account over the appalling raw sewage dumping along our coastlines.

Josh isn’t a career politician – he spent his career building an award-winning business getting young people out of crime and gangs, and into employment. He was awarded an OBE for this work by our late Queen when he was 26.

Twitter: @JoshBabarinde

Liz Jarvis MP: Eastleigh

Liz Jarvis is the Liberal Democrat candidate for Eastleigh. Liz is a strong, local champion who has the experience to deliver the change we need.

Her first-hand experience of raising a family on her own means she fully understands the challenges facing many households across Eastleigh today. For the past three years she has been working alongside local councillors to support residents across Eastleigh with a wide range of issues and fighting for the local community.

She persuaded the Council to declare a Cost of Living Emergency, fought South Western Railway to keep rail ticket offices open in Eastleigh and Chandler’s Ford, has worked with residents on stopping disastrous schemes at the Ageas (Utilita) Bowl in West End and Velmore Farm, and has been leading the fight to save Winchester A&E. She has called on the Government to urgently fix the local NHS dentist crisis and ban disposable vapes to protect young people and local rivers including the River Itchen, campaigned for Ofwat to be abolished and tighter regulation of Southern Water, and has championed the cause of the 6,310 WASPI women in Eastleigh.

A successful journalist, she has also volunteered as a trustee for a charity supporting families and as a local school governor.

Liz says: “I’m proud of Eastleigh, our people and our communities, and if elected as the MP for Eastleigh I will be a strong voice for residents in Parliament and fight for a better future for everyone in Eastleigh every day.”

Twitter: @lizjarvisUK

Helen Maguire MP: Epsom and Ewell

Helen Maguire is a local entrepreneur, former Army captain in the Royal Military Police, and a campaigner for a long promised new third NHS hospital for Epsom & Ewell.

Having campaigned to raise over £500K to rebuild her fire ravaged local sports centre into a more inclusive sports and social centre for the local community, for which she received the British Empire Medal, Helen decided to stand as the Liberal democrat candidate for Epsom & Ewell with three main priorities….

Firstly, she is keen to improve the overall health situation in the constituency given the failure of successive Conservative administrations to build a long promised new emergency care hospital and the upgrading of Epsom & St Helier district hospitals.

Secondly, she is passionate about addressing the Tory economic policy failures which led to high inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, impacting most on the least well off in our local communities.

Thirdly, Helen is pursuing Liberal Democrat policy to ensure water companies pay for the systemic pollution of our rivers and waterways – an environmental catastrophe that she believes has been caused by the persistent inaction of successive governments to tackle a known underinvestment issue.

Helen will bring a ‘can do’ attitude to her role as an MP should she be elected. She is not a person to ‘talk out’ issues, but a do’er who gets things done. It’s one reason why she is so critical of recent Conservative administrations who appear to talk a great deal but accomplish very little – the building of a new local hospital being a prime example.

Helen lives locally, is married with three teenagers, and understands the needs of her local community. Her active service as a soldier in Bosnia and Iraq have taught her how to make decisions and then implement them …. for the service of all!

Twitter: @helenemaguire