Hannah Spencer: “I will not accept a society where having more money gets you a longer life expectancy”

I am no different to every single person here in this constituency. I work hard. That is what we do. Except things have changed a lot over the last few decades. Because working hard used to get you something.

It got you a house, a nice life, holidays. It got you somewhere. But now? Working hard? What does that get you?

Because talk to anyone here and they will tell you, the people who work hard but can’t put food on the table, can’t get their kids school uniforms, can’t put their heating on, can’t live off the pension they worked hard to save for, can’t even begin to dream about ever having a holiday, ever.

Because life has changed. Instead of working for a nice life, we’re working to line the pockets of billionaires.

Suggested Reading

Keeping Trumpism out of Britain

Sunder Katwala

We are being bled dry. And I don’t think it’s extreme or radical to think working hard should get you a nice life. And I don’t think that if you’re not able to work that you should still have a nice life.

I think that absolutely everybody should get a nice life. And clearly, I’m not the only person who thinks that. Because I’ve made clear my position and my commitment to working class communities, the community that I am from.

People in their thousands told me on the doorsteps and at the ballot box, that what we are sick of is being let down and looked down on, that we are sick of our hard work making other people rich.

I lived in this constituency at one of the most difficult and challenging periods of my life. I saw how strong the community was at holding things together. But I saw how much harder life is when the things around you are broken, the litter, the fly-tipping, the dirty air.

And when I moved, it became even clearer. And this is why I am fighting for the community that I lived in and that I still work in. Because I absolutely refuse to accept that we should ever have to move and leave our our communities for good schools, a thriving high street, and clean air. And I will not accept a society where having more money gets you a longer life expectancy.

And so when it came to fighting for people here, to stand in this election, well, how could I not fight? Because here, this is what we do.

We fight for each other in this very diverse constituency, where our struggles might not always be the same, but where we know how hard life can be and we stick together.

Whatever our beliefs, our backgrounds, our color, or our level of education, we stick up for each other. And to those who voted for me, I know that earning your trust starts now.