BARRIE HUDSON chats to Janet Ellard, standing for the Liberal Democrat Party in North Swindon, in our series on all the local candidates in the General Election on May 7.

“ONE of the big reasons why I am interested in politics is to obtain justice and fairness for everybody,” said Janet Ellard.

“I feel that the Liberal Democrats have this attitude of working towards a more equal society.

“They do care about the people who are the least well off in society, and have been able to prevent the Conservatives from, for example, removing housing benefit for young people.”

Janet, 56, lives in Chepstow and volunteers for a Gloucester-based charity which helps homeless young people.

A speaker of four languages, she also works as a media analyst, presenting digests of foreign news coverage to business clients. She pledges to move immediately to her constituency if elected.

Married for nearly 30 years and a mother of two, Janet has more than 20 years of experience as a language teacher.

She joined the Liberal Democrats in 1997 and has never been in doubt about her choice.

“I think the Liberal Democrats have proved in coalition that they are willing to work hard and make compromises where necessary in the interests of the country,” she said. “The fact that economic indicators are improving cannot be attributed solely to the Conservatives.

“The Liberal Democrats played their part in that, so they have demonstrated that they are a party that takes the responsibility of government seriously and works for the prosperity of the UK.

“I think Liberal Democrat politicians have matured over the last five years and there are several who have become quite impressive and whose names have become quite well-known.

“It will be a great pity if they are not able in the future to continue to play similar roles in government.”

A main local priority if elected is education. Janet readily admits that her own background as a teacher is an influence but insists the subject is universally important.

She said: “That’s something I have in common with the vast majority of people in Swindon. Everybody cares about the education of their children, their nephews, nieces, their grandchildren.

“I was very pleased to see innovations such as UTC opening in Swindon and the recent announcement of the two new free schools for Swindon, because I’m aware that there was a shortage of secondary school places in Swindon.”

She added a note of caution, though.

“I think there can be far too much excitement about new free schools and money being invested in those schools when it’s also essential to make sure that the other secondary schools in North Swindon are not neglected – that they’re still supported in every way.”

Janet is also a staunch supporter of lifelong education and retraining opportunities.

Her other priorities?

“There are the same pressures on the NHS in Swindon as there are in other parts of England.

“The hospital is feeling the same pressure that we hear about at many hospitals across the UK.

“The Lib Dems have made clear their commitment to provide adequate funding for the NHS but I think funding is only one thing. We need to listen to nurses, doctors, care workers and work with them to improve systems in common sense ways.”

Also standing in North Swindon are: Justin Tomlinson (Conservative); Mark Dempsey (Labour); James Faulkner (UKIP); Poppy Hebden-Leeder (Green).