Amy Finch, the Liberal Democrat candidate for North East Herts, has explained in her own words why you should vote for her in the 2019 General Election.

"I have lived in North Herts for many years, I grew up here and attended local schools in Letchworth.

"I joined the Liberal Democrats two years ago as I strongly believe that we should be building a fairer and more equal society. I believe that our country deserves better and that we need a new approach to politics, one that not only listens to our concerns but openly engages and unites our communities.

"We collectively face many challenges, yet the paralysis that Brexit brings is stopping us from addressing these pressing issues. I voted remain in the European referendum, and I am convinced more now than ever that any form of Brexit will damage our jobs, our economy and our public services. By stopping Brexit we can allow our economy to thrive and in turn invest in our public services.

"I feel very fortunate to have grown up in Hertfordshire, surrounded by nature. The climate crisis is having an irreversible impact on our planet.

"Addressing the climate emergency must be one of our highest priorities and the Liberal Democrats have an ambitious environmental plan that includes planting 60million trees which would help reverse the decline of biodiversity, as well as fast tracking deployment of clean energy to tackle carbon emissions.

"I am deeply concerned by the rise of foodbanks and fuel poverty in our area. An emergency 10-year programme to insulate low-income homes, thus cutting bills, would go a long way to tackling the fuel poverty that many are currently experiencing here in Hertfordshire.

"A Liberal Democrat government would also look to make work pay and tackle in-work poverty, by implementing £50 billion of extra funding towards initiatives as the Work Allowance.

"In recent years' I worked for a non-profit that explored how technology could help our young people with mental resilience. Here I worked alongside Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services teams (CAMHS) which afforded me direct experience of the overwhelming pressures that these NHS services face. Therefore, I am particularly proud of the Liberal Democrats continuous work and commitment to prioritising mental health services.

"By investing £11 billion into mental health services we aim to match waiting time standards to those in physical health."