Our guide to the candidates standing for MP in Liverpool’s student areas

So, its time for another election (yes, another one) and it's important that we have our voices heard as students and young people.

With each major party releasing their manifestos and delivering their party lines, it can be tricky to trust, let alone know, who you want to vote for. Do you go for the party you agree with the most, or just with the one that you dislike the least? Or do you vote tactically and to prevent a certain party winning? Whatever you decide, it is vital that you vote.

The Liverpool Tab has spoken to all of the candidates standing in the students areas of Liverpool, from Smithdown to Kensington to the city centre. These people obviously all come with their party's own politics which we all have an opinion of, but here are the messages they have for the students of Liverpool Wavertree and Liverpool Riverside:

Liverpool Wavertree Candidates:

Kay Inckle – Green

Dr Kay Inckle is the Green candidate for Liverpool Wavertree and is a lecturer in Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology at UoL. In her statement to voters she says she is "passionate about human rights, social justice and the environment" and her top priorities, if elected, include protecting parks and green areas and promoting cleaner communities. Dr Inckle attended the YouthStrike4Climate event on November 29th and told the crowds there: "Now is the time to be green, now is the time to vote Green."

Paula Barker – Labour

Paula Barker is the Labour candidate for Liverpool Wavertree. In a recent tweet she said: "Our residents have had enough of austerity and division- we need to rise up and make #RealChange #ForTheManyNotTheFew."

Adam Heatherington – Brexit Party

Heatherington is currently a member of the Brexit Party. Although once a member of UKIP, Mr Heatherington resigned as Chairman after the party's leader at the time, Paul Nuttall, admitted to falsifying claims that he had lost close friends in the Hillsborough Disaster.

Mr Heatherington told The Tab: "Students are an asset to this city, providing a boost to the economy and the Knowledge Quarter." He added: "Tuition fees have to be reduced" and said that "debt should not be getting in the way of studies."

Catherine Mulhern – Conservative

Catherine Mulhern is the Conservative candidate for Wavertree, a lawyer and CEO of a children's welfare charity. In Mulhern's statement to voters, she says: "I come from a family of working people… I understand the need for people to have safe neighbourhoods and vibrant communities." Her priorities include working for the community, ensuring safer streets and improving the economy of the area.

Richard Kemp – Liberal Democrats

Richard Kemp has been a member of Liverpool City Council for 30 years and is the leader of the Lib Dems on the council. As a member of a party who is campaigning strongly to cancel Brexit and remain in the EU, Mr Kemp told The Tab: "Leaving the EU will affect the job prospects of students whatever their discipline; it will affect their ability to travel and work in Europe; it will affect the research capacities of our universities; and it will mean less money to spend on a range of services which badly need new and more cash spending on them." More information can be found about Mr Kemp on his blog.

Mick Coyne – Liberal Party

Mick is standing as a candidate in Liverpool Wavertree but The Liverpool Tab has been unable to contact him directly for comment.

Liverpool Riverside:

Tom Crone – Green

Tom Crone is a candidate for the Green Party and has been a councillor for St Michael's ward since 2014. In a live Q&A this month at Performing Arts school Rare Studio Liverpool, he told students: “Young people shouldn’t feel scared or threatened to vote, it’s their voice that matters".

Kim Johnson – Labour

Kim Johnson is the Labour candidate for Liverpool Riverside. Her campaign leaflet reads: "Now more than ever, we need a government which will rebuild our city after years of austerity. This election is about the next generation." She lists her priorities as "NHS – not for sale" along with "a caring economy" and "defending our fire service."

David Leach – Brexit Party

David Leach is the Brexit Party candidate for Riverside, and has lived in the constituency for over 50 years. His statement to voters reads: "I pledge I would make every effort as an MP to get the UK out of the EU, which is a
protectionist, anti-democratic, would-be-empire. And I am totally opposed to its stated intention to take over the UK armed forces for a new European Army."

Sean Malkeson – Conservative

Dr Sean Malkeson is standing for the Tories, and is currently a lecturer at LJMU in the Faculty of Engineering and Technology. Malkeson was one of only three candidates for Liverpool Riverside to attend a hustings held in the Guild. At the hustings, Malkeson told the audience that: "We should be investing in mental health services." On Brexit, he added: "We need to stop the uncertainty of Brexit."

Rob McAllister-Bell – Liberal Democrats

Rob McAllister-Bell, running for the Lib Dems, is from North Liverpool and also attended the hustings that took place at the Guild. He said that he got involved with politics "for Brexit." His statement to voters reads: "I am a proud Liberal because I care about the welfare of people, their health, housing, schools, jobs, civil rights & civil liberties". At the hustings, he told the audience that this was "a last chance election" and added the Tories "aren't looking for a deal" when it comes to Brexit.

Remember to vote!