黑洞社区

Name: Stephen Gee, Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate for Epsom & Ewell

Construction CV: Chartered QS with 35 years鈥� experience; until October 2016 managing partner of consultant John Rowan and Partners

What can your party offer the construction industry?
A complete agreement to the 黑洞社区 Brexit Manifesto, a campaign against a hard Brexit, continued tariff-free access to the single market and a guarantee of the rights of EU workers in the UK. We will only have a strong and stable economy if we achieve these things. All industries will suffer under Theresa May鈥檚 hard Brexit. We will all be worse off and will not have enough skilled labour to build our way out of a recession. The construction industry could take 15 years to recover.

Why is construction important in your constituency?
The provision of affordable housing is an issue throughout the country and particularly so in Epsom & Ewell. The pressure in Epsom to not build on the green belt is large but the issue must be addressed by finding enough brownfield sites. We hope to be at the end of Crossrail 2, should it ever proceed, which would be a huge boost for the area 鈥� but this isn鈥檛 a hot topic in this election.

How will your party ensure a 鈥済ood鈥� Brexit?
No one can guarantee a good Brexit 鈥� I鈥檓 not sure those two words go together 鈥� but we must aim for one that won鈥檛 damage the economy, jobs and trade. We need a strong economy to have the funds to invest in the NHS, social care and schools that face critical funding and capacity challenges. By voting Liberal Democrat you would ensure a strong voice in parliament and the only effective opposition to the hard Brexit Tory government. It鈥檚 not too late to change the direction of the country.