Meet the candidate: Greg Mountain

The Argus (TA): What is the biggest single issue in the constituency you are standing in?

Greg Mountain (GM): Mid Sussex residents tell me it’s transport and how it affects family life. People are appalled by irregular and expensive rail services. They consider lack of parking spaces near their homes is stressful. They hate the impact of hospital parking charges.

TA: Do you believe that Brexit can bring about a positive change to Sussex?

GM: I campaigned for Remain. The majority of Mid Sussex and Brighton people voted against Brexit.

I worry Brexit will harm Sussex people and businesses but if elected I will work to secure the best outcome for my constituents.

TA: Who will win this election (and by what size majority)?

GM: I consider the result will be closer than current indications would have us believe.

Voters like Labour policies and hate this nasty approach of another project fear. Voters see the Tories have a “Monopoly of Madness” – Theresa May and her three Brexit Musketeers.

Sussex people do not want more years of harmful public sector cuts or low wages. They want hope for themselves, their children and older relatives. They want good, well paid, secure jobs and homes they can afford.

TA: Who is your political hero and why?

GM: As a fellow Yorkshireman I greatly admire Harold Wilson. He saw people needed a good education to help them achieve their aspirations and cope with technological change. He was visionary and expanded educational opportunities for generations. We need that vision now.

TA: What has been the best moment you have had out campaigning?

GM: My best recent moment came when “door knocking” for the county council elections.

Some voters told my team that they would vote Labour at that election and for Greg Mountain in the General Election if he was Labour’s candidate. That’s before I was selected.

TA: Is this election necessary considering we already have a majority Government that was due to run until 2020?

GM: This General Election is unnecessary, and opportunistic. By taking a hard line stance to Brexit negotiations Theresa May is putting Conservative Party interests before the country.

My fear is she has totally compromised our chance of negotiating a “good deal” on Brexit.

The result will be great harm to British democracy and the majority of people’s lives – financial, employment and family.

TA: Can voters be confident that our current system is the best way to select a government?

GM: I guess you mean our first past the post system. Since 1945, few Governments collected more than 50 percent of the vote at a General Election, so the ruling party didn’t really have support from the majority of the people.

Despite that, there is no guarantee adopting an alternative like proportional representation would make British politics less adversarial and more co-operative.