PPC Profile: Liz Kendall
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Full Name: Liz Kendall
Age: 38
From: Watford
PPC for: Leicester West
Website: www.lizkendall.org (launched w/c 1st Feb 2010)
Twitter: @leicesterliz
Facebook: Liz Kendall for Leicester West
Selection Result: 58 to 52
Member of the Labour Party since: 1992. Like many people, I woke up the morning after the ’92 election feeling incredibly angry and frustrated that the Tories had won again. Then I remember thinking: “right, instead of sitting here moaning about it, put your money where your mouth is, join the Party and help fight to make sure it never happens again.” So that’s what I did.
CV:
I’ve spent my life trying to help make our society fairer and our public services better. I’ve been the Director of two national charities: the Maternity Alliance, where I campaigned for better rights and services for pregnant women, new parents and their children; and the Ambulance Service Network, which works on behalf of all NHS ambulance services to improve urgent and emergency care. I’ve worked for two ‘think-tanks’: the Institute for Public Policy Research, where I was the Associate Director for health, social care and children’s early years; and the King’s Fund, where I was a researcher on the public health programme focusing on tackling local health inequalities. I’ve also been a Special Adviser to Patricia Hewitt and Harriet Harman, campaigning to help get Labour elected and deliver our policies in Government.
I was inspired to go into politics because:
Politics has always been part of my life. Both my parents are involved in voluntary work in the community, and my Dad was a local councillor for many years. So I grew up discussing and debating politics, and believing you should try and give something back to the community whenever you can.
My main policy interests are:
* Creating new jobs and transforming skills. We need to identify future growth areas for our economy and target help and incentives to encourage new businesses, and give people the right skills, in the areas that most need them.
* Making all our communities safe and providing decent places to live in. Improving social housing, giving young people things to do, and creating greener, cleaner spaces should be much higher up the political agenda. These are the day-to-day issues that matter most to people in constituencies like Leicester West.
* Transforming care for older people. The ageing population is one of the biggest challenges facing our society. We’ve started to make real progress, but there’s much more to do on crucial issues like improving dementia services and shifting the focus of NHS and social care towards prevention and keeping people healthy.
Three things I think should be in the next Labour manifesto are:
1 -

 Modern manufacturing:
We’ve been absolutely right to argue that growth is the best antidote to debt, and to emphasise the leading role of Britain’s creative and digital industries, biotech and pharmaceuticals. But jobs in these industries will seem alien to many voters on our poorest estates unless we talk about them in a way people understand, using concrete local examples.
2 – 
 Extending personal budgets:
These can play a really important role in giving people more of a say, and more control, over the services they use, and ensuring public services meet every individual’s needs.
3 – A National Care Service:
We should be bold in calling for decent care services for older people in all parts of the country. Yes, this has a cost – for individuals and Government. But it’s the right thing to do.
I think people should vote for me because:
I’ve never been afraid to speak out on the issues that matter, and I’ll give a strong voice for the people of Leicester West at the local and national level. I’m passionate about social justice and helping to deliver a fairer society. Above all, I get things done. I’m a tireless campaigner and hard worker, and I’ll get results on the things that matter to local people.
AOB:
We’ve got to change the way we do politics, as a country and as a Party. None of the big challenges we face as a society can be tackled by Government action alone. Whether it’s addressing climate change, reducing obesity and heart disease, caring for our ageing population, or confronting terrorism and religious extremism – all these issues will require us to genuinely involve, engage and empower people to take action themselves. This has important implications for the future role of Government and Parliament.
Re-invigorating our Party is a crucial part of this process. Labour Party members are the backbone of our communities – the teachers, social workers, NHS staff, businessmen, councillors, community and voluntary workers who can and do make a real difference to people’s lives. Party members are our best resource: it’s about time we realised this, and used it to our advantage.
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