PPC Profile: Ruth Smeeth

Full Name: Ruth Smeeth

Age: 29

PPC for: Burton & Uttoxeter

Selection Result: 70-41

Member of the Labour Party since: 1995

CV:
I have the privilege of having a job I love. I work for a charity, which seeks to fight racism and antisemitism through research, public campaigns and enhanced security provision. Over the last two years I have run campaigns against the BNP in both the London and European elections and will continue to run anti-racism activities until the General Election.

Previously I have worked in the Union movement, for a Westminster Think Tank specialising in Health policy, for a foreign affairs campaign and in the corporate sector.

I was inspired to go into politics because:
I was brought up in the labour movement. The values of socialism, equality and fairness are at my core and any and all injustice has spurred me on since I was a kid.

My family has been in the UK for just over a century, arriving as immigrants fleeing persecution in Eastern Europe. We were welcomed and we worked hard to make a life in a country I am proud to call my home. But I was born just after Thatcher came to power and if there was anything that was at odds with my family values it was what she did to our country, our communities and an entire generation of the working classes. From the milk snatcher to the Miners’ strike and the Falklands war, Thatcherism nearly destroyed the labour movement and our society. Simply speaking I was inspired to make sure it never happens again!

The vulnerable need advocates and they need people that care about what happens to them. Politics for me isn’t a means to an end, it is the opportunity to engage with people, to listen to what they need and then shout loudly to make sure it happens for them!

My main policy interests are:
· The British Brewing Industry
· British Manufacturing
· Public Services, specifically the NHS
· Local Community relations
· Foreign Affairs

Three things I think should be in the next manifesto:
1 – A cut in the level of taxation levied onto the British pint and a Government sponsored inquiry into the future of the British Brewing industry, focussed on the distribution and retail of alcohol products. Burton-on-Trent is the home of British brewing and is suffering disproportionately due to the current decline of the industry.

2 – A Grand Commission to both simplify the tax system and to highlight what we actually spend taxpayers’ money on – from health and education to defence and civil infrastructure. One Commission, one debate and a new relationship with the people that pay the bills.

3 – A commitment for a public debate on our immigration policy. Discussing both the impact on Britain as an island nation-state and as a modern economy with an aging population. The BNP’s recent success was in part due to the fact that no political party is responding to the fears and concerns of many of the electorate on this issue nor are we making the case for a diverse society.

I think people should vote for me because:
Politics needs to change, not just in presentation but also in fundamentals. I strive to be the MP for Burton not because I want to be a Minister or gain a public profile, but because (as naff as it sounds) I want to contribute to making the UK a better place for families, for the vulnerable and for those people that just need a little help.

East Staffordshire is a very diverse place, with some of the poorest urban housing estates in the UK and some of the wealthiest agricultural land in England. The reality is we both as a party and as individuals we need to do everything we can to engage with, and help, everyone in our local communities.

I want to be a local MP with a national voice. Fighting for the people of Burton and Uttoxeter both locally and nationally to make sure that they get the best deal for them, their families and our community.

I am proud to call Burton-on-Trent my home. I wasn’t born in the town, but I chose Burton and I hope that they will choose me.