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Mr
Mercer, 53, will be
hitting the campaign
trail for the third
time, having been first
elected in 2001. He
increased his majority
to more than 6,000 in
2005.
Mr
Mercer, of Skegby, near
Normanton-on-Trent,
served with the Sherwood
Foresters principally in
Northern Ireland and
Bosnia, receiving an MBE
and OBE, before working
for BBC Radio 4’s Today
programme as defence
correspondent.
In
Parliament Mr Mercer’s
roles have included
shadow minister for
security and chairman of
the Counter Terrorism
Sub-Committee.
Mr
Mercer, who is married
to Mrs Cait Mercer and
has one son, said he
would be operating a
high-tempo campaign.
His
election pledges are to
protect Newark Hospital
and local NHS services,
improve schools and
education choices, more
police on the streets
and safer communities,
to help local businesses
and job opportunities,
and to support
Servicemen fighting for
the country.
He
said: “It’s going to be
a tough election. What
is so disappointing is
that many of my pledges
for this campaign are
exactly the same as five
years ago in 2005,
showing how little the
Labour Party has
invested in the Newark
constituency.”
Regarding Newark
Hospital, Mr Mercer said
he was supporting option
one in the health review
— 24-hour coverage at
the emergency unit — and
wanted full disclosure
of how people had voted
in the review.
He
said he would continue
to chase hard on
ambulance provision, and
said any health cost
savings should be
reinvested in Newark
rather than other parts
of Nottinghamshire.
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Dr
Ian Campbell, 49, of
Averham Park, has been a
GP in Nottingham for 20
years.
An
obesity specialist, Dr
Campbell has campaigned
to reform the NHS and
improve patient care,
and has worked with
government to encourage
healthier lifestyles. He
was made MBE last year
for services to
medicine.
Dr
Campbell, who has two
teenage sons, said
Newark Hospital was the
single most important
issue to people he had
spoken to in the town.
He
is leading a campaign to
protect the future of
the hospital and feels
that without a fully
functioning A & E it
will lose other valuable
services leading to the
end of the hospital in
its current form.
Dr
Campbell’s other
campaign issues are the
poor provision of
community sports and
leisure services, a lack
of well-paid jobs for
local people, safety in
communities, remote
policing and ambulance
services, and care for
older people.
If
elected, he said he
would help to put Newark
back on the map and work
tirelessly to ensure
everyone in Newark had a
fairer future.
“I
have been preparing for
this for a long time,”
he said.
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The
Liberal Democrat
candidate, Mrs Pauline
Jenkins, 60, of Marrison
Way, Southwell, has
experience of local
politics as a town and
district councillor.
She
is a member of Newark
and Sherwood District
Council’s planning
committee.
Mrs
Jenkins, a retired
science teacher, is
married with three
children and a step-son,
and has four
grandchildren.
She
said many people felt
disillusioned with the
political system and
there was the
opportunity for
improvement.
“It’s now time for a
real change and a new
direction,” she said.
Mrs
Jenkins said the Liberal
Democrats would take
action to protect vital
frontline NHS services,
which was particularly
important in Newark
where the hospital was
under threat.
She
said it was important to
maintain the current
service, particularly
the 24-hour cover, and
that older people were
treated near their
relatives.
She
felt there should be
adequate ambulance cover
if people were going to
be treated outside the
area.
Mrs
Jenkins said her other
campaign issues would be
reducing class sizes and
working to abolish
university tuition fees,
putting more police on
patrol to help people
feel safer, investment
in public transport,
renewable energy and
energy-efficient homes,
and fairer taxes.
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The UK Independence Party's candidate, the Rev Major Tom Irvine, said he was standing to give people a choice on whether the country should be in the European Union or not.
"I think getting out of Europe in the next three or four years is so important - now people can make a choice on that," he said.
Mr Irvine, 70, of Hucknall, has been a minister in the United Reformed Church for more than 40 years.
He also worked as a school teacher in Eastwood, retiring in 1989.
He has served as an Army padre with the Officer Training Corps in Nottingham and has been a chaplain with Nottinghamshire Police, the Royal British Legion and the Freemasons.
Rev Major Irvine was born in Scotland but moved to Nottinghamshire as a child.
He attended the Magnus Grammar School, Newark.
Last year he was elected onto Nottinghamshire County Council as a UKIP councillor and sits on the education and planning committees.
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