Six candidates are standing for election to parliament to represent the Hove and Portslade constituency on Thursday 4 July 2024.
The six candidates are Sophie Broadbent (Green), Carline Deal (Conservative), Martin Hess (Reform UK), Peter Kyle (Labour), Tanushka Marah (Independent) and Michael Wang (Liberal Democrat).
Each candidate answered questions submitted by voters. Here are the answers from Conservative candidate Carline Deal, 48, a health and wellness entrepreneur with a 15-year career in corporate asset management. She posts on Instagram as @Carlinedealhoveportslade and her Facebook page is Carline Deal Hove & Portslade Conservative Candidate.
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Why do you want to be an MP and how are you qualified for the role?
After the financial crash in 2007, I left finance and used that time to think.
Every endeavour I’ve had since then has seen me or my business engage with the third sector.
It dawned on me that I feel most fulfilled when I’m “doing” for others.
I became active in my community, getting involved with politics, and witnessed first-hand how effective local and national politicians impacted the lives of their constituents.
There is a different kind of gratification to be had when the work you do improves the quality of life for someone else. Being of service is intrinsically a part of who I am.
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If elected, how would you deal with performance and pricing problems in privatised utilities such as the water companies, railways, energy companies and the Royal Mail?
The old system of government ownership didn’t work and these monopolies need to be challenged so that they bring their prices down and provide a better service.
I would work towards bringing in a sensible check and balance system that benefits both stakeholders (we, the general public) and shareholders, as well as more competition into these industries.
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What would you do to help people who are struggling to rent or buy a home? Should second homes or Airbnb-style holiday lets be banned?
We’re introducing means and methods to get people on the housing ladder, from Help to Buy schemes and no stamp duty for first-time buyers.
We need to build more homes in ways that don’t disrupt our environment and not build on the green belt.
We need fewer high-rise, one and two-bedroom box flats and more homes for families with outdoor space to thrive.
The Conservatives have built more than one million homes in the last few years and will continue to build where people want to live.
I fear for our green spaces if Labour is elected.
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What steps would you take to improve hospital performance, community care and access to GPs for patients in Brighton and Hove?
Supporting our NHS is far more effective than blanket criticism and pointing out what isn’t working.
It begins with meeting with local commissioners and trusts to understand their needs and strategies for targeting the primary care that we need: better access to GP appointments, dental care, reducing hospital wait times and surgery lists.
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Events in Israel and Gaza have affected many members of the community here. What can people in your constituency expect you to say and do as an MP?
I have immediate and extended family in the Jewish community in the UK, in Israel and those in and of the faith.
I speak as a former soldier and paramedic in the military. No one wants or truly wins in war.
During my deployments in Bosnia, we were governed and abided by the Geneva Convention.
This it meant that wartime efforts and actions were to never supersede basic human tenets.
To cross them meant a descent into something else, something untenable.
What is needed is a ceasefire that truly means cease-fire, honouring those human tenets, a beginning to discuss the future and not engage those who are determined to revive a vengeful return to the past.
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Do you support building new homes and a replacement for King Alfred swimming pool in the Benfield Valley?
I do very much care about access to the facilities, not relinquishing the site to developers to build upon the seafront as we’ve seen elsewhere in the area.
I’ve reached out to my councillors in the local authority to also champion the preservation and restoration of the site for continued public use and enjoyment.
The crazy idea of knocking the King Alfred down and building flats to pay for a new sports centre on a cricket field is just plain crazy.
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Polling stations are due to be open from 7am to 10pm on Thursday 4 July. Photo ID is required for those voting in person.
No chance this one. Weak interview, and honestly, Torys are on course for a wipeout generally.
Some of them read like ChatGPT generated statements.
She’s clearly a paper candidate going through the motions in the hope she’ll get a more winnable seat next time around by showing some effort.
There seems to be a bit more of a focus on how CON are going to proceed at the next election, from the various interviews and tactics displayed so far. I don’t think they have much of a platform to stand on this time around and plenty to be criticised about.
It is a bit of a shame though, I do believe a strong opposition is needed. For Brighton, I wonder what political colour that opposition will be?
Indeed a strong opposition is a necessity.
As for who it is in Brighton the Greens and Tories only hold 7 and 6 council seats respectivly after losing 2/3rd and 1/2 their seats at the last local elections.
I guess it comes down to which can de-toxify their brands the quickest and IMHO that starts with a full throated apology from both over their role in the i360