Bella Hewitt: Liberal Democrat champion for Fareham and Waterlooville
Bella Hewitt is the Liberal Democrat candidate for Fareham and Waterlooville constituency in the 2024 General Election. Vote for Bella on July the 4th!
As a Hampshire woman born and bred, Bella specialises in health inequalities and socio-economic policy. Working extensively with frontline workers, patients, healthcare providers & charitable organisations, she is passionate about protecting our NHS. Politicians need to listen to the voice of both patients & staff, and work together on solutions for a fairer, more efficient funding formula. A healthy population is the critical building block in sustaining a happy, productive society. But our country is struggling with widespread health inequalities, linked to the broader issue of escalating economic inequality that drives this – facilitated by 14 years of a Conservative Government that does not place the welfare of all in our society at the heart of its legislation.
Prior to specialising in the healthcare sector, Bella operated at a senior level in finance, corporate and public sector organisations. She is a person of compassion who has a deep desire to help drive change in this country – be it at a local or national level. Her work within her local community with a failing secondary school, restoration of a village youth club and creator of the village Covid-19 support group, all testify to her commitment to making things happen that benefit the day-to-day lives of people.
Integrity is central to Bella’s ethos. She genuinely believes in a fairer society, one that is facilitated by the ethical spend of our tax monies on education, healthcare, infrastructure and the transition to a greener economy. The Liberal Democrats are the party that will best achieve this objective. When societies thrive, we all benefit.
Bella's Pledges
1 Economy
The Tories have squandered your money on illusions (Rwanda), PPE fraud, and failing privatised utilities. Bella aims to revitalise the local economy by clamping down on tax fraud, a one-off wind-fall tax on super-profits of oil & gas companies and 4% tax on share buybacks to incentivise proper business investment.
F&W is rich in talented people with vast experience across many sectors. We will support the growth of small businesses, creating jobs, and fostering a vibrant community that thrives on local enterprise and innovation. We will Roll-out a much needed industrial strategy that encourages businesses to invest in clean technologies and turbo-boost science, research & cutting-edge technologies to build a green economy.
2 Health
Bella is passionate about protecting the NHS and this starts with recruiting more GPs, giving everyone the right to see their GP within 7 days or 24 hours if urgent and making it a legal right for cancer patients to start treatment within 2 months of an urgent referral, while putting mental health and social care on the same footing as physical health. Public health investment must be properly prioritised.
With new housing developments the provision of schools, surgeries and public transport will be vital to maintain our thriving population. In F&W we are fortunate that our generosity can support charities and food banks during the ongoing poverty pandemic – but proper provision must now be restored by a competent government.
3 Environment
We have had enough disregard for our natural environment – both here at home and globally. Parts of F&W are coastal and under threat from rising sea levels. The immediate priority is to combat sewage pollution in the river Meon and Wallington, holding those responsible to account and safeguarding the quality of our water.
Nationally we would press for an overhaul of the environmental regulator and reprioritise its focus on undoing the damage of the last decade. Privatised utilities have clearly not delivered better services and society now regrets ideological decisions.
Economics should evolve and not be treated as a religion.
4 Ethics
Finally, Bella (and, we believe, most of the country) are crying out for a return to honest, public life where integrity and evidence-led policies are fully considered before massive funds are wasted. Cover-ups are a symptom of unhealthy management and short-term greed - behaviours that cannot be excused as ‘harmful to corporate and public interests’. Whilst success should be rewarded, the needs of society at large should not be sacrificed for the desire of a few to garner enormous wealth.
Published and promoted by Tiggy Ayoub on behalf of Bella Hewitt, both at F&W Liberal Democrats, Unit E, Bar End Industrial Estate, Winchester SO23 9NR