General Election 2024: What Daventry candidates said about important issues in the town

This newspaper reached out to all five of the candidates battling for the MP seat in Daventry. We asked them all the same four questions about big issues affecting the town.

The seat will be occupied by a new politician after the election, as long-standing Conservative MP, Chris Heaton-Harris, announced earlier this year that he will not stand in this year’s General Election, after 14 years as Daventry’s MP.

So, if you are still yet to decide who to vote for on Thursday July 4 – here is what some of the candidates said about each of the issues.

(Each candidates’ response is below each question. They are listed in alphabetical order, as per surname).

Labour candidate Marianne Kimani has not responded. Should answers be provided, they will be added into the article.

Littering and fly-tipping has blighted Daventry over the recent months, and years. If you are elected, with the additional powers of an MP, what will you plan to do to clean up the streets of Daventry?

Stuart Andrew – Conservative candidate

Local authorities play a key role in tackling issues such as fly-tipping, and to do this they need appropriate powers. We have pledged to fill a gap in the existing law that would see lower-level occurrences of fly-tipping by drivers resulting in points on their licence. On littering, I would work with community groups, councillors, and constituent feedback to identify these areas and the possible causes. From this, we can then take relevant steps such as with improved signage, CCTV and by installing more waste and recycling bins where it would be beneficial.

Scott Cameron – Reform UK

Littering is a cultural problem. When someone litters, they choose to do it. Enough bins removes an excuse, but no bin is still an excuse. It’s a behaviour. Someone does not care enough to put it in the bin.

We, in schools, as parents, as adults, those in the media, need to be teaching and showing that it isn't acceptable and be setting the example to not do it. That will fix the root cause, but I would also need to ensure the resources in the meantime to manage the litter and to manage people that choose to litter.

Jonathan Harris – Liberal Democrat candidate

Producing less waste and recycling more is a good place to start. The challenge is how to make people think about what they are doing. I propose collaborative anti-littering campaigns between WNC, the Town Council, businesses and the community. The best campaigns engage people, make it fun, they make people feel better about themselves - we all feel better when we do the right thing.

We need readily available Household Waste Recycling centres (HWRC) staffed and open at convenient times. We need to work in partnership with HWRCs across local county boundaries to support and be supported by our neighbouring councils so if a site is closed there is an alternative.

Clare Slater – Green candidate

It’s heartening to see communities come together to deal with litter – I applaud groups like the Litter Wombles and residents in my own village who attend our litter picks. But it’s disappointing that people have to give up their free time to do this. We need to tackle the source of litter for a long-term solution. I would champion the deposit return scheme on bottles and other packaging, push for large retailers and manufacturers to take responsibility for reducing packaging and waste, and ensure local councils and the Environment Agency have the resources to properly investigate and prosecute fly-tippers.

How do you intend to tackle the under-supply of affordable housing in and around Daventry? What plans will you implement to make more affordable housing available to Daventry residents?

Stuart Andrew – Conservative candidate

We need both dedicated affordable housing schemes, and naturally occurring affordable housing by improving market conditions and earnings. The Conservatives have pledged to cut taxes, build 1.6 million homes in England, renew the Affordable Homes Programme and support the continued supply of social housing. We are committed to reducing the burden on buyers via Stamp Duty Land Tax changes and Help to Buy. We want to make it easier for developers to build in suitable areas, and I will work closely with the government and WNC to ensure that this is the case.

Scott Cameron – Reform UK

There is no simple answer for this. Many areas need reform to start to bring change.

Creating headspace in national and council funding, planning laws, costs to build, all mean it's expensive, hard to build and no money to build. And it will never keep up when immigration levels are so high.

Reform UK have policies, to control our borders, improve people’s finances and business finances and aside from ensure they get enacted, I’ll work with West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) to create a transparent, public plan that will identify and fix the root causes impacting this and the mitigations to improve this now.

Jonathan Harris – Liberal Democrat candidate

Liberal Democrats manifesto pledges to build 380,000 new homes a year, including 150,000 social homes. The Right to Buy scheme introduced by Conservatives has starved supply of new social homes with all funds raised from going back to government, instead of local authorities. Local authorities need powers to end Right to Buy.

We would support people who cannot afford the deposit for their own homes by introducing a new Rent to Own model for social housing where rent payments give tenants an increasing stake in the property, owning it outright after 30 years. Local authorities would also be given new powers to control second homes and short-term lets.

Clare Slater – Green candidate

I would support WNC to provide good quality affordable and social housing. I would also back changes to planning regulations – we need the right homes in the right place, at the right cost, and affordable to heat. New housing should be spread in smaller developments where possible, with sufficient infrastructure so we can all access GP surgeries, schools, and public transport and cycling routes. New and existing housing stock needs to be well-insulated, with solar panels and low carbon heating systems to reduce household bills. I would support renters by pushing for limits on rent rises and ending no-fault evictions.

Daventry recently hit national headlines for the poor state of its roads. Residents have raised concerns not only about potholes and the state of roads, but also about verges and signage. What will you do, with the added power of being in Parliament, to help with the improvements?

Stuart Andrew – Conservative candidate

The recent campaign certainly shone a spotlight on this issue. Securing and actually using the funding to address the conditions of our roads is essential. I know how to utilise the role as MP to maintain communication and accountability between the government and our local authority and how to ensure additional funding schemes benefit my constituents. In my former constituency, I worked extremely hard to secure funding to improve our roads, including recently securing £20 million under the Levelling Up Fund. If elected, I would work just as hard on this for the Daventry Constituency.

Scott Cameron – Reform UK

The state of our roads are just one of the many examples where every year we pay more and get less in return. Nationally and locally. Highest taxes and council taxes in 70 years, highest government spending in 70 years, yet everything is broken.

I’ll drive more transparency in where our money goes, and work with WNC for a public, structured, timely, detailed plan to get more return on our taxes and how they’ll do more to fix the problem now. I’ll hold people to account for the delivery of the jobs that they are paid to do.

Jonathan Harris – Liberal Democrat candidate

If elected, I would meet regularly with the Chief Executive of the council (and Executive officers) to ensure they were full appraised of residents’ concerns and issues and actions were being taken to address them. These issues sit largely with WNC. The state of roads in our area is due to several key factors. First and foremost, the Conservative government of recent years has systematically defunded local authorities, it is estimated to the tune of at least 25 percent in real terms. Councils must be supported through these difficult times and Liberal Democrats will review the burdens and costs that local authorities carry because of Conservative government policies.

Clare Slater – Green candidate

Potholes are an unacceptable safety risk and cause unnecessary stress and financial burden. Although the government needs to ensure local councils have adequate funding to maintain roads, including fixing potholes quickly (and to maintain signage and verges for safety), this is just a sticking plaster. We need to be looking for long-term solutions because more extreme weather and ever-increasing vehicle numbers mean the pothole problem will only get worse. I will push for better and cheaper public transport links and safe active travel options to reduce pressure on our roads.

What steps will you take to improve Daventry's transport connectivity? It is currently poor and residents struggle to move around between villages and into bigger towns.

Stuart Andrew – Conservative candidate

Frequent, reliable, and affordable public transport is key to this, as is listening to locals on what they need to ensure that the services are in place, when they should be and where they should be. There are already some fantastic initiatives in place to support those who cannot use public transport as easily, such as Daventry Area Community Transport and Ability Transport, that will need ongoing support and funding. I would work hard to ensure such schemes are supported, and that any constituent concerns about the public transport they need are being raised with, and addressed by, WNC and the government.

Scott Cameron – Reform UK

We have a wide rural area, dwindling public transport alongside increasing attacks on the cost of being a motorist. People are rightly angry. As I’ve already said – excessive taxes, dwindling return on our money and we should be demanding more.

WNC, the 30 most senior people have a wage bill, just salary, of £3.3 million. (£86,000 to £175,000). Add on 93 councillors, (93!) their pay, £1.7 million. That’s £5 million on those in charge.

Council tax went up by five percent, their pay went up by 4.5 percent, in return, they proposed only 0.5 percent savings in productivity. £5 million - but any accountability?

(Note: The 4.5 percent pay rise figure was initially put in WNC’s 2024/25 budget, however the council says a different approach was taken, where staff received a variable flat rate award, meaning a set amount was applied to each band rathe than a percentage increase across the board).

Jonathan Harris – Liberal Democrat candidate

This is a particular passion of mine; I have successfully worked with a local community transport operator to set up some bus routes to reconnect rural villages and to bring people into Daventry for

shopping trips; these are known as the Haddon Hopper and the Shopper Hopper. I also successfully campaigned to persuade Conservative led WNC to keep its investment in six supported bus routes, ensuring many people are still able to travel by bus. More routes could be added by giving local authorities the powers they need to restore bus routes and add new ones where there is local need, especially in rural areas.

Clare Slater – Green candidate

As a resident in a Northamptonshire village I have seen the recent decline in rural public transport. We shouldn’t have to depend on cars – nationally, one in five families don’t have access to a car. I will push for councils to have more control over bus services, and hold WNC to account for delivery of reliable, frequent, accessible and affordable bus services between villages and into our towns. To ensure a broader range of public transport options, I would also encourage community bus services, and champion a feasibility study into re-opening local railway lines and stations for towns like Daventry.

What South Northamptonshire MP candidates have said about important issues, has already been published. Articles, similar to this one, for the two remaining constituencies in West Northamptonshire will be published on this newspaper’s website in the coming week.