Ahead of the General Elections on July 4, we spoke to the candidates standing in the Clacton constituency. Here is the latest interview with Green candidate Dr Natasha Osben. 

Dr Natasha Osben, 35, was born and raised in Clacton and has entered the race for the parliamentary seat in Westminster to represent her home town for the Green Party.

As to why residents should vote for her, Dr Osben had a definite answer – being the alternative.

She said: “I think it's really important that people in Clacton have the option of voting for a green candidate and also for an alternative candidate to Labour and the Conservatives.

“Something that I think you'll quickly pick up on when you speak to people in Clacton is that they are very disillusioned and disenfranchised with mainstream party politics.

“They're very fed up generally with Labour and the Conservatives, so I think it's really important that they have an alternative option here, that's offering something different, this offering real solid policies that would actually improve life for people in Clacton.”

Dr Osben is passionate about the place that has always been her home, and the home of her children, as well as its community.

Spending time volunteering at the Walton Food Bank and as youth leader for the St Johns Ambulance she has faced what for many is reality.

She said: “When I was volunteering at the food bank, I was giving out food parcels to people who were telling me they weren't going to be able to cook the food that we had given them because their electricity had been shut off by their supplier because they had been able to pay their bills.

“People are really suffering here. So, I'm standing because I want to help improve things for people I care really deeply about the people of this constituency, and they deserve better.”

Tackling deprivation within the constituency is a huge priority for Dr Osben, and she wants to tackle it at the root.

She said: “Obviously, a key policy that needs to be addressed is our support in early years, early years intervention is universally almost, almost universally recognised as the key area you need to target to help families.

“We need a party that recognises that children who grow up in poverty have adverse outcomes in every aspect of their lives, so that needs to be a really strong priority, especially in this constituency where you have got the most disadvantaged area in the entire country.

“We need to be tackling childhood poverty. So, I was very disappointed when I heard Angela Rayner say that she supports the Labour Party, not planning to remove the two-child benefit cap, which is a policy which is largely responsible for the hundreds of thousands of children that we see in poverty in this country.”

From personal experience, Dr Osben has also seen the issues with SEND education, which she said is currently “failing our young people”.

She said: “The policy is if the policies exist to fix these issues, it's just that it's not being prioritised and especially here in this area where we do have a disproportionate number of inadequate schools or schools in need of improvement.

“If you compare it to the national figure, Tendring has more than 50 per cent of secondary schools that are inadequate or in need of improvement.

“But nationally that figure is just five per cent. So, there's a huge disparity there and our children are being let down and it does need to be fixed.”

As a resident, Dr Osben has also been affected by the issues of accessing NHS services, such as dental care or specialist treatment.

“There really are unacceptable wait times and of course, I share other constituents' frustration at that because I'm living it as well," she said. 

“It can be fixed and the Green Party would put pressure on the government to fix it.”

Ensuring more social housing and making tenancies fairer, safer and more affordable amid the housing crisis, will be another “massive priority”, alongside investing in businesses, recognising economic growth and supporting economic well-being.

As a coastal constituency, Dr Osben also said she would push for sustainable energy production such as offshore wind farms and aim for reduced energy costs.

While she understands that residents are desperate for change, she highlighted her understanding of local issues.

She said: “I live in the community, I depend on all the same community resources, they depend on and I care deeply about this area.

“It's my hometown. I'm very proud of the Clacton constituency and I think we've got some wonderful people living here, some wonderful community organisations.

“There's a lot of potential here, but we've been let down. And so if I was elected, I really would prioritise the flourishing of the constituency so that we can see its potential come to fruition and so that we can see its people stop being let down so that we can look after our younger population and our elderly population.

“I can understand the temptation to vote for Reform UK to vote for something different and to protest against the Westminster establishment”, she added, saying that it is not the “immigration election”.

“But I just want to get across that there is another credible alternative. And if you look at the Green Manifesto, you will see that what we are offering, which reform is not offering, is real hope and real change and that we've got the set of policies that would make the world of difference to the lives of people living in the Clacton constituency.”