Lib Dem Matthew Bensilum: 'Why I should be next Clacton MP'

Asked what he thought was the most important issue of the general election, he said: “The cost of living is foremost on the minds of almost every resident I have spoken with over the campaign and as a district councillor for Tendring.

“The most important issue is the destruction by the Conservatives of the health and education systems of this country, and of the infrastructure, water, sewage, transport that people depend upon to live their lives.

“Rebuilding Britain into a fairer place, with a fair deal for all is going to be a tremendous task”.

“We need to elect a strong, capable, forward-looking Parliament to even begin.”

Mr Bensilum said housing, NHS dentists, doctors, waiting lists and the cost-of-living are all main concerns for Clacton.

Councillor - Matthew Bensilum has been a councillor since 2023 (Image: Submitted)

When asked why he is qualified to be the Member of Parliament for Clacton, he said that as a “a local” he knows the “strengths and weaknesses of the Clacton area”.

He said: “I have grown up here and understand the background to the concerns of locals.

“I delivered newspapers in Great Clacton when I was a boy and worked in a well-known local fish and chip shop."

Mr Bensilum also said he has “extensive experience of the business world across the UK and in the wider international sphere”.

He added: “As a family man with children in local schools, I have experience of and care about our education system."

Jaywick Sands is the most deprived area in the country, to which Mr Bensilum said: “The Conservatives have bullied and impoverished poor and vulnerable people steadily for a decade and more.

“They have made it increasingly difficult for people to climb out of the poverty trap and at the same time have taken away their access to health care and to education. 

"No wonder that communities who started in poverty have been even more badly hit.”

Mr Bensilum was also asked what his party was offering to help with deprived areas such as Clacton.

Stunt - Sir Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, has gained attention for his stunts on the campaign trail (Image: PA/Jacob King)

He was also asked about his thoughts on the high-profile arrival of Nigel Farage into the Clacton election.

Mr Bensilum said: “Nigel Farage has certainly made people sit up and think, which can’t be bad”.

“But people have to look at whether they are really thought-through ideas that will solve our problems.”

Another high-profile election figure has been Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey who has been staging photo opportunities, including paddleboards and rollercoasters, on the election trail.

Mr Bensilum said: “Didn’t Ed enjoy them!”

“I was told by an appreciative resident that he’s the only leader who’s been smiling all through the campaign, and one ambulance service employee who met him said ‘he doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty’ after they cleaned an ambulance together.”

Asked about Mr Davey’s recent comments that immigration was too high, Mr Bensilum said: “Immigration has been shown to improve the country’s prosperity.

“Immigrants pay more taxes and claim fewer benefits than the non-immigrant population taken as a whole. Many of our industries would be crippled without immigrant workers.”

He added: “Of course, there are always some who take advantage of the British system and hide their wealth in offshore tax havens, but fortunately they are few.”

Asked about food banks and unemployment in the area, he said: “We are fortunate to have volunteers and charities who can step in to fill the vicious gaps in the Government’s safety net of social care by organising food banks and other support systems.”

On education, Mr Bensilum said that it was “such a pity” that the Conservative Government had "neglected it” and “wilfully starved our schools of the means of giving our children the education they deserve”.

He added: “Education is important - it empowers people to live fuller lives, it is an essential tool to reduce poverty, and it brings a fitter workforce to the needs of business and industry.  

Mr Bensilum said the NHS was brought into crisis by the Conservatives and that universal healthcare should include “mental health preventative care”.

Asked for his thoughts on the former MP for Clacton the Conservative’s Giles Watling and about his record, Mr Bensilum said: “Giles is a good, well-intentioned person who tried hard to follow his party’s disastrous policies.

"He didn’t challenge them.”

Mr Bensilum was asked about some Liberal Democrat policies the public might not know about, such as rejoining the Single Market and the Customs Union.

Mr Bensilum said: “This would do more to boost British business and improve our country’s prosperity than any other government action."

Mr Bensilum was also asked if Clacton, or anywhere in Essex, was a target for the Liberal Democrats.

He admitted: “Clacton is not a major target for the Lib Dems, but we always wish to give people the opportunity to vote for us.”

When asked about the number of candidates in Clacton, Mr Bensilum said: “Nine is a confusing number for our voters, but anyone should be free to stand for election to Parliament.

“I think turnout will be high in Clacton. 

“I hope turnout will be high both in Clacton and nationally. 

"A high turnout gives a truer picture of what the country really wants for its new Government.”