General Election 2019: Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock candidates on why you should vote for them

I AM delighted to introduce myself as your Labour candidate for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock.
I am fresh to politics, and as a hard-working local lad, who delivers a for a local supermarket for a living, I meet new people every day. I know by talking to many local residents that they feel let down and isolated from “career politicians.” Like most of our community it was clear to me, that change is badly needed. This is why I am running. I felt driven to stand up for the voices of the many and give people a chance to vote for someone who will truly represent their views.
I want to help reverse the worst effects of austerity and focus on the things that really matter us all and help prevent the unnecessary closures of public buildings and reductions in public services. I want to improve NHS waiting lists that are out of control. I also want to ease the pressure on doctors and nurses when it comes to specialist needs in our local area, such as mental health, by ensuring that the extra funds, promised by a Labour government, finds their way to the right place.
I want to protect our community landmarks and culture. Looking at the ruins of Belleisle House, I remember hearing the news, and sharing people’s fear that this was the end of this once beautiful Hotel. Along with Elms Court and the Station Hotel, I want to do what I can to help restore these Ayrshire icons to their former glory, creating new jobs in the process.
Travelling the roads as regularly as I do, it is clear that it is not the A77 that should be the focus of continued road maintenance, but the roads we that we live beside which are ignored. We should not have to drive through a pothole infested minefield in order to get to the roads that are always getting the attention in the local news. I would look to redirect attention towards the issues that matter to us all, with the roads just the beginning.
A vote for me will help to increase living wages, help reduce the number of children in poverty, and invest in public services through a massive investment in a green revolution programme that will improve our lives and help to save our planet.
My local commitments to you:
 I will help to build more, warm and affordable homes across the area
 I will bring new clean jobs to Ayrshire as part of the Green Revolution
 I will look after pensioners and reinstate their free TV licenses
 I will work to help our coastline and riversides reach their untapped potential
 I will promote Robert Burns to an international audience and increase visitor numbers
 I will strive to ensure our local history is protected and maintained

Martin Dowey - Conservative 

At the next election, local people will have a clear choice.  In Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock it will be a straight contest between me the SNP candidate.  
It will be a choice between me, who will stand firmly against another independence referendum and who wants to get Brexit sorted, and the SNP who want to drag us all back to another referendum, with more division and uncertainty.
But, while I know these issues will rightly be uppermost in many people’s minds, as your Member of Parliament, I would give just as much attention to the day-to-day issues that affect our local communities.
Living in Ayr with my family, I know that revitalising the town’s main shopping areas is a huge concern and I will work with all interested parties to achieve that goal.
I will also fully support the ongoing work to regenerate Cumnock town centre and the New Cumnock Regeneration Masterplan, to ensure that the potential of both these communities is maximised for the benefit of local people.
As your MP, I will safeguard all current local NHS services at Ayr Hospital and Girvan and Cumnock Community Hospitals and oppose any further centralisation of hospital services. 
Major investment in the A77 and A70 is crucial so we have good transport links that make local communities safer and I will campaign tirelessly to secure funds for these and other local roads.
As a former police officer, I want more visible local policing and stronger action against crime and antisocial behaviour. And I will fight to ensure that every community, no matter how small or remote, gets the fair share of funding for services they need and deserve.
Over the last few years Scotland has seen so much division and we need to put that behind us and focus on building a better future for all our communities.  Your vote for me at this election is a vote to end those divisions, to keep Scotland in the United Kingdom and to elect a Member of Parliament for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock who will speak up strongly on behalf of everyone locally.

Allan Dorans - SNP 

I WAS born and brought up in Dailly, South Ayrshire and educated at Carrick Academy. From my parents, I inherited the values of compassion, work ethic, personal self-discipline and determination to help others to the best of my ability.
At 16, I joined the Metropolitan Police as a cadet and had an extremely successful police career becoming a detective inspector at the early age of 28. Following my police career, I studied for the professional personnel management qualification and became the personnel executive with a local major employer. I then qualified as a mediator, specialising in resolving conflict. My professional experiences have given me the ability to listen to different views and opinions, to build consensus, enabling people to resolve their differences peacefully.
I was elected to South Ayrshire Council in 2012 and appointed SNP Council Group Leader in Opposition in 2014. During my tenure, I introduced more council motions than any other councillor, including two motions in support of WASPI women and one relating to the removal of the hugely unpopular Holmston Road cycle path in Ayr. I worked extremely hard to improve relations between the political parties and I was successful in gaining cross-party support on a number of issues affecting the local community.
I am a lifelong community volunteer and charity fundraiser. I have raised over £30,000 for Cancer Research by undertaking sponsored challenges including running the New York marathon, and trekking to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. Recently, I took part in the 23 mile Kiltwalk to fund raise for amazing local charity, Whiteley’s Retreat.
I believe in stopping Brexit, preventing decisions affecting our country being made by Boris Johnston and his ilk and for the right of Scotland to choose its own future as an independent country in Europe.
I hope I have set out some of my key life skills and values and that you will recognise in my life experience and strong sense of duty, someone who is worthy of your vote to be your Scottish National Party, MP for this area.