The good news last year that Torridge was one of 20 districts in the country to benefit from the Conservative government’ Levelling Up Partnership programme, has been followed by prompt action.

I am glad to say that in Holsworthy, the development of the 10-acre site next to the cattle market for new agricultural and ancillary businesses is one of the agreed projects for the partnership to take forward.

The multi-million-pound investment will create new economic opportunities in our area. Livestock farming and food production is the backbone of our rural communities and this new expansion of the market into a modern agricultural business hub is precisely the type of project the LUP is designed to support.

It is essential that Holsworthy should see the benefits the Conservative government intended soon. I am delighted that the Conservative manifesto includes a commitment to build on the food security index created last year by placing into law a duty to achieve national food security targets.

This is an important step forward, which deserves to be emulated by other parties. The recent effects of Putin’s war in Ukraine should serve as a salutary reminder of the vital importance of domestic food production.

I am ashamed how poorly we are treating our children’s health.

As a social worker with 30 years' experience working in Devon, I have seen at first-hand children’s teeth requiring hospital treatment because parents can’t get an NHS dentist.

Nearly half the children in Devon and over 4.4-million nationally have not seen a dentist in the last year. With dental health in decline and parents worried about getting appointments, it’s not surprising that the Lib Dem policy of cutting VAT on children’s toothbrushes is supported by 83 per cent of voters, according to a recent YouGov poll.

Lib Dems would additionally reform NHS Dentistry so that no-one is forced to pay for private dental care.

Nominations closed on June 7 - there are six candidates in Torridge and Tavistock - five from parties and myself as Independent. This is lower than the national average of seven candidates per seat.

Four of us met at Hustings in Westward Ho! on Tuesday, June 11, two sent substitutes as the date clashed for them. Debate was well-mannered and informative with an audience of around 130 people. Their greatest reaction was on housing policy. No candidate was an overall winner - each was able to bring unique insights on the issues raised.

My own position was well received and I hope that I assisted some of the people present to take the need for Electoral Reform into account when deciding for whom to vote.

Further Hustings are to be held at the Plough in Torrington on July 2.

Access to healthcare in Torridge and Tavistock is vitally important and the loss of our local hospitals, dentists and doctors is keenly felt across the area. Take Holsworthy Community Hospital. Its inpatient beds were closed in 2017 due to concerns over high use of agency nurses, low bed occupancy and staff sickness. Despite the closure being cited as a temporary measure, the beds have not reopened.

Losing such services puts extra pressure on people’s time and finances as they are forced to travel to access the care they need. For people living in Holsworthy and surrounding villages, for example, this involves a journey to Exeter or Barnstaple of at least an hour, and that’s if you have a car and don’t have to rely on public transport links which leave much to be desired. This cannot be allowed to continue and, if elected as your Labour MP (let’s not forget it was a Labour government who founded the NHS), I will dedicate myself to getting the NHS back on its feet in Torridge and Tavistock.

• Also standing: Andrew Jackson (Reform UK) and Judy Maciejowska (Green Party)