As Cumbria prepares to go to the polls on Thursday, we ask the candidates for their priorities on key areas and why people should vote for them. Today, we focus on Furness

Name: Chris Altree

Age: 32

Town where you live: Barrow

Occupation: Signaller

Political party: Labour

Brexit: A fair properly-negotiated deal for the country to vote on within six months of a Labour government. Protection of our workers’ rights, jobs and our nation’s economy and security. To save our manufacturing and public services from a sweetheart deal between Tories and Trump, or from no-deal chaos.

Transport: I will campaign hard for improvements that include a nationalised, safer, rail service with better connections to Manchester and beyond. The A590 needs to be dual carriageway from Barrow to the M6 and campaigning for this would be among my priorities.

Environment: Labour has a fully-costed programme for massive investment in green technologies and harnessing Labour's Green New Deal with existing renewable providers in the area will be among my priorities.

As more electric cars come onstream we must increase electrical charge points throughout the constituency.

Health: Despite the Conservatives' protestations to the contrary there is growing evidence that they intend to privatise our National Health Service with American corporations lining up to destroy one of Britain's most precious institutions. I promise to be in the vanguard of Labour's campaign to stop any Donald Trump deal that threatens patient care.

Education: We need a National Education Service, with proper investment for all our children. We must bring an end to SATS and invest far more money into teacher retention. Labour is committed to ensuring all teachers have formal teaching qualifications within five years. An incoming Labour administration will reverse the trend of increasing class sizes.

Why should people vote for you? Furness needs a genuinely local person who will go to Westminster and fight for them. Someone who has real-life experiences that relate to them. I have had those experiences in Afghanistan, growing up in Ormsgill, as a carer, a student, and as a signaller.

Our communities need to be represented in parliament by someone from Furness, for Furness.

Name: Simon Fell

Age: 39

Town where you live: Ulverston

Occupation: Director of a not for profit fraud prevention agency

Political party: Conservative

Brexit: I voted to leave the EU three years ago. It’s time to move on from the indecision and dither and get Brexit done. Only the Conservative have a deal that is ready to go.

Transport: I’ve worked with the Transport Secretary and Chancellor to guarantee a bypass at Dove Ford, and am campaigning to upgrade the A590, so that journeys are easier and safer. With rail, I’ve called on the government to strip Northern of their franchise. The new trains are great, but we need a reliable service most of all.

Environment: We are committed to reaching carbon neutral by 2050, and will plant an additional 75,000 acres of trees by the end of the next parliament. The Conservatives have led the world in tackling plastics pollution and will crack down on the carelessness that kills marine life.

Health: The NHS is a remarkable institution and we’re rightly backing it with the largest cash injection it has ever received. Locally we’re investing seed funds so that our hospital trust can improve services in Lancaster and Barrow. We’re also hiring 50,000 more nurses (with a return of nurses’ bursaries) and 6,000 doctors so that people will see a real change at the front line.

Education: If we get it right, then our children can seize any opportunity ahead of them. Every school in Barrow and Furness will see an increase in per-pupil funding at both primary (to at least £4,000) and secondary schools (to at least £5,000). In addition we’re investing £780million to support SEN children next year alone. We are backing Ofsted and are proud the fact that standards and behaviour in our schools have improved.

Why should people vote for you?: Barrow & Furness needs an MP who is passionate about our area, who has a plan for what they want to do to improve it, and someone who knows how to get things done. My day job is getting people to work together to deliver change and I’m good at it - I want to bring that skill to this amazing job and fight every day for our community and for Furness’ future.

Name: Loraine Birchall

Age: 51

Town where you live: Great Urswick

Occupation: Web Development/ICT Consultant

Political party: Liberal Democrats

Brexit: Liberal Democrats have made their position clear on Brexit and if they were to achieve a majority government, they would revoke Article 50. My personal view is that we should hold another referendum so young people like my 19 year old son can have their views taken into account.

Transport: As a director of a rural transport charity, the Friends of X112 (voluntary post) I know the challenges faced by communities with no public transport, banks and post offices being closed and who find it increasingly difficult to access services.

Environment: Lib Dems tackle the climate emergency by generating 80% of our electricity from renewables by 2030 and planting 60M trees a year. I am against fracking but I do see Nuclear power stations as a vital part of the energy mix over the next 50 years.

Health: The Lib Dems are being honest about the 1p increase in income tax so that money is ring fenced for the NHS and Mental Health provision. Transform our mental health services by treating mental health with the same urgency as physical health.

Education: Give every child the best start in life by recruiting 20,000 more teachers as part of an extra £10 billion a year for schools. Build a fairer economy by providing free childcare from 9 months and giving every adult. £10,000 to spend on skills & training throughout their lives

Why should people vote for you? I’ll fight for the shipyard and I want better jobs for Barrow. I’ve spent 20 years helping residents. Barrow deserves someone to fight tooth and nail for them, not another Westminster puppet.

Name: Ged McGrath

Age: 60

Town where you live: Millom

Occupation: Copeland Councillor, Former subpostmaster and small business owner

Political party: The Brexit Party

Brexit: Ensure that the people’s vote for Brexit goes through as swiftly as possible with a clean-break so we can refocus our efforts on our country and its people. Then we want to fix the fundamental issues with our broken political system and make Parliament serve the people

Transport: Re-evaluate, re-establish and modernise our local bus routes to give people in rural areas a means to travel. Ensure that rail companies are held accountable for their services and put money back into the infrastructure and stations.

Environment: Support and enhance sustainability projects (recycling, clean energy). In addition to planting millions of trees to capture CO2 we will promote a global initiative at the UN. Make it illegal for it to be exported across the world to be burnt, buried or dumped at sea.

Health: Ensure that local NHS facilities are not being left behind in funding for quality, staff, and equipment. Support investment in medical research to stop the average taxpayer being ripped off by pharmaceutical companies. Re-open the nursing and midwifery professions to recruitment without the degree requirement, alongside a new nursing qualification in social care.

Education: Abolish student loan interest. Support the growth and development of local education facilities. Improve tax incentives for employers to take on genuine apprentices. Introduce fairer funding to allow support for adults, apprentices, and people from low-income families to study full and part-time.

Why should people vote for you?This election will be the deciding vote for the future of our nation. Voting is a privilege, and for too long we’ve dealt with two parties who’d rather disagree with each other than admitting the other is right.

Name: Chris Loynes

Age: 67

Town where you live: Ulverston

Occupation: University lecturer

Political party: Green Party

Brexit: We would campaign to remain. There is much to be done together. There is much about Europe we would like to change. A seat at the table allows us to work with European Greens to bring these about.

Transport: Part of the Green New Deal is to transform our transport system – an electrified line to Barrow, affordable, accessible and comprehensive public transport, a switch to electric vehicles, safe roads for cyclists and pedestrians.

Environment: The ecological crisis is the most important issue of this election – restoring wildlife, tackling climate change, supporting people through the changes that are necessary and the challenges we may face.

Health: A properly funded national health service is a core priority. Attention to dignified care for all and effective mental health services; and investment in preventative health measures all need special attention.

Education: A properly funded national education service is vital to tackle inequality, engage young people in civic life and prepare them for the work of the future. Those with special educational needs deserve a good education. University fees should be abolished.

Why should people vote for you? We campaign for proportional representation, an elected House of Lords and a new constitution to restore people’s confidence that they have a meaningful voice in the political process.