General Election 2024: Interview with Clayton Payne, Workers Party of Britain, who wants to represent the area he loves
In the lead-up to the General Election on July 4 the Citizen will be running a series of interviews with the seven candidates hoping to be the next MP for North East Cambridgeshire.
Each of the seven: Steve Barclay (Conservative), David Chalmers (Lib Dem), Andrew Crawford (Green), Javeria Hussain (Labour), David Patrick (Independent), Clayton Payne (Workers Party of Britain), and Chris Thornhill (Reform), will be asked a series of the same questions to give voters more of an understanding of themselves and their views.
Here Clayton Payne the Workers Party of Britain’s hope for our area outlines what has motivated him to stand for election, and what he hopes to achieve should he win the seat next month.
Clayton, who currently lives in Murrow, was born and brought up in Chatteris and has previously lived in Wisbech. He works full-time for an intech protein company that deals in animal feed research.
It has been a few weeks since the election was called how is your campaign going?
“I only got my papers in right on the deadline as the party was keen for me to stand in Peterborough. I know I would have had a better chance of being elected in Peterborough, but I have no real affinity with the city and I wanted to stand in the area I love and have lived in all my life, so the campaign is only just underway.
“Unlike the big parties we have limited funds and resources so I will be focusing my campaign online and through social media but obviously, I have also been speaking to people.
“I’m not going to lie there appears to be two types of voters: the classic Labour voter and the Labour voter who doesn’t buy what the national party represents. The Workers Party represents what Labour should be. Conservative voters are naturally more likely to switch to Reform and so are unlikely to vote for the Workers Party.
“The fact both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have parachuted their candidates in from outside the area is also something that voters may not be keen on. But time will tell.”
Why are you running for MP?
“I want to represent the area where I grew up and where I still live. I love this area, I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else which is why I turned down the opportunity to represent Peterborough. I understand the issues in this area I know Wisbech, Chatteris and March and I worked in Whittlesey, so I know what matters to people, as those issues matter to me.
“I want to give the area a local voice. The Workers Party is for working people and is community driven.”
What will you do for North East Cambridgeshire if elected?
“I worked on the frontline in the NHS at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn on Covid wards during the pandemic so I understand the problems the NHS is facing.
“I will work to try to bring down waiting times. The wealthy elite do not have to rely on the NHS like the rest of us as they have private health care, so they are not using the same system as everyone else and are therefore not so invested in it.
“I will lobby for better services at the North Cambs Hospital so people don’t have to travel so far for their health services. It is not always easy for people to get to hospitals in King’s Lynn or Peterborough.
“I want to improve standards in our schools so that everyone has the same education opportunities. Again the elite send their children to private schools so why would they be concerned about raising standards in schools like the Neale-Wade Academy.
“If I get elected one of my main priorities will be to stop the incinerator in Wisbech. This has been dumped on our area, against the wishes of the people.”
Is it a time for change?
“I like Steve Barclay as a person, but we need someone representing our area who puts it before his party line. We need someone who is willing to speak about our area in Parliament. For me the most important thing about being an MP is caring about the community you live in.”
What would your key priorities be?
“As I said one of my key priorities will be to stop the incinerator. I want to stop our area from being used as a dumping ground for projects like this. I want to see proper investment in our roads and not just the top-up filling of potholes we see.
“We need actual structural investment. There is money for wars in Ukraine and Gaza and for looking after pharmaceutical companies, and that could be better used on infra-structure.
“We need the A47 dualled, at the moment it just gets clogged up. In such a safe area for the Conservatives as this where people continuously vote the same way no matter what why would the big parties invest? The Conservatives get in no matter what and Labour aren’t going to do it as it will not benefit them.
“I would also like to see more grant funding for the East. There is more funding for areas like the North East, but per capita, we are just as deprived. The problem is they look at Cambridge and think Cambridgeshire is sorted. But the reality is different. More grants will help stimulate the economy piece by piece.”
What are your hopes/expectations for July 4?
“To be honest my bare minimum would be to retain my deposit. The party has considerably less resources than the big national parties. Our headquarters is currently over a working men’s club in Birmingham but if we were to poll 150,000 votes nationally then we will get money from the Electoral Commission and that will help us in the future.”
What is your final message for voters?
“I would like to see people voting for who they actually want to represent them, rather than voting strategically out of fear. There are so many people who are fed-up with how things are, that change might actually happen. Like or loathe George Galloway, our party has a proven track record in Parliament which other parties like Reform cannot claim.”
In South West Norfolk nine candidates vying for the seat: Terry Jermy (Labour), Pallavi Devulapalli (Green Party), Earl Elvis Of Outwell (Official Monster Raving Loony Party), Josie Ratcliffe (Liberal Democrat), Liz Truss (Conservative), James Bagge (Independent), Lorraine Douglas (Communist), Gary Conway (Heritage) and Tobias McKenzie (Reform).
There are six candidates looking to win the South Holland and The Deepings seat, which covers Long Sutton and Sutton Bridge areas: Sir John Hayes (Conservative), Paul Hilliar (Labour), Jack Braginton (Liberal Democrats), Rhys Baker (Green), Mark Le Sage (Independent), and Matt Swainson (Reform)
