Sandra welcomes Conservatives and Unionists commitment to female candidates

Sandra Overend, 

Conservatives and Unionists candidate for Mid-Ulster 

As Women’s Development Officer for the Ulster Unionist Party I have been well aware that there was a lack of female representatives at a senior level in the Party.

This is something which the Party has sought to address and I am delighted to say that this is now a thing of the past, as evidenced by the fact that we have four female candidates standing under the Conservatives and Unionists banner in the forthcoming Westminster Election.

Paula Bradshaw is standing in South Belfast, Lesley Macaulay is running in East Londonderry, Daphne Trimble is our candidate in Lagan Valley and I shall be contesting Mid-Ulster.

Indeed with four female candidates, that is four more than the DUP, who have in the past not been slow to criticise us on this very issue.

I myself have been keen to ensure that people are promoted on merit regardless of whether they are male or female – to do so would mean losing out on a great deal of talent.

Sandra is committed to resolving difficulties faced by older people

Sandra Overend, 

Conservatives and Unionists candidate for Mid-Ulster 

Pensioners have worked hard all their lives; they have paid their taxes and contributed to our economy and society. It is simply unacceptable that thousands of older people are continually facing poverty and hardship.

This election is crucially important for pensioners. 13 years of a Labour Government has seen the state pension depleted and private pensions decimated by Gordon Brown.

Conservatives and Unionists believe that pensioners deserve a better deal and that is why we are committed to protect existing age-related entitlements and increase the basic state pension in line with rising living standards.

We are committed to look at how to abolish the Default Retirement Age allowing people to work longer. We will protect free TV licenses, disability living allowances, attendance allowance and the pension credit.

Locally we need to rejuvenate the Warm Homes Scheme to ensure that as many people as possible are protected against fuel poverty.

Conservatives and Unionists are the only candidates in this election who can deliver for pensioners. I firmly believe that as a society we need greater respect and collaboration between the generations and we need to ensure that pensioners have the dignity and security in their old age that they deserve.

Sandra Overend calls for support for Police in War on Drugs

Sandra Overend, the Conservatives and Unionists Candidate for Mid-Ulster in the forthcoming Westminster Election has praised Police for their actions in seizing £20,000 worth of drugs in Magherafelt on Thursday 15th April.

Sandra said;

"I know the entire community will join me in congratulating the Police for this seizure of cannabis resin in Magherafelt.

It is every parent’s nightmare to learn that their child is involved with drugs, and I know that every family in Mid-Ulster will be delighted to learn that this particular consignment of drugs is off our streets.

This is more good news following the Government’s decision to ban Mephedrone which had emerged as a so-called “legal high” and was having a terrible impact on young people .

The Police both need and deserve the support of the entire community in Mid-Ulster and far beyond to combat the criminal gangs who deal in drugs and seek to make money from selling their poison to young people, destroying families and communities in the process.”

Sandra Overend meet small business representatives on business recovery

Along with Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Theresa May, Ulster Unionist Party Leader, Sir Reg Empey, and the rest of the team, I met with representatives of the Federation of Small Businesses.

I firmly believe that only the election of a new Conservative government will provide the confidence and support which the vital small business sector desperately needs and thus aid Northern Ireland’s economic recovery.  Mid-Ulster has long been an area where small-businesses have provided much needed employment and they have been badly hit by the recent economic crisis and cannot afford to wade into another era of Labour’s financial mismanagement.

Given that small firms employ more than 62 per cent of the private sector workforce in Northern Ireland, this is clearly an area that needs a great deal of care and attention.  I know that small businesses are instrumental in delivering economic recovery and contributing to unemployment rates, but this is dependant on them being enabled to succeed.

Small businesses can help lead the way out of this downturn, enable sustainable growth and create essential new jobs for Northern Ireland.