Lola McEvoy Working to be Darlington's next Labour MP
Darlington is where I learned my values
I’m from the town and I love it. I grew up off North Road, I went to school at St Augustine’s, Carmel, and QE. My husband grew up here too and we’re proud to call Darlington home.
I’m from a family who put their values – Labour values- at the heart of their work.
My Mum’s drive to secure the best opportunities for her pupils at Carmel, and the compassion my Dad has for his patients at North Tees hospital, shaped my own politics. I’ve spent my career working with businesses, employers and working people to get the best out of their jobs and workforce – the impact I’ve made in my work is something I’m proud of but I’m asking for your vote because I believe a Labour Government will be able to make a national impact for all of us.
These are my values too and the values I’ll bring as Darlington’s next Labour MP.
Get Involved
My values and my vision
Darlington desperately needs a Labour Government. But we can’t wait for the election to start making life better. People deserve dignity; at work, when they need our public services and in our communities.
Opportunity
I believe that everyone in Darlington should be able to get on and pay their bills. But too often people are locked out of work because there’s no affordable childcare – a lack of good quality jobs and our poor transport, particularly buses, aren’t good enough.
Too often, the work that’s available doesn’t pay enough to make a decent living, especially when you factor in travel and escalating living costs – people can’t get by.
I’ll fight hard to bring new quality jobs to the town and to work with our schools and colleges and existing workplaces to make sure local people are skilled up to get them. We have to make sure we’re ready to make the most of the natural resources here but too often the good jobs go overseas or require very specific skills and training. I want to bring investment to our town that works for the people here.
Community
I’m proud of my Darlington roots. I had a great upbringing here – the schools and services were excellent and the community looked out for each other so I had a solid start in life – I took that for granted and I believe that everyone in Darlington should be able to have the start I did but it’s just not the same now.
As your MP I’ll make sure that our shared values are rooted in the heart of our community. I’ll champion organisations that help people with our national mental health crisis and those which provide social outlets for young people in our town.
I’ll fight hard to campaign for men’s mental health because this is a personal issue for me, I have friends who’ve taken their own lives because they couldn’t find a way out. That’s not right, and I will do everything I can to tackle this crisis in our community.
Security
When things go wrong, everyone should be able to rely on good healthcare. But the Tories have laid waste to our proud NHS. I will champion fair pay and conditions for all health and social care workers in Darlington.
Like many, my Grandma fought hard to keep her independence and stay in her own home – she was scared of the social care system and I’ll campaign hard to improve it so people in later life have great options that work for them and their needs.
I’ll work to combat the surge in spiking in our Town and clamp down on anti-social behaviour in our communities, it’s not right that people are scared to go out in the town, we have a thriving night time economy and I’ll support our brilliant businesses to make sure people can enjoy them without fear of being spiked or facing ASB on their way home.
I will campaign for online safety for the next generation and will make child safety online a cornerstone of my campaign. The lack of regulation is leaving children, young people at risk of making mistakes that put them at risk or that will be on the internet forever and our vulnerable are exposed to scammers. I will campaign hard to protect people from being exploited online.