Lucy Hurds grew up in Ross-on-Wye, has been married to Jim for over 28 years and raised her family in Herefordshire. Over the years, she has seen first-hand how services have changed and affected local families. This led to her first involvement in politics when, as a concerned parent, she became aware of the lack of money for local schools and education.

For 20 years, Lucy worked as a consultant for small businesses providing them with support and financial advice. She has contributed the rural perspective to the National Lib Dem parliamentary team.

Lucy has been working actively with a large number of local charities and other organisations, including Veterans Support, Hereford Food Bank, Ross Childrens Projects, Herefordshire Community Environment Group and local branches of NSPCC, RSPCA and the National Autistic Society. This “hand-on” approach has given her a unique insight into the problems caused by cuts to funding. She believes that it will only be by working together that Herefordshire will be able to maintain much-needed services.

The Lib Dems will invest another £1Bn in community policing. This would mean six extra police officers for Ross and would help to tackle response time and the growing concerns around gang culture and county lines.

With the County Hospital running at capacity and waiting times increasing, Ross Community Hospital is needed more than ever. Lib Dems would add 1p on income tax to allow us to properly fund the NHS and Social Care. This would bring stability of service to Ross Hospital and ensure that the Minor Injuries Unit remains open all year. The Lib Dems have pledged to have all homes insulated by 2030. This will help to end fuel poverty while we invest in renewable power leading to cheaper sustainable energy. Fracking is not viable or safe and will be banned. Locally, we have started a programme of tree planting.