Pendle Insider: PROFILE Pendle & Clitheroe Candidate #3: Victoria Fletcher (Reform UK)

WHO IS VICTORIA FLETCHER?

Victoria Fletcher is a former Conservative Pendle councillor, and now stands as the Reform UK candidate for Pendle & Clitheroe in the 2024 UK General Election.

Victoria prevously stood in the 2018 local elections in Pendle and was successfully elected as a Conservative representative in 2018.

Local elections

2018 Vivary Bridge: Pendle

WHAT DOES SHE SAY?

"Victoria has lived and worked in Pendle and the surrounding areas for the majority of her life. She has previously served as a Pendle Borough Councillor for the Conservative Party and was the Mayoress of Pendle 2021-2022.

During 2021 Victoria lost faith in the Conservative Party and resigned her membership becoming politically homeless. She remained this way until joining Reform UK in March 2023 as she found this was the party that most aligned with her views.

Victoria is old school Conservative believing in low taxes, a small state and secure borders. The only party that has these values is Reform UK."

PENDLE INSIDER Q&A:

1. Hello Victoria, you were previously a Pendle Conservative up until 2021, can you tell us why you left and joined Reform/Brexit Party and how they differ? Please can you tell us about yourself, your history, and how you came to hold your beliefs?

"I was a Pendle Borough Councillor from May 2018 to May 2021, and Mayoress of Pendle alongside Cllr Neil Butterworth from May 2021 to May 2022. I was a Member of the Conservative Party from 2017 to 2021. I am what one would consider a true conservative, I believe in low taxes, a small state and secure borders.

It became more and more apparent to me that these core values no longer applied to the Conservative Party and I am someone who is honest and has integrity so I could not align myself with a party I no longer believed in. The final straw for me came when they demanded that people took a vaccine in order to earn a living or be part of society, I felt this was a massive over reach of what a government should do. I believe that we should give people the facts and let them make an informed decision not blackmail them - I could not be part of that.

I stayed politically homeless until March 2023 as I was reluctant to flit between parties, I watched Reform and realised I was agreeing with most of what they were saying so decided to join them. I was talking a lot at the time to the Labour candidate Jonathan and his passion for politics reignited mine so I applied to stand for parliament at the next General Election, after all if you want to make a change sometimes you have to put yourself forward."

2. Are you a Pendle resident, and if not, would you move to the area if elected?

"I currently live just outside the Pendle and Clitheroe Constituency in the Burnley Constituency, if elected, yes, I would move back into the area (even if not elected my partner and I are looking at moving into the constituency).

I grew up in Brierfield going to Reedley County Primary and then Edge End High School, I took part in many Brierfield Galas as a child under different groups (Brownies and Martial Arts) and learnt to ski up at Pendle Ski Club.

I have to credit my parents and grandparents being such good role models for me and my siblings growing up, they instilled into us morals and integrity. We never discussed being politically aligned growing up, although my parents do align a certain way when voting but that was never pushed on us, it was more important to my parents that we make our own decisions in life than be clones of them. So instead, I learnt to question and research things before forming an opinion."

3. There are many issues facing Pendle residents today, what do you identify as the most pressing issues and how would you as our MP deal with them?

"When I speak to people on the doors and in the street the thing that crops up more times than anything else is immigration. I am not sure if this is just because people feel like they can talk to me openly and honestly about their views on this topic where they feel they will be judged by others or because this really is their top priority. Immigration is affecting the lives of residents in Pendle and Clitheroe in every aspect - longer waiting lists to see doctors and dentists, harder to get on the property ladder or get social housing, lower wages etc.

There was an elderly lady I was talking to in Nelson a couple of weeks ago who now has immigrants living next door to her, she lives alone and told me they shout at all hours of the night. She has considered going round to ask them to be quiet but is too scared to, she said that she used to be scared of going out at night and now she is scared of being in her own home at night. This government have done that to the people of this country, they have got them to a point where people are scared of being in their own homes.

Our leader Nigel has repeatedly said this is the immigration election as it is affecting everything, the other parties and media are trying not to engage in this debate as they know they have failed to deal with the issue for years, but the people on the doors are more than willing to talk about this issue and they do not hold back. They know the Conservatives have not got a plan on how to deal with this and they know both Labour and the Lib Dems will not tackle the issue.

Reform UK will stop the boats, we will stop illegal immigration and we will have legal immigration at net zero, which is one-out, one-in."

4. Child poverty in Pendle is double the national average and the area is well known for being deprived - what can you do to improve the day-to-day lives of children in Pendle and give more struggling families money to live and occasionally go out?

"We have to make work for the parents pay, we have to stop taxing people so much and make sure they keep more of the money they earn. People on a whole don't want handouts, they feel embarrassed asking for others to provide for their children, so we need to focusing on making sure they are able to provide for themselves.

I understand how expensive children can be, and as a parent how you always want your child to have the best start in life and never go hungry. I also understand that parents are generally willing to give up anything to make sure their child doesn't go without (which is right) but it shouldn't ever be a choice between your child going without or you going without.

Parents need to be able to let their hair down occasionally too and have hobbies, if we don't do things we enjoy then we are not the best version of ourselves for our children. So it really is about enabling parents to earn a decent wage to be able to provide the life they want for their children, under Reform UK the basic income tax rate will start at £20,000 and we will scrap the net zero targets making energy bills cheaper."

5. The stagnant economy is currently reliant on high immigration to keep it stable. With a reduction of immigrants under Reform UK plans, how do you plan to increase economic growth?

"We have been led to think that we need mass immigration in order for society to function - we don't. What we need is controlled immigration aimed at targeting certain areas, then we need to focus on those who can work, but currently don't, going back into the work system and paying tax. We do this by making sure that work pays, raising the basic tax income rate to £20,000 for everyone will take around 7 million out of paying tax and give those who do pay tax around £1,500 extra a year in their pocket. It is no secret that the more money people have, the more they spend and the better the economy does."

6. Policing standards have deteriorated over the years and victims of crime are not getting a decent level of service. Police don't attend crime scenes, don't investigate low level crimes and there is a clear shortfall in resources for the police to deal with all incidents to a good level. What would you and Reform UK do to bring back some pride, respect and trust in our policing?

"Police have unfortunately been cut, had their time filled with paperwork and not had the right leadership. Reform do plan to change all this, we want to make sure that the police get back on the beat and are once again visible to residents. We will equip them with the latest technology in order to reduce time spent doing paperwork and make sure that they are focusing on reducing crime. All crime should be investigated as the victims need resolution, we want to employ an extra 40,000 officers over the 5 year term of a government, increase stop and search as this has been proven to work."

7. Our MP of 14 years, Andrew Stephenson, was unable to get the Colne to Skipton railway line reconnected despite years of power and campaigning. Is this something you would like to see happen and would you campaign for the re-establishment of the line from Colne to Skipton?

"I have known Andrew for a number of years and know that he is passionate about this project, to suggest anything else would be wrong of me. I also support the reopening of this line, for too long the North has been neglected for transport links, this is something that Reform have said they want to change and will focus on transport in areas such as the North."

8. If Reform UK are not expecting to get into power, isn't having a local MP in a party with no power pointless, as nothing would get done in the area?

"I was also not expecting the Brexit vote to go the way it did, in politics anything can and does happen. However, it is unlikely that Reform UK will form the next government, but it is even less likely that the Conservative party will form the next government.

When you look at it like that, is there much point in voting for the Conservative Party? It is about time that the people of Pendle and of Clitheroe had an MP in Westminster that will actually stand up for them that will, when required, vote against their party and in the interests of their constituents. My voting record from when I was a Pendle Borough Councillor shows that I am the person that will vote in the way my residents want me to, not the way my party dictate. Don't get me wrong, I will always vote in line with the promises I am elected on, but this is for anything that comes up that is not covered."

9. What do you think of Tommy Robinson?

"He is a media personality and I don't give personal opinions on celebrities."

10. Where do you and Reform UK stand regarding the wars in Ukraine and Gaza?

"We want the killing of innocent civilians on all sides to stop and would welcome a peaceful resolution to end the conflicts."

11. What are your top 5 priorities?

Smart immigration, not mass immigration
No more small boats in the Channel
No NHS waiting lists
Good wages for a hard days work
Affordable, stable energy bills

WHAT ELSE DOES SHE SAY?

"Victoria has spent the majority of her life living and working in Pendle and the surrounding areas. Growing up in Brierfield and attending schools in both Brierfield and Nelson. Victoria learnt to ski at Pendle Ski Club at the top of Sabden as a small child, and took part in many Brierfield Galas over the years with Rainbows, Brownies and a Martial Arts Club.

Victoria has always followed politics but only decided to join a political party in 2017. Unbelievably it was when Theresa May was PM that Victoria was inspired to join the Conservatives having always held Conservative views. When the election was called that year Victoria attended the local branch to take part in selecting Andrew as the candidate for the election. It was at this point that Victoria started to form a close friendship with Andrew and other members of the Conservative Party.

In 2018 Victoria was asked to stand in the Vivary Bridge ward in Colne to become a Pendle Borough Councillor by the Conservative Party. Although Victoria's initial response was no, the then Cllr Joe Cooney and Andrew Stephenson managed to convince Victoria to stand. Surprisingly to Victoria (and her family), Victoria won the election and became a Pendle Borough Councillor in May 2018. Throughout her time as a councillor Victoria voted the way the residents asked which sometimes meant voting against her own party in council meetings. Victoria remained a councillor for 3 years until the all-out election in 2021 when the number of councillors was reduced. Victoria had decided that she needed to take a step back from politics to focus on her personal life and start a family.

It was as Victoria was standing down that her good friend Cllr Neil Butterworth was becoming the Mayor of Pendle and asked if she would consider standing in for his late wife Tina and being his Mayoress. Had it been anyone other than Neil asking, Victoria would have declined. However, unlike some of the other Conservatives Neil had been there for Victoria over her time as a councillor so Victoria agreed to become his Mayoress.

During Victoria's time as the Mayoress of Pendle, Victoria resigned her membership of the Conservative Party. Victoria decided that she was not comfortable being a member of a party that was using coercive control to get people to take vaccines or lose their livelihoods. Victoria is old school Conservative that believes people have the right to make their own decisions and should not be blackmailed by the government to taking something that they have concerns about.

Victoria was now politically homeless for the first time in her life and moved away from the political arena altogether. In March 2023 Victoria attended the Mayor of Pendles Ball where she met Jonathan, it was talking to him over the coming weeks where Victoria's passion for politics was reignited and she decided to join Reform UK, a party she had been following closely for a number of months. Shortly after joining Reform UK Victoria decided to apply to be the candidate for the General Election when it was called, Victoria was successful and became the PPC for the area.

Victoria is now in a position where she is challenging two people, who she has considered friends and who have inspired her to put herself forward for government for the right to represent the people of Pendle and Clitheroe in Parliament. Victoria is the only option for those to the right of centre, those who believe in low taxes, a small state and secure borders.

This election is not a foregone conclusion YOU have the ability to decide who represents you in Parliament. YOU get to decide how the UK deals with the issues facing it. YOU are in control. The Tories will tell you that a vote for Reform UK is a vote for Labour, this is a LIE, they are once again using fear to control you. The only way you vote for Labour is if you put your mark in the box for Labour. The Tories know that they have failed to deliver on their promises, they have failed the public and they have realised that they now have to pay the price for their failings. We have to hold those chosen to represent us to account and if they fail, they do not deserve to be re-elected year after year."