Lee Waters for Sherwood Forest – Putting Local People First! Lee Waters, a Pension Analyst and leading Independent Councillor in Hucknall, is known for his track record of delivering for his community.

Full statement

As the new Independent MP, Lee can solely focused on representing the interests and needs of local community and is not bound by party lines or national agendas, allowing him to prioritise local issues without compromise.

Lee is determined to win, noting that Independents already hold multiple seats across the constituency, including almost all council seats in Hucknall, as well as in Blidworth and Rainworth.

Living locally in Hucknall with his wife Rhea and son Alex, Lee understands the community's needs, he said:

"I have been contacted by a number of residents desperate for change. The current Tory MP, Mark Spencer, is known for his loyalty to Boris Johnson during his tenure as Chief Whip, which allowed the former Prime Minister to lie repeatedly. Our area suffered because Spencer was absent when residents needed him.

The Labour candidate also cannot claim to prioritise our area, given her role as a Gedling Labour Councillor and her council's decision to place hundreds of houses on the Hucknall border."

Despite the constituency being renamed ‘Sherwood Forest’, Lee warns that the proposed Tory and Labour housing targets could turn it into a ‘Sherwood Concrete Jungle.’ Lee pledges to continue fighting to save our green spaces, threatened by both the Conservatives and Labour Parties. He will push for the investment our towns and villages need.

Lee, as your Independent MP, will protect our cherished green spaces and fight to have these housing targets scrapped. He plans to introduce a law ensuring that planning applications for more than 100 houses cannot be approved unless there are adequate doctors, NHS dentists, and school places.

Lee said: "Politics has a bad reputation, and more people want an Independent choice who will put them first. I live in the constituency, I am raising my family here, and I will lead the fight to continue delivering for our community. Neither the Tories nor Labour can say that."

Lee's top priorities are protecting and enhancing the local NHS, making the area safer, preserving our environment, recruiting more teachers, and addressing the cost-of-living crisis.

As your Independent MP, Lee is committed to:

• Protecting our Greenbelt & scrapping enforced housing targets: He will oppose government-imposed targets and fight developers to protect our green fields. He will look to encourage the re-use of brownfield land.

• Improving access to the NHS, dentists and doctors: Residents struggle to get appointments when needed. Lee plans to get the new Cavell Health Centre back on track in Hucknall and expand health centre facilities across the constituency.

• Law & Order: Reintroducing community policing, more bobbies on the beat will make our area safer.

• Roads and Infrastructure: Advocate for new minimum standards for pothole and road repairs and maintenance, ensuring utility companies coordinate their work.

• Fighting for more teachers and support staff in schools and continuing his campaign for Universal Free School Meals.

• Supporting campaigns for Mineworker’s Pension Justice and WASPI women, and advocating for the Pension’s Triple Lock to ensure yearly pay rises for pensioners.

• Creating a new Secondary School in Hucknall, and other locations across the constituency. This will give parents greater choice for local schooling and increase school places to ensure every parent has the best chance of getting their child into their first-choice school.