Before the General Election, Preet Gill from the Labour Party was the Member of Parliament for Birmingham, Edgbaston, and the UK's first female Sikh MP. She served as Shadow Minister for Primary Care and Public Health. Born and raised in the West Midlands, she worked as a social worker and Councillor, and was Cabinet Member for Public Health and Protection before entering Parliament. Gill is also Chair of the Co-operative Party Parliamentary Group and Vice-President of the Local Government Association. She is standing again as a candidate for Birmingham Edgbaston.
In an interview with Asian Voice, she discussed impactful projects during her previous term as MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, goals for improving local train services and more.
1) Can you highlight some of the most impactful projects or initiatives you have undertaken during your previous term as MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, and how they have benefited the community?
One of the top issues facing my constituents is crime.
Under the Conservatives, criminals have never had it so good. The Tories expected people to be grateful after cutting 2,200 officers from West Midlands Police, and only giving us 900 back.
But the impact is obvious to my constituents. Dangerous driving; car cannibalism and burglaries; antisocial behaviour on our streets.
That is why I have fought with residents for more resources, attended street and speed watches, and secured a Council consultation to reduce speed limits on dangerous roads. I've campaigned for and secured more community police patrols in Edgbaston, Harborne, Quinton, and Bartley Green. After four years of campaigning, we successfully saved Quinton Police Station as a base for neighbourhood teams.
At this election, I am standing to do more still, through Labour’s first steps that will put 13,000 more neighbourhood police and PCSOs on the beat.
My constituents know we need to tackle the root causes of crime. Poor quality supported accommodation in the area has led to antisocial behaviour spilling onto the streets. In Edgbaston, I worked with police to shut down Saif Lodge, an 'exempt' hostel, and secured debates in Parliament for reform. The Government agreed, and the Council introduced a licensing scheme.
If I am re-elected, there’s no doubt there is more I want to do, but it’s clear we need a government that is prepared to take the action that my community is crying out for: rolling out a network of youth hubs, putting more police on the streets, and cracking down on the causes of crime.
2) As Shadow Minister for Primary Care and Public Health, what strategies do you propose to improve primary care services in Birmingham Edgbaston?
Representing my constituency means hearing from hundreds of brilliant doctors, dentists, and nurses about life on the NHS frontline. After 14 years of Conservative government, the prognosis isn’t good. Last year, five million patients each month failed to get a GP appointment. Many dentists aren’t accepting new NHS patients, and hundreds of GP practices and pharmacies have closed. Patients are left queuing on the phone at 8 am or even around the block.
Labour will invest and reform to ensure timely patient care and bring back the family doctor. Our plan includes training thousands more doctors, updating the NHS app to make it easier to book appointments, and cutting red tape to free up GPs' time.
I am proud of our plan to rescue NHS dentistry too. We will fund 700,000 more urgent appointments by targeting tax dodgers and closing non-dom tax loopholes. Additionally, we will invest in prevention with a supervised toothbrushing scheme for 3-5 year olds and reform the outdated NHS dental contract.
3) Can you elaborate on what specific changes and improvements you aim to achieve for the local train services in Birmingham Edgbaston, and how these will benefit your constituents?
After the Prime Minister’s decision to chaotically cancel HS2 last year, the government has left my constituents captive to the train operator Avanti on the West Coast Main Line.
Avanti consistently ranks among the worst-performing rail services and called their government contract “free money” and “too good to be true”. Despite this, the Tories awarded them another lucrative contract, after which they immediately cut services on the West Coast Main Line.
Taxpayers are paying more and getting less under this government. If elected, Labour will bring railways back into public ownership, folding private contracts into a new body, Great British Railways, as they expire, without costing taxpayers a penny.
In the case of Avanti, if I am re-elected, I’ll be lobbying the Transport Secretary to see if its contract has been breached, and if we can take action any sooner still.
From fighting to restore local bus routes, for investment in cycling and active travel, to better transport links across the region, I’ll always fight for the public transport my constituents want and need.
4) How do you differentiate yourself from your competitors, and what is your strategy to effectively address their criticisms and win the support of your constituents?
There is a lot of cynicism at this election, and it’s hard to blame anyone for that after years of broken promises, Tory sleaze and corruption scandals.
I don't relish the chaos caused by the Conservatives, as all politicians end up getting tarred with the same brush. The candidates I am up against seem to have popped up out of nowhere for this election, and I am sad to say, have run very negative campaigns to try and tap into this distrust. I'm not bothered by their attacks because I stand by my record, though I find it slightly galling.
Other candidates in Edgbaston are conspiring to try and tell voters that politicians are all the same, or that the election result is a foregone conclusion. That obviously suits the Conservatives just fine – because they don’t want people to give change a chance.
It’s my job to convince people that it’s easy to make promises to people, and play the “independent” card. But what matters is having a plan to deliver for people, and that means working together, not dividing people. I've done everything possible as an opposition MP. But this election offers a chance for a change of government, so we can end the race to the bottom for communities like ours.
5) What message do you have for the voters of Birmingham Edgbaston as they head to the polls?
My message to voters is to give change a chance.
Since I have been elected, I have helped people with over 50,000 cases; I have been one of the most active MPs in Parliament; and I was awarded MP of the Year in 2020 for my work, and a successful nationwide campaign I led to get British Gas to change its policies to tackle fuel poverty.
I was born and raised in Edgbaston, and at this election, I want the chance to serve my community in a Labour government that will serve in the interests of working people.
After 14 years of failure, our NHS and our public services won’t survive another five years of the Conservatives.
My constituency is always a close race between the Tories and Labour, which means a vote for any other Party is in effect a vote for five more years of the same.
Labour’s fully-funded plans will deliver economic security, cut NHS waiting times, launch a new Border Security Command, set up Great British Energy, put 13,000 neighbourhood police and PCSOs on our streets, and recruit 6,500 expert teachers to improve children’s life chances.
Change will only happen if people vote for it on Thursday 4th July.
