ELECTION fever hits Fife today as the General Election takes place.

Four MPs will be chosen for the Kingdom with voters seeing some changes at the ballot box after a shake up to the political boundaries.

The Dunfermline and West Fife constituency has changed to Dunfermline and Dollar with other constituencies being Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy, Glenrothes and Mid Fife and North East Fife.

Glenrothes and Mid Fife

The Glenrothes and Mid Fife constituency replaces the Glenrothes seat and now takes in Kelty and Oakfield, Ballingry, Lochore, Crosshill and Lochgelly.

Candidates will be looking to replace Peter Grant who is stepping down as MP.

There are five people to vote for in this region. They are current Fife councillor John Beare (SNP), Richard Baker (Labour), Debbie MacCallum (Conservatives), Jill Reilly (Liberal Democrats) and Ian Smith (Reform UK).

Richard Baker (Scottish Labour Party)

Today the people of Glenrothes and Mid Fife are being failed by two governments at Westminster and Holyrood.

Scotland needs a Labour government and Scottish Labour MPs who can make a real difference in parliament and deliver the change we need.

I work with a disability charity and I know it is the people who most need our support who most need a change of government.

As a former MSP I have the experience to be a strong champion for Glenrothes and Mid Fife in parliament.

I have lived in Fife for 30 years. I am passionate about improving our local public services and growing our local economy.

Under the Tories and the SNP our public services are being stretched to breaking point.

Too little is being done to create jobs and support local businesses.

Too many people in Fife are waiting in pain on long NHS waiting lists. There is a crisis in local dental services.

We are facing a cost of living crisis and too many local families are reliant on foodbanks.

A housing emergency has been declared in Fife and there is a lack of opportunities for our young people.

Labour will change this.

We will cut NHS waiting lists and provide new investment for dental services.

We will ensure fair pay for all and scrap exploitative zero hour contracts.

We will end the injustice of the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme so former mineworkers receive a fair pension.

We will establish GB Energy, a new state owned energy company headquartered in Scotland, to cut fuel bills and invest in our growing local renewables sector.

At the General Election, don’t just send a message to Westminster, send a government which will deliver positive change for Scotland.

On July 4, vote Scottish Labour to deliver the change Scotland and Glenrothes and Mid Fife needs.

John Beare (Scottish National Party)

Having lived in Markinch for over 25 years and represented the area as a local councillor for 18 years, I am the only local candidate who lives in the Glenrothes and Mid Fife constituency.

I was elected to Fife Council with a 30 per cent swing from the Labour Party in a 2006 by-election.

Since then I have been honoured to serve the people of Glenrothes North, Leslie and Markinch as their local councillor, and also for the past nine years as part of our outgoing MP Peter Grant’s local team.

Prior to this I had a long career in commercial construction.

Families and workers in Fife are suffering because of decades of mismanagement at Westminster.

Even after 14 years of austerity, Brexit and the cost of living crisis imposed by Conservative governments, a new Labour government will still impose further cuts to our public services.

As an SNP MP I will take action to lower your household bills and protect your income, including arguing for an energy bill rebate, mortgage tax relief and food price caps.

I will fight for higher levels of investment in the NHS and public services, and oppose further privatisation of the NHS by the Conservative and Labour parties.

I will continue to fight for justice for WASPI women, compensation for victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal, and stand up for Scotland’s right to determine our own future.

With my proven track record of hard work, public service and delivering for the local area I know what it takes to do a good job as your MP and am prepared to put in the work to make sure you, your families and your communities have a strong voice at Westminster.

Debbie MacCallum (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party)

Having lived in Fife for the last 25 years with my family, I am aware of the issues that matter most to this constituency.

I have worked and volunteered at the heart of our community.

I have my own business and recognise the importance of tourism to Fife, serving as the vice chair of the Fife Tourism Board and I also received a Scottish Tourism Thistle Award in 2019 for my commitment to tourism in the area.

I am founder and trustee of the Hamish Foundation which provides accessible facilities on the beaches of Fife, among other initiatives supporting people in our community. and have been a trustee of the University of St Andrews Students Association.

The communities of Glenrothes and Mid Fife have been abandoned for too long and need a local champion as their MP.

I will be pushing for increased investment into Fife, making sure we get our fair share of funding so we can grow our economy and create good jobs.

Running my own business, I am acutely aware of the need to improve public services, including local transport services to allow people to reach their places of work as easily as possible.

We need to protect local bus routes and improve rail connections across Fife, beyond what we have recently seen.

It is vital that if we are to attract people to make Glenrothes and Mid Fife their home then we must have the houses here to meet demand.

Our council recently declared a housing emergency and the cuts to council budgets from the SNP are really hitting communities hard.

If I am fortunate enough to be elected on July 4, I will be a strong voice for this area in sharp contrast to an SNP MP who would only focus on independence.

Jill Reilly (Scottish Liberal Democrats)

Now a project manager in Edinburgh, I was born in Fife and have recently moved back, after a number of years of living in cities, to enjoy the countryside, coastal living and everything else Fife has to offer.

I have delivered projects and programmes for many private and public sector companies so would be able to apply this real experience to economic challenges and to deliver public services with an understanding of how to implement change effectively.

I also have experience of supporting people who need help through volunteering at home and abroad.

I really care about people and make an effort to understand those who have had different life experiences to me.

I have seen first hand how many of the policies implemented by existing governments could do better in order to support people who need it.

Speaking to people in Mid Fife, many seem to have given up on the parties in power, the Conservatives and the SNP, years of mismanagement have really exacerbated the cost of living crisis.

To turn this around the Scottish Liberal Democrats would cut energy prices through an emergency insulation programme, get mortgage rates under control through careful economic management, and implement a fair deal for unpaid carers by funding Scottish carer support payments.

People are also worried about their access to health and social care, which has eroded over time.

We would back local health services so people get the care they need close to home, invest in world class mental health services funded by taxing the social media giants who cause so much of the problems, have Long Covid clinics in every region and boost social care which would allow people to be released from hospital more quickly and free up beds.

Please back me and the Liberal Democrat for a fair deal for you, for your family and for Scotland.

Ian Smith (Reform UK)

Lots of the people I speak to in Glenrothes and Mid Fife like the fact I’m not a career politician, and that I’ve had a successful business career spanning nearly 40 years and been in community fundraising activities for nearly 30 years.

These varied experiences have given me a broad view of the needs of Scottish people and led me to want to work for improved lives and communities locally.

People are worried about the cost of living crisis and many are suffering from the punishing tax regime inflicted by the SNP.

Reform UK have a fully costed proposal to remove income tax for people earning under £20,000 a year and reduce fuel duty by 20p a litre, which would make a huge difference to household budgets.

As a proud Scot, I utterly despair over the series of disasters that the SNP have presided over: ferries; drugs deaths; child mortality; the missing £600k; A&E waiting times; tax rises; literacy; gender recognition … the list goes on.

All the other mainstream parties are obsessing over net zero by 2030, however it’s damaging our livelihoods and the economy.

It has sent energy bills soaring. Made it harder for businesses to compete. It is costing tens of thousands of jobs and increasing inflation.

Look at the Labour Party policy reversals over net zero in New Zealand where 40,000 homes were cut off because of unpaid bills.

We all care about the environment and our air has never been cleaner.

We’ll need oil and gas for years to come so better to produce it ourselves than import it.

Reform UK’s ‘Contract with You’ is not just another party manifesto. It has been produced with advice from a range of independent economists, think tanks and advisors on savings and costings.

We must change course urgently, or Britain will go bust. Reform UK would make sure your hard-earned cash is treated with care and respect.