Felicity Owen - our Prospective Parliamentary Candidate

Dear St Austell and Newquay Labour Party Members,

I am delighted to have been selected as the Labour Party Prospective  Parliamentary Candidate for St Austell & Newquay.

I am passionate about getting a socialist government in power and to  have a Labour MP in St Austell and Newquay.  We deserve so much better than what we have locally and nationally.

I will campaign and canvas tirelessly. I will listen to your views. I will march, campaign, petition, lobby, demonstrate and canvas until Labour is elected. I am determined, hardworking, live in and know the area and services & have experience of the media.

I want to speak to every member about what you want from me and what your concerns and issues are.  If you’d like to get in touch, I’d love to hear from you.

Felicity Owen

---

My background

I started volunteering at Spitalfields Crypt, a service for homeless men and street drinkers when I was a student nurse in Whitechapel. I trained as a general nurse and developed an interest in prevention and tackling inequalities. I did further study and worked in renal nursing, as a ward sister, in health visiting, lecturing, health promotion and public health. I was Director of Public Health (DPH) from 2005 firstly for StAN then after the merger of the three Primary Care Trusts in Cornwall was successful in becoming the DPH for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly in 2006 until 2014. This was a joint appointment with Cornwall County Council (subsequently Cornwall Council). I feel privileged to have been DPH and made a difference to people living in poverty and hardship. Evidence of the depth and breadth of the work I led on can be viewed at https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/public-health-cornwall/public-health-legacy-document/ I have a lot of media experience and have built trust with local radio, TV and press, who know me as an honest and reliable source. I am a skilled communicator, am hard-working, enthusiastic, and have expertise in planning, evaluation and assessment. I am a democratic leader, proficient at consensus building, creating action and developing others. I enjoy helping solve issues with people, in particular those who are in difficulty. I worked for the NHS & Councils for 40 years putting socialist values into practice. I was a member of the Royal College of Nursing Union from 1981 to 2015. I recently become a member of Unite. I am a lifelong Labour voter and joined the party in 2017 as I was enthused by the manifesto, and a return to grass roots socialism. I am an active member of the StAN CLP and Branch and a member of the NHS group who campaign against local cuts and privatisation. We’ve had some success in delaying the closure of community hospitals and the introduction of an accountable care organisation but there is much more to do against the insidious privatisation of the NHS and to many of our other valued services.

My commitment to you as your PPC and next Member of Parliament:

• I live in the constituency and will continue to do so.
• I will listen to local Labour members and take on board their views and campaign on what matters to members and residents.
• I will work with the CLP to ensure members are offered training in particular on community organising, canvassing and the Doorstep App.
• I will work to enthuse disengaged members. I will compile a yearly report on the state of StAN.
• I will lead a recruitment drive to increase numbers of Labour members.
• I will canvas every ward at every election and start straight away.
• I will ensure canvassing data that has been captured has been entered online.
• I will increase the canvassing rate in StAN from its current level of 5%, aiming for 95% or higher.
• I will support members to stand for local authority councillor roles and that they will have training so we can have a greater presence in Cornwall Council and introduce Labour policies including the building of council houses.
• I will be an active member of the CLP, supporting branches to develop and being part of our social activities.
• I will work with the other PPCs in Cornwall to promote Cornwall Labour and lobby for PPCs in each Cornwall constituency.
• I will stand up to and challenge our current MP in particular on his appalling and disgraceful voting record.
• I will work with the media to promote Labour and all our policies.
• I will take advice on how to increase our social media presence and efficacy and ensure that’s enacted.
• As your MP I will hold roving surgeries to ensure residents across StAN have access.

For more information, please see here or contact me via the Contact section on the website here: