GE Interviews: John Glen - Conservative Party

Salisbury's MP since 2010, Mr Glen, is standing once again as the Conservative candidate and believes that we need to get the current big infrastructure projects to compete and then 'move ahead quickly' once they are.

"My first priority would be to get all of that investment that we have already completed and get the city's traffic environment back to normal.

"But then we need to move ahead quickly and look at what we can do with the Maltings and the playhouse. I've been very involved in getting the cultural strategy redone, and I'm now poised working with the Arts Council South West and Wiltshire Council to get somebody to actually drive forward investment in the arts and culture.

"We have a thriving arts, music and cultural scene in Salisbury. I think it is something that we need to build on and build our identity around going forward.

"Obviously, the Maltings development has been mooted for a long time, and if I'm fortunate enough to be reelected, I should be taking a key interest in that.

"I think the third priority for me is to support the NHS and schools and we've put 45% extra resources into the NHS above inflation during our time in government.

"But everyone always wants more, and I think we have got to look very carefully at the structures and how things work. We've obviously got pharmacies dispensing more advice, and we've got diagnostic centres and more investment lined up for GPs.

"I also think the pandemic has had a massive effect on our public finances, amount of debt and therefore tax that we have to pay, but also on public services in terms of the pressures, the backlogs and the impact it's had on children as well.

"That's why I'm a patron of the Bridge Project. I got involved with Rise:61 intimately on Bemerton Heath because we need to think about the supporting infrastructure that goes beyond government and how we here in Salisbury can get those two to mesh together properly so that we actually provide the best and most supportive environment for children to recover and for their education to prosper.

"We have excellent schools, and if you look at Saram Academy, for example, when I visited it in 2010 when I was first elected, there was anxiety over whether we would finish the build. I went into that.

"We did get that rebuilt, and I think the school is going from strength to strength.

"We have a complex ecosystem of schools in Salisbury with the grammar schools, the excellent grammar schools obviously, which many aspire to, but also, you know, Wyvern St Edmunds, Trafalgar are also very good schools and, you know, provide different options for young people."

Listen to the full interview here, where we cover taxes, prisons and the Rwanda scheme that all feature in the Conservative Manifesto:

Over the next week and a half, Salisbury Radio will conduct and release interviews with the candidates standing in the Salisbury constituency. Hear what they had to say about important local and national issues in the lead-up to the General Election. All seven candidates have been invited to participate.

Tune into Salisbury Radio’s Election Night Special with all the news from 10 pm on Thursday 4th July.