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Joined by Rachel Hopkins, Shadow Minister for Veterans & Defence People, and Gemma Dillon from BBC Leeds, Simon Lightwood, MP for Wakefield hosted a ‘Veterans’ Voice’ event in Ossett today to give Wakefield’s veterans an opportunity to share their experiences.
This meeting allowed Mr. Lightwood to hear the issues that local veterans face post-service, whilst returning to civilian life.
Labour’s Veterans’ Voice campaign aims to give veterans and their families a voice to help shape Labour’s plans for the next general election and listen to the ways the future Labour Government can cater to their needs. This will also involve future events across the country so more experiences can be shared by veterans with their elected Labour representatives.
Simon Lightwood MP said,
“It was great to hear from some of our fantastic veterans and their families. We owe a debt of gratitude to those who have served our country and we owe it to them to give them the support they need to transition to civilian life”
“Under the Tories, our veterans have been let down with delays accessing mental health services, delays in compensation payments and problems with housing. Labour has a real vision to fix the fractured system and give our veterans the support they deserve.”
Since the Conservatives have come into power there has been an increase in mental health waiting times and a decrease in the number of mental health professionals.
Rachel Hopkins MP, Shadow Minister for Veterans and Defence People, said,
"The Conservatives like to talk up their support for our forces, but it’s clear that they are failing veterans in Wakefield. Veterans don’t need more empty promises from Conservative Ministers; they need concrete action.”
“We are committed to putting their lived experiences at the heart of our future policy offer."