General Election 2024: Meet the Conservative candidate for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven

The six candidates are Valerie Gray (Social Democratic Party), Elaine Hills (Green), Stewart Stone (Liberal Democrats), Khobi Vallis (Conservative), Emma Wall (Independent) and Chris Ward (Labour).

Each candidate answered questions submitted by voters. Here are the answers from the Conservative candidate Khobi Vallis, 35, a communications director. She tweets as @Khobi_Vallis and is on Instagram as @Khobi.Vallis. Her Facebook page is Khobi4Kemptown.

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Why do you want to be an MP and how are you qualified for the role?

I am passionate about people. I want to ensure that the people of Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven have a hard-working MP who listens to them and represents their needs as an independent local voice to keep authorities accountable to them.

My previous career was as a civil servant. I am committed to public service. Now, I advise FTSE 100 businesses about how to engage with government.

I have experience in both UK and Australian public policy which gives me an international perspective.

I intimately understand how Parliament works and I want to use that knowledge to deliver from day one.

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If elected, how would you deal with performance and pricing problems in privatised utilities such as the water companies, railways, energy companies and the Royal Mail?

I would hold local utility companies to account through strong advocacy and casework. Conservatives will implement new requirements on water companies to monitor water quality and publish data, holding them to account on sewage.

We will also introduce Great British Railways, to help improve performance, connectivity and choice for passengers.

Our decision to cap fares at 4.9 per cent for 2024-25 builds on last year’s unprecedented intervention supporting passengers.

We have delivered £40 billion to protect households and businesses from spiralling energy bills following Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, worth £3,300 on average per household in cost of living support.

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What would you do to help people who are struggling to rent or buy a home? Should second homes or Airbnb-style holiday lets be banned?

We will deliver 1.6 million well-designed homes in the right places while protecting the green belt and our beautiful countryside.

Conservatives will permanently abolish stamp duty for homes up to £425,000 for first-time buyers and introduce a new “help to buy” scheme to support people to own their own home.

Tourism is a very important area of economic income for our coastline so I do not believe in a ban.

However, I support plans for a Renters (Reform) Bill, ensuring 11 million tenants across England benefit from safer, fairer and higher-quality homes, including abolishing no-fault evictions.

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What steps would you take to improve hospital performance, community care and access to GPs for patients in Brighton and Hove?

Nationally, Conservatives will increase NHS spending above inflation every year, recruiting 92,000 more nurses and 28,000 more doctors.

This will drive up productivity in the NHS. With an ageing population and ever improving medical science, we also need to move care closer to people’s homes, for example, through our Pharmacy First scheme, as well as new and modernised GP surgeries and more community diagnostic centres.

I also believe passionately in preventative care and support many organisations and charities that work in this space.

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Events in Israel and Gaza have affected many members of the community here. What can people in your constituency expect you to say and do as an MP?

The situation in Gaza is heart-breaking. In my previous career as a civil servant, I had the privilege of working in the Home Office. I understand national security.

I truly believe the fastest way to end the conflict is to secure a deal which gets the hostages out and allows for a pause in the fighting. The UK government must then work with international partners to turn that pause into a sustainable, permanent ceasefire.

Domestically, any increase in anti-Semitic crimes, or anti-Muslim crimes can also not be tolerated, and I fully support the police to protect our UK citizens.

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Given the importance of tourism, how would you balance the evidence about sea water quality locally with perceptions?

It’s not just about the excellent levels of investment tourism brings to Brighton, it’s about the local community who in huge numbers swim and use the sea as a foundation of their life here in Brighton, Peacehaven and the Deans.

We absolutely must protect the quality of our natural environment.

When I joined Rottingdean beach clean recently, the team told me a lot about the sewage pipe and sanitary products for example.

We can’t do quick fixes. We need proper sustainable solutions.

I am pleased Conservatives put more requirements on water companies but they need to be held accountable locally.

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Polling stations are due to be open from 7am to 10pm on Thursday 4 July. Photo ID is required for those voting in person.